postman

Another unimaginatively named cairn by Coflein.
As this cairn is furthest from the car it seems they were saving the best till last, though why a kerb cairn is better than a round cairn I couldnt possibly say, yes I can its because it’s got a kerb, they’re a little bit more interesting.
The Welsh government should make a council of tidy monuments, headed by myself we would visit ancient monuments great and small and if it is deemed that a tidy up operation is necessary then my team and me would come in and spend all day weeding and tidying, when weve finished a sign post would be fixed up by the road attracting visitors to these newly revealed ancient monuments, and people would say “wow I didnt know these were here” and they would wonder, sometimes aloud, why they built them here and who and for what reason, then I could smile and know that my job here is done.
Untill then we’ll carry on regardless.
The kerbing is most easily seen at the west through to the northern edges of thercairn,gorse clings to the edges of the cairn without mercy hiding most of the intersting kerb stones, the interior has been badly robbed for the walls nearby no doubt. Right next to the kerb and round cairn is a hill with a terrific view, down to all the cairns big and small and over to the mountain Cadair Idris and in the opposite direction down into the Mawddach valley and of into Snowdonia.
Whilst walking we saw a tiny brown lizard probably of the smooth variety, sun bathing it was till it saw Maggie then it wriggled into invisibility.

After parking near Gellilwyd farm in a one car layby follow the path west between two conifer plantations, the cairns are to your right and unmissable.
Some cairns are more famous than others, they somehow attain a name be it a Giantesses apronful or a Greyhounds lair and so on but some cairns remain unnamed and unseen, then when it comes to being added to an ancient monument record and no name is known who gets to name it and how do they choose its name to be handed down through the generations, spreading further than anyone could guess, what if anything was going on in the mind of these cairn namers. The Cairn upon a woodland saddle, it does sound kinda nice, evocative of summer playtimes maybe, but there are no trees here now, just spikes and hay.
What exactly the hay is I dont know, its all over the place and can be picked up so its not growing, it doesn’t half cling to dog fur and obscure stones.
The cairn is twice as big as it looks the stones dissappearing under the hay and gorse, several miles south is Cadair Idris, just 80 yards to the north west is the kerb cairn and twenty yards east is what looks like a smaller cairn though it doesnt really look llike a cairn, it has a whiff of hut circle to it.
The mountain views are breathtaking, as are the views down into the valleys, I wondered for a while why they are sited here, alright there are good views but that wasnt the reason i’m sure, the best I could come up with is, the folk lived down hill from here but were so totally awed by the landscape they wanted to get close but not too close to the mountain so this was a half way
measure, they didnt even dare to build the cairn in site of the summit instead making sure a small closer hill obscured it, but the summit of Craig Las was considered less of a blasphemy(?).
Just 100metres further west and the whole mountain would be in view, but for some reason this little place in a woodland saddle between two small hills was just right.
I hope ive made no sense what so ever, as this is just how the ancients make me feel, they had a big space to play with yet chose the least inspiring corner of it. I dont know, I just dont know.

Just a couple of miles to the west of Dolgellau amongst a labyrinth of tiny lanes, look for Gellilwyd farm house, and park opposite the house right next to a telegraph pole and the footpath stile.
Cross the stile and in thirty yards turn right after a ruined building, go uphill following the path between hillocks the cairns are all to the right side of the path.
This little cairn is the smaller of the three definate cairns (there are two small somethings here also) and has a ruined cist at its centre.
Not quite a metre high the cairn has spine tingling views down int the valleys and beyond to the higher parts of Snowdonia.

Always start a visit to these stones by observing them from on top of Robin Hoods stride, for no better reason than its a good place to start and you can see exactly where you have to go oh and the damn fine views too.
Half way or so between stride and circle is a stone in a wall, used as a gate post but because of the weathering on the stones summit it is obviously an ancient menhir, but part of the circle I dont know, fantasy tells me its the last survivor of a stone row from stride to circle.
Seven stones still stood in 1847 in a circle 45feet across, of the four remaining stones the most north and south stones are set in concrete, the northern one now stands 7feet tall but the stone is 11ft 6 long before being reset so back in the day would have stood a little taller, Burl also states they are collectively the tallest stones in Derbyshire.
The shapely southern stone has a new scar at its lower end it looks like its been chiseled, but I really hope not.
I love these stones, I love trying to imagine it in a more complete state, this is my fourth or fifth visit and the weather has always been kind, we spent four hours here scrambling on the stride, stalking deer and grooving with the stones.

Together with the stone circle next door this is my favorite place in the whole of the Peak district, its got absolutely everything you could want from the outdoors, antiquities, nature in abundence, and lots of lovely rocks to clamber all over, and stunning views that leave you speechless (might also be vertigo though).
The walk from the layby/verge is uphill and not gentle but it isnt far and there is an uncertain standing stone half way up, it has three holes through it, two little ones and a big one.
Eric and me sat for a while on Lindsays seat (was that her name) and readied our cameras, for the final push up to the rocks, he’s using my old camera because as he says when iv’e passed away he can keep posting for me, didnt quite know what to think of that.
It was early afternoon so everyone and his second cousin was there, climbers, picnicers, lovers, oldies and us stone hunting postmen.
We started by going straight to the top between the ears as it were, ive seen people sat on top of the pinnacles but i’m far too shaky and “what if” for that, then we just climbed all over the place sqeezing into nooks and crawling through crannies (?) and when no-one was looking we just sat and looked at the rocks.
Whilst I was looking for the big carved ring I found what looked like another carved ring, about the same size but unfinished or not as finished as the other one, its between the ears on a vertical surface. Eventually we found the ring we were looking for, it was hiding under a circular mat of grass earth and moss, how peculiar didnt see that last time I was here.
Another thing I found carved amongst the rocks was the surname of the woman whose dedicatory seat was below us and apparenly lived at the house just fifty yards away. My point is people have lived in that house for centuries maybe and some of them carved their names into the stride, and who knows what else.
From the stride we went over to Cratcliffe rocks and from there through the trees to the stone circle once in the trees we were startled by a big buck (erm Roe ?) deer and then ten minutes later the whole herd. Our lad was proper amazed and immediately turned into Simon King, creeping around on his hands and knees trying to get closer, he may add a picture of them, theres no stones just deer but we were inbetween stride and circle. so tell me what do you think ? should I let him?

I came up here a few months ago in the snow and the fog, and though I found everything I was looking for I have since found out about a four metre high cairn with cist in the locality, I then decided that another visit would be necessary.
But this time would be almost the opposite of my last trip, in 1953 or thereabouts my Grandad whom I never met took his two daughters to see the Druids circle, my mother told me this after my first visit here ten years ago, it was then that I decided when my children were older I too would bring them here, so , I decided to take my kids one at a time to make it more personal and for more of an impact, I asked my Daughter if she would like to go ” is it up hill” she asked I confirmed that it was and her face fell a bit, I decided a deal sweetener was needed, “we could go the beach first”, and the deal was struck. But then she asked if her brother Eric could come so I said ok, but then somehow their two friends got invited too, deal sweetener indeed.

After a cold and windy three hours on Penmaenmawr beach from where you get a good view of where your’e going, we drove up to the same parking place I used last time, what I usually do is just drive as high as I can then leave the car where I can, sometimes it takes me up to the two pillars carpark sometimes it doesn’t. We hit the uphill footpath in high spirits, throwing a ball to each other to keep their minds off how far we had to go, it worked for a while too but we were barely half way there when the first “how much further” came, ten minutes later the first “I cant go any more” and another ten minutes saw me giving piggy back rides up a mountain, talk about not ideal.
Eeeeventually we arrived on the main footpath that takes you directly to circle 275, we all collapsed in an untidy heap inside the circle and stayed that way untill we saw people walking past. The view is fantastic up here and it wasn’t long for the kids to become interested in their surroundings, I pointed out Llandudno, Anglesey, Graig Llwyd, and above us the Druids circle, our circle, I wonder if Grandad Collins knew of this little circle from S.W Ireland, for that is where his family originated also.

We drifted up the slope to the big circle, the two girls collapsed in a more tidy heap and the boys took to swearing at all the stones daring the oath stone to smite them, when it didnt they went off sliding down grassy slopes, although this wasn’t what I had envisaged, it was good enough, the sun was shining and the birds were singing on the wing, the sound of laughter on the wind and as I circled the stones trying to capture the mood on camera, I soon realised this wasnt a camera day it was a lost in the moment day. I tried halfheartedly to locate the cairn with cist but deduced by its absence that it wasn’t as close to the Druids circle as it looks on the map, forcing me to start planning my next trip up here, an all dayer maybe. After a quick hello to the dishevelled monument 280, we held hands and ran down the hill to Cors y Carneddau, they pulled hard downhill and I pulled hard uphill, and an uneasy equilibrium was struck.
More quick photoes followed by much sitting around, questions and pointing at things and dodgy explanations, the two extra children had never been anywhere like this before, and I felt a certain privalage in being able to show them something cool that isnt plugged in.
We ran and laughed all the way down, passing two young teenage girls on the way, I cant think of any reason they would be taking the long way up to see some stone circles, but then theres no street corners up there either, so perhaps the hills mountains and history really is for everyone.

At least they bothered to call it a monument, it doesn’t even get mentioned in AB’s stone circle guide, and Coflein doesn’t have a description but it does have four pics and the vague title of Penmaenmawr stone circle, it is much more than any of this it’s North Wales most mysterious “monument”. No one seems to know what it was, three of the stones seem to be in a straight line but in amongst the megalithic melee
there is what looks like to me another little stone circle or kerb for a cairn.
What ever it turns out to be, for now it is an enigma more worthy of an excavation than any other “monument” up here. It was obviously an important something and is in a prominent position, Tal y Fan is long and rocky (with two notches for alignments?) and dominates the south western aspect, from the stones we can see the big Druids circle and turning round down to the Cors y Carneddau.

Its only a five minute walk from Druids circle etc so theres really no excuse not to come down to this big barrow (and the ring/kerb cairns).
The barrow sits at the bottom of a very barrow shaped hill called Moelfre (345m) itself crowned by a cairn which Ive yet to inspect. The summit of the barrow was probably around three metres tall in its day but since it was erected..... a giant was passing and mistook the burial mound for a pile of mashed potatoes and took a giant sized mouthful from off its top, immediately realising his mistake (for he wasnt so stupid as to swallow it) he spat out the mouthful in a left to right fashion causing the linear feature we now crudely call “a wall”.
In the beautiful sunshine and hidden from the still cold wind we sat in the hollowed out barrow and looked out across the land, I tried to impart some historical facts about prehistoric times but they seemed more interested in finding the body that must surely be buried beneath our tired derriers. Oi, stop digging !!!

Oh beautiful glorious sunshine, the first time I came here a few months ago it was so snowy and foggy that I couldnt even see my hands in front of my face (my exhaggeration), but this late afternoon visit is sensational, the birdsong, the playing children and the sunny views all came together perfectly, there was a summers day in the park feel to it, nothing to do but relax.
The two different cairns at Cors y Carneddau couldnt be any more dissimilar, the smaller kerb cairn has eight smallish stones and reminds me heavily of Cumbria’s Little Meg (minus art). Whilst the big ring cairn just fifty yards to the south east has maybe only half a dozen stones in its ring though theyre quite big. Cairn material oozes from the grass in several places within the ring reminding me again of Cumbria’s Brats hill stone circle.
Pretty little circle 275 over the slight hill has had many TMA visitors as has the Druids circle but I cant beleive no-ones been here but me, come on everybody exert your self a little this summer and come and explore North Wales biggest Necropolis/temples. ( probably not but what the hey)

Rhiwiau barrow is just massive, so big that you’d think theres no way thats a barrow, it’s even got modern brickwork still visible on top, but it is bronze age as the cremation urns and bronze dagger found there confirm.
Not many parking places are to be had so we just squeezed in on a wide bit of the road.
The barrow is right next to the road and at nearly three metres tall it’s far too big to be missed.
It was very windy on the top of it, although the rain had gone off, Eric was trying to jump off it but the wind was so strong that he was just jumping up and down.
The only cairn ive been to in North Wales that’s bigger is Gop Cairn, thats how big it is.

I didnt get too close to the barrow as there was a sheep and lamb following my progresss along the fence, so I quickly photographed the barrow and then I turned to the sheep and the mother had inexplicably and hurriedly dressed her lamb in a tootoo, so I took a picture of that and we parted company, quite bizarre.

From the A543 drive north up single file lane past Llyn Aled and Aled Isaf reservoir and a few miles further north this big barrow is dead obvious and right next to the road.
About two metres tall with antiquarian tamperings visible on top, this is a big barrow on a wide ridges crest and visible for miles, the rain was coming at me sideways and the wind was really bashing me about, even in the mist I could see for miles and I couldnt help smiling to myself,
I must be daft being here right now, but I did enjoy it.

There are plenty of barrows around here and this one was last on the list to see this morning, it was also the longest walk, parking on the road at a small junction by a smaller church then a long muddy walk (well I hope its just mud but I doubt it) up the track to the farm, it all follows the footpath, goes through the farm and is in a field behind the farm, the ruddy faced farmers wife said it was ok to go on through, despite it being lambing time.
The barrow is next to a hedge and seems cut through by the laying of the hedge and its very ploughed out, but still two feet high or so and visible, me and the map think its a bronze age barrow like the rest round here, but Coflein reckons it might be a natural feature.

This one is visible from the road (A815) parking available on both sides of the road for up to a dozen cars, hopefully they wont all be at the cairn.
Climb over the double barbed wire fence, easy for the cat people amongst us, and just make your way to the highest point around, it will have bumps on it too.
Even on an overcast day like today there is still good views up and down Loch Fyne and in the other direction two big mountains, Stob an Eas(732m) and Binnein an Fhidhleir(811m) both still clinging to there winter snows.
The cairn is still quite prominent upto 5 or 6 feet tall and the chamber though used by sheep for sheepy things, and it has two rabbit holes still is in good nick. Almost aligned on Stob an Eas the chamber is long and made of low stones except the western head stone which is nearly a metre tall.
Fifty yards south west is a prostrate stone a fallen menhir or part of the big cist?
When does a cist become a chamber?
Also of note maybe is the small road that leads of into the incredible Hells glen, a really beautiful place.
I was going to write it up as a weblog but since changed my mind some rejected titles for the blog were...
Secret Cowal – sounds too much like the twat off tele.
Moss is the enemy – but didnt want to offend.
and finally-
Wheres all the friggin rock art – I like that one best.

At Clachan Strachur there was once a druidical circle but it was removed during the builing of the Schoolhouse.
A green stone axe was found during digging nearby it was given to the National Museum of Antiquities.
I only add this destroyed site to show that although there are now no stone circles on the Cowal peninsula, but back then there were at least two. Along with the burial chambers, standing stones and all the secretive rock art this was once a beehive of ancient activity.

Visible from the road again (A886). I parked between two houses one of which bears the same name as the stone, walked twenty metres up to the gate climbed carefully over it and made my way to the stone, both the map and the view from the road shows its close to the river Ruel, but its not till you get right up to it that the true horror of its position is revealed.
It is less than one foot away from falling into the river, in less than two years it will be gone, maybe even less, if the river swells badly and erodes more river bank away the stone will give way, it’s already leaning away from the river because there isnt enough ground on that side, even an attempt to rescue it is frought with danger just a bit of misshandling and its gone.
There is already a big stone in the river maybe there were two stones once.

Easily visible from the road(A886), park by the gate and if sheep are willing jump it and walk down to the stone.
This stone is only one metre tall but it has a  small tale to tell, standing at the head of Loch Ruel (or Ridden) it wasnt always on its own, sperated by a thin wood from the Ra (or rabbit)field another stone once stood but a tenant farmer threw it down some time before 1915, and now no memory of it remains at all, and in the trees beyond the rabbit field is Barmore the well presrved iron age hillfort. Then a bit further down the road is Kilmoden church and sculptured stone and cup and rings too.

One more chance to find an interesting rock art panel, then I must start the long drive home, with a few more places along the way though.
I parked on the B886 overlooking Kilmoden church and its sculptured stones, then walked down the road a bit untill the Clachan burn goes under the road, then its back into the mossy forests one more time.
Canmore says all this about the place...

Cup and Ring marked Rock: 82 m SE of road’s E boundary wall, 75m SW of a burn (lined with narrow wood), hard to find in bracken, is a sunk schist boulder 1 1/4m by 1m and 15cm high. Near the E of its flat top, sloping 10 W are 8 cups up to 5cm in diameter, 1cm deep. When wet in low sun, two of these can be seen to be surrounded by a ring, much weathered; one is a complete circle, the other is a ‘keyhole type’, 26cm long, with a radial groove from the cup. (This rock was not found during field investigation in 1972.)
R W B Morris 1977; M Paterson 1970; Visited by OS (D W R) 21 October 1970.

This decorated boulder is situated in a recent deciduous plantation 100m SE of the road bridge (A886) over the Clachan Burn. Its upper surface bears ten cupmarks, one of which is surrounded by a single ring and another by a keyhole-shaped ring (Morris 1977).
Visited April 1986

It was last seen in 1986 as far as canmore knows, so here we go, the Clahchan burn is a fast flowing stream that is mostly waterfalls, on its south side is open woodland where everything (but everything) is covered in a thick carpet of moss, but we must ignore this lovely verdant paradise and go into the conifer plantation, where the ground is bouncy because of the several inches of pine needles covering the floor.
The moss on rocks in a plantation is different than in open woodland, its sometimes thinner and harder to get off or the pine needles turn into soil under the moss,so you pull off the moss only to find several inches of soil.
I think by now you can guess which way this is going, yes I failed again. I pulled off moss scraped back soil went up hill and down lots of times but still found nothing, my compass told me which way to go, and indeed it felt close, but Ive got nothing that tells me how far is 100m ( if only there was a small hand held machine that can track my movements on the ground) Damn damn damn.
Really quite annoyed I headed back to the car and then onto some standing stones, you know where you are with standing stones, they stand up for a start, and practically yell “here I am ”

I took two visits to these three stones once in the dark and again in the morning, it didnt bring any hints or shine a light as to the stones purpose.
These are the safest stones in Scotland, one stone is behind bars in the police station garden, (others will say “no its next to the memorial” but I can see the truth) the other two are opposite the post office, I can only hope my compadre’s are looking out for our stones. I don’t know if the two are built into the bank where they have always stood or if they were moved there.
In 1943 V G Childe said the two stones in the bank/hedge could be portal stones for a burial chamber, but some archaeological magic was undertaken in 2007 before some residential renovating, but nothing was found, so it looks like a stone circle with big impressive stones once stood at the centre of this village, but now only three misunderstood stones remain, still it’s better than some fared on the Cowal peninsula.
Clachan Strachur school I’m talking about you.

I drove all the way down the lane past the hillfort and hidden rock art, all the way to the entrance to Ardmarnock house, there is one questionable parking place, by a man made waterfall.
From this miniature crossroads between houses its about a 150yds to the stones, up the long curving driveway to the house turn off the drive on its corner and sneak up the hill about 60yds.
I suppose I could have asked permission, but as a postman i’m used to walking up garden paths unhindered.
The Rhodadendrons have been severely cut back and the stones are free and open to inspection.
There is a cup and ring on one wall of the cist like chamber, though I could only see the cup now. There look like two capstones both slipped off one of them looks like a big clam shell half.
The view is cut off by trees nearly 360 degrees all round except towards the loch, theyre a bit thinner there, and I suspect that if I come back after Tea it might be a good place for a sunset.

Travelling south on the B8000 turn right towards Ardmarnock house, the hillfort is signposted (by hand) and the trees and undergrowth have been cut back indicating a half path up to it.
I parked in the only place available, blocking a gate, sorry, but I got away with a quick half hour.
I wasnt really interested in the hillfort, well I am, but we’ve got them at home I was really looking for the cup and ring marks said to be just 50 metres south of the fort.
However I liked it in the fort, all the undergrowth has gone and the place is quite pretty, and the view was good too, the western entrance is still in good condition but some sections of the wall have gone completely.
The cup and rings eluded me yet again, how hard can it be to go in one direction for 50 metres and find a rock with all this on it...
five cups with two rings, six cups with single rings, and some fifty-nine plain cupmarks. Several of the ringed cups have gutters, and some of the plain cups are linked by channels...
Evidently too hard for me, where exactly does the hillfort stop? and from where do I count 50metres?, is it directly south from the centre of the fort?, is it exactly south?
I didnt find it though I tore the living moss out of a radius of about 50 metres of woodland, tearing moss off stones is very therapeutic for someone who is frustrated with not finding the right rock.

I passed within two metres of this profusely cupmarked sheet of rock just two years ago on my way to the stone row about half a mile south west.
Follow diections for Inveryne stone row and watch out for a small lake with a disused dam on your left and old tennis court to your right. Plenty of parking .
A long sheet of flat rock is right next to the track and dam, with maybe 63 cupmarks, the landowner says in low light rings can be seen round some cups, I couldnt see any rings and I don’t think I saw 63 cups (did see a lot though), but it was cool to see something after all my failures throughout the morning.
Normally this would be the end of my mornings stone hunt and I would now have the long and pianful trip back home, but not today, I’m staying on for another rough night in the car, a glutton for punishment ? no not at all, I hate sleeping in the car, but it is free, and what a view from the window.

From Canmore...
Some 200yds (183m) into the field opposite from the spring dedicated to P Rankin is a small outcrop knoll bearing 9 cups, one of which has half a ring around it and a long runnel from it.
Sponsor: Keltic Research Society
K Naddair and S Willet and B Bierley 1996

I parked on the road (B8000) and walked round the edge of farmers sheep filled field and jumped the gate in the corner. The rocky outcrop on top of the hill Ach Chreagach is a splendid place to admire the view up and down Loch Fyne. But the rock art is on a smaller outcrop south and a bit east of the bigger one, again it took some finding and what I did find wasnt what I was expecting, or if it was Im just crap at finding and looking at rock art. I may have missed it altogether, but I did find something.

Cup and ring marked rocks can be very difficult to find, they’re too small and all too easily concealed, I’m on a much better footing with stone circles and burial chambers, so here we go off into the dark wood again.
Like my burial chamber guru guide Greywether I parked just south of Auchnaha house and started up the hillside with forest to my right and recently felled mayhem to my left. As I climbed higher I came to a long tree free corridor in the forest with the power lines going along it, from here I could see what looked like a small standing stone, upon closer inspection it seemed to be that very thing, close by a fallen tree hid the entrance into a clearing, is it behind the fallen tree? I skirted around and under the obstacle only to find a site as horrific as someone like me could find, more trees had fallen onto the burial chamber.
Three tall conifers had fallen on to the stones themselves “oh dear god no” I said to no-one.
I couldnt tell if there were more stones under the trees than still free and open, after looking at Greywethers pictures I think it was lucky, the capstone is unmoved as are the facade stones, I dont even know how to make sense of what i can see, I cant find the inscribed cross stone, the whole place is a mess, granted the burial chamber wasnt exactly intact before the forest attacked it, a sad place, I hope the respective authorities know of and are about to do something about it rather than the onus being completely upon myself to help this Scottish war cry, let me hear you shout it AUCHNAHAAAAAAA !!!

At the centre of the level upper surface of a boulder, which lies immediately S of an unnamed stream and about 500m E of Pier House, there is an unusually finely worked cup-and-ring mark. The cup is only 20mm in diameter and the ring measures 165mm in diameter overall.
RCAHMS 1988, Visited May 1986.

Sounds easy enough and it sounds like a nice piece.
I parked on the B8000 next to the Pier house and walked back down the road to the unnamed stream and entered the dark wood, following the stream as it plunged over falls and through narrow moss filled gorges.
Trying to gauge 500metres east of the Pier house whilst not going in a straight line, going uphill dodging fallen trees and everything that comes with forrestry plantations isnt easy, so I just carried on going till I got to the track, nothing.
The rock art rock was somewhere between the road and the track next to the river how could I have missed it I dont know, I peeled away the mossy growth from more than twenty boulders and rocks but to no avail.
Even though I got stiffed on me cup and rings it was still nice in the forest with the ever present sound of falling water, cover from the rain, little birds flitting around and all the different kinds of bugs found in and under the moss and the way moss comes off a rock is quite appealing, like unwraping a christmas present, easy to get into but is it what you wanted.

This was my third rock art search of the day, and it was a bit different because instead of looking for just one rock, here they’re all over the place.
The farm sits in the middle of a hillside hemmed in almost completly by damned forestry plantation and the lovely Loch Fyne to the west.
There are at least a dozen panels to find, some in the forests and some in the fields around the farm, on my way up the track to the farm I internally debated weather to ask for permission to roam about the land and maybe get some inside information, but to tell you the truth , the rain hadn’t stopped all morning and my rock art oddyssey had failed so far to ignite any passion in me.
So I trespassed, just a wee bit, in doing so I came to realise that when the maps are drawn up, forests can be cut down as well as put up, making it difficult to guage exactly where on a hillside you are. Not for the last time today I felt weary and disoriented, with wet feet and dented spirits I gave up again, obviously I was still looking at every rock I could, walking through mires and droppings not looking where I was going, when I got some success.
A single cupmark next to a long maybe natural groove . (this maybe panel 10)

Then again not far away more success, and more cupmarks, not hard to lose this one as a telegraph pole is right next to it (this maybe panel 11)

This is what canmore says....

Evanachan 10 and 11
3) 300m NE of Evanachan farm at NR 95067 86792 an outcrop bearing one cup 45 x 12mm.
4) 35m NE of 3) a prominent outcrop bearing at least 20 cup marks. One group of 11 has single rings and exceptionally large cups.
George Currie, 2007

Bouyed by my modest success, I had a look closer to the road on the rocky summit of Cnoc mor, and found one more cupmark quite a big one, so I’m guessing it might be Evanachan 3 or 4, canmore again....
NR 94761 86636
1) On Cnoc Mor to the W of Evanachan farm, a rock facing NW and sloping at 45 degrees, bearing a cup mark 50 x 20mm.
2) 80m SW of the above at NR 94707 86577 an outcrop bearing five cup marks.
3) 90m WSW of 2) at NR 94628 86542 an outcrop bearing one cup mark 45 x 20mm.
4) 20m S of 3 at NR 94621 86524 an outcrop bearing one cup mark 60 x 22mm.
George Currie, 2007.

Can be seen from the road, the B8000, two miles past Lachlan castle in a field opposite a smokery.
At Lephinmore there is a large rock outcrop with a long quartz seam running through it, Canmore says only....
On two of the lower shelves of a large angled prominent outcrop in a field opposite a smokery, 9 clear cups.
It was easy enough to find but I could only find two clear cups, perhaps the others were under the grass at the edges or under a clump of pull resistant moss. I was glad to have found something, but dissapointed not to find what I expected, is rock art hunting always like this?
It was beginning to be “one of those days”.

After another rediculously long midnight drive I parked up just a couple hundred yards from this cup and ring marked rock, and fell asleep almost imediately, three short hours later and the alarm went off, let the hunt begin .
Two or three miles south of St Catherines on the A815 turn left into forestry commision land, park here in sight of the road and walk up the track.
The track does two hairpin turns then straightens out, follow the path over two small streams and stop at the third, then either follow the stream downhill for 90metres like I did and not find anything, which is what the OS map and the Canmap map said to do, however after re-reading the details of the cup and rings, dont go west downhill but east uphill for 90metres, to be fair to myself I did go in both directions but spent so long in the wrong place that I ran out of time and had to abandon the search, it must be there somewhere.
Whilst tearing big sheets of moss off boulders looking for rock art I gained a new appreciation for moss and bare rock, mosses capability to completely cover everything in atleast a couple of inches of spongy carpet, and when removed from the rock it shines new and bright, blinking in the morning sun.
For anyone wanting to make another attempt on Tom Nam Clach here’s what Canmore says....

Cup and Ring marked Rock, Ardgowan – A level shelf of rough outcrop, 13’ x 7’, 125 yds E of forestry road, 45 yds SW of hill top, is sculptured with 2 cups-and-two-rings, 4 cups-and-one-ring, and over 26 cups. Biggest diameter 11”, deepest 2”. Much weathered. Eight cups-and-rings were found in 1962
R W B Morris 1969; G Christian and E B Rennie 1962.

Cup and Ring marked Rock as described by Morris.
R W B Morris 1977.

This badly weathered cup-and-ring marked rock outcrop is situated about 90m E of a trackway and lies in a small clearing within a forestry plantation. It bears two cups with two rings, six cups with single rings and at least twenty plain cupmarks.
Visited April 1986

Definatley east of the track yet mappy says west, please dont say maps can be wrong.

This was one of the first places I went to after buying the big orange book and it sent me on an almost fervoured Cope inspired ramble all across the UK, Ive been here in blazing sunshine, at sunset, at night in the snow, foot n mouth drizzle, and now an equinox foggy sunrise, todays was by far the best.
At 6.15am I slung the heavy wooden stepladders over my shoulder and made my way through the farm yard paying the obligatory quid on the way.
The fog which had plagued the whole drive here now threatened to obscure any sunrise, but on the, erm, bright side there was no-one here but me, no pagan dafties, no stupid dog, no livestock, nothing, just me the camera and some stepladders, we had a good time.
Then to top it all the sun came out, weekly at first but as the fog thinned intermittently it shone through brighter and more beautifully than ive seen in quite a while. Alas the fog and bright light outfoxed me and my extremely limited camera knowhow, but the ladders were a good idea for getting above the stones a little.
Before I knew it the sunrise was well and truly over but the light there was so gorgeous that I spent nearly two hours just trying to capture the scene.

Whenever I come to the Peak district I have to go through Buxton, if I then want to go south to say Arbor Low or Minninglow, a substantial shortcut can be taken through the Buxton suburb of Harpur hill, for years the bump on the hill had drawn my attention as I drove past, this sunday morning was the ideal time for a visit.
I had tried once before, but theres houses on one side and some kind of underground facility on the other, and then gave up. But today it was 9.00am on a sunday morning so I decided to go for a sneak whilst no-one was about.
I parked on the A515 to the north of Harpur hill and walked up to the gate then skirt left round the fence and there it is. A manmade hill on a hill on a hill. The cairn is maybe 6ft tall and is strangely spread down the hill to the west, it has been dug into on the east exposing bedrock, the barrow is mostly round except for the spread to the west making me think the ancients picked an already prominent hilltop bump then elongated and built it up.
Watch out for the distasteful abandoned party tent, one shudders at the thought at what might occur here at night.

It’s not ideal and not for most people but sleeping in the car makes for a good day out, this time we parked a couple of miles east of Abercastle, a few hours later and the alarm goes off at first light, then its funny how comfortable a Ford Mondeo can be.
Last time we came there was a campsite here, its gone now and the farm isnt a busy place anymore, nor is it a happy place.
We parked the car in site of Carreg Samson in the farm yard and walked the last hundred metres down to the dolmen, the cows began to stand up as we approached but they kindly vacated the field for us and gave us no bother.
You can stand up under the capstone like at Pentre Ifan but unlike that waif like streamlined structure, this is rough, chubby, and oaf like, but i’m being unkind the stones are bigger to hold up the continent of capstone above.
Of the six orthostats holding up the thick wedge of a capstone only three touch stone and they are of two kinds of rock, three of a smooth sandstoney and three conglomerates, reminded me vaguely of East Aquhorthies where they too intentionally used different kinds of stone.
What does it mean, does it mean anything, could it be part of the builders folklore, traditions or religion.
The stones are far more permanent than the ugly farm, hopefully it wont put up too much of a struggle and do the decent thing and dissappear, leaving the cromlech alone with its view and its visitors.

Definitive directions: There is room to park on the road to the west by a house, walk south back down the road to a footpath, a gate has to be climbed to get in the field and once there the path is indistinct. Go straight up the hill through a gateless gap in the hedge, the map says the path forks here but as there is no path on the ground, we must trust our noses, i’m Anosmic so which sense i’m using I dont know.
Keep going uphill untill you see the big rock outcrop, a fence is crossed and there is the cromlech in the same field as the outcrop.
It is only a ten minute walk to the stones, one or two gates and fences, put away any fear of farmers this is our world, “I was here first” is no excuse to keep us out, be brash, be brave and if caught out feign ignorance.

Ffyst Samson is just brilliant, how could it possibly stay up there, my daughter and me tried to push it off to no avail, ( i’d be mortified and stay at home forever if we’d succeeded) I guess its just so damned heavy and we’re so little.
In the wall next to the cromlech is an out of place large stone and just yards to the north is a longer stone which could have been part of it.
The outcrop is easy to climb even for a ten year old girl so no excuses, the view from the top is exquisite in the extreme, the cliffs and rocks by the sea, the other rocky tors nearby and further away the blunted peaks of the Presellis.
Perfect, I suppose I should have said I never found it either to help presreve its solitude and mystery, but this kind of peace and beauty cant stay hidden forever, welcome to the wooooorld of tomorrow.

Delightfully close to the road is this terrific stone row, but parking is a nightmare, there is only room for one car and thats blocking a gate, but luckily the biggest stone is just 48inches away so you’ll not be far away.
The stones have a great view down to the coast and up to the rocky topped Garn Fawr and Carn Enoch, and just maybe a summer solstice sunset alignment. The telegraph pole marks the position of a large recumbent stone now mostly hidden under the earthern bank, the stone is halfway between two stones that are too far away from each other.
Look back at one of the pictures from 2002 and see the difference in ivy growth between then and now, it’ll be gone from view altogether in just another year or two, the hedge that preserves a good stone row also hides it completely, and i’m sure ivy isnt a good friend to rock.

I left the car in Kammers green dot (ironicaly its just yards from a sign for Pentre Ifan, see map) of a parking place but didnt take the advice of taking the footpath, it doesnt go near the cairn anyway, instead I took the more direct route of following the river from the road, up a driveway then skirt round the property and head for higher dryer ground, my more or less hit and miss approach paid good dividends as I spotted the only likely looking stones poking above the tufts of Gorse, so I walked straight up to it dodging the inevitable boggy bits, no problems at all.
I liked this place a lot, the stones arent massive and they arent aligned on anything, but they managed to steal the show, Carreg Sampson can keep it’s stonking great capstone i’m happiest here this morning. The hillside sweeps high and steep to the south with Carns gallore, and all around is open moor thats strangely vibrant in colour.
I’m reminded wistfully of Brittany.

I was on the road by 5.30am in order to catch the morning light (should there be any) on the mountains, there was golden glow a plenty.
I came across this longcairn on coflein (bless ‘em)
whilst looking into the hut circle settlement in the valley below, at the time I thought, phwooar that must have a good view of Snowdon, I’d like to go there, so as soon as the weather picks up, and here I am.
I parked at the viewpoint on the A498 just south of the junction with the A4086 (Llamberis pass), perfect for both the longcairn and the hut circles.
There is no path to the cairn other than those created by pointless sheep, and its steep too, and when the ice thaws, wet . but the view from the top is the best in Wales, its not the top, rather a high plattau between the mountain tops proper and the valley floor, the cairn is obvious and easy to find, the longness to it is all but gone but it still makes a good round barrow.
I am inclined to beleive that this is the burial place of someone important who lived at the Cwm Dyli settlement in the valley below, from there the mountains peaks whose shadow they lived in everyday would have been hidden behind false hill crests, so where better to spend eternity than up here amongst the gods, just imagine if Bryn Celli Ddu or Pentre Ifan was up here there would be a road up to it, but i’m already sold, somewhere in this national park will receive my ashen mortal remains one day, and hopefully I can spend forever being blown from mountain top to mountain top.

I started the morning way up on high with the best view in Wales, it all went downhill from there really, literally. At 110m above sea level this might be the lowest point in the Snowdonia national park. Surrounded by the highest mountains on three sides and an open valley on t’other is where this collection of six hut circles can be found, surrounded as they are by such jaw dropping beauty it’s hard to see why the national monument record gives them such a naff name, they were obviously getting so bored naming things that they just stopped bothering altogether, why bother mentioning the power station at all thats Snowdon up there for gods sake the highest mountain in Wales and you name the place after a power station ?

I struggle to apply an iron age date to the settlement, with so many hillforts in North Wales it seems with no defences the inhabitants were either on a death wish or they were so cut off from outside the mountains that they didnt know to defend themselves, perhaps they were a lost mountain tribe, hidden from the minds of men, but not the sands of time. The cairn on the hilltop to the east with such good views of the snowdon horeshoe, might, I feel be connected with the Cwm Dyli settlement, from way down on the valley floor you cant see the mountain tops to the west, but a short half hour scramble up the hillside and there is the “best view in Wales”, if I lived here thats where I’d like to spend my for ever.
Out of the six hut circles ( three to the north, 30m south three more)one is much bigger than the others and was easily spotted from on high as I came down the mountain side, maybe the cheif of the hidden people lived here and later got interred way up the hillside. Besides the round houses there are two other structures that are unidentifiable to me but Phil Harding would probably know, it’s shame he wasn’t with me.
Its easy to get here, you can practically drive right up to the circles, in such splendid surroundings I wonder why hasn’t any else been here, but then I already know why, I only learned they were here myself a few months ago, and Ive been round and about here virtually all my life, you just dont know theyre there.

Much easier to find than the first time I came here a year or two ago, from Tal y Braich cairn/stone/cist follow the dirty wide scar of a path up to the canal type viaduct thingy, follow the c t v upto the next stile by a bridge and the cairn is fifty metres down hill.
The cairn stands proud of the surrounding heather upto a metre high, and has been half heartedly dug in to on top twice and on the southern side of the cairn is the cist.
Large and flat lies the cist lid/capstone, next to it is a rectangular hole with one wall stone obvious one more out of place and one more being buried by peat, compared to some cairns iv’e seen this is quite a good one, but the view is so awe inspiring that the place becomes a real blinder, everyone interested in the past and mountains must come here at least once.

The last point of interest on my Snowdonian walkabout was this cairn, coflein describes it thus

Burial cairn, probably Bronze Age, on the lower SW-facing slopes of Cwm Tal-y-braich. Stone built circular cairn, measuring c. 6.5m in diameter and up to 0.5m in height. The cairn has been disturbed in the past, with part of a stone cist exposed in the centre: a long thin orthostat measuring 1.8m in length and 0.6m in height

The cairn has indeed been disturbed in the past as stones stick out oddly at angle to each other, if the long side on stone is whats left of a cist, I’d really like to have seen it complete, as it would have been well impressive, as it is theres not much to keep you here for long, except the mountains, they are absolutley spellbinding, dark and mysterious Tryfan holds you completely captivated.......
untill another low flying Hawk screams past.

Eric and myself slept in the car again after another four hour midnight drive, I was so tired when we pulled up in the parking place next to the dolmen that I forgot how uncomfortable cars are for sleeping in and after marvelling at all the stars for a minute fell straight to sleep.
The alarm went off at 7.30am, Eric elected to stay and watch the car which left me and the stones alone waiting for the sun to rise, well one of us was waiting the other didnt really seem to care.
I havent been to Pentre Ifan for ten years, I know its that long because my kids havent been here, infact I think my eldest was concieved whilst on a camping trip down here. ( sorry, too much information?)
It was as awsome as I remember it, how did they get that capstone up there and how does it stay there, it sits on the sharpest point of three stones which look like they might crumble at any minute from the weight.
I wonder what happened to the two facade stone on the west of the chamber, only two stumps remain but presumably they would have been as tall as the two on the other side, theres quite a few big stones lying around perhaps one or two are these missing stones.
The sunrise was a magical moment, I circled the chamber like a predator circling its prey, or maybe a photographer getting the most from his muse. Every now and then a huge flock of noisy starlings went over, heading back to the coast for a days foraging.
Why didnt I put this place in my top three, curse you only top threeeeeee.

No problem parking, theres room for a whole hoard of megaraks (what do you call a group of megalith hunters?)
A cold and frosty morning, and since the glorious sunrise at Pentre Ifan a half hour ago the sky has really turned quite dark. Gors Fawr couldnt be any easier to find just walk from the car towards the mountains and you cant miss it.
Sixteen stones in all some fallen some still tallish and proud, some stones have that nice thick grass, some have a gorse bush and one or two have frozen pools round them.
Its a perfect place, the very short grass, ease of access, the view, and the perfect little circle, all contribute to making it a very good place to be, with a hint of Cornwallyness to them.
The pair of tall stones to the north east are a bit of a conundrum, are they explicitly connected to the circle?, are they the same age? which came first. Mysteries are good, far better than the simple truth, they say the truth will set you free,
but how free do you feel?
The only truth you need to know is that the Preseli’s are a mysterious and beautiful place, best appreciated from places like Gors Fawr.

You should probably ask for permission from the house thats next door to the cairn, we didnt, we parked infront of the gate that leads to the field next door, hopped over said gate and started making tracks in the light snow cover toward where I hoped the kerb cairn would be, trespassing is bad...ok, do as I say not as I do.
The cairn wasnt where I suppossed it to be, but a quick glance over the wall and bob was me uncle.
Reading Kammers misc note and the description by Figgis reveals two changes to the site, the brambles and hedge have gone, but the eastern arc of the circle has dissapeared under a wall, perhaps the wall and the hedge are one and the same, either way its a sad thing to see, it starts its life as the most important thing in the world ( to its builders atleast) then it lasts a few millenia
with not much at all happening, then someone thought it a good place for a wall, and ending with me, just someone looking for somewhere cool to spend some time with his son and camera, look at the pictures but dont feel sad they’re already dead.
Please forgive the melancholy.

Carn Besi is a truly knackered burial chamber, and amidst all the other treasures on show in and around the Preseli’s, there’s probably not much reason to come here.
But and however, the site has a good panoramic view of the mountains, the capstone is I think intact, there may even be the last vestiges of passage stones directly infront of and leading to the chamber.
Plus it’s so very close to the road and the parking is soooo convenient that I dont see how you wouldnt want to go have a look at Besi, plus it does have something else, something less tangible, something ethereal maybe, if you find out what it is let me know.

Eric and me left the car in a layby on the A487 right opposite the entrance to Castell Henllys.
We entered the field just yards from the car and made our way straight up hill, over one fence, and the henge/fort crowns the hilltop.
The entrances to the henge are at the northwest and southeast, I dont know if thats how most henges are, but it seems a point in favour to me.
The banks are almost covered with gorse and muddy as heck, making a circuit of the enclosure an endeavor in itself, but they are still tall, atleast 6ft in places.
If this hillfort was a henge then it was uncharacteristically large, especially so for south wales, there can’t be many superhenges in the area, its not much smaller than the Mayburgh henge way up north.

Fourth time lucky.
An early start and the roads are snow and ice free, the first time there was too much snow, the second time too much ice and fog, third time crashed the car, so it was looking good for a bit of success.
I parked on the horseshoe pass itself, and walked along the south side of Moel y faen and then up to Gribin Oernant, then I was on the main path along the Llantisilio mountains.
It should have been a good path, but it gets really steep sometimes, and in the icey conditions quite dangerous, along the path were mini glaciers angled at forty five degrees on the mountain sides, now that was really quite dangerous.
The barrow at the top is big, and has big views across more than half of north wales, I stood on top and gazed out at the world as the freezing wind gusted into my face taking out a filling in the process ( not really) I laughed at the absurdity of it all, here I was, on the edge of existence, the meaning of life perhaps just round the next corner, then in a few short hours I would be at school picking up the kids, and the whole morning will be just a memory,
fading like tears in the rain.
Untill the next time.

I approached from the horseshoe pass, up and over a windy frosty Moel y Gamelin, there and back is nearly three miles.
Unimaginatively named Moel y gaer (yet again) is very steep sided, even the path, that is wide and distinct is quite treacherous, specially this winter.
The ramparts themselves arent impressive they completely dissapear in two places, and I can only presume the entrances are west and east along the line of the hills.
But there is two really good things about this hillfort, the views are really quite good, south down to the river and llangolen, and north up to the coast with the whole legnth of the Clwydian range. The other is the intervisibilty of North Walean hillforts, I used to think of the Clwydian forts as a whole community, little knowing that this Moel y gaer was yet another in the long line of forts , and from here you can see the fabulous Dinas Bran extending the line even more.
Perhaps we could look at this at least thirty mile line of hillforts as a precursor to Offas Dyke.
Or at the very least a good days walkabout.

Parking isnt impossible, if only for a while park opposite the gate to the field.
Possibly the best sited stone on Anglesy, from the stone the Menai straits are invisible and the whole northern flanks of Snowdonia dominate the view, plus the stone is a good eight feet tall atleast. We didnt stay long, sheep with lambs eyed us with more than suspicion.

Its not first time ive been here, but way back then
I was a bit underwhelmed, I dont know why, I really liked it this time.
The sun was as high as it gets this time of year
and the light seemed to be almost alive, sparkling in the water in the ditches, Ive not seen many square lowland hillforts, and maggie being a good dog and not wandering off.
Often overlooked by the nearby perfect burial chambers, but lumps and bumps can be cool sometimes too.

At the end of a long morning I was glad of the ample parking and the road signs, with two wet moany kids in the car it was nice to leave them to their DS’s and take the ever ready maggie for her fourth walk of the day.
Its been nigh on eight years since my first visit here, but the big capstone still blows me away, and the daft wooden brace still narks me off slightly, only now its not bracing anything,its not even touching the capstone just leaning against the thinnest of the supporting uprights, so infact its doing the opposite of what it should be doing, I thought of dragging it out but then thought of half a dozen reasons not to.
On ones own on a nice day you could spend quite some time here.

After the kindly gent dropped me off at the racehorse common, I proceeded north at as brisk a pace as I could manage. In better weather I might have followed the Offas dyke path as its only in the field next to the road, but its so hard walking in the deep snow I had to save my strength for the field with the stone.
After passing through the “not even a hamlet” Carreg-y-big, the stone came in to view in the field but one from the road, even from several hundred metres away the stones lean to the west could be seen.
Over the gate, wading through the foot deep snow make for the tree on the fence line, from the tree the stones but 50yards in the corner of the field. Offas dyke and the path runs through the field so theres no tresspassing needed.
Carreg-y-big is bigger,chunkier and heavier than its nearest neighbour Cynynion a mile and a half south but they’re similarly squareish in shape and both roughly lean in the same direction, and theres no snow at the stones feet again, i’m beginning to wonder if the stone itself melts the snow.
Both stones are so close to the Welsh border they must have had a hand in the decision to place the border here, Offas dyke on the map seems to swerve west a bit just to be near the two stones.
A long and tiring walk in a winter wonderland with two big stones. Well worth it.

This stone is only a couple of miles away from Oswestry hillfort, the only reason I didnt come here years ago is I dont really do shropshire so I never owned the appropriate map, and didnt know of their existence, put that right straight away.
Needless to say that the roads are still atrocious
and the first hill outside of Oswestry saw my car doing the moonwalk, It couldnt even get a grip of the road following the snow plow. Seeing as the two stones are relatively close to each other I decided it wouldnt be too much hardship to walk from car to stone then to the other stone and back to the car.
I parked the car on the crest of the hill near the old racecourse common, and started the walk down hill, it was further than it looked on the map or perhaps i’m used to getting everywhere in a car at the hurry up, either way I got there eventually.
There is a gap in the hedge nearest to the stone so its easily seen from the road and the fence is easily stepped over, even the snow, though a foot deep was loose and creamy and fun to walk through, I delighted in walking in a few circles just to confound anyone following (like anyone is coming up here today).
The big heavy stone is about seven feet tall and leans slightly to the northwest, it has a snow free trough all around it as if sheep were hiding here. I gingerly touched the stone expecting it to be freezing cold but it was almost warm to the touch, was it my cold hands or does rock not get cold. The fog is moving quickly across the hilltops but right now it lends an ethereal beauty to the place, giving one just a whiff of the outside world.
Its time to start the long walk to the other stone, Carreg y big, when I reached the village at the bottom the hill, Rhydycrousau, a kindly old gent gave me a lift in his 4x4 back up the hill, I think he thought I was a bit nutty being out here photographing stones but he conceded that the snow certainly made for a diiferent photo.