 
|
       
|
        
|
Last time on Fontburn Dod.......
"Now I know the way, a fair weather visit is already overdue."
Six months later.
It's the summer solstice and the outlook is for a change, good, so inevitably i'm running a touch late, brought on in part by my erstwhile stoning buddy for the day, Eric, and partly by me not remembering to look up the time of sunrise. So, last time I was racing against the dying of the light, this time I'm racing against the birth of the day.
The walk through the woods on the south shore of the lake, was much nicer than six months ago, its summer, everything is growing and gorgeous once more, I also saw a fox and two Roe deer, and I haven't even got to the stones yet.
As the path exits the woods and skirts along it I take note of the big cup marked boulder, I did see it last time but didn't know about the rock art, I'll pay more attention to it on the way out.
Arriving finally at the stones was another one of those "oh yesss!" moments, I said I'd be back with better weather and I most definitely am. It's beautiful.
Two minutes after my arrival the sun put on a bit of a sunrise encore, just for me I swear, it was, what's another word for beautiful, and not gorgeous.
I then went for a long walk round the site, west and east of the circle are two large mounds, I go and stand on them for a while, surveying the area, I'm not a surveyor by profession, so the most I can tell you is there was other stuff going on here after the stones were erected. Two long banks run across the common, possibly medieval, or maybe Tudor, i'm not an archaeologist either.
Two very vocal Buzzards are wheeling around each other above the trees, and a Cuckoo is down in the trees of the little river valley, with foxes and deer, all the natural wonder that England can muster in just part of a morning, you wont be getting that at Stonehenge.
I sit for a while and wonder at the world, but mostly I really hope all these terrifying statistics on extinction are wrong. I quite like being alive, and I like seeing other things being alive, and I hope that it all keeps going long after I'm gone. Don't read anything into that.
I get up out of my daydream and attach my camera to the tripod and set about my new part of any stony visit. Lifting the tripod high in the air for that elevated shot, problems encountered.... wonky pictures, blowy winds, dazzling sunshine, and I look an idiot, on the other hand......better pictures.
This time I haven't left a babe in the woods in the dark, but her little brother is still asleep in the car, so I'd better get a move on, still got some rock art to find yet as well.
|
            
|
Eleven months ago Eric and I came to Dartmoor for just one long day of stoning with a list of places that I wanted to see, I would have had time to see them all as well but Eric insisted on having something to eat, right in the middle of the day, half way through the list. How rude.
To Direct you.....
Coming south from Brisworthy to Cadover bridge, immediately after crossing the bridge turn left onto dusty track and follow it all the way to the end. It ends right next to the quarry, there is a restored medieval cross near by. It should have been easy to get there from here, but I didn't have my compass with me and the famous Dartmoor fog covered everything, visibility was down to about a couple of hundred yards. In truth I wasn't holding out much hope of finding the stone circle we'd come so far to see. My map was, as it turns out, too old and outdated, the shape of the Clay works quarry had changed shape, a lake disappeared. We guessed our way round the quarry, which is large to say the least, you've never seen such a sight of utter devastation, and prepared to climb the hill, but just then out of the mist I saw a line to my left, as we moved on the mist cleared enough to realise we were just about to go the wrong way, our destination was but a few hundred yards to our left. So we went that way.
Crossing a stream or two presented not but a little problem and suddenly we were at the south end of the stone row. Success.
There are two parallel stone rows, the south end has a kind of rounded boat shaped quality to it, the stones go up hill from there towards the stone circle, a reave? Leat? cuts through it, jumped, further up hill a large stone lies across the rows, passed by, the rows just kind of end right next to the stone circle. I wonder if it is known whether they are both of the same exact date, or did one come before the other?
|
I cant believe we found it, quite easily too despite no compass, despite the fog, or prior knowledge of what to look for. Eight stones remain of this stone circle, also known as the Pulpit. The circle stone that is closest to the circle is the tallest, and most leany, Burl say it is four foot two, but if you stand in the dip where sheep fidget it's almost five foot five. It also has a gnarled and twisted form, and a big streak of raptor poo on one side.
We pick a stone and sit for a while, the mist is, I think, beginning to clear, revealing a lot more stone work to the north and the west, I regard the map and see that there are settlements almost all around, and blow me down another stone row and a possible stone circle. We'll have to have a longer look round.
Time for some elevation, I attach the camera to the tripod and extend it all the way and hoik it up into the air with camera on ten second countdown, trying again and again to get the right angle, this is the first time Eric's seen this, he laughed at me. How rude.
It is a great little stone circle, but to make the long drive down well and truly worth it, we'll have to go and see a couple more stone circles elsewhere, right after I've had a look at that other stone row.
|
Another stream cross and we approach, I'm not sure what, there's a very suspect bump, and some stones that look like they are in a row.
Shall I leave it there?
I only came to free my mind of the rattle word Trowlesworthy, but a quick look at the map and it is abundantly clear that there is much more than a stone circle up on this moor. We've had a wander round some of the settlement immediately north of the circle and now we've crossed back over the stream to have a look at the other stone row. The stones, they are in a row, and it's more or less straight, and also more or less point to the stone circle, but in an unconnected kind of way. The stone row starts with a tall terminal stone at the west, passes by the suspect bump, and terminates with another tall terminal stone. Next to the eastern tall terminal stone is a lovely little cairn circle. I'm sure more than a couple of stones are missing and those that are left are barely breaking the land surface, but the mist has all but cleared and the cuteness factor is now apparent.
The suspect bump tends to overshadow the stone row slightly, I got a little excited to see the ditches either side of it, could it be a burial mound of some kind, Eric asked, Looking at the map once more reveals their true nature. Pillow mounds, I must confess, besides knowing they are medieval, the wrong kind of ancient, I knew not what they were. Upon returning to home I looked them up, artificial rabbit warrens, apparently Lionhearts and conquerors get through a lot of rabbits.
|
|
Log in |
Register
Previous 50 | Showing 1101-1150 of 11,212 posts. Most recent first | Next 50 
Top of page