Mr Hamhead

With only half a day to explore and a bitter wind to contend with... and no map or guidebook, I hope I can be excused for not finding any ancient sites! However I did drive past the Culverwell site on the way out to Portland Bill. It sits right beside the road, which was how I spotted it, with a sign saying middle stoneage site (or something along those lines). All I could see as I drove past were two B&Q sheds and a larger wooden construction that was obviously covering something. The site was not open and you would have to walk to it from the car park at Portland Bill (pay and display) as parking on the road is not allowed.

For more information on site see links.

Leaning beside a wall just off the military road that runs along the coast at Whitsand bay is this former gatepost. I have to call it that because of the fact that it still has the rusty hinges embedded in it. But it is alone... I could find no other granite gateposts in the area during a two hour walk. The stone is long and slender and stands very near to a field called barrow Field. This is supposed to be the site of the Treninnow Stone Monument (see other posting). Could this stone have been part of the monument?

22.10.05
Drove up through village to the end of the tarmac. parked and followed sign up track rather than cross fields on footpath. Passed the farm and hit the mud! Once out onto the open moor it is a short walk to the right to find the stones. There is now no sign of the burning from a year or so ago, infact the stones are now surrounded by a good covering of bracken. The sky over Keninjack was ever changing from gray to blue as the sun threatened to come out...I waited patiently and finally got my rewards. Behind me from atop of the wall the Scilly Isles stood out proud whilst St Just church tower gleamed in the sunlight...I would have loved to have walked up to the carn but time was against me...perhaps next time.

Third time lucky....

October is not the best time to be up on Bodmin Moor looking for sites..bracken is covering almost everything. However, at the third attempt I found the Bearah Long Cairn. If others wish to follow in my footsteps then i would advise taking the minor road from Minions to Henwood. Once in Henwood turn right and climb up beside the riding stables. As the road drops down again there is a road going off to the right. Park on the left and take the track that goes up on the left.
After going through a gate this opens out onto moorland in the bottom of a valley. Follow the track as it climbs and snakes towards Bearah Tor. After most of the bends are negotiated look out for the cairn on the right hand side. The stone that is still “upright” is half surounded by a hawthorn tree and is obscured by it if approaching down the track.
The stones sit atop a cairn that is very overgrown with bracken and i could not make out too much of what remains of the surrounding stones. The central stones, at least three large lehgnts, are laying as if fallen, the one remaining standing being at a angle of about 40 degrees.
It is only in the last 20 years that this cairn has been recognised and i am not sure if any dig has ever taken place. One wonders what form the cairn took in the past? Did all the stones stand upriight and was there a capstone, making it more of a quoit.
I will try to return when the bracken dies down and the rain that soaked me has departed.

Far, far away from civilisation, deep in the wilds of Dartmoor lies the Erme Pound. It is a collection of broken walls once used to hold animals. It may not be prehistoric but around it lie several stone rows the most famous being Stall Row, perhaps the longest on the moor. It actually crosses the River Erme jus above the pound and goes off into even wilder countryside.

To reach this point requires a stiff walk from Harford. The reward being that you can take in many antiquities along the way including following the stone row if approached from the western side of the valley.

For those wanting isolation, this is the place...especially on a wet misty day like I had!

Is this the longstone still marked on the latest OS map as recumbent? I have visited it twice now and can find no other stone in the area that could be the longstone.
Found on the southern side of Piles Hill just to the left of the Two Moors Way. It has a boundry stone beside it and tends to be surrounded by mud caused by cattle using it as a rubbing stone.

With so much to see in this area, I missed this the first time around. My second visit this year was with the owners of the land and with their guidance I was led to this site. As Lubin says it can be found by heading north from Harford gate (Not a place to leave valubles in your car) and following the highest edge of the field walls. A track runs to a gate in the field system and then on wards towards Piles Wood. The cist lies on the hillside above the track just before the gate.
No sign of the capstone unless it is the stone a little further up the hillside.

Although this area of the Lizard is covered in barrows there are very few other remains to be seen except for the odd menhir like Dry Tree. WARNING! Not all is as it seems...during the 2nd WW the RAF set up a base here called RAF Dry Tree. Much of the base was to do with radar and telecomunications, hence the dishes we see today. The other remains that lie across the landscape are whats left of the station, including some of the “barrows”. Take a closer look and you will see that some of the humps and bumps hide modern buildings, all part of the war effort to camoflage the area.

27th Sept 05

The EH carpark has now been tarmaced and the whole area tidied up. Three info boards now tell the story of the whole region. Paths have been improved and new permissive rights of way opened up. You are now free to explore the whole of Goonhilly from here down to the sea.
It is still posible to follow the path along the perimeter fence of the telecom ststion but a nicer route is to head south of the dishes around a large almost hidden 2WW building (it is possible to climb on top for some great views over the downs, but be carefull..there is a double wall with a big drop in between). Go past this and around to the south of a large cream coloured domed building. Once around the dome you will see the dishes to your left, head towards the fence and a kissing gate at the right end of the fence. Go through this and you will find the menhir. You can then return to the car park via the original walk beside the wire.