fitzcoraldo

From Lacra C the terrier and I headed across the fields in search of the elusive avenues. After crossing some boggy low ground we came across a group of stones that more or less fitted Burls description of ‘a few footballish boulders’. The eye of faith is definitely required here but given enough to-ing and fro-ing it is possible to make out an avenue. Saying that, if Mr Burl had said that they were just a fortuitous arrangement of boulders I would also agree with him.
I’m not too sure what to say about this site other than have a look for yourself and see what you think.

From Lacra B the terrier and I walked west for a 100 or so metres to Lacra C. In the past these three stones have been interpreted as the ruins of a stone circle. Aubrey Burl is of the opinion that this is a fallen three, possibly four, stone row, which when you see the stones makes a lot more sense and besides that if anyone knows the difference between a circle and a row it’s Mr Burl.

The stones themselves are quite low but of a decent size, they are aligned roughly north east-south west and are graded in size, the largest being the most northerly.
The largest stone also makes a handy seat to once again sit down and admire the views.

From the village I followed the footpath that crosses the railway and then follows a sunken trackway uphill. As I walked up through the rough pastures I was aware of Black Combe, this hill is huge but in my opinion its presence is almost benign. This massive, soft, whale-back of a hill has to compete with two other even larger presences, the sea in front of it and the central fells behind it. Never the less Black Combe looked marvellous and reminded me of Benarty in Fife, part of the landscape but not domineering.

What drew my eye from the hill was the gentle curve of the coast, the estuaries and of course, the sea. As I reached the top of the hill I was able to look along the coast over Millom, the Duddon estuary, Barrow, Walney Island, and across Morecambe Bay into Lancashire and on to North Wales, and as my eyes got used to the haze I was able to make out the faint profile of the Isle of Man on the horizon.

Once at the top of the hill the terrier and I made our way over to Lacra B. We found the circle quite easily. The circle is sat in knoll on the hillside, all around the circle are large outcrops of bedrock jutting out through the turf at forty five degrees almost as if they are defending the stone ring.
The circle is composed of low stones and has definitely seen better days. The largest stone is just over a metre tall. It’s possible to make out the slight rise of the central cairn but the thing that gives this circle its charm is the views, again it’s the Duddon estuary, the coast and the coastal plain that draw the eye with Black Combe still visible over the brow of the hill.

I sat down in the circle and thought about how the land was used in the past, the estuaries and coast would have been an attractive place to live, Early man would have found this a rich place to forage and hunt. Wildfowl, shellfish, fish and animals would have lived here in abundance. Later, the pastoralists and farmers would have found the fertile Cumbrian plain ideal for raising stock; the surrounding hills would have provided summer pastures, much as they do today. The fertile soils of the coastal plain would also be an ideal place to plant and raise crops, the rivers running off the hills would have ensured an abundance of clean, fresh water, the wooded slopes providing an almost endless supply of timber for building and fuel.

The coast would have also provided the opportunity for contact with others. Archaeological evidence shows us that people have been navigating these coasts since at least the Neolithic, this part of Cumbria would have been an ideal stopping-off point for those early navigators steering a course to and from Wales, the Isle of Man, Southern Scotland or Ireland and they may well have used Black Combe as a guide.

I walked here from Boat Howe following the ridge down from the Howe to Bulatt Bridge and then taking the left hand path towards Wasdale Head.
To find the cairn, once you have passed some broken down enclosure walls keep following the path up a sharp incline walk on a few more yards and then head east towards Hard Rigg, you should be able to see the cairn after a few yards.

The cairn sits on a col between Wasdale and Eskdale moor and as such may mark some form of territorial boundary, a liminal space. The setting couldn’t be any better with the drama of the southern fells laid out before it.

The SMR states that this is a round cairn topped with a tumbled drystone wall of a circular sheepfold. It also states that local tradition has it that this was once a beacon, one of a chain between Millom and Cockermouth.

Whatever it was, it is now a very special place and is well worth a visit if only to sit within it’s walls and watch the shadows of clouds move across the fells.

To return to the path, I would advise that you retrace your steps, the area south of the cairn is very marshy, as I found out to my cost. On the plus side, I picked a large bagful of wild thyme from this area and encountered a huge dragonfly.