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I parked in what I reckoned to be the obvious place, in a layby on Rochester road south east of the stones. Walk back to the junction 200 metres, then turn right up the tree lined old straight track, Alfred would have liked that one. Then left off the track and I'm at the stones.
This one impressed me greatly, taller and bigger than I'd anticipated and the sun drenched view across the Medway valley really capped it off.
The railings still rankled and don't get me started on the information board, too late.
Only supervised children are allowed here, metal detectorists are not allowed supervised or not, damaging the site is quite rightly not allowed, where is? Commercial photography is prohibited, whats the difference between commercial and not commercial?
But the coup de grace is a smoking ban at the site, how would they police that, and why would they. I duly ignored it by rolling the biggest doobey Kit had ever seen.
So who was Kit and what is a Coty?
TMA poster Vortigern reckons a Coty is another word for a house, I can buy that, but he also says Kit was Catigern, who lived after the Roman occupation and apparently came from Wales, any other takers?
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I've been putting off a trip here for decades, because of one or maybe two reasons, London and the M25. I'm definitely not a city boy, I don't even like being a townie, but hey there's a motorway round it so you don't have to go through the big shit hole. Which brings me to the M25, my first go on the ring road lead me to miss a ferry crossing to France, second go had me sitting in traffic desperately trying to not run out of petrol, and now my third try, it lived up to expectations by being closed at the one junction I was going to use forcing me through Slough, no one chooses to go through Slough, it is London in miniature, because it too is a shit hole.
But eventually, after a 5 hour plus drive I pull into the free car park for Coldrum longbarrow, and immediately the day and my sanity got better.
Its not far from car to chamber, a few hundred yards at most.
Then amid the trees in their pretty autumn colours I stand next to Coldrum, I've seen it on telly, Neil Oliver stood right there and told me all about the place, well not all. I didn't know about the polishing stone, a kerb stone apparently used for sharpening blades or something.
The big chamber jutting out of the barrow reminds somewhat bizarrely of a star wars spaceship, it blew up in the opening scene of Phantom menace.
Several people came and went whilst I was there, there are many angles to see it from, but most people just pass it by.
The site has two information boards one says rightly that its a longbarrow but the other one says its a stone circle which it certainly aint. Coldrum suffers from an identity crisis.
What are the stones at the bottom of the barrow below the chamber for? why is the chamber so high up? crazy place. When 6000 years you reach not so good will you look, to keep up the star wars theme.
I also wondered why there are no wider photos of the site, it's because of the lane to its east, which is bordered by two tall hedges making any "in it's landscape" photos nigh on impossible.
All in all a terrific place to hang out at on your birthday.
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My first attempt was cut short by the distance from the car, wife and small children are only prepared to wait so long.
Second attempt was thwarted by the local farmer and a policeman, bangin' on about lock downs and pandemics or something.
Third time was the charm.
I was on my own with no legal problems, the only problem being the long walk, i'm philosophically opposed to them. The big hill that is Blakey Topping comes into view early on, I keep making for that, I've no firm idea where the stones are but assume I'll be able to see them from on top of the Topping.
Fighting my way to the top through the bracken was arduous, stopping every ten yards to scour the hedgerows for the stones, still no idea where they are.
The view from the top of the Topping was most agreeable, I sat at the south east end and zoomed the camera here and there looking for the stones. I did see some, I assumed they to be them, so I skipped and stumbled back down to level ground, keeping my distance from the cows in the field, they obliged me by keeping their distance also.
Upon reaching what I thought was the ruined stone circle it turned out to be an old settlement building or something, a weird structure was in it, a circular dip, concrete lined with a boulder in it, this wasn't it so I kept on searching. Memories of other peoples pictures has it by a hedge, so I made for the hopefully right one and followed it round, there was a large stone in the hedge, trapped by two wire fences, I'm getting near, is this an outlier maybe. Reaching the gap in the hedge the circle was finally revealed to me, elation, or something close to it.
So this is a stone circle is it ? Map only goes as far as standing stones, I shall be more charitable.
There are five stones, one is the gate posted stone, there is a fallen stone between the gatepost and the tall stone, there is the low recently (2012?) re-erected stone, and the stone in the hedge. I presume this to be four stones remaining of a stone circle with an outlier twenty or so yards south.
I sat for a while with my back to the fence taking in the still leafy scenery, it'll be bare and drab all to soon, bah! I hate winter.
I'd only payed for two hours in the car park by the Hole of Horcum so I had to bid a fond farewell to the stones and take my leave, on route back to the car I kept turning back to look at the stones and the hill, why couldn't I see them on my way down, oh well, sometimes you cant see the stones for the rocks.
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After visiting literally thousands ancient places and driving between fifteen to twenty thousand miles every year I can only conclude that I'm obsessed with these places, and finding this website ten years ago only compounded that obsession, at least I'm not alone anymore.
My favourite places are:
Ring of Brodgar
Callanish
Balnauran of Clava
Torhouskie
Swinside
Nine stones close
Bryn Celli Ddu
The Druids circle (penmaenmawr)
HafodyGors Wen
Gwal y Filiast
Grey Wethers
Boscawen Un
La Roche au Fees
Drombeg
Uragh
Talati De Dalt
and these are only the ones that immediatly spring to mind, so many stones and not enough lifetimes.
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