IronMan

Perfectly located, nestled below a prominent outcrop. The outcrop can be clearly seen from the main road, and I knew instantly that this would be the location of this wonderful site. I cannot imagine many people visiting here, so this is a great spot to just chill out.

This site left us stunned, everything about it is perfect (apart from the reproduction stone). Within the monuments chamber stands a single monolith, adding an ambience I’ve never felt in a burial chamber before.

Lying in the adjacent field this huge outcrop offered us the perfect peace and solitude to view and contemplate the burial mound without much fear of being disturbed. From the top it is perfectly clear that the mound and the nearby menhir are aligned with this gorsedd.

Bodowyr sits imprisoned within a silly little fence. With nobody around, the fence being low and without a gate, the best bet is to hop over for a closer inspection. The views from here to the mainland and the Snowdonian mountains is quite breathtaking.

The setting of Barclodiad-y-Gawres is awesome. The whole thing is spoilt by the huge grass covered dome which houses the monument. The gates were padlocked on the day we came and we were left frustrated by the fact that whoever had been allowed access last had left candles, foil wrapped chocolate Easter eggs and daffodils! Each to there own, but this kind of thing is pretty meaningless. A walk by the cliffs, down to the nearby cove showed the setting off further, with views out to Holy island. The orange coloured foam, as mentioned in TMA, was found frothing round the cliff edges, which shows this must be a perennial problem.

The broken capstone of Ty Newydd is held up by two wide stone built supports which ruin the site – however from one angle, they are obscured so it is possible to see the site as it would have been. A series of large stones in the wall next to the monument look quite suspicious.

Sitting in a field overlooking the gorsedd and monument of Bryn Celli Ddu. The menhir is shot through with a seam of quartz and is covered in thick lichen giving it a fascinating surface quality.

I only had the opportunity to see the central henge on this my first visit, my companion for the day wasn’t feeling too good, and I didn’t want to drag out his suffering any longer! The henge is in quite a bad state of repair, but is pretty big and good enough to recognise and so is worth seeing.

My first time seeing these three fantastic stones. The largest stone lies behind a locked gate on a busy road which is way too conspicuous to just leap over, so it’s best to be content viewing this one from a short distance. The other two stones are accesible and cannot fail to impress with their immense size.

Round Loaf lies off the beaten track. We were walking in the area (Tockholes), and decided to extend our walk to take in this site. The mound is worth visiting for its isolated position, but is probably best combined with a first time visit to the Pikestones site near Anglezark.

NB: It’s a good idea to take a bag with you for the worrying amount of litter – we spent 10 minutes tidying the site up when we arrived.

The best way to reach the Goggleby stone is to take the road from Shap to the Thunder Stone and turn left on the single track road, parking at the sharp right hand bend, a footpath leads to the stone which lies in the next field. The stone stands huge and proud, spoilt only by the concrete reinforcement at it’s base.

Kemp Howe is a travesty. These stones lie dejected by the side of a railway track, overlooking an industrial site. The stones are themselves beautiful, and despite the circles destruction, should be visited.