IronMan

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.