juamei

This was a cleanup day around South London, visiting a few sites that I hadn’t before. I had a good day for it and some pleasant company, so the day was an undoubted success. We did a loop from West to East, starting at Diana’s Dyke, then Gally Hills, Croham Hurst and finally attempted to get onto Caesar’s Camp.

Having done my list within the M25 and it was only 3pm, we headed outside to North Kent. First up was Squyerres Park but another nono, so we finished up at Oldbury again which is rapidly becoming a fav of mine.

All in all a nice productive day.

A quick word though, if you intend to do this South London wander, make sure you take in Morden Park at the start and Chislehurst Caves & Winn’s Common at the end. Actually, depending on your start time, you might want to reverse the route as well. That way you can be first in to Chislehurst caves & set up the day nicely.

This was a cleanup day around South London, visiting a few sites that I hadn’t before. I had a good day for it and some pleasant company, so the day was an undoubted success. We did a loop from West to East, starting at Diana’s Dyke, then Gally Hills, Croham Hurst and finally attempted to get onto Caesar’s Camp.

Having done my list within the M25 and it was only 3pm, we headed outside to North Kent. First up was Squyerres Park but another nono, so we finished up at Oldbury again which is rapidly becoming a fav of mine.

All in all a nice productive day.

A quick word though, if you intend to do this South London wander, make sure you take in Morden Park at the start and Chislehurst Caves & Winn’s Common at the end. Actually, depending on your start time, you might want to reverse the route as well. That way you can be first in to Chislehurst caves & set up the day nicely.

This was a cleanup day around South London, visiting a few sites that I hadn’t before. I had a good day for it and some pleasant company, so the day was an undoubted success. We did a loop from West to East, starting at Diana’s Dyke, then Gally Hills, Croham Hurst and finally attempted to get onto Caesar’s Camp.

Having done my list within the M25 and it was only 3pm, we headed outside to North Kent. First up was Squyerres Park but another nono, so we finished up at Oldbury again which is rapidly becoming a fav of mine.

All in all a nice productive day.

A quick word though, if you intend to do this South London wander, make sure you take in Morden Park at the start and Chislehurst Caves & Winn’s Common at the end. Actually, depending on your start time, you might want to reverse the route as well. That way you can be first in to Chislehurst caves & set up the day nicely.

[visited 11/4/03 & 14/4/03] So after a very nice visit to ramsdale, we meandered our way down and up some very steep little roads to this site. Lovely views but a sore site.

The standing stones and the Grouse Butts are just about the only things recognisable as man-made. I think I found the Cairn that Dyer mentions and maybe 1 or 2 outliers but otherwise a sad sad site.

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Despite its trashed state (and possibly because of it) the site lies just off the main Whitby to Pickering road, so as we headed back to London after yet another Whitby goff fest, I stopped for a quick second look. I noticed the huge number of 2ps seemingly welded to one of the stones this time and then we made a run for it as about 100 sheep converged on us expecting food...

[visited 11/4/03] Second time lucky to this and oh were we lucky. Last time I attempted these was with three ‘non-believers’, and I was beaten back 100 yards from my target by a combination of driving rain and complaints. This time I left the two ‘non-believers’ with me in no doubt that come driving rain, hail, snow, freak floods or thunder, I would be seeing these stones.

As it happened it was a perfect spring day, the stones were sumptious & the company very nice. We found the stones and then sat and stared out to sea. An absolute treat!

[visited 30/3/3] Another tree clad hillfort imperceptable as such unless you look closely. There is a sort of bank-ditch combo kinda encircling the hill, but not cared for and in one place replaced by huge girt concrete steps. The ever present distant roar of the M25 / M3 / Heathrow really detracts from this otherwise pleasant little retreat from North Surrey.

The best viewpoint in the place affords a nice view of a couple of rivers / lakes in the foreground and Heathrow just past them. We can only imagine what it was like even 100 years ago compared to now, I’m guessing somewhat more relaxing...

So in all, very nice I’m sure for the residents of Chertsey, somewhat less appealing for those of us who entered this area just for this experience. Go to Oldbury instead, you’ll be glad you did!

[visited circa 16/3/3] Unmarked on the main notice board & without an OS map of the area, these proved a tricky find. After coming down off the hillfort, walking through the village and failing to find the Cob Tree public house mentioned by Dyer, I asked a very helpful local. Luckily the first and easiest to find was 10 minutes walk up a path...

I recommend parking in the Hillfort carpark and walking counter clockwise around the ramparts of the fort, until you reach the edge of public access. Then turn right and head off the fort, down some very muddy steps and the shelter is off to the left, past a fallen tree. Not that much to see but enough to see it would have been cold, wet and not that much of a shelter...

By the side of the steps is a very curiously carved rock, from when I have no idea, anyone out there that can help??

Other shelters are accessible but I had run out of time. If I recall correctly, turn around and head back up the steps. You’ll meet an apple orchard on your right, head down the side of it till its end and then turn left, the other shelters are thereabouts (ps you will need to trespass to do this).

[visited circa 16/3/3] Finally I made it back here during the day & it was well worth the visit. A fairly large fort on top of a heavily wooded hill, the single bank-ditch combo is clearly visible and a well trodden path is available either at the top of the bank or the bottom. The trees (whilst nice for hugging et al) did iritate slightly as I’d have liked to have actually seen the view, but other than that they added very nicely to the general ambience.

Half of the fort is under cultivation, seemingly with apple orchards, but ‘apparently’ the farmer doesn’t mind people walking on it. I didn’t try this out however!

Park in the main car park & follow the hillfort bank counter-clockwise to get to the mesolithic Rock Shelters.

[visited 22/3/3] What a weird & relaxing site. We found three standing stones and many many piles of stones scattered liberally about the fields. The main field is (I presume) used as a showjumping practice ground & I think some of the piles of stones have been cleared off the open spaces. However at least 2 piles looked like they had had a purpose, quite what I have no idea... RE the row, I was disapointed to see the three stones didn’t line up, make of that what you will. They are however beautiful stones, either naturally modified or by hand.

Oh and if you try and find the caves prepare for disapointment, at some point in the last few years someone has put locked railings across the entrance ways. Bah! Another thing to look for is the fort on the golf course, together with small standing stones scattered across it. Unfortunately I was not alone and the cry of beer stopped me finding the stones on the golf course.. next time gadget!!

[actually written & added 27/11/02] This is another hillfort covered in trees & especially at night, there isn’t that much to see. Apparently the east side of the fort is precipitous but we didn’t make it that far, preferring instead to stop at the west embankments and wonder what the sounds were emanating from the trees.

Probably a better place to visit during the day, unless you know where you are going and (possibly) have a torch...

[visited about 29/1/03] Mud mud glorious mud. I foolishly thought that a London park would be non-muddy in January and my trainers paid for it here. This is a large tree covered mound with a kinda obvious ditch around the outside. As has been said it was once used as a tea-house and I found some pretty remains of a plate at the top.
The views from here are hidden slightly by the college nearby, but I was able to see the London Eye, about 10 miles to the North which was nice. I imagine the views when the mound was built were to the horizon in all directions, or at least to the hills in the distance to the south and west, which are 15 odd miles away. Oh and it looks damn like a classic round barrow to me!

And finally, I picked up a carrier bags worth of rubbish from this and could have had 2 or 3 more. Someone needs to teach the local kids to take their Hooch bottles away with them...

[visited 4/2/03] This being the closest ‘standing stone’ to my house, I thought I’d better go give it a look. It sits on top of a modern (well 19th century I think) stone plinth, surrounded by attractive blue railings. Very easy to find, sitting in the grounds of Kingston Guildhall, ignored by all who walk past. The stone itself is fairly large (compared to The London Stone) and could well have been part of a circle or more likely have been a markstone.
I presume it originally had a similar function to the now disapeared stone at the top of Brixton Hill, which was the meeting place of the local Hundred.
Quite a nice little visit if you are in the area though as per with London sites, not really worth travelling for. (I can imagine the cries from peeved family members, “You came all that way to see this???“)