Cova del Alarb is in the Alberes Mountains to the south of Argeles-Sur-Mer. It is quite easily reached by leaving the town and going under the motorway towards the Chateau de Valmy.
The path up from here is clearly marked as is the position of the dolmen when it is reached. It is around 10 km to the east of Balma del Moro.
The views from the path up the hill and from the dolmen itself are superb, making it well worth a visit if in the Languedoc-Rousillon area.
Balma del Moro is at around 600 metres in the Alberes Mountains on the Col- del Pomers to the south of Laroque des Albere .This is in the Languedoc-Rousillon area. It can be reached by pathways , which are clearly marked , being in France, from either Laroque des Albere or Sorede. Markings on a board nearby put it at between 4000 and 2000 B.C.
The climb up is quite strenuous but the views and the dolmen are worth it. Both of the villages have some fine bars which we found very relaxing after the walk.
Boringdon Camp is situated around 4 km south of Dartmoor and is accessed from a car park on the edge of Cann Woods. This can be reached by driving north from Colebrook on the road which goes to Shaugh.
The camp was in use from around 350-150 BC which according to the information board was the B section of the Iron Age. It is 145 metres above sea level and would have had a comanding view over Plymouth Sound when in use , unfortunatly this is now obscured by the pine forest. It still has views north towards Dartmoor.
This cairn is in a nice spot on the top of Birch Tor , with stunning views all around. Although the cairn is not much to look at it is worth a visit for the views alone.
This is the cairn that R.H.Worth, in 1925, found some road workers taking stones away in a cart. There would have been even less of it left if it had not been for his intervention.
I visited the circle on Sunday 29th October 2006, a lovely warm sunny day, to have a look at the extra stone that had been added. As Mr Hamhead said in his news item it has only been placed in the circle not set into the ground. It is in a position where another stone could possibly have been. I could see no reference to why the stone had been placed, this had either been removed or blown away in the gales we have had down here. There was however a small plastic bag containing a triangular stone, of some sort maybe a crystal,and a completely incomprehensible note placed in the centre of the circle. Also a feather had been stuck into the ground beside it.
English Heritage along with the Dartmoor Preservation Association and a few volunteers have undertaken the project of surveying and restoring many of the cairns on Dartmoor. Over many days last year the cairns on Western Beacon and Wetherdon Hill were done.
This years project started on 21st April 2006 with five of the cairns on Butterdon Hill. The largest were chosen as they were in the worst state of repair, having had their shape altered by the public making shelters with the stones. This was mostly done by digging pits into the cairns and building walls with the stones taken out.
On 21st and 22nd of April 2006 eight volunteers set about surveying , recording and reconstructing these five cairns. The larger of the cairns were surveyed using a plain table and the smaller done using the offset method. When this was finished the walls were taken down and the stones replaced into the holes and any of the tumbled stones were replaced into hollows around the edges in order to get the cairn back into the domed shape they would have had when first built.
You will see from the photographs ,especially the cairn at SX654585, what was achieved.
This is the remains of a small settlement situated on the north and south sides the slope of the Butter Brook.This is a very pleasant spot ideal for a picnic on a warm afternoon or evening. There are the remains of 10 dwellings left, 9 on the north and one on the south. There could have been more houses here but they have now been demolished by the building of a small reservoir, and a pine plantation that cover part of the area.
The area is easy to find and get to being only around 500 metres from the Harford Moor Gate entrance to the moor.
The Gate is at SX644595.
Kraps Ring is an enclosure on the north side of Lakehead Hill. It is easily reached from either Postbridge or the car park that is on the right as you take the turning for Bellever from the B3212 just before Postbridge.
In 1975 there were two Chambered Cairns discovered on the east side of Buttern Hill. The uphill/west one is the best preserved and the stones of the chamber ,although not very big, are still in position. The other cairn is in poor condition and lies obout 500 metres to the east.
They are best seen in the winter/ spring as they are covered with bracken during the rest of the year. I had to clear it to get the photos. There is quite a good field system that lies between here and the Buttern Hill Circle, and the newtake which is to the west of the cairns stands on the original walls of part of it. If you go looking for the cairns they are situated near to the east side of this newtake whick is very visible as it stands alone on the east side of Buttern Hill.
The Round Pound as it is called is situated on the right hand side of the road that leads to Batworthy corner. There is a passage way that leads away from it which runs parallel with the road. On the left side of the road there is a large field system. The Round Pound was excavated in 1951/52 by Lady Fox and her team.
These photographs, of the seven cairns, were taken on the 18th August 2005 while I was returning from a circular walk from Cantrell taking in the Cuckoo Ball , Glasscombe, Corrindon Ball, Butterdon Hill area.
The grid references I have used were taken from Jeremy Butler’s Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities. I approched the Cairns from the north following the boundary stones from the top of Butterdon Hill down past Black Pool.
The cairn/kist stands in open moor just to the north of the Glaze Meet South Enclosure and only about six hundred metres to the southeast of the Glasscombe Corner Row. One side and one end stone of the kist are still in position,with a few other stones of the cairn around.
The row at Glasscombe Corner starts as a single row but changes to a double around a third of the way along, from the cairn end. There is a badly ruined cairn at the downhill end and there are two other cairns just to the west of the single row .
Two cairns stand on the top of the hill, around one hundred metres apart. They can be reached easily, if the old Redlake Railway line is followed from the foot of Western Beacon for about three kilometres. The cairns are on the right side of the track.
The Butterdon Hill Chambered Tomb lies around 500 metres further north along the same path as the Cuckoo Ball Tomb. It is in better condition than the previous one and as it is in the open moor. It does not appear to have been excavated. Once again it is best to visit in the early months of the year before it is taken over by the bracken.
The tomb stands just inside a newtake wall beside the track that runs from the gate at the foot of Western Beacon around it’s east side. It would be best to visit it, as I found when I got there, around February or March time as the rest of the year it is covered with bracken. There are around ten stones left at the northwest end ,two still upright.
There are 2 cairns on Weatherdon Hill, which is to the north east of Ivybridge, that have been chosen to start the reconstruction programme. They are at SX651589 and within metres of each other. As you can see by the photograph they are in a quite bad state as the public take it upon themselves to move the stones around in order to make shelters. They have been surveyed in their present state and recorded and will be put back to how they were when first recorded. There are other cairns on the hill that will be done later.
The kist at Trowlesworthy Warren is one of the most accessible as it is close to the path that runs up from the confluence of the Blacka Brook and the Plym.The path goes past the warren house which is now a farm and heds up to the tor.The kist is around 50 metres to the left of the path where it meets the leat running to the clay workings.
This is a prominent cairn that has been dug into to reveal the kist which is still intact and has had the capstone levered to one side.It stands around 100 metres to the south east of the Tor so is easy to find as you walk up the Plym.
The kist in Joan Ford’s Newtake is in very good condition with all four side stones standing and the capstone resting on the south east side.The cairn is surounded by a small kerb that has been cut to the north edge by the newtake wall.There is another cairn that lies to the west along the wall that has been cut in half by the wall with stones on both sides.It is to the east side of a gate with one of the stones acting as the gate post and another used in the wall.The newtake lies to the south east of Royal Hill.
This kist is quite easy to find as it around 500 metres to the west of Horn’s Cross. This kist has only one side stone standing with two end stones and the other side buried beside it.
The seven kists that make up this group of cairn burials all lie to the north of Hen Tor and with the exception of one to the west of the Shavercombe Brook. One of them has suprisingly remained in quite good condition as it is very close to the warren boundry wall. The cairn across the Shavercombe is very prominent but only one side slab remains in position.
They are well worth a visit as it is one of only a few places on Dartmoor with many kists in such close proximity to each other. The Langcombe Group where there are eleven cairns/kists is only around a kilometer to the north east. They are within easy reach of each other so could all be visited in the same day,or a weekend of it could be made with a visit to Drizzlecombe as well.
There is not much left of the kist in this cairn.Only one of the end stones is in place and the cover stone lies on the edge of the cairn on the north side.The cairn itself is not all that big but is easily found as it lies between a field wall and a reave which runs east west and at the end of a wall that runs uphill from a small settlement that has been cut by the field wall of the plantation.
The cairn on the summit has obvious signs of modern adjustments but there is evidence of a kerb circle and other stones of the original cairn.The kist which is down hill to the north west is in quite poor condition,with only two side stones remaining standing and one of the end stones fallen between the two.
These kists are all within easy reach of each other,three of them being to the east of Goldsmiths cross and the other to the south just outside the newtake wall.The closest to the cross is in the poorest condition while the other two that are in amongst tin workings and are in better condition,one having almost a complete kerb around it.These are seperetad by the remains of a tinner’s hut.The one outside the newtake is odd in that one of the sides is made up of two stones.They are all easy to find by following the wall along the south side of Foxtor Mire.
The cairn/kist is in a part of the Dendles Plantation that has been cut down so is easy to find.It is situated just to the side of the path which runs through the wood and has had a marker put nearby to show where the kist is.
The kist is situated in wet ground around the head of the stream that runs through the Coombebrook settlement and is to the west of the Stalldown Row.
The two kists are to the south of Blakey Tor, one to the east side and one to the west. They are easily reached from the path which runs across Royal Hill. They are almost due north from The Crock of Gold. They are well worth a visit as the view north east from them is excellent, a good place to spend time over a coffee.
The kist is within the east Aller Brook settlement .It is between 2 leats which run north-south through the settlement.It is around 300 metres north of the B3357 east of Combstone Tor.
Le Trepied Tomb is situated on the west side of the island in the St Savior’s District.It is near to Le Catioroc on the edge of Perelle Bay.The tomb is easy to get to as it is on the side of the main road that runs around the island,and is close to a car park.There is nothing left of the cairn which covered the tomb.
Le Creux es Faies is on the far south west side of the island.It is situated on a small peninsula that juts out into the west side of L’eree Bay.It is easily found as it is on the right hand side of the road that runs up to the headland and is not far from a W.W.II Watch Tower that is very prominent on the hill.There is an entrance which is always open,so access is allowed.There is also a very informative notice board near to the entrance.
There are two cairns/kists on the top of the hill,up from the confluence of the Langcombe Brook and the Deadman’s Bottom.Very close to these are three circles of stone which were once thought to be cremation circles but are now thought to be the remains of houses.
There are a total of twelve cairns over the course of the Langcombe Brook,eleven of these still have there kists .The most well known of these is known as Grim’s Grave.The others are on either side of the brook,some easy to find and others not so.Three of them are barely above the grass and will be lost forever in a year or so.
This is an excellent site to visit and is only a short distance from Drizzlecombe,so is easily accessible.
The best of the two cairns in this area can no longer be reached as the local farmer has closed the newtake on advice from his solicitor.This how ever has been over turned by the courts and it should be accessible again in the near future.The other one is slightly north and just to the west of the newtake wall,fortunatly outside of it so can be reached.Both these are only800metres south of the B3357so are easily reached.
The two kists on Stennen Hill are less than 100 metres apart and are within the Stennen Hill settlement.The best preserved of the two is only metres away from the remains of one of the houses.If you wish to visit the site the easiest way is to walk up the track through Powder Mills farm and go in a north westerly direction when you come to the end of the buildings,being careful of the damp ground around the old tin workings.
This cairn/kist is inside the Stannon newtake and is just to theeast of a short piece of reave that runs in a north east direction.There is another cairn that is almost on the reave but this one is in a poor condition with no kist to be seen.
There are two cairns/kists on the east side of Legis Tor,one has one side and an end,the other has two sides left standing.The one with the two sides has the cap stone lying flat on the ground to the south but the cap stone seems to be missing for the other one.They are both only around 100 metres up hill from the extensive enclosures which are on the side of the hill rising up from the river Plym.
This kist is easy to find being not too far south of the B3212 road near to the two car parks on the left side going towards Princetown.It is also quite close to the reave which runs in a north east direction.
The kist is on the east side of Ingra Tor and is again in amongst tussocky grass so a bit difficult to find.The easiest way to find it is to follow the disused leat that runs to the south and east of the Tor.The kist is just to the south of the leat around 100 metres from where it turns east from north.All sides are inplace, although the grass etc has started to cover them, and the cap stone resting on the northern end.Ingra Tor itself is easy to find as it is beside the disused railway that runs from Dousland to Princetown.
There are two kists on the north west side of Ter Hill.They are both in the newtake fields and are hard to find as they are surrounded by long grass and reeds.The northern most of the two is in the best state and still has the cap stone and all four sides where as the other one which is to the south has been badly ransacked withonly one side and one end standing the other side has fallen into the kist,the rest has disappeared.
The kist here is easy to find as it is on open moor just to the east of the Tor.It is well worth a visit as the tor itself has a prehistoric hill fort around the summit similar to the one at Minnions in Cornwall,around the Cheese Ring,called Stowe’s Pound.
Not to be confused with the Yellowmead Circle, this cairn/kist is to the west of Princetown.It is along the track which takes you from the B3357 to the Foggin Tor Quarry.It is in amongst the buildings in the settlement just to the north of Yellowmeade Farm.
There are two cairns/kists at this site,one is on the summit and the other at the northern base just outside the fence that surrounds the north side of the Tor.The one on the summit is not to difficult to find but the one at the base is in amongst long grass and takes a little more work to find.This one was not discovered until 1940.
The cairn and kist at this site is situated just to the east of Devonport Leat as it runs from Whiteworks to Nun’s Cross Farm,it is easy to find.
This is the only cairn on Ringmoor Down to contain a kist.It lies to the north east of the stone circle and to the east of the cairn circle at the end of the stone row. It is quite unusual as the west end of the kist is made up of two stones instead of the usual one.
The Outcombe kist sits high on the hill above Outcombe inside a newtake field.It can also be reached from the Eylesbarrow kist by walking around one kilometer north west.
The cairn at Grims Lake mire is to the north east of Grimspound,about 400 metres.It is easy to find if you follow the stream, in that direction, from where it touches the wall of the pound keeping to the left side to avoid the boggy ground.It has a nice kist within it that is set to the right side if you are looking north.
The Eylesbarrow cairn and kist lies on open moor between the track from the scout hut to Eylesbarrow and the Eylesbarrow Reave.Around 800 metres up the path from the scout hut you turn left [north] and the kist is around 200 metres into the moor.
There are twenty two cairns spread around the hillside of the complex.Five of these still contain kists two of which are in the centre of quite substantial mounds.The other three are very small to almost nonexistant, as with the one at the north west edge of the Giant’s Basin.
The best way to access the site is to park near the so called scout hut at SX579673.Space here is very limited so an early arrival would be best.From here you walk across the stream ahead of you and head up the hill towards Eyelsbarrow.A s you pass the scout hut[now used by the Royal Navy for training purposes] there is a leat,cross this and then turn right and go in a south easterly direction towards Whittenknowles Rocks.You will come apon a quite well preserved settlement here,well worth spending some time looking at.To the west side of the settlement there are the remains of two medieval long houses built amongst the walls of the prehistoric dwellings.From here you should be able to see the antiquities of Drizzlecombe so you can head down hill towards them.There is however a small amount of wet ground to cross as you come upon the tin workings around the Drizzlecombe.This is not too difficult to cross and can be done, with a little care ,keeping your feet dry.
The kist on the south side of Down Tor sits on a ledge around 600 metres from the summit.There is a small cairn around the kist and what apears to be the capstone sits amongst stones on the down hill side.It is quite difficult kist to find as it is on a small ledge amongst clitter from the rocks of the tor above it.
The kist is in the centre of a small mound which also has a few stones just in view above the grass.These could be from a ring surrounding the kist.