Mr Hamhead

As we were camping within walking distance it seemed a shame not to visit. This is a massive stone! Like Jane says, shame about the cross perched on top. There’s now an interpretation area across the road, in French, but with some great old photos.
I managed to get a stone on the ledge! I’m hearing wedding bells already!

Without any fieldnotes or a map these monsters took a bit of finding. I eventually parked at the south end of the village and walked back along a footpath through woods before branching off to the right deeper into the woods where the ‘hills’ suddenly appear in front of you. Wht are they not known better? possibly because there are very few other sites in the area?
Visiting in early April there is very little greenery around, though more than in Cornwall at the moment. Even so there is no view from the top of the tallest mound because of the trees all around, which is a shame.
I would love to know more about the excavations here, how they were carried out and where the story of the light being left burning inside came from.

Inspired by CARLs visit, I thought it about time I got to see Lesquite Quoit, especailly as I spend quite a bit of time in the area during the spring due to its close proximity to Redmoor nature reserve.

So, having spent the day watching woodpeckers and blue tits feeding their young, being mugged by three over excited squirrels and generally having a great time deep in pristine woodland, I drove over to the pull in beside the field.

As I got out of the car I spotted a fox cub on the other side of the road scarper into the corn with a vole in its mouth. I walked across carefully hoping to catch sight of it only to be greeted by three other cubs, all happy to have photos taken...

...but back to the quoit.

It’s an interesting one as there is no sign of how, if it did, the cap stone sat atop of the uprights. Perhaps it never did, the other large stone that stands behind is too far away to have been part of one structure, so why is it there? The small stone that sits beneath the sloping cap stone, is it original or just a large stone placed there years ago and now considered part of the group?

Is there a connection with Helman Tor and its supposed Neolithic encampment?

So many questions...

Three large cairns sit on Langstone Downs. Apart from a few uprights in place in and around the eastern cairn they appear to be just three large piles of stones. The ‘hill’ itself is overshadowed by Sharptor to the east, one of Bodmin Moors finest summits.
The Langstone, that gives the hill its name, is conspicuous by its absence...unless you know better?

This stone is on private land belonging to Trelew Farm.
www.trelew.co.uk

Built into the wall, it is recognised as a monument although some might say it was ancient farmers making use of a large lump of stone...we may never know?
Another stone has been identified nearby lying recumbent in the wall.
Within five mins walk of Boscawen-un, this whole area seems to have more standing stones than any other part of Cornwall.

Wow! photos do not do this stone justice..it’s a big un!
Easy to find just up the drive to Trelew Farm. It is on their land but they are happy for people to visit. In fact guests using the farm for B&B are encouraged to walk through the fields to visit Boscawen-un passing another menhir on the way.
See link for details
trelew.co.uk/

This stone is on private land and the field is used to keep horses in. I was advised that the landowner would probably not want people walking through the fields.
The stone can be seen from the road just east of St Buryan but it is narrow at that point and not easy to stop.

10 April 2011
Fantastic sunny day with little wind. Decided to do a circular walk taking in Watch Croft, Carn Glava, and Bosigran. Approcahed Watch Croft from the west, parking the car beside the fork in the road with the ‘modern’ quoit above Morvah. A Bridleway leads up the hill to the old mine and the adjacent houses. At the entrance to the houses we turned right and followed a vague path up to the summit and trig point. BE CAREFUL..plenty of pits in the area...they may not be very deep but you never know!
Even in early April the amount of undergrowth makes going off path difficult but we made the summit easily and took in the views. The standing stone is just south of the summit and a little bit of a disappointment after the others we had seen in the previous 24 hours...but nevermind.
From here we headed east on a well used path to Carn Galva...always the highlight of any trip to the far west.

Don’t know how I have not gone looking for this one before....walked the area loads of times. Marked as a cairn on OS maps, this little cist is hidden under a gorse bush beside the old tramway that runs west from Bearah Quarry.
Apart from the capstone there is very little above ground...hardly a cairn in the Bodmin Moor scheme of things.
Too dark and too small to take a look inside so had to rely on the camera to get a photo. It looks very tidy inside with banding on the stones suggesting where the earth/water level once was?

Finally got to visit on not only a dry day, but also in early spring before the bracken and everything else had taken over this site. For the first time I could make out the whole long cairn.
Stretching away up hill from the cist/quoit? is a boat shaped area walled in by low stones, this is what I have never seen before. I can see now why it is called a long cairn.
I would still love to know if the large stones that make up the central structure were ever all erect or were they a cist that was set above the present layer of earth and have collapsed as earth has been taken away........

After trudging through the forestry for what seemed like hours it was great to get out onto open moorland again. It was hot with little breeze so on first reaching the circles I chose to sit in the shadow of the northern most stone and have my lunch...and take on water.

Refreshed I explored.

I had the stones to myself, the gentleman who had walked with me from Fernworthy had gone off to find a cairn on the side of Sittaford and a couple who had avoided encroaching on my lunchtime had slipped off to who knows where.

For some reason I started thinking about the figures on Easter Island...although the stones here are not that large they just gave a sense of being so...perhaps it is because there is very little else in the landscape for scale.

I lingered a while, took in the tranquility..realised that it would probably be the only time I ever visit this remote part of the moor before heading up hill to Sittaford Tor.

At last...in a landscape where any features of interest are hidden by dense forest and unfollowable tracks...a real stone circle!

By the time I got to Fernworthy Circle I had given up on ever finding Assycombe...I navigate by reading the landscape and using an OS map...in forestry nothing ever corresponds with an OS map but I had decided that Assycombe required a climb...and under a baking sun and no wind the thought of climbing along paths that I had no way of telling if they were the right one or not did not entice me.

So I had carried on to Fernworthy hoping that it would be easy to find...and it is. It sits inside a nice clearing which gave me the impression that this might have been how some of these circles were when they were erected all those years ago. (I know many will argue that this isn’t so and that they would have been on top of hills so they could be seen..but)

Part of me wanted to climb one of the trees on the edge of the clearing and look down onto the circle...but I feel my days of tree climbing are behind me...and looking at the spindly branches I decided to forgo this fancy.

I had a quick look at the stone rows...mainly hidden by the midsummer grass..and then met up with another walker who offered to lead me through the maze of tracks to Grey Wethers..

This group of huts and a cairn can be found a short distance uphill from the reservoir, turning left up a track soon after passing the visitor centre car park.
Though not signposted from the track they do have short posts beside them with identification numbers on.....if only the corresponding list was available to point out where the other antiquities could be found within the plantation!

The hut circles were easy to find and it was obvious that the forestry had kept them clear of any growth apart from grass.

I did not find the cairn circle as I was unclear just quite where it was and away from the track and the huts the terrain was overgrown and uneven...and it was too bloody hot to go too far off piste...

I can report that the Sellafield traffic still use the road beside the stones as a high speed short cut home. Sadly I did not read the notes before myself and Mrs Hamhead decided to drive up there at around five o’clock last Wednesday afternoon!!!

It took us a while to work out where all these single men were coming from at great speed....
We had been enjoying a fantastic walk beside Ennerdale in the sunshine when I noticed Stone Circle on the OS map...shall we go I said...do i have a choice? said Mrs H.

I realise I am spoilt with all the circles down here in Cornwall and the nearby racetrack was a little off putting but i coudn’t get too excited about Blakeley....its nothing to do with the fact that it might be a modern recreation...most circles in Cornwall have been re-erected at some time...it just didn’t have that something..

Still, its easy to get to (unless you time it wrong) and it is a quiet retreat after the madness of the Lakes. We drove a little further south along the road and parked up at the gates to a plantation. From here we walked up the hill opposite...great views from the top over to the Isle of Man and Scotland.

A cold grey February afternoon is not the best time to go viewing Dartmoor’s antiquities...so we spent a pleasant three hours in the pub and then had a quick drive up the road to view this beast. Size wise it is impressive but it all feels too modern.....
...By that I mean the rebuilding of the quoit somehow takes away the magic..it is after all only an approximation of what was there before and its a bit like a Victorian tourist attraction.

I am sure I have read somewhere that at one time there was a stone row and some circles nearby....
...anyway, this is a very handy antiquity, lying as it does only a few miles from the A30..and on a cold grey day when spending more than five mins out of the car is not recommended it is worth a visit.

This double row of stones runs downhill going south from Higher White Tor keeping the ridge on your right. The stones are small and i would imaging would be hard to find once mid summer has passed and the grass has grown.

I don’t suppose I will ever visit this cairn again.....might not even be able to find it again! It really is in the middle of nowhere and the only reason i chanced upon it was because I was trying to find the driest route between two points.
Broad Down is a large expanse of boggy grassland to the north of Postbridge running down the the East Dart river. This small cairn sits atop of the down...but i have to say i am not too sure of my grid ref mainly because of the featureless terrain.

Not the easiest site to find if approaching from above...so....walking north along Drift Lane from Postbridge look out for a stile on the left as you start to climb out onto the open moor. Once over the stile keep going till you reach a dry ditch (the Powder Mill leat) Turn right and follow this to the first tree. The turn uphill for about 50 yards and you just might find it....

Not the easiest site to find....walking north along Drift Lane from Postbridge look out for a stile on the left as you start to climb out onto the open moor. Once over the stile keep going till you reach a dry ditch (the Powder Mill leat) Turn right and follow this to the first tree. Then turn uphill for about 50 yards and you just might find it....

These five uprights have been wedged into a natural fault in the rock at the western end of Hawks Tor. They provide a barrier from anything approaching along the ridge from the west as you either have to climb over them or descend down some distance and traverse around below.

I can find no mention of them in any history books so have no idea what age they belong to..but see no reason why anyone would put them there in ‘modern times’.

Hawks Tor can be accessed from a footpath that heads left from the road up to Trewortha Farm from Berriobridge.

9 May 2009
Small and lonely hut circle found whilst descending from Ben More. Too shattered and wet to do much investigating but there did not look to be any other circles in the area.
To find it take path from road on waters edge up past house and through gate. The circle is probably about 11 o’clock from the gate...sorry cant be any clearer!

On Mull to climb mountains and drink....not go looking at stones. Still, we had a few hours before the ferry back so I managed to convince my fellow travellers to take the road from Tobermory to Dervaig to see these monsters.
A parking space with viewpoint out over the sea to Tiree and Coll gives access to the stones. The sign confused me at first, I thought it meant it was a 1.7 km walk to the stones....but looking back I think thats how far it was to toilets. I think I would have disappeared behind a tree before then.....

Anyway, a short walk across some rather boggy grassland leads to the gate into the plantation and there you are. It is interesting to compare the photo in THA with how things are now...the trees have grown somewhat...when will they be felled and the stones returned to there rightful place overlooking the bay?

Somewhere I read that they line up with the hill to the south...hard to say with the trees all around....perhaps soon we will find out.

As can be seen from the images posted there are several cairns in the vicinity of the Stalldown Row...the trouble is, the row is so mighty that the cairns are insignificant in the scope of things!
Usually i would take my time to search them all out but i was just so enthralled with the light playing on the stone row that I only photographed one....sorry!

Having visited this area about three years ago..or was it four? I decided it was time to return. Last time, after walking up the east side of the Erme, I had decided against the climb up onto Stalldown whilst heading back down the west side and so missed this mighty stone row.

This time I chose a route starting on the west side of the Erme, crossing Harford Bridge and taking a path along the river that soon petered out into several animal tracks and nothing else. Going ‘off piste’ I found my way to Tristis Rock then picking up the stone row directly behind it crossed the moorland northwards to Stalldown.

It is this route that Crossing suggests in his Guide To Dartmoor, Excursion 33 but I have to say the route from Torr along the waterworks track may be easier!

Reaching Stalldown you can not see the row and must head off in a northwesterly direction uphill. You find yourself on a spur of the main ridge and at last get a view of the row ahead and over to the left. It is still a bit of a walk across boggy moorland to reach the southern end of the row, but once there all that remains is to follow its majestic stones to the summit and beyond.

There are a number of small low cairns to be seen along the rows length, but the main one, which gives the hill its name is across the plateau to the east.

March 20th 2009

At last, after being stuck inside during several days of sunshine I get a chance to leave the office and escape onto the moors. Having dropped my father at the hospital on the outskirts of Plymouth I ventured a short distance onto the south west edge of Dartmoor.

Saddlesborough seemed the easiest place to access and having parked the car at the little junction where the lane from Shaugh Prior meets the road going to Cadover Bridge I walked the short distance to the cross beside the road.

Crossing the road here it is not long before you reach a tumuli, a grass covered mound of stones with one large stone sitting just off the mound.

A quick photo and then I headed uphill to where I could already make out the star topped post. Between tumuli and post I thought I might have discovered a circle of stones, all recumbent but creating at least three quarters of a circle about 18 meters across..

As Pure Joy has said before, there are so many stones, it is easy for the mind to imagine things...

The Stone Row when I reached it had recently been cleared of any long grass or gorse and so my walk along it was easily traced. Plunging downhill it ends just before the waste tip of the nearby china clay pit. There is no evidence to suggest it ever went further, but one does wonder.

From the bottom of the row I headed east to discover the hut circles and enclosures lying along the north facing slope of the hill.

Visited on a clear but very cold January day, the settlement at Catshole requires a bit of hunting. From the western side of the outcrops look for the remains of a square enclosure and ruined building (all very low), the settlement is to the north of them.
There are supposedly 12 hut circles/storage buildings in the complex, myself and Mrs Hamhead found five without looking too hard...and were too cold to search for the rest. The huts make great use of the natural rocks as walls..but this also leads to confusion over which are huts and which are just natural formations.
The two most westerly huts I thought to be cairns, they are just a collection of stones with a few uprights around the edges and would have been very small buildings.

Just above the settlement in a field to the north are three cairns marked on the OS map. They have been robbed out and now lie very low to the ground.
Their position on the hilltop would suggest that in the past they would have been prominent from some distance, alas now they are hard to see even from close by.
A forth cairn sits just downslope to the west. At least i think it is a cairn...either that or a very small stone circle!
The question I ask myself is How come the other cairns are so ruined but this one survives?

Approached from Temple Bridge, just south of the A30, this complex of 94 huts and enclosures is possibly best visited in the spring, before the bracken covers it. I found it quite hard to make out things in amongst the autumnal undergrowth. There are loads of upright stones..presumably all doorways..you get to the point where you have seen half a dozen why go looking for more.
Don’t think many people get out on this bit of the moor...

Well I don’t know about a mischievous pixie...but this stone enjoys playing hide and seek. Standing on the tor above there are a couple of other ‘standing’ stones that could easily fool you. This one is nearly hidden behind a large gorse bush...it can just be seen to the right.

Enjoy the hunt!

Found this whilst trying to get to Goodaver Stone Circle..see fieldnotes...it sits on the summit of a hill known as Smiths Moor (Smiths farm was once just to the east). Because of the long grass it was not easy to see but there was a large round raised platform about 30ft across that would have been visable from a good distance before the conifer plantations were planted and the area abandoned by grazing animals. It is alo on the high point of the ridge running south to Goodaver.
Can find no archaeological records for it.

This featureless bit of moorland has not seen much archaeological research carried out according to the latest Bodmin Moor book published by English Heritage. Which is why i thought I would take a look...
To be honest there ain’t much to look at, I approached via the large conifer plantations that sit just south of the A30 east of Jamaica Inn. You could come via the Nine Stones but its a long walk across some pretty soggy ground.
Anyway i didn’t expect to find much but did spot these two upright stones, both surrounded by water. One is roughly at SX214777, the other at SX217771. They stand no more than 3 ft tall but like the East Moor menhir posted by Martin Bull do look the part.
Perhaps one day someone in the know will get up there and have a look?

Spent all afternoon yesterday trying to get to this circle via open access land...without success. Barbed wire, conifer plantations and knee high grass and gorse plus quite a lot of marshland were all put in my way.
Phil’s suggestion back in 2001 may still be possible but you would need to ask permission at the farm.

After many years of thinking about it I finally got out to this stone this week. It takes a bit of doing and there are plenty of interesting diversions along the way. I parked at the Hurlers and took the track north that leads out to Golddiggings Quarry (passing Craddock circle). Once at the Quarry I dropped down to a lower level and followed a very rough track along the side of the Witheybrook marsh. This brings you to a gate which allows the only access into a section of open access land that is well fenced off with horizontal barbed wire all along its boundary.
Keeping low you have to follow the edge of the marsh, avoiding the wet bits, to reach the area known as Newell Tor. (this does include going through small areas that are not open access, so you do it off your own backs and don’t quote me if you get approached by landowners telling you to bugger off!)
The stone sits at the west end of the enclosed fields that make up the mediaeval settlement area on the slope of Newell Tor, it stands proud and is easily seen from below. On the hillside behind it are several hut circles including one circular enclosure inside the field to the right. I was unsure if this was an ‘antiquity’, it is undoubtedly old but there was no sign of a doorway...
I did not venture far up the hillside and I am sure there is more to explore. As far as I know a detailed survey of the area has not been undertaken and so there could be other sites lurking.
Despite the fact that the hill is within site of the Cheesewring it is a difficult place to get to. I would not recommend it to the casual visitor but I will endeavour to get out there again and explore further.

Leaze remains off limits to the casual visitor to the moor. I have found an easy way in but with the fields full of lambs at the moment I was not going to trespass. At least now I have a decent lens I can get a photo of the circle from both the east and west.

This robbed out cairn is about five mins walk south of the Soussons circle and is just off the Two Moors way. A nice low ring of stones encircle the messy centre which is over grown with gorse. There is quite a lot of quartz scattered around the cairn...perhaps it was originally topped with a shining white layer?

A nice little sanitised ‘circle’, easily accessible from the main Mortonhampsted to Twobridges rd.
The other name I have for it is Runnage Circle. The central kist was badly damaged by campers lighting a fire within it in 1993 and has since been in filled with turf to prevent any similar incidents.

Black Head juts out into St Austell bay on its west side. Very little remains of any antiquity except two high banks and one deep ditch on the east side of the istmus.
The headland can be reached via the SWCP from a car park at Trenarren, but it is still at least half a mile away...great views on a good day!

Having been asked by Chris to go and see what i thought, I duly obliged. Despite the fact that Chris had warned me about the confusion over footpaths I still went wrong! Parked on bend by telephone box just north of Penhal Vean. Footpath leads past a couple of farms and a flooded pit (nature reserve?)before splitting. Take the left hand side path, that helpfully isnt signposted but heads up through a gateway. Follow the left side hedge as it bends to the left going over a stile in a wire fence along the way.
The stone is hidden right up to the point you see it.

Like Chris I am still not totally convinced...but why should it not be? Why erect a huge lump like this for a gatepost when there are loads of other stones around that would have done just as good a job but without the effort?

Ocifant..your views next please.

The jewel in the crown of this area. Not only is this a wondeful example of a cist but the wall of stones around it just make it all perfect...and all this with the backdrop of Kilmar Tor.

It can be found on the south (left) side of the track leading to the farm. Head upslope just before reaching the farm gate, the cairn is about level with the change of direction with the field wall.

I did not test how deep the cist was as it was full of water but it is fair to say it is compact in size.

Not a true quoit as in those at Trethevy, Zennor, Lanyon or Chun but more in keeping with the one at Leskernick.

The cap stone sits balanced on one boulder and one very large rock. From the wetern end it looks as if the base has been cut away to allow space...or was it chosen because of this feature?

I will endevour to find out more about this stone setting.

Found upslope of the Twelve Men’s cairn this wonderful lump sits proud on its base just as if someone had sited it there.

Easily found on the left beside the track to the farm shortly after leaving the wall on the right. The cairn itself is in a ruinous state but the lovely little cist sits snuggled under a low earth bank.

In theory Twelve Men’s Moor covers a large area to the north of Minions from Sharp Tor to Hawk’s Tor. Its name supposedly came about when the land, owned by the Priory of Launceston, was divided up between 12 tenants in 1284. As several sites in this large area are already posted then I will use this site to feature those that lie to the north of Kilmar Tor and south of Trewortha and Hawk’s Tor.
The easiest way to reach this area is by taking the minor road off the B3254 at Berriobridge.
Be careful on this minor raod as there are several large humps.
A parking space can be found at the top of the road where a gate leads onto the track to Trewortha farm.

The most northerly of the interesting features on the hill, the summit cairn is a jumbled assortment of rocks with one stone standing proud.

I was shown this circle a month or so ago whilst on a walk with the Cornish Archealogical Society. At the time there were too many people milling about to get a good photo so another trip out onto the moor was called for. It has only been ‘discovered’ in the last year or so when archeologists returning from Leskernick decided to take a different route.
In all there are seven stones still in place, all recumbent, making up perhaps a third of the circle.
It takes a little bit of finding but is easiest reached from Westmoorgate (take the road from Trewint on A30). Go through gate onto moor and cross ford. Head north climbing slightly keeping the wall on your right. There are stones all over the place just to make life difficult and several ‘standing’ ones on the crest of the hill..this is not the circle. You will find it before you reach the crest near some earthworks that are almost certain to be the result of mineral prospecting.
This part of the moor is quite featurless...do not venture out onto it if cloud is low or it is misty.

Reached by a road running northwest from the beacon and then taking a path across a field on the left. Keep to hedge to far end and go over stile...the fort is infront of you.

A large ditch and banks seperates field from a flat area that then drops away into the valley. This is an unusual site and thought to be Iron Age in date. It is in a great setting and would be easy to protect from all sides.

Superb views out to sea.

What a stonker!
Easily found if you have an OS map and only about half a mile from Veryan village if you walk. Who knows what uses this barrow has had over the years..I would guess the concrete slab on the top was a lookout post as the views are superb...even on a windy day in March.
Rabbits are busy colonising the barrow and I had a good look around to see if any of the Golden Ship had been dug out by them...

The nearby Ringarounds are worth a visit if you have time...if just for the strange design of the ‘fort’ and the view.

Two cairns sit on this little visited stretch of Moorland that covers the high ground to the west of the Fowey River. Both have been dug into and now resemble overgrown mounds, the southern most one being covered in Gorse bushes.
I would not recommend making a special trip to see these..not with so much else to see on the moor.

can not find any evidence to support the fact that this is a cairn but...sitting on the eastern slope of Tolborough Tor is what looks like a natural rock formation. I only went over to it because I had seen a fox emerge from within it. Standing on top I noticed three stones running around the back of it that looked like ones I have seen at other cairns. (see photo)
Seeing that the cairn on top of the tor is built into a natural feature this could possibly be the same..but smaller.

Tolborough Tor sits high overlooking the A30 and Jamaica Inn. Bit of a climb from the road (see my directions for Tolborough Menhir) but the views north to Brown Willy are superb.
It is a cairn built into the natural rock of the tor and it is difficult to make out what is natural and what is man-made. Simmerly I can not decide if the cairn was at one time much higher or if it just had a covering. A ‘ramp’ enters the central plateau from the south east and then you have the large flat slabs sitting on the surface, were they originally covered? and was the ramp the entrance Sabine Gould talked about in his novel ?(see Rhiannons Folklore posting).