Just got back from my first trip to Ilkley in a few months and what can I say that Stubob hasn’t already, what an absolute disgrace. This is one of the most perfectly situated, unpublicised sites on the moor and it’s now been damaged, quite possibly forever, by a mindless, selfish idiot. Shame on you whoever did this.
IronMan
As with Wet Withens this site isn’t that impressive in it’s own right, but is made special by it’s surroundings. On this particular day the contrast between the Autumnal colours of the dead ferns and the stark white of the silver birch trees made for quite a beautiful scene. I was reminded of visits I’ve made at this time of year to the Druid’s Circle of Ulverston. Again the views from here are great, and as pointed out previously, some of the huge stones on the track leading to the circle are also worthy diversions.
I have been here before, albeit unknowingly. I visited a couple of years ago in early summer and think I may actually have walked through the circle without actually spotting it. This time however we were in good company – Stubob led us straight to the spot.
The circle is pretty easy to distinguish (once it’s been pointed out!) – the bank especially. It is quite large despite the diminuitive stones (the highest is 0.7m) and while not majorly impressive in itself, when seen in context with the amazing scenery surrounding the site it becomes well worth the effort.
Arriving at the car park between Knap Hill and Adam’s Grave we found ourselves with company. Today it seemed everybody had decided to visit Adam’s Grave! I can’t say I was surprised – after a torrential downpour the night before the weather had taken a turn for the better, and we found ourselves walking in glorious sunshine.
The view from Adam’s Grave is outstanding. We sat and contemplated for a good long while, people coming and going all the while. When we finally decided to leave I realised I hadn’t actually taken any photographs, I’d been so taken in by the place I’d just forgotten to. I soon amended this, before making our way to Wansdyke.
A return visit – this time with Si and Ursula.
For me this site is really under-represented! Looking at the first circle of the White Moss pair, we all commented on the fact that we’d not really heard much mention of the place and couldn’t understand why. This circle in particular is in really good condition, considering it’s location, and taken into consideration with the other four circles. The only reason I can think of for why more people haven’t visited is it’s remote location, but it’s not that difficult to get to. We took a more direct approach this time, venturing over Hard Knott pass and, despite difficult driving conditions, decided it’s a much quicker route than the one we had taken previously (the coastal route) and offers some spectacular scenery (and a Roman fort).
Burn Moor exudes a real magic. For me the best spot is within the first of the two Low Longrigg circles. From here the view down to White Moss and Brat’s Hill is very clear, and quite overwhelming. I’ve yet to see these sites in sunny conditions, and I must admit, these overcast doomy skies do kind of add to the place, but next time I will definitely try to visit on a cloudless summer’s day, just to see how much this affects the sites.
I’d go as far as saying it’s pretty perfect up here, and would urge anyone with an interest in the stones, who can, to pay a visit because it really is a very special place. The walk from Boot is steep, but well worth the effort. Fantastic.
Our last site visit of this trip and not a bit disappointing. This really is a treat – every bit as good as I’d hoped for, and then some. The views from here are tremendous, and the decision to come here last worked out brilliantly, as by now I felt familiar with the surrounding landscape. We arrived in glorious sunshine and lay soaking up the warmth for a good while, before lazily strolling back to civilisation.
On our way back from staying in Mousehole, we decided to make one last trip round the coastal road and stop off at Cape Cornwall to see this monument and the cliffs, before heading to Chûn Quoit, and then back up to Bristol.
The size of this place is impressive, and the view even more so – taking in Land’s End at a distance where the horrible theme park is almost invisible. The waves below these here cliffs are quite something, and must have had quite an impact on the minds of the ancients.
Another site which I’ve been wanting to visit for quite some time, and I’m not in the least bit disappointed by it. We had the place to ourselves, and once we were sat down within the circle, surrounded by the thick gorse, felt completely away from civilisation. Perfect!
This place really is tiny! I rather ignorantly decided to consult my copy of The Modern Antiquarian after arriving at the site, and so only realised then that I was actually in danger of being chased off the land, so I hurriedly took a few snaps then beat a retreat. I will do my research more thoroughly in future.
After visiting Boleigh Fogou we decided to come here next, in order to compare the experience. This didn’t have quite the same impact, but did have one or two surprises in store for us – the phosphorescent moss on the walls of the corbelled chamber impressed us most. We decided that Boleigh’s magic must have a lot to do with it’s ‘living’ nature – this felt much more like the sites I’m used to, and so much less alive. A tour group arrived after 20 minutes or so, thus signalling our departure. On the way back we wandered a few metres down the track marked ‘pottery’ to visit the little well there.
We’d arrived at the site unannounced, not remembering (must do my research properly) it was necessary to make an appointment before hand. Jo May’s daughter was just on her way out as we drove down the track leading to the house, and so she asked if she could help us. We told her we intended to visit the fogou, and she let us know (in the nicest possible way) that we should really have booked in advance. She said it’d be okay this time though, as there was no activity taking place in the Caer centre, and proceeded to lead us to the fog
Sat before the entrance, I fixed my gaze on it’s depths and struggled to see far into the passage at all – the darkness has to be seen to be believed. Life teemed all around the mouth of this ‘cave’, bees and butterflies fluttered round the bluebells growing on it’s banks. Up above in the trees was the noisiest display of ravens I’ve ever heard. It was pretty easy to start to imagine this was all part of the magick of this site.
This is a real class site, and has made me totally reassess not only fogous, but my entire psychological relationship with all sacred sites. Fantastic.
It’s a real shame that this site is partially submerged beneath the road, as I reckon it would have been another ‘perfect’ site had it not been (see the Merry Maidens for a definition of ‘perfect’). Like Holy says, not a great place for meditation, though on a very busy day, from within the chamber perhaps the traffic noise above could give the same feeling as listening to Sunn O))), who knows? Traffic meditation, now there’s a new idea! :-)
The word ‘perfect’ gets used a lot for this circle, so it was no surprise that Ursula and myself both uttered the word in unison as we approached. An incredible place, which from certain angles achieves total symmetry. I took a few shots trying to frame this perfect symmetry, then we sat on a wall nearby gazing at this wonderful place, before moving on to Tregiffian.
As we approached this site, on our way walking to Land’s End, we were greeted with the site of heavy industrial equipment, hauling salvage from a ship run aground below the cliffs. I took a few shots and had a quick look at the site, before getting away from this ugly scene!
We walked here from Men-An-Tol and were immediately impressed by the small barrow just above the main circle. Both sites are so obviously in reverence to Carn Galver, it just dominates the landscape.
We approached this site with eager anticipation having seen and read so much about it before. Ironically, this exposure meant that once we arrived at the site we were a little disappointed. Needless to say, it is a great site, and the surrounding landscape wonderful, but it didn’t really have any surprises left to offer us. It was exactly as I’d expected it to be, nothing more, nothing less. We hung around for a while, and took the obligatory shots, then left as a dogwalker approached the site.
A wonderful site, worthy of the attention it gets. The re-positioning of the stones is quite obvious, but doesn’t in any way spoil it. We sat here for a while as the midday sun burnt away what was left of the cloud cover, and the day took a lighter turn.
This was our first site on our Cornish trip, and was an excellent start. The size of this monument is quite something – I’d certainly not imagined it to be so big. Luckily I had re-read the fieldnotes for this site and didn’t mistake the posts for anything significant, and so was able to impress Ursula with my knowledge. She was a bit taken aback in fact, as she had also thought the semi-constructed cowshed was part of this ancient monument ;-)
Very late addition here (it’s about six months since my visit), and I don’t know why I haven’t posted notes yet... here goes then:
The path leading to these stones can be found by following the sign posts up to Carnasserie castle. While here it’s a good idea to take a look around the castle – the reason being, it’s possible to see the stones from the SW tower, and it’ll make the journey much easier than plodding round the fields aimlessly!
When I visited it was raining, not very hard, but enough so I had my hood up. As I explained above, I worked out the direction to these stones by looking from the castle tower. The castle was very atmospheric, and in the rain it’s open roof led an eerie atmosphere to the place. Excited by the sight of these two stones, I span round quickly, ready to jog back down the wet spiral staircase steps. A lintel, unseen due to the peak on my hood, blocked the way. Crack! I smashed my head on it and tumbled down a few steps. I landed with a thud and a very sore head. A bit dazed, I shakily proceeded down the steps. Now this castle is in the middle of nowhere really, and I began wondering if I’d been knocked out, or anything more serious had happened, who’d have found me? Once I reached the bottom I sat down, stars spinning before my eyes, rubbing the nasty lump which had by now appeared on my head.
I soon decided to carry on regardless and made my way to the stones – they were wonderful and I soon stopped feeling sorry for myself as I became acquainted with this pair of fine standing stones. Anyone visiting the Kilmartin valley would do well to track these down – it’s roughly a 3/4 hour round trip on foot from the car park, just off the main Kilmartin valley road. Carnasserie cairn lies just above the stones, and as a wise Welsh farmer once advised, it’s best to follow your nose to find it. Once you do, and if it’s clear, you’ll be blessed with a stunning view down the valley to the Nether Largie cairns. This cairn is almost in the same line as these, and if you look behind you you’ll see the huge cairn Càrn Bàn on the horizon.
I’d definitely recommend this site, just watch for stray lintels would be my only advice.
A frustrating one this.
I had read two extremely vague references to this site, on one of my trawls for sites on the web, both saying this was a Stone Circle. I could find absolutely no reference to this site in any of Burl’s books however, which had alarm bells ringing for me. I jotted the site’s grid ref. down anyway, along with a load of others, before setting off with MrsIM for a day out. We were in the Carnforth area, after visiting Heysham Head and so decided we may as well visit. We wandered round the field a few times, using my GPS as a guide (which was playing up). No joy. I was however very excited by the sight of five huge stones, similar to the nearby Three Brothers. We soon came across a mound, which on further inspection we realised gave this site it’s name because on it’s top are the remains of a brick summer-house. The mound itseld however looked suspiciously like a huge cairn, right down to the retaining kerb of large stones. I decided this couldn’t be it – no way could you mistake this for a stone circle. Another frustrating twenty minutes led to no further discoveries – other than the remains of an old lime-kiln at the far end of the field. We decided our time hadn’t been wasted when we walked past the field edge and saw the view out across Morecambe Bay – it’s quite something. We were even able to make out the rough location of The Druid’s Circle of Ulverston.
On the way back to the car we made another inspection of the summerhouse, and I decided that this must be the site in question, and that the references I’d come across were just plain wrong. The five stones which had me excited earlier, when viewed from the top of the mound formed a semi-circle with the mound itself roughly in the centre. I took some photos as the rain started to pour heavier and heavier, then our rumbling stomachs got the better of us and we decided to get to Lancaster for some grub in The Water Witch.
Looking at the maps again, I’m sure I’ve missed the actual site – a cairn seems to be marked off at the opposite end of the field on MultiMap and on my Explorer map the location of the ‘cairn’ is very confusing. I’ll try and clear this up as soon as possible!
Only my second visit here – last time I came it was in a big group (8 of us in total), and was a nightmare visit from start to finish. The site itself seemed gloomy at the time, and after reading all the horror stories, I thought I’d seen enough of the place. This time we had been staying with friends in Sheffield on Saturday night, and so the four of us visited here after seeing the Andle Stone and Doll Tor. My mind is now totally changed – the site seemed so much bigger. The sky was clear above and so we took the opportunity to sit by the site and take it all in. It was quite peaceful with the distant rumble of traffic barely audible. I’m now definitely a Nine Ladies convert!
This is a truly amazing site – from the moment I entered the site I felt transported. Each turn around the huge boulders offers something new – at times it’s like being on one of the original Star Trek sets. The subtle movement between the natural and the artificial is the most incredible thing here – cave entrances turn out to be man-made, passageways to higher and lower levels of the rocks open up before you. The actual prehistoric rock art on display (what little we could find of it) is just a small part of the attraction here – these rocks seems to have been drawing human attention forever. An incredibly magickal place.
A bit of a surprise to me this one. While on our way back from walking in the Snowdon area we decided to visit Maen-y-Bardd, and to take advantage of the good weather to get a few black and white shots. While there I remembered Frances Lynch mentioning this other chamber nearby, and decided to hunt it down. This didn’t take long as the two are intervisible. The site itself is definitely worth seeking out when doing the Tal-y-Fan sites, and was much more impressive than I had been led to believe.
Directions: From Maen-y-Bardd head roughly ENE for 100 metres, crossing one of the many ancient drystone walls – a distinctive fallen tree and huge boulder can be used for orientation.
Muddy is really just an understatement. It was also freezing cold. Mrs IronMan decided to stay snug in the car with the heating on while I tramped out across the fields to find the site. A few minutes of picking my way through the least muddy parts of the track were swiftly cast aside as I shouted out an almighty “F*CK THIS” and waded through the thick ankle-deep sludge.
The Hellstone is in quite a location, and from here it was easy to pick out the barrows in the surrounding landscape. There seems to be some concern over the accuracy of the reconstruction of this site, but my main problem was with the muddy duck pond in front of the tomb!
I hung around for a while, till the sun began to set, then made my way back through the sludge.
I was last here a few years ago, on a bit of a random day out, we just stumbled across the place. A few weeks later I read about Brean Down in Ronald Hutton’s excellent ‘Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles’. In the book the focus is mainly on the Romano-British temple that once stood here, but very close by is a Bronze Age barrow, and there may well have been more. The temple fell into ruin and was built over with a christian shrine. This too has now completely gone. So in terms of sacred sites, there isn’t a lot to see. However in terms of the sacred landscape this place is completely awe inspiring – I can’t think of many places I have visited which are quite so elemental. You really do feel on top of the world gazing over the edge. The vastness of the sea stretches out before you, and behind the flat marshy plains of the Somerset levels with Brent Knoll clearly visible in the distance, itself the home to an Iron Age fort.
As we left Brean Down the wind howled and a storm was starting to blow in from way out at sea. This is a truly heathen place.
A couple of months ago, while doing a bit of reading on my local area, I came across a reference to Ashleigh Street, Darwen, and the barrow that had once been here. I thought about walking down to Ashleigh Street, it being a 15 minute walk away from my house, but ended up sidetracked and thinking there would be no point anyway, as I was under the impression that this was now the site of a building. Today (23/1/3) I decided to pay a visit with my camera, on my way to the supermarket, if only to capture the location of this site. On arriving I was pretty surprised to find that the place had a facelift in 1990 (the book I had read was from the mid eighties) and was now partly restored/reconstructed by the Ashleigh Conservation group. Since 1990 the site must have been left a little, as it did look a little bit shabby (could be the time of year though) and slightly vandalised, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
The boiler had broken at work and we were sent home, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to satisfy my growing curiosity about this place. Last time I was up here it was raining and the visibility was very poor, so it being a clear and crisp winters day I just had to come. It seems to me that Winter Hill and Rivington Pike are the focal point for most of the monuments in this area. Cheetham Close and Round Loaf have an uninterupted view, as would Pikestones if it wasn’t for the forestry commission trees. Other cairns and stones dotted all around are either in plain site of the hill or actually on it.
This visit was excellent, a friend from work came with me, and we strolled around the top of the hill, looking at all the TV masts. As much as they definitely ruin the hill, a part of me can’t help digging the Star Wars feel they bring to the place, especially in the snow. I even got to thinking about the unbroken lineage of this place – from neolithic sacred hill (if my thoughts are correct) through to beacon hill and on to TV broadcasting... a definite thread there I feel!
While walking around the top we couldn’t help noticing a hang-glider hovering around between the masts. One time as we walked past the guy, we were close enough to see his face, he shouted down to us:
“What time is it?”
“Half past three”, I replied.
“Cheers!“, he responded.
We had a good laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Only round Bolton, we concluded.
Visited with MushroomSi and Ursula on a tour of a few of the Cumbrian sites at Winter Solstice. This hadn’t been a planned visit, we were driving past when I pointed it out to Si, who as it turned out hadn’t visited before. The car was quickly turned round and we paid a visit. It was worth it just to hear how delighted Si was to be here! I’ve been here quite a few times now but am always amazed as the inner bank comes in to view. Once again I found my mind racing with interpretations of this site in it’s original use.
31/12/02ce A return visit – again I was initially disappointed, I’d once again got it in my head that this stone was bigger! Why I was so bothered I just don’t know. One of my shots shows it to scale, and looking at it now it doesn’t seem that small... The view did again, however, impress me. From here the ugly chimneys of the Shap granite works, belching great plumes of smoke, serve as a reminder of just how close you are to a lot of the other Cumbrian sites, all within pretty easy walking distance.
05/01/03ce A return visit on a beautiful crisp clear winter day with about an hour of sunlight left. The snow on the tops served as a great visual aid, somebody had been here earlier and trodden out the rough line of the circle. Being able to visualise the size and position of the site makes the sad state of the circle all the more poignant. Seeing the size and location of the circle, along with an approximation of the height of the stones, when they where still in situ, brought The Twelve Apostles of Ilkley Moor to mind...
On the way up to Kilmartin I vowed not to get distracted and stop off, just get to the B&B and wait till Sunday to explore the sites... this place stopped me in my tracks! It still had me spellbound the next day – the central stone’s carvings in clear definition. I sat waiting for the sun to move and bring new detail to the stone, a totally captivating experience.
This site is just about discernable in it’s overgrown state, but not worth the effort to come here for it’s own sake – the view however is something else.
A great monument, which along with the Great X forms a centre piece to the sacred landscape of Kilmartin. If you’re spending a few days in the area, it’s definitely worth coming back here a few times, at different times of day and in different light and weather conditions, this site seems to change more than most sites...
Yet another great cairn sitting on the plateau above the sites immediately surrounding Kilmartin village. The cist at the N side of the cairn lies open to the side, giving the impression of a low chambered tomb – this would have been closed off with a slab, access being original from the top. I got the usual urge to crawl inside... a few minutes later a family of german tourists struggled to reconcile their urge to do the same with the damage this may cause to their pristine jeans – the teenage daughter eventually gave in, and got down on her belly to peer inside, much to the horror of her mother!
Arriving here it really struck me that walking from The Glebe Cairn to Ballymeanoch (or vice versa), picking off each site in order you’ll always see the last site from the next... The carvings here are great, just a bit more subtle than at some of the other sites in the valley and the setting – wow!
This place gave me goosebumps as I approached – there is so much more to the place than meets the eye. The setting is difficult to place in relation to the other linear cemetry sites, as unlike the others it is completely surrounded by trees. This does give it a unique feel though – something like Wayland’s Smithy. I took a long break here as the sun streamed through the trees.
The sun was just starting to melt the frost making this cairn glisten in the clear, bright morning sunlight. The chamber looks great.
I moved to a safe distance while a group of kids played around the chamber for 10 minute, and just took in my first taste of this incredible sacred landscape. Later on, in the pub, I overheard a group of local kids playing pool, talking about ‘the tombs’. A mother of one of the kids, sat chatting with two american tourists, spoke of how ‘the kids round here really love their stones!‘
This was probably my favourite of the cairns in this group. It’s ruined and the cupmarked stone is difficult (to say the least) to see, but the shape and condition of the whole site is wonderful. Again, the frost made this cairn look amazing. I felt so lucky to be here, completely alone and at peace – what a day!
A great example of a modern reconstruction of a site, done well. The main feature, the slab cover, is fantastic and once sat down in front of it, studying it’s decorated surface, was a real bind to leave. Opening the wooden door and descending into the cairn is quite an experience, too!
This site is definitely worth seeing! Okay, like landells says, it is a pile of old stones, at the end of the day – but seen up close and in context with the other sites in this group it completes the picture. This is more like the other sites would have looked in their final stages of development, after all. The cairn looked wonderful in the frost.
I wasn’t really expecting much of this site – I’d previously seen a sketch of the chamber and was expecting more of a ruin. The chamber is in almost complete collapse, but the stones remain roughly in place so it is pretty easy to get an idea of the original construction. The setting impressed me most – oddly reminiscent of a few Welsh sites, Din Dryfol in particular, in its seclusion. Facing the site is a low, tree lined, limestone shelf with a natural break forming a kind of entrance. Here is a great example of a site obviously placed to compliment a naturally formed sacred, ritual landscape.
It’s been three months since I last visited a site, for one reason and another – so I thought rather than go somewhere new with friends, I’d take myself to an old favourite, alone. I approached the site, hidden among the ferns, with some trepidation.
The last time I came here was in January and the ground was covered in frost, today’s scene was completely different – the grass still a lush green and the thick ferns just starting to turn an Autmnal colour. I stayed here at the circle for some time – taking in the view and studying the stones in detail, before setting off up the hill to the top of Birkrigg Common. I’d recommend the effort to anyone – the remains of a few burial cairns lie scattered over the moor on the way, and on reaching the top the view really opens up. The Lakeland fells, Morecambe bay and Black Combe dominate this panorama.
When I last visited this, my ‘local’ circle, back in January, I decided to leave my next visit until a good sunny summers day, and reassess. I did just that this weekend and I’m glad I did. Last time I agreed with everything that had been said – dismal, dreary, lifeless – not lacking in atmosphere, but then again not exactly an exceptional site. With this visit, I’ve changed my mind completely. The location is perfect and best seen on a clear day.
The landscape is the key to understanding this place. The site is placed on a plateau of high ground. Three quarters of this high ground is surrounded by nearby hills – starting from the south-west (roughly) the view is made up of Smithills, Counting Hill, Winter Hill, Turton Moor (the top of Darwen Tower can just be seen rising above), Cranberry Moss, Entwistle, Edgworth Moor and finally Holcombe Moor and the victorian folly of Peel Tower. This makes up a huge horseshoe in the landscape, with the circle sat roughly in the centre. To the south the land is a flat plain for many miles – the modern towns of Bury and Bolton can be seen in the foreground with the tower blocks and grey office buildings of Manchester beyond. On the hazy horizon lies a fringe of high ground making up the Peak district. To the distant south-west, peeking out behind the bulk of Winter Hill and Smithills lie the mountains of North Wales.
This place is far from ‘bleak’ as described by Burl. It would be fair to say that in terms of a megalithic site there isn’t really anything to see, but that would be missing the point – it’s the position that’s important, and today I discovered that my local site is truly wonderful. I’ll definitely be making this journey more often.
In terms of location they don’t get much better than this. The walk down past the church is great and the views from the site are fantastic. Definitely a good place to hang out. On the way back from the monument it is worth checking the church grounds out – the sundial, as mentioned by Cope in TMA, and a couple of large boulders are of particular interest as is the church itself.
Despite the ruined state of this monument, it is well worth seeing. The setting is great sharing it’s view out to sea and the local mountains with the Clynnog Dolmen. When we visited the friendly farmer was watching his cows and proved to be an invaluable source of local information – tipping me off on one or two sites I’d overlooked.
Cefn Isaf sits in a field, which at the time of my visit was completely overgrown. The sun shone down and we chilled here for a while – Mrs IM commented that the site looks just like a Megalithic bus-stop. The capstone is huge as is the slab at the back of the chamber.
We started here, intending to take the path up to Ystumcegid. When we reached the concrete bridge between the two sites found that it was closed. It definitely wasn’t worth the risk, so we turned back – vowing to return to see Ystumcegid another day.
A great place to chill. I’d had an absolute bastard of a journey down to Derbyshire. First I was fined for speeding (for the first time ever) and then involved in an accident with two other cars (not my fault!). I visited the bull ring after the accident, and was brought down even further by the disgusting way the monument is treated. By the time I arrived at barbrook I just wasn’t in the mood but my bad mood soon lifted as i took in the various sites on the moor. The circle seems to be a victim of it’s own accessibility – the cup marks in one of the stones were filled with coins which have left black marks.
Little Meg, at the time of this visit, lay in very tall grass making the stones barely visible until I was right beside them. It had been raining all afternoon so the stones gleamed like polished gems in the lush green grass.
Earlier in the day I had visited the museum in Penrith to see the Stone Circle exhibition (runs until September 2002). On display was a small carved stone taken from Little Meg.
This lovely henge is in almost complete disgrace. The perimeter is treat like a rubbish dump, yet the interior seem well looked after. A cricket pavillion sits at one side of the henge – couldn’t the people there spend a little time looking after this amazing site right on their doorstep?
Wading through thigh high wet grass, soaked through to the skin, the approach to this site was exhilarating. As I reached the circle a couple of rabbits scattered from it’s centre into the long grass. Looking back round, my route here was clearly visible in the tall grass. This all added a unique quality to my visit. The site was completely peaceful and teaming with wildlife.
Glassonby circle lies pretty close to Long Meg and Little Meg and is definitely worth a visit for it’s remoteness in this Cumbrian backwater.
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