juamei

[visited 4/3/18] Out on a hike up Hurst hill, I remembered on my way back I’d never actually found this cairn despite walking within 100m of it many times. So, with the aid of the images on here and some rough guesstimation I found this really good condition small cairn. Turns out I was always the other side of a slight rise and even when I’d climbed it I was looking for a circular bank not a mound, should have checked the images earlier!

This is a really good condition cairn, seemingly untouched by robbers, antiquarians or farmers. The mound is poking out of the peat and has a clearly defined kerb about a metre or so up enclosing a 2-3 metre space. I wonder if there is a second kerb under the peat defining the bottom of the cairn, I poked about a bit but couldn’t see anything obvious. Looking at the previous pictures on here I think the peat may have denuded a bit over the last 15 years or so.

The views are really good and before the trees went up you would have had a great view of pikestones and round loaf, this mound lying between the two. Also a lovely vista all the way round the eastern end of anglezarke, winter hill and then onto the lancashire plains out to the sea.

Access is good for Anglezarke, however it will probably be boggy underfoot depending on the time of year. You’ll need to cross a couple of stiles and the cairn is just off a footpath.

[Visited 18/02/18] I’ve been looking for an excuse to pop up here for a while, so a power walk bit of exercise seemed perfect. I went up the side of winter hill hoping to spot the small cairn on the north edge of the top, but I wasnt sure which of the humps qualified. This one didn’t have that issue...

This is a large cairn still clearly defined, with the remains of a kerb on the southern side. The builders making use of a natural knoll to make two sides appear much bigger. The modern pile of stones on top has been flattened slightly since the earlier photos on here and I think is just spoil from the robber or excavation pit in the centre. I had a close look at the possible cups on the large stone nearby, I’m thinking natural due to lack of definition and irregular shape, but the light was very poor. If the stone was standing I think it’s been flat for a fair while.

All in all a nice barrow, worth the effort. Access would be easiest from the old road which goes round the bottom off the hill following easily navigable paths.

[visited 4/12/16] My what a beast this is. Magic.gov.uk has this as an oversized bowl barrow akin to the much smaller mounds on the hills to the north and west, I disagree entirely. This is surely one of the neolithic round cairns that dot the landscape of the southern white peak.

Its lovely here on a cold sunny winters day with low light spreading the shadows. The two pits are clear as are the original quarry pits in the surrounding fields. Its placement in the landscape is suggestive of a different purpose to the cairns on the steep hills nearby, this one much closer to the valleys and the water sources, not so much a statement to the gods but a usable monument for the everyday folk.

Access is ok. About 15-20 minutes walk from Alstonfield over muddy fields.