IronMan

This a fascinating place – glimpsing into the subterranean workings of our ancient ancestors. The usual milking of commercial potential at ancient sites like this isn’t as much in evidence here as at some places. There is the usual gift shop and it costs £5 to get in, but you don’t get the feeling you are being herded here. The tour is self guided – so you can take your time, even choose to walk round the tunnels more than once. There are working archaeologists here, who are willing to field any questions.

The large chamber about half way through the tunnels is a real eye opener – the amount of work put into it is astounding, unfortunately it was impossible to photograph.

The large mound of this ruined Cromlech can be seen quite clearly from the Great Orme Mine. The field is private so there is no direct access from the mine, the only way to get here is to go into the village and find ‘Cromlech Road’, which leads to a stile and the Cromlech itself, which is clearly marked open to the public. The chamber is ruined, but enough stones are still standing to make this an impressive monument.

BEWARE On leaving the site we were chased by a huge angry dog, belonging to the people living in the house nearest to the cromlech. They made no effort to contain the beast, so it’s safe to assume that they don’t like visitors!

This stone row isn’t that easy to find – and isn’t really spectacular in itself – the view is however worth it. We had the place to ourselves for 1/2 an hour and on a nice day it would make a welcome rest place after visiting the Great Orme Mine. The surrounding landscape is full of great stones and is well worth exploring.

I had expected more here. The cairn is pretty small, and lies scattered. The eery sci-fi TV station aerials dominate the immediate area. The view from here is quite something though, stretching from the Lancashire coast over to Bury. Local landmarks within view include Darwen Tower on Darwen Hill(itself once a beacon hill), Rivington Pike, Round Loaf and the Anglezark & Belmont reservoirs.

I have tried to visit this site three times now – this time was the closest, but still didn’t manage to get right up to the stones. I attempted to ask at the farmhouse, but there was nobody around so I left again, temptingly close to the stones. I returned home on the M6 (Southbound) and got another tantalising glimpse of the circle. I tried to take a picture, but messed up with my camera. It isn’t easy driving on the motorway and attempting photography – never mind, I will return!

The walk to the Langdale Axe factory is pretty difficult in comparison with a lot of neolithic sites. The site is directly below a mountain top, the summit is literally five minutes from the factory. The site is pretty much a scree slope. With a bit of time to spare and a lot of patience it may be possible to find evidence but be warned – the scree slope is very badly eroded and is currently out of bounds to all walkers and climbers. Using the slope is tempting but for the good of this stunning landscape is best left alone. It is best to be content with viewing the site from a distance and taking in the wonderful Langdale scenery. The Old Dungeon Ghyll pub should definitely form part of a visit to Langdale.

Rhiannon – I’ve got to say my visit was on a very nice day! ;-)

I’d been looking forward to visiting this site for quite a while. My walk took me from The Cockpit via the other Moor Divock sites. I must say I was a bit disappointed, I thought the stone would be bigger and that the surrounding stones would be easier to make out. It is worth looking here if you intend to visit the other Moor Divock sites. Size isn’t everything – the siting of this stone is fantastic, it links the Shap circles to Ulllswater which in turn leads to Castlerigg. An amazing collection of sites, separated by millennia, but obviously sited on very important trade routes.

Easily seen from the path between The Cockpit and The Cop Stone this cairn is in a much better condition than the others dotted around the moor.

From White Raise heading to The Cop Stone this ring cairn lies to the left of the path and is quite easy to spot. The site itself is less impressive than it’s two neighbours, but obviously worthwhile visiting.

A neat little circle. The site is in pretty good condition and from here The Cop Stone is easily spotted through two more standing stones.

From The Cockpit, on the horizon, a standing stone can be clearly made out. Head straight for it and you will find this collection of at least 3 cairn circles. Nobody else will bother you here, the main paths don’t come this way, so it is a great place to hang out.

A reasonably large late stone circle of low stones. Part of the circle is concealed by tall grass. The grassy area looks like it contains a burial cairn (?) Whilst sat here a lot of people have just walked straight past, one or two commenting that this was “one of them stone circle things”. The two small planes with “Utterly Butterly” ads sprayed beneath them did however manage to grab their attention. Never mind.

A Lakeland long cairn. The site is easily spotted among the trees, but it is difficult to work out exactly how big it is. The site lies just off the A6, on the road leading to Askham. Ideally placed for a visit on the way to Pooley Bridge and the Moor Divock sites.

From the cairn by the side of the track, the approach to the Oddendale circle is tricky if tried without an OS map. For those wanting to visit this standing stone (Thunder Stone?) is an ideal landmark, and a worthy distraction in its own right.

This little cairn circle lies immediately to the left of the farm track leading to the Oddendale circle, just by the drystone wall. A pretty little circle, quite unassuming, but worth a look if you are intending to visit the main circle.

The Oddendale circle is completely surrounded by modern intrusions – the Shap cement works, the M6, a railway line, a quarry and a regimented plantation surround this site on all sides. However the site itself is in pretty good condition and is a great example of a concentric circle. The site is close enough to plenty of other sites (Iron Hill, Kemp Howe, Castlehowe, Gunnerkeld) to make it worth the visit.

These stones are huge! The few photographs I had seen prior to coming here didn’t do justice to the bulk of these stones – my photographs seem to make these stones look small too. The compact size of the circle, coupled with the size of the stones has to be seen.

The setting is good – a flat plain hemmed in by the surrounding peaks. Old Radnor is in clear view in the distance.

It is relatively easy to get up here, the roads are good enough for any car really. From the Red Lion pub in Bredwardine take the road immediately to the right of the pub, leading up behind it. Follow this road right up, do not turn off at any point – this will lead you straight to the site. Following these directions the site cannot be missed, it lies on the side of the road.

The site is enigmatic. The two capstones, and the fallen one below are a real puzzle. Did they all at one time form one large capstone, the one lying on the floor being a huge flake from the one above? Or, are they separate stones, the one below having been moved from the end of the tomb?

Worth a visit, but quite out of the way. The nearest site is Old Radnor & the Four Stones (about 20 minutes away), and Hay-On-Wye (book capital of the world) is also pretty close.

Clearly marked on maps, well signposted and very close to Belas Knap yet completely neglected. It is possible to discern the location of the chamber and a general lay out of the site but Notgrove has been destroyed by it’s excavators, with no attempt to put it right.

The walk up to Belas Knapp is fantastic, and not the slog I’d been led to believe (or maybe I’m too used to the Cumbrian landscape!) The undulating feminine hills of this landscape prepare you for the site. The sun was shining down when we arrived and we took our time exploring. The NE chamber is currently home to a blackbird’s nest and chicks. A new-age type woman and her entourage of two distinctly ordinary looking guys, trudged round the site – stopping off occasionally to make arcane hand gestures. In the NE chamber, on discovering the chick, the lady exclaimed ‘well that’s definitely a sign for us!’ How arrogant. As they were leaving the lady uttered, very matter-of-fact, ‘well that’s that done.’ Hmmphh.

I returned here to show a friend the site and this visit was even more rewarding than the last. What strikes me most with Bryn Celli Ddu is the mysterious stone, a remnant of the earlier stone circle, within the chamber – I’ve had dreams about it, and seeing it here again just knocks me out. The mound is nowhere near the size of the major Boyne Valley sites, but it is somehow reminiscent, and definitely every bit as stunning.

This site isn’t easy to find, the roads round here are very confusing. We asked a friendly local for directions and he got straight in his car and led us to the spot – what a dude. The site is a disappointment, very little is left, and what there is lies overgrown. The location however is good, with a view stretching from the Snowdonian mountains right out to sea.

This site sits in an excellent location above the mouth of the Conwy. Two large standing stones, which may have marked the entrance, now double up as fence posts, unnecessary amounts of rusted barbed wire surround them. The chamber itself is partially collapsed, and there have been no attempts at the usual brick and cement repair – a major plus point. The capstone is a massive bulk, much thicker than many I’ve seen. It is still possible to climb inside the chamber (just) and the bulk of the capstone, from this position, is overwhelming. Off the beaten track, and presumably rarely visited, this site is well worth the effort.

A tranquil, calm spot for this site. The capstone of the standing chamber is supported by a wooden structure, which whilst not the most beautiful thing is a slight improvement on the brick and mortar solution used at Ty Newydd. The walk to the site was made all the more rewarding by a small wood with a floor covered in bluebells.

Do not pay to visit this site!
As already mentioned, entry to the grounds of Plas Newydd, does not allow access to the site. Park up on the visitors car park, ignore the ticket office, and walk down to the picnic bench beside the fence. The site is visible over the fence. To gain access, I presume it’s a case of ringing/writing for permission OR going on one of the guided archaeological tours. It’s £3.00 and takes two hours, so some of the walk probably takes in the gardens, which may or may not be of much interest!

A great setting for these two enigmatic standing stones. The view out to sea, and of Snowdonia, is only partially obstructed by the nearby farmhouse. If only the other sites (Trefignath & Ty Mawr) were in such unspoilt locations. As I was leaving the stones four horses, one very young, came from the farmhouse to play. They ran wildly round the stones a few times, jumping and kicking, then finally stopped at the stones to rub against one another.

This fine stone, 3m high and over 2m wide, stands in a field close to the road on the edge of the village.

To reach the stones do not be put off by the lack of a signed footpath. We struggled with our bearings at first, the OS map clearly showing a path by the side of a house. A guy was out cleaning his car and he kindly pointed out the path – it runs by the side of his garage and was partly obstructed by some planks of wood which he promised to remove. The stiles leading to the site are also partly obstructed by barbed wire.
It is worth the hassle as the site is in a great position, and cannot get many visitors – so privacy is almost guaranteed.

This fallen burial site lies in the middle of a field adjacent to Cromlech Farm, and as far as I could tell there is no right of way, so the site must be viewed over the wall.

A cumbersome, partly subterranean site. From the outside the huge bulky capstone appears to have pushed it’s low kerbstones down into the ground – this isn’t the case as the interior is hollowed out. To gain entrance to the sites chamber requires a vault over the fence – be warned it has large, sharp spikes and the glossy green paint can be quite slippery!

Trefignath is a great site, spoilt by the view to the aluminium works. The site was built in three stages, and these are still clearly discernible, the latest stage being the large chamber, which it is possible to crawl inside. One of the two stones marking this entrance shows signs of quite a large fire being lit there recently, causing some damage to the stone – blackening from the fire and worse a chip out of it’s surface.

Worth visiting en-route to Trefignath. This standing stone is signposted from the road and can be clearly seen in it’s field. The stone is surrounded by a series of wooden posts holding up a damaged wire fence. The purpose of the fence, it would seem, is to keep the sheep away from the stone – the fact that the fence is damaged makes it pointless and so just adds to the ugly intrusions all around.

Travelling north 1.6 miles on the road from Clonakilty to Dunmanway, Ballyvackey stone circle lies in a field to the right. The site was recommended to us by Julian when we bumped into him at Kealkil. It isn’t in Burl’s Guide (it is in the big book though), and just gets a brief mention by Jack Roberts in his wonderful guide ‘The Stone Circles of Cork and Kerry”.

The site is strange, lying near the end of a field, a tree growing by one of its stones. The surrounding scenery is quite unremarkable, compared to its neighbours. Its stones aren’t huge. It’s neither hidden, nor in a striking position. I can understand Burl overlooking it in his guide, there are much bigger, more famous sites very close by, but I would definitely recommend a visit here just for its obscurity.

High above the Borlin Valley this fine standing stone has a commanding view of fantastic scenery. Worth a look if you are visiting Derrynafinchin.

In the field right next to the great circle lies this much smaller, less impressive site. On a normal visit this would be great, but it is difficult to be objective about it when you know that Grange lies only a few feet away behind you. On the hill, above the circle is a huge standing stone.

To gain entrance to Lough Gur C there is a slight gap in the fence.

The Lough Gur wedge tomb lies to the SSE of the great circle. The site is easy to find (it’s right by the roadside), and is clearly signed from the circle. As with the other sites in this area, this one has a truly magickal feel to it.

A fantastic place. The whole site is amazing, but the back stone of Cairn T has got to be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. We only made it to Carbane East, we’d been on the Newgrange experience in the morning, and were headed for Dublin the next day, so it was a case of getting what we could done before it was too late. I’d give the whole Loughcrew complex a day next time.

Our visit to Newgrange came after Dowth and Knowth. The contrast between these three sites is incredible. The white facade, is as the tour guides themselves admit pure conjecture, and was most likely chosen because it was the prettiest use imaginable. The truth is it looks way too modern in style. Too angular, too twee. Looking beyond this the decorated stones are wonderful, as is the large circle.

Our guide for Newgrange was like a slightly toned down holiday rep. She insisted on cracking jokes about Neolithic people, and at one point started making drumming sounds in order to get people to move clockwise round the chamber. I felt completely ridiculous being a part of the whole sham. Once the bored and claustrophobic tourists had left, I asked the girl a few questions. She had told us when we entered that it was possible to see the light coming through the box at the entrance if you lay on the floor. I did just that, and it turned out she’d never actually tried it herself. She didn’t try it this time either. She became impatient and kind of started moving us out. Along the passage way I stopped a couple of times to look at the carvings. She let out a sigh, and said something along the lines of “come on, there’s more people to come through yet”. Outrageous. We were probably the only people genuinely interested in the site, and yet we were treat with contempt. We were being processed and that’s for sure. It’s a real shame, because this place must once have been amazing.

One more thing – You cannot take photographs in the main chamber because, as our lovely guide said, some people still respect the dead you know. There are however a series of ten postcards for sale in the security hut/gift shop which have been taken within the chamber. Did a ghost perhaps take these shots?

Knowth inhabits a kind of half way point between the mysterious beauty of Dowth and the rampant commercialism of Newgrange. The reconstruction steers away from the flagrant conjecture of Newgrange, but is ill-considered enough to be annoying. For me the worst part is a green metal bridgeway over a couple of the kerbstones, totally unsympathetic. The reason for the bridge? Because people feel it neccessary to stand inside the monument, even if it is in a brand new chamber. Add to this the concrete support over the kerbstones and you start to get an idea of the damage that has been done to the site in order to make it tourist friendly. Access to the top of the mound is at present restricted, so it was funny to be asked by an American family one evening, on the road near Dowth, the way to ‘the mound you can stand on’. That is what people think about these sites. Stand on it. Stand in it. Run around it. Anything but feel it!

The site still retains an amount of dignity however, and is a must. The kerbstones alone make it worth the visit – the carvings are the best I’ve seen yet. At Knowth our guide (sorry I don’t know your name) was pretty good. She obviously loved the site, and at one point, out of earshot of the camcordering yanks turned to me and said “this place is just fucking amazing, isn’t it!” I’d have to agree, but it could have been so much better.

Our first site visit in Ireland. We watched the evening roll in from the top of the mound. This site is what it’s all about really – it is perfect, there can be no mistaking that. The carvings, though faded, and maybe not as intricate as their more famous Boyne relatives, have a delicate beauty which just cannot be described. The surrounding landscape has a melancholy air, enhanced by the ruined church in the next field.

Whilst hanging out here, recovering from our journey, a few American tourists turned up, fresh from the Newgrange experience. They didn’t stay long, five minutes at the most. This is the beauty of Dowth, it doesn’t give itself up to the casual, slightly interested tourist, hungry for something they can understand. Mystery lives on here.

Our lodgings for the next couple of nights were in the Glebe House B&B, literally just over the wall from the site. We were lucky to get the nearest room to the mound, so I found myself waking in the night, and looking out through the curtains, just to check it was still there! I would reccommend staying nearby (especially at Glebe House) to anyone visiting the Boyne sites, this gives you the opportunity to spend some real time here. Just hang around and soak it in. This is probably one of the best sites you’ll ever see – and it could well be in danger of becoming another part of the Disneyland Newgrange experience. That would be a very sad day indeed.

This strangely shaped stone sits proudly, across the road from the circle. While the Rollright stones and the Whispering Knights are partly hidden this stone commands a much broader view from the land below.

Trapped within a fence, but still with a clear view to the rollrights nearby, these stones really grabbed me. The trees and hedges around hinder the view of the whole complex but I found I was able to imagine the psychology behind this place.

Visited en-route from London to Holyhead. This site has been on my list of sites I yearned to visit for a long time now, and arriving here I wan’t at all dissapointed. The landscape surrounding is peaceful – not exactly awe inspiring, but calm and reflective. We waited here till it got dark then continued on to Anglesey.

I drove down from London with three friends and spent the afternoon here. The sites position is particularly well chosen. Approaching from the west, the site is on the edge of a very gently sloping plateau, from the East however it is a totally different picture. Here the site is in full view from the lower ground below.

On our visit the stones had been left marked with chalked pentacles. I was sorry to have to leave them that way, but having no way of removing them, and realising that chalk can make a mess, I resigned myself to the fact that someone from the National Trust would eventually sort this out.

On the way from Lancashire down to London, we decided to break up the journey by paying a visit to the Rollrights. Although the sun beamed down and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the air was freezing. The limestone circle is oddly reminscent of the stones at Arbor Low, so gnarled and worn. The site is set, with portal stones, in a similar alignment to the big Cumbrian circles of Sunkenkirk & Castlerigg.

The huge circle at Grange stands in a fantastic neolithic complex. A further two circles, standing stones, wedge-tombs and crannógs make up this wonderful landscape. We made our visit en-route to Cork, so managed the main circle, one other circle and a wedge tomb, but I’m sure a few days could be spent exploring this landscape.

The henge circle itself is fascinating.

Walking through the stone lined entrance passage, the view stretches across to a large V shaped notch at the far end of the circle, aligned on the Samain sunset (Burl) and/or the moon’s minimum midsummer setting in 2500BC (Weir).

From the centre of the circle, to the NE lies a huge 20 ton stone, known as Rounach Croim Dubh, ‘the prominent black stone’ (Burl) or my prefered translation Huge Black Stooper (Weir). This stone is aligned on the midsummer sunrise. The psychology of this site is second to none. I found it easier than ever to contemplate the effect of these events on the minds of the Neolithic people.

We spent a good portion of the afternoon lazing about here, the sun was beating down, and I had a bit of a hangover from the Cope gig in Dublin. I couldn’t think of a better place to hang out.

Ardgroom has the most varied scenery I’ve yet seen for a stone circle. Huge mountains, small green hills, crags, the sea and running streams are all around. The circle is an RSC, yet the recumbent is a lozenge shaped, pointed stone – a strange choice perhaps, but for the fact that it seems to echo a craggy conical hill to the SSW. On the approach to the circle we drove round this hill, commenting that it had to be an important, sacred feature here.

This RSC lies near the end of the Beara peninsula, just outside the village of Castletownbere. According to Burl this is ‘almost a classic recumbent circle’, with an unusual orientation. It is set almost due W, at 273°, but the surrounding hills are high and the ‘declination is an un-equinoctial 5°’.

High up on a hillside, on the east coast of the Beara peninsula, this little tomb has a great view out to sea over Bantry bay and the surrounding mountains. My rough reading put this site on a midwinter sunset alignment, aligned on a lump (cairn?) on a distant mountain.

This multiple stone circle stands in the Borlin valley and is very easy to find. It is literally on the side of the road. The location is great – making this a worthwhile visit, but the site is a little confusing in it’s orientation. According to Jack Roberts it is set on the Feb/Nov cross quarter. The Borlin Valley Standing Stone, further along the higher road, is also worth visiting, being so close.