I kinda knew where I was going but in foot deep snow, no map and deepening fog I was well pleased about getting here. The recumbent stone is almost covered by the snow, I know from here I should just be able to see the druids circle but I cant see a thing. Aubrey Burl reckons the recumbent stone is evidence for the circle being of southwest irish origin, I’ve even been to a couple of them too.
postman
I more or less blundered blindly upon this ruined stone circle, trudging through foot deep snow the fog lifted long enough to realise where I was. Ive studied maps on coflein and shroppy travellers picture helped no end, the circle is indeed knackered no more than half a dozen stones with only three still in the right place......maybe. Its a confusing place at the best of times.
This is my fourth time up here but bizzarely ive never been to these before, they’re very close to monument 280. In an area barely a hundred square yards there’s a 2m high barrow, a ruined stone circle a well preserved ring cairn and a nice little kerb cairn, when I come back with the kids in a month or two for a sunset I will difinately come back here.
After my aborted attempt on Moel y Gamelin I continued down the horseshoe pass, I almost had to stop off at Elisegs pillar.
The pillar is not ancient as is probably obvious if you wish to know more look here coflein.gov.uk/en/site/165274/details/ELISEG%27S+PILLAR%2C+CROSS+AND+BURIAL+MOUND%2C+NEAR+LLANGOLLEN/ , but coflein also says the cross was erected on a bronze age burial mound, and indeed there are a number of large barrows in the immediate area, good enough for me.
Hellish roads apart the morning was beautiful, sharp clean air seared the grime of town life away, the whole valley was crisp and white and adventure was in the air.
Way back in the summer I went to Grimes graves a more perfect day couldnt be had.
After the mines we were on route to Weeting castle when I spotted this on the map, seeing as we were passing I stopped off for a look, it’s on private land so I didnt get too close but it looks to be atleast seven feet high and twenty across.
If it were in Cheshire (my own fair homeland) it would get an information board and then get ignored but over here it’s just left to peak at travellers through the trees. Coooeee
There’s parking for one car only, seeing as Iv’e only got one car this made little difference to me.
It’s so much easier to see the winter rather than the summer solstice, ok its colder but come on three extra hours in bed.
Or alternatively three extra hours to drive somewhere remarkable, I hadnt been to Heston Brake till now but I could tell by its position that it would be a good place for a sunrise. I was dead right, although the chamber and portals are aligned just ever so slightly north of east, (but then it was a cheap compass) which would make it a perfect place for an equinox sunrise.
Or it could have been aligned on something across the Severn towards Hetty Peglars tump(god rest her soul), one thing is sure without the last millenia this would be a fantastic place, looking across the river from a well positioned big knoll, but the last millenia did happen and the surroundings have suffered somewhat, the bridges I can take, I came over one to get here (bastards charged me a fiver though) it’s all the damn pylons I cant take, not now not ever.
The chamber stones are very low are they stumps of larger stones or was it a really low chamber, I dont know, but I do like the hole in the southern side stone, perhaps for spirit exit/entry. Or, go on put your arm through and touch the ancesters..........goosebumps.
Found this one without the help of Odnance Survey, just a bog standard road map will do, once your away from “the jewel in Wales crown”
Cardiff going south on the A4232 turn right onto the A48 and when you get to St Nicholas turn left, Tinkinswood is a few hundred metres on the right. 200 metres over a muddy field.
Tinks is on her third information board in eight years, where they get to I dont know maybe it’s like Widnes railway station here. The first info board claimed her to be 4000bc and indeed she is very old, but she’s not lost any of her poise, grandeur and dare I say it, curves, she’s not a day over 3800bc or my names not mick.
After watching the solstice sunrise at Heston Brake it was nice to get away from the modern world here with this big beauty, first came here years ago with my growing family but I’m alone today, it’s good to see the old place again, nothings changed, except the information board, the trees are bare and there’s snow on the ground and it’s bloody cold, did I say I had the place to myself, ok so lots of things have changed.
We got up early and drove for three hours to get to this double dolmen, parked by the school as it was early on saturday.
For the past hour it has been snowing and it snowed all the time we were there, we indulged in a little snowball fight, Iv’e been lead to believe its compulsory to have one but not to enjoy it.
If only the big dolmen was still held aloft on its own instead of the distracting brickwork, a good place to sort your camera out, out of the rain/snow.
The smaller older dolmen is as perfect a little structure as you could hope for, Ive probably said that more than once though.
Walking in a winter wonderland....
I’m not really a fan of rusty railings, others may find interest in them but I dont see their appeal, I just can’t get past the imposition on the land, an electric cow fence might be more aesthetic if crowd control is what your after. But if you intend to keep them away, to bind them, to deny them, then a big rusty fence is what your after.
Visit the stones when ever you can, visting hours are between now and then.
I found pictures of this stone on the megalithic portal, and added the site here a couple of months ago. The stone we found is not the same stone that is on the other websitehttps://www.megalithic.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=a312&file=index&do=showpic&pid=20312, (though it does sound like coflein’s discription)but we did find something much more interesting.
Eric and me walked up the lane to the farm which owns the land the stone is on, and as we scanned the fields either side of the lane, for the stone is not on the map and I was going on memory from coflein, I was unsure exactly where the stone was. Too soon we were in the farm yard, which has a standing stone next to the gate by the road, instantly I knew this might not be ancient, so we walked past it and to the house where an older gent was by his car, I asked him if this was the prehistoric stone that was on his land, to my suprise he either couldnt or wouldnt speak English to me, though he did have a lot to say.
He beckoned us over towards his house , I looked over to my young son who was looking back at me as unsure as I was to him, cautiously we approached the house. He pointed down to a bush then lent over and pulled out a stone about a foot square
with a huge cupmark in it and a large round stone in it. All the time he was talking fluently in Welsh, only one word did I understand, Stonehenge, Stonehenge ? said I but he seemed oblivious to the fact that we didnt understand him, while we were inspecting the portable bulluan the guy went inside and came out with something quite unexpected, it was a large stone maul, heavy and smooth with a rough groove round its middle, it was obviously very old, all I could say was Wow.
Then he unfolded an old yellowed letter, written in English type and passed it to me, it was a letter of authentication saying that the stone maul had been in the family that occupies Penbryn Mawr farm since it was dug up in the vicinity, the groove round its middle is where it was lashed to a handle, or hung from an A frame.
I handed back the letter and stone in a sort of glazed way, what did this mean? why wouldn’t he speak proper? why did he mention Stonehenge ? was the maul stolen from a dig there years ago then brought here.
I was and am disappointed that I didn’t take more time to read the letter at least twice, it seemed quite important.
Then I asked if I could photograph the standing stone and he kind of nodded, perhaps in a non comprehending sort of way then spoke once more in his, seeing as I’m not welsh I can only presume he was speaking it but as far as I know he could have been talking complete gibberish, only one word did I understand, genuine, then with hand gestures he said go right. I don’t know if he was talking about the stone I saw on the mega port or the Maen Llwyd a mile back down the road. Another visit with a welsh speaking friend might find this other stone, and reveal more about the maul, he was very friendly.
A really good stone this one, very shapely and gnarled it reminded me of Adam (or eve) to the west of Avebury. About eight feet tall with good views over towards the city of the giants (what a cool name)
Seeing as we started the day with a big burial chamber it felt right to end it with one too, from one side of Snowdonia to the other.
I can see why the farmer doesnt really like having folk over to gawp at the stones, there’s nowhere good to park and your made to feel like your intruding (which we are), but this is such an important site some money should be spent on parking, up by the road maybe.
Not quite the winter wonderland, more of a toenumbingarseendoftheyearland, but even in the snow and excepting the stick carrying farm dog, this is still a good place to be. The big capstone, the passage and side passage, with standing stones in the walls. Magnificent.
Not bad
North of the A70, a straight road up to the three lakes Llyn Mawr, Llyn y Tarw and the little but lovely Llyn du, park right between two footpaths, the right path goes to Carreg hir standing stone, the left path is the one we want.
Praise be the inventor of the modern wellington boot.
The path between the two lakes (Mawr and du)
is muddy and mostly puddles, but today I have been mostly wearing waterproofs so was immune to the capricious welsh weather.
The best path to the stone row is up and along the long crag of Craig y Llyn Mawr, past the Llyn Mawr cairns and menhir, all the way to the trig point(485m). Whilst on top of the hill the weather gave up trying to penatrate my clothing and we made up with a double rainbow, surely one of natures most incredible and beautiful creations.
From the trig point follow the rocky ridge top till it rejoins the footpath and ends at a fence, go through the gate and turn right the alignment is a hundred yards up the hill on your left.
There are four main stones in the row, but some other smaller ones are next to these. The southern most stone is the largest and leans at 45 degrees to the west, if upright it might be a whopping two feet tall, the other stones struggle to be 12 inches.
There are also two cairns to the north of the row and in line with the stones well that’s what mappy and coflein says, but on the ground only one stood out.
To complete your walk either keep going north till you get to the Glonc Cairns, or follow the path past the stones down to Lluestuchaf farm and then on to the road.
Hopefully if you go through with all this you wont like me have to change a flat tyre when you get back.
Gggrrrrrr
Good weather comes at a cost round here, all those rainbows have to be paid for.
God knows how anyone can call this a cairn let alone a kerb cairn, I dont know, perhaps its been excavated and proved as such, but it looks more like a stone jumble now or a bit of outcropping.
Oh well, you never know till you get there do you,
now no-one else need bother.
After all the rainbows and other sites this morning this place was a little bit dissapointing. (naff)
Parking for one only, despite being next to a nature reserve. Leave the car between two footpaths next to Llyn Mawr and Carreg Hir.
Take the path between the lakes, at the end of the lake take left fork and head for top left corner of field.
The kerb cairn itself is at ground level almost. the only point of interest is the 1.2metre tall stone at its centre, I wont mention Glenquicken. Damn I did, its nothing like that cool stone circle, but its view is much better.
Through the gate and up the hill is cairn 2, about 50metres away, a much more substantial monument with a view to match cairn 1 but with no centre stone. Plus the added convenience of higher ground nearby for that all important gods eye view.
About a hundred yards north of Carreg Hir standing stone is this large low ring cairn.
Brilliant views south into the valley, and west is the long crag of Craig y llyn mawr. On a beautiful morning its as nice as place as you could hope for, but in the rain and gloom its a proper depressing place, so much depends on the weather in Wales, say your prayers to the storm god and maybe you could beat my record of twelve rainbows in three and a half hours, honestly ive never seen so many rainbows.
When reading the big orange book one of the pages that stays in the mind most is The hill of many stanes, if you know what I mean. And so it is with this site. (see previous pic)
Over the hill a hundred yards or so is a large low ring cairn.
Even though this is the biggest stone in the area and the most tangible of ancient activity I left it till last, storm clouds brewed over the horizon but golden morning light bathed the valley below me, despite the rain it was a magical rainbow filled morning. Then I had to change a flat tyre upon returning to the car, you can’t have everything.
North of the A470 head towards Carreg hir standing stone which is on the map, pass two lakes on the left, open a gate and follow the rough farm track and park after another gate.
The small lake, llyn y Tarw lies south east on its northern shore is a foopath that goes within metres of this most idle of half hearted stone circles.
I’m not 100% sure I found it, but I was in the right place and I knew what to look for thanks to Cofleins discription::: Stone circle comprising of at least 39 stones set in a ring 19.25m in diameter. The stones are mostly small, measuring on average no more than 0.5m and vary from lying flat within the ground to standing upright to heights of 0.5m :::
I certainly didnt find 39 stones, more like 9, two of which are maybe 10inches high three stones just poke above the surface and four I managed to free from there mossy embrace, the other thirty must be under the grass.
This stone circle wasnt rediscovered till 1981 and if nothing was done to it then, then its very probable that it was the stones I found and in the intervening 27 years its doing its best to get lost again. Gooooo stones !!!
I dont know if it was the shitty weather, the diminutive stones or my passing forty on thursday, but , this may have been my most disatisfactory endeavor to date, most depressing.
Easy to get to but not so easy to define due to heather coverage. If anyone is as daft as me and wants to track this place down drive all the way through the forest and park right at the top of the hill, the ring cairn occupies the highest point (455m) .
The view to the west and east is full and lengthy, but the forest blunts the eyefull north and south.
It is easily identified but nigh on impossible to photograph.
Coflein describes it thus : A well preserved and prominent ring cairn, 12m in diameter formed by a stone bank 3m wide and 1m high, with a central open area, 5m in diameter.
The weather was at best, shite , so I didnt stay long
Not marked at all on my Landranger map but thankfully down as a cairn on Coflein and presumably the bigger map.
On the B5106 turn west in Tal y bont, take the only left turn off that nightmarishly steep lane and continue all the way to end of the road at the reservoir.
Moel Eilio (546m) stands above the lake and half way up the mountain on a plateau is this “cairn”, as close to the mountain as it can be without being too steep.
I came across this neat sounding description on Coflein whilst broad sweeping the blue dots just to see whats been missed...
Remains of a probable Bronze age cairn situated in a prominent position on a terrace on the NE-facing slopes of Moel Eilio, overlooking the Afon Porth-Llwyd valley. Circular in plan, measuring 13m diameter and up to c. 1.2m in height, over a slight ring bank following the rim of the platform and a partial stone circle offset from the centre. At least 10 orthostats are visible, several being of considerable length (up to 1.8m) – the cairn has partially collapsed or has been disturbed in the past
Calling this site a cairn is doing it a bit of a disservice, it’s a stone circle, the stones are quite large the ring obvious from a distance and marked by a wind oppressed tree.
The plateau on which it was built is quite large and of all the places it could have gone they chose to build it as close to the mountain as they could, from here you can see Pen y gear hillfort, Hafodygors wen and Waen Bryn-Gwenith collapsed dolmen and hill top stone.
Maybe it could be seen as the southern extreme of the Tal y Fan sites, including others such as the Cerrig Priffaid stone circle and Maen y Bard dolmen.
Further south about 500 metres is Moel Eilio standing stone, I found three likely contenders but none of which I’d stake my name on, but i’m not alone, not only does Coflein fail to describe the stone but they too failed to find it, I did find a well preserved enclosure of undetermined age though.
There is room for two cars to park at the side of the road near to the footpath sign, on the Trelawnyd to Llanasa road, east of the mound and caves.
The path through the trees is a nice walk especially in the autumn (funny how nine months of three other seasons dulls the mind to the memory of this most beautiful season) when you arrive at the foot of the mound turn left and go through the stile and down the hill about twenty yards , take care not to run, the cliff with the cave comes up quick.
I love a good cave, and now apparently so does my daughter, gee I wish I’d brought a torch she wanted to explore it more and so did I but it was a bit of an opportunistic visit so I was ill equiped, next time maybe (how many times have I said that). we did see two sheltering butterflys hanging from the cave roof they were a velvety dark purle/brown in colour and quite lovely.
George Nash, doyen of Welsh dolmens says there was an actual burial chamber constructed inside the cave, unique in Wales. It was rectangular in shape three walls erected with the roof and back wall formed by the cave wall itself, though I didnt know precisely where in the cave I was supposed to be looking but I still didnt see owt that looked manmade.
Finds found at time of excavation include a Graig Lwyd polised axe, a discoidal polished flint knife and a jet slider or necklace, allegedly sold by a worker to a tourist.
I felt this trip was a going to be a bit special just six miles into it when we had a close encounter with a barn owl of which Iv’e seen maybe a dozen all of them at or going to or from the stones. Then the police closed the road and we had to detour half an hour out of our way.
Almost there the road goes crazy steep and hairpinny, Eric near wet himself and scolded me for going too fast.
We parked at the footpath sign and I squeezed effortlessly into the one car parking place, there is a carpark further along but it gets so full theres no room to turn around.
We crossed the stile and headed off into the wilds, the first thing you notice about the area is its jaw dropping beauty, I dont know if it was the early morning light shining on the colours of Autumn or the buzz of exploration but I didnt even see the second thing you notice and thats how quickly your feet and lower legs get wet, being a stoopid ‘uman that usually narks me off, but not today, this is better than perfect.
On the south side off the Afon Dulyn are lots of rocky outcrops, hiding amongst them are the ruins of inhabitants past, from here across the river the land rises slowly untill it aburptly goes up climbing into a mountain. boulders share the hillside with spikey gorse and it is here that Hafodygors wen hides, the only clue to its location is a nearby rock the biggest on this side of the river, the ring cairn is fifty yards south.
I almost couldnt beleive it when I read Cofleins discription of it, the words that most jumped out from the page are Scottish four poster, and that is what it looks like. Four large stones much akin to the Goatstones are surrounded by and partly in a low ring of cairn material, it looks like any four poster ive been to only with a ring cairn.
Over the mountain is circle 275 a five stone ring of Irish origin why not have a circle of Scottish origin, we already have the Radnor four stones, so I dont see much reason why it cant be. My only problem is this what are the chances of finding something like this whilst doggedly clicking on blue spots on the coflein map, surely there must have been more stones in the ring and these are the last four left, but you never know.
Its appearance is inescapeable, if it waddles, quacks and looks like a duck...........
Seeing as it was on the way from ring cairn to stone row I had to have a look see, it’s not much to look at now just a giant buried banana, but it is part of the collective here and it is in superb surroundings .
No casual visitor ever comes here, i’ts about a mile from the road through bogs and thick tall grasses across a river, pass the amazing Hafodygors wen, and head for the ruined farmstead beneath the summit of Pen y Castell, there is no path but it’s not hard to find.
Coflein says much about the place
coflein.gov.uk/en/site/279061/details/FFRITH-Y-BONT%2C+STONE+ROW/
I hope they are as ancient as other antiquities in the area, the whole valley is totally steeped in history from all eras so they maybe comparitively recent.
Four stones all man height, aligned on the only four poster in North Wales, could I really be so lucky to have stumbled through the archives and onto something remarkable.
With cold wet feet, Eric and me happily marched up the hill looking for this possible dolmen. He’s got my old camera and is taking pictures of everything, bugs, stones, mountains, anything that stops him from noticing the fresh air and exercise is all good, besides whos going to carry on the Postmans good work when i’m too old and crackered.
Coflein assures me that this could well be a collapsed dolmen, two likely looking orthostats though fallen still prop up the capstone. Other reasons for it’s legitamacy are thus: After seeing many semi earthfast quoits and dolmens in south wales this seems to be the design employed here also Sling is just over the mountains. The area is just chokka with ancient remains so the burial chamber isnt out of place. It’s exact location is similar to other monuments of the same design, half way between mountain top and valley floor.
Though I’m still not completely convinced I am at the end of the day still only a postman, unlike Eric who was adament that this was a burial chamber.
But dont take our word for it why not go take a look for yourselves, and take an Archaeo dude too.
After a long morning with cold wet feet it was just fantastic to come up here with this magnificent view, the mountains, the Conwy valley behind me and Pen y Gaer hillfort to the right, and this stonking great stone.
It certainly isnt standing up and never did it either
but Coflein states that the stone was deliberatly placed here, on the hilltop for ritual/ funerary/religous purposes . It is visible from anywhere in the vicinity, aligned almost east-west and very reminiscent of the deliberatly placed stone on the other nearby hillfort summit at Caer Bach.
For ages I thought the Bridestones were my nearest ancient place, but then I found out about this place, I knew it was on my to do list but for some reason or another it seems to have taken ages for me to find the time to drive just twenty minutes away. Strange.
Situated in a farmland triangle made by the A54 and the A534 and a small lane connecting the two.
Park as close to the trig point as you can, then walk over to it and the long barrow is seen beneath you.
What a big one this is, in Wiltshire it would be one amongst many, but up here in the megalithic desert that is most of Cheshire it is pretty darn rare to say the least, how could have I been so remiss to have left this fine tree covered long mound in the pictureless wilds of obscurity.
It is well preserved (also rare for Cheshire) and though it is tree covered they are tall mature trees that lend an air of tranquility here between the fast roads.
One more thing, not only is the long barrow aligned NW-SE but its also aligned on a chink in the hillside where the Bridestones burial chamber sits and the winter solstice sun rises, much like Marton church prehistoric mound.
I came here just a few days ago under greyer skies and totally failed to find it, mainly due to being on the wrong side of the road. I boned up a bit more on Coflein and realised my schoolboy error, today was a better day all round.
It’s a long road and the cairn is about half way between Capel Curig and the turn off for Llamberis. from CC go past the two lakes llynau Mymbyr pass Cwm Clorad Isaf farm, and park on the left, the cairn is between you and the river next to a 10m length of wall, not the V shaped wall the smaller one, if you do go looking for this cist it will all make sense.
It was such a beautiful morning to finally find this
place, the cist has kept well over the centuries, and parts of the cairn rim are still obvious, the standing stone is even there still, I think, standing only two to three feet tall, hidden in a small length of wall.
If minor (and I mean minor) meglithic sites aren’t your thing then come for the views because they are most definately MAJOR.
Could I eckers like find the other cist over the road though, more boning up me-thinks.
I parked at the bottom of the hill on the north-west side of the fort, and walked back round and up the road till I came to the driveway of the nice house that somehow ended up inside a two thousand year old hillfort.
I asked permission from the very nice lady at the house and she pointed out the path that goes round the site, neatly cut grass defines the path that follows the ditch between the highest and the middle bank.
There are three banks to the fort, the tops of them are covered in bracken and thorny gorse, the only way to appreciate any of the place is by following the path or by flying over in something that flies. Only a minor backdoor did I find in the wooded section, which covers about a quater of the fort, I think maybe the original grand entrance was where the house is now.
There was a big stone lying in the centre of the hillfort but it had been half buried and moss was trying to cover the rest, there was also a lot of big stones in the wooded section with holes drilled in them.
Brilliant views over to Llamberis pass and Snowdon, but the hillfort needs a good de-vegatising.
I arrived at Whitesands bay carpark at gone 3 am and got a few hours tossing and turning in. (god cars are crap for sleeping in )
I started the walk over to the chamber at about 6.45 am the sun wasn’t putting in an appearance today but was seen to the stoneless east of the country.
What a fantastic place for a burial chamber, just imagine if theyd’e built Stonehenge here or even just Carreg Samson, makes me quiver to think it.
The wind that had been blowing hard all night now brought in the mist off the sea, turning it into stingy face rain, Carn llidi disappeared completely which is a neat trick if you know how big it is and nature doesn’t use mirrors.
I hid from the elements, no I didnt, I got closer to my ancestors and got in the chamber, using my thick hat as a cusion I sat still for a while, only noise was the wind, I closed my eyes and began to drift off.
This was the first time I ever fell asleep at a place like this, I almost remember a dream sequence, just one as I was only out for five minutes.
From here I can see a big rock just feet away, it has straight lines on it, ha nature abhors straight lines my arse, is it art or more probably fossilised sea slug tracks.
I dont think the capstone has fallen, there is a long stone on the chambers northern side that would have effectively blocked that side and the other stones here would have blocked the other gaps, also if the capstone were to be in any other position the visual impact from the south would be less and the interplay between capstone and mountain would also be lost.
Well worth the drive down and walk up, but you might not want to do it on an empty stomach with no sleep, god knows what the spirits were up to whilst I slept.
Oh what joy. (sorry just wanted to balance Dominics fieldnotes)
I came from Coetan Arthur and it was a wide and easy to follow path so theres no reason to see one without the other. On the way I saw what could have been a three stone row, probably not though. But hey why not ?
The only good thing about the gun platforms and the road to it is it makes the chambers impossible to miss.
Poor Dominic must have been on a real downer when he was here, the place was a real buzz for me, the mist had cleared somewhat revealing the fantastic views, the idea that these were childrens tombs looking over to their fathers sounds rediculous to me. More probable is the older tomb of Coetan Arthur took its focus as Carn Llidi so subsequent generations went one better and got as close to the rock as they could whilst keepking their focus on the illustrious ancestor.
Follow the track back down to the road and your just a couple hundred yards from the carpark, a brilliant and beautiful coastal ring walk.
I parked on the road by Gilfach farm entrance and walked up the drive, its also the course of the footpath so I waved at the farmer in his kitchen with the air of someone who’s aloud to be there.
Through a gate is the half overgrown path straight as an arrow up the hillside, a helpful signpost points further on and tells us Cromlech 150m....Awsome
But very very wet and you havent seen this many slugs anywhere I promise you.
I had no idea what the cromlech would look like but the word cromlech always conjures pictures of Maen y Bard on Tal y Fan for me which was very unhelpful as it looks nothing like what I found.
Beneath the first rock outcrop you come to is a large flat stone, this is it.
On such a misty morning there was no view at all so there was no choice but to get in and have a look round. The capstone is completely elavated from the earth, held up by orthostats 18” high and smaller chock stones. Inside was two feet high, quite dry and comfy but my squirming for pictures of the orthostats got me filthy, angry wife filthy.
The capstone if you can call it that, is immense, on its upper surface are two triangular depressions and a straight line. I thought nature abhors straight lines, but its not the first Ive seen today.
On a beautiful summers evening this would be a perfect place to be, but wet cold and dirty with slugs on top isnt the perfect equinox.
Five for the price of one, how cool is that, I’d have stopped even if there was just one, infact Iv’e climbed mountains for much less.
Rediculously I couldnt find it, a bit of brain freeze maybe but I was definately in the wrong field, back to the road and start again.
There isnt anywhere good to park nearby i parked two hundred yards east and walked back down the road.
The bracken was high but is now beginning to wilt
so I helped it on it’s way by trampling as much as I could. Watchful cows feigned ignorance from the corner of the field, but I’m awake enough to know when I’m being watched.
I tend to think the whole shabang was built into a single cairn with five cists pentagonaly arranged throughout.
Were the occupants of each cist a single person, or a whole family, or a whole family line. I couldnt help thinking of family, lineage and things like that. Then on to my own family, my own mortality then I got quite depressed and had to leave, perhaps the cup marked rock i’m going to next can cheer me up.
A visit with a couple of differences.
As I approached the field that contains this cup marked stone I was slowed down by a funeral prosession walking slowly up the road, they eventually passed into the field next door to the one I wanted and I passed them by, parking at the end of Cwmgloyne farm lane.
I walked back down the road to the gate, I could see the stone at the other end of the field near another gate but I could also see a herd of young cows, as soon as I was in the field with the gate closed behind me they all rushed over far too quickly I got out sharpish.
I walked down the road a bit more and found the stile into the field, once over the stile they saw me and came over to resume the meet and greet
another sharp exit.
What to do ? I wasnt going to let Mcdonalds wannabes get the better of me.
I walked into the field the funeral procession had entered in the hope of making it to the other gate that the stone was next to, the funaraleers had congregated in the next field over and were obviously doing the deed.
I tried my best to melt into the scenery and two fences later I was in the field with the gate, Harry Secombe was doing his level best to be heard in heaven and was doing really well. I slowly and silently approached the gate, the cupmarked stone was about 10metres away and the stoopid cows were way over there.
I swallowed heavily and entered the arena camera at the ready, they wouldnt give me long with my metamorphic friend.
Three speedy pictures and they were on to me, god cows can move quick, as I locked the gate I felt hot breath on my cheek. Hah, I beat you,
would a cow feel an empty pop bottle hit upon its head, I liked to think so. All this accompanied by loud Welsh funeral music made it a really bizzare stone hunt, but very enjoyable.
I parked at the bottom of the uphill driveway, mostly because I was going to have to ask permission for a visit and it always pays not to blunder around peoples farms in your car, if the farm was called Cerrig Llwydion it is no more, cant quite remember the new name, Nant something or other.
The farmer was very Welsh and had no problem
with me inspecting the chambers he pointed the way and off I went, this was the last port of call and I was frankly crapped up to the eyeballs, so god knows what he thought of this crazy Englishman.
I knew this chambered long cairn was incorperated in a field boundary but was still dissapointed to find the place barely recognisable as such, the rear chamber has collapsed, two stones in the middle look like another ex chamber but the front chamber still hangs on to its dignity and one can still peer inside under its capstone,
The cows all but ignored me.
In June of 69, Britain’s longest cable car was opened, ferrying 1000 people an hour the two miles from happy valley to the top of the Great Orme. My family came to Llandudno every summer when I was small and a few times we went on the cable car, from this perfect vantage point I always gazed round the natural beauty of this large natural amphitheater, the dark and mysterious cave below only visible for a few seconds as you sail by just added to the splendor of the Orme, one day I told myself i’ll have a look round that place.
After a couple of goes on the toboggan run I managed to drag the kids off the beach day track, and off into the bushes we went, with only the cable above to point the way.
This is a big cave, a square mouth with a long square chamber, immediatly to the right is a tiny opening six feet up the wall, one could crawl through to what looks like a bigger chamber, but with no torch and noway in hell were my kids going in there, we didn’t go further.
To the left of the cave mouth is the other part of the cave with a higher floor and three openings of its own.
Coflein states there are two caves, Kendricks upper and lower, the uppers entrance being 6metres above the lowers, weather these two caves are now one I do not know but I could see no other cave, not even from the cable car. But there is an area on top of the lower cave that you cant see from the ground so maybe its there, if it is its got to be harder to get to than its buddy below.
This one is a brilliant little stone circle .
There is room for one or two cars south of the stones on the road where it hoops north round and over a small stream. Access the hillside through two stones (Cant be missed) go up till you leave the wooded stream and cross it, fifty metres or so from here is a modern stone, part of a trackway across the wilderness. From here, after admiring the wonderful Stanage edge, walk directly towards the closest part of the Edge(North East) for about three to five minutes all the time looking for a small but noticable cairn. If you can find it congratulate yourself and carry on in the same direction for a further three minutes looking all the time for grey stones. If you find your way straight there you did better than me, I think the map isnt entirely accurate and it sent me and Arnie the bat faced dog in an exhausting and isolating trek over this almost barren wildeness, but at the same time I found a row of cairns aligned east-west and the weird gurgling of red grouse kept my spirits up.
The stones,of which I think there are seven are set into a bank, and I think the same helpfull guy who’d been chopping back the bracken at Hordrens edge had been here too, and recently judging by the cut marks on the stems and the cuttings hadn’t had time to disperse in the wind.
After taking sooooo long to get here I couldnt sit and appreciate the place as fully as i’d liked, I can imagine sitting here quite a while, but the time I did spend was time well spent, a very nice little stone circle.
Plenty of parking half a mile south east of the circle, where the road meets the pleasantly named Hell bank plantation, there was a dozen cars there when I joined the throng.
Follow the path with the trees on your left then climb a high stile over the wall and take the left track. The circle is about fifty yards from this track on the right, a land rover type track passes right by the circle and goes on towards Hob Hursts house.
The tallest most impressive stones are on the south side whilst some of the stones on the north side are only just poking above the grass and not all of them are original, one or two are quite loose.
Give me a few good men and one afternoon with shears and we could have this place looking postcard presentable, but untill then lets just be glad it’s here at all, for every stone circle thats still here, how many passed away into oblivion ?
Despite the full carpark I only saw three people all afternoon.
Slightly more than a half mile north east of Park gate stone circle, and a pleasant walk up a gentle hillside with the goblins wood to the left and open moor and Harland edge to the right, crossing Harland sick on the way, there are four sicks in the vicinity, looked like a stream to me.
I had seen the pictures on here a long time ago and had since forgotten what the place looked like, so I was looking for a more normal cairn, all’s I knew was it was on my must see list, so given a whole afternoon to myself there was only one thing to do, go round Hob’s house.
Hob must have been livid when he saw what Bateman and his mates were up to, far too angry to have been simply mischevious, he must have exploded in a green cloud of desperate anguish, he could have decapitated them all in an instant, but this was the modern world now and the pact of non interferance with the pink skins left him impotant and empty.
Ive been to a few burial chambers and cairns but this place is unique, as I said, I wasnt sure what I was looking for, but when I found it a big smile came to me and I thought no wonder it was on my to do list. It is a little wonder is Hob hursts house, a big sqaure cist made of more than a dozen stones, on a big sqaure barrow surrounded by a sqaure ditch. It looked very much to me like a teeny weeny little Arbor low.
Someone has been here with the intention of displaying the barrow all the ditch was free of ferns and most of the chamber was clear also, I pulled a few out myself and then reclined for a while listening intently for distant whispering voices but only got bridsong, damn those flying mice.
Do not walk from Pendine with its fantastic beach unless your into the coast path going up and down, instead turn right to Marros before you get to Pentywyn then turn left by a campsite and drive through a long thin wood and you’ll get to a lovely little beach between Ragwen point and Gilman point. the burial chambers are on the cliffs to your right/west.
If we had started here, it still would have been an ordeal getting up to them and then finding them amongst the rocks and ferns, unfortunatly
we started in Pendine and my daughter only had on her imperfectly fitting wellies because her always tired dad forgot to find her boots. Boooo !
We headed for the rock stack as it looked like it was in the right place and was visible from quite a distance, I was uncharacteristically bang on the money as at its foot was what looked like a badly damaged chamber I had a quick look and followed the cliff top ( with only a ten foot drop I hesitate to call it a cliff) down towards the sea, untill we came upon the chamber featured by coflein.
The chamber orthostats were taller than I anticipated, the capstone was bigger too and the view more inspiring than I’d thought possible.
We cleared some of the ferns to get a better look at the place and we found it to be perfect in almost every way.
Going back up the hill to the rock stack we pass two big rocks and the next chamber arrives on the conveyer belt of antiquity. The upright stones of the chamber are more skewed and broken and the capstone lies broken but identifiable at their feet.
Then just ten feet from the rock stack is the most forlorn of the four chambers only three stones of the chamber survive all the others lie around broken indistinguishable from the light smattering of cairn material that is also here.
I was about to give up on the last chamber, we had ascended the cliff top and were walking along looking for anything likely, when I spotted a long flat stone and I went down to have a look and nearly fell in. I had stumbled upon what seemed to be the fourth and most intact of the chambers. The capstone was at floor level and at one corner was an opening going underneath the heavy looking capstone, after clearing the ferns we discovered a step going down which is what I nearly tumbled into. I peeked the camera through the opening and took a photo with the flash on, it revealed all the uprights in place and the cairn material peeped through the orthostatic windows, it was indeed the other chamber, or first one depending on which way you came ?
The walk back to the car was nice but the little one needed bags of encouragement and bribes
Definatly dont confuse with the other longstones further east, this is the three metre tall, 3 in 1 stone at St Ishmael’s. Easily found just 80 yards from the road but cant be seen from the road because the land owner has put up some big green square box type shed, but if you have the os map and looked on google earth you’ll know about it before hand.
Iv’e dubbed it the 3 in 1 stone because, as it first came into view and as I approached it looked like a big phallic type stone, but then changed into a tall thin skinny, and then into wide broad ‘playing card’ (?) type stone. was it just a product of my direction/approach or was it erected because of it’s triality (wide and thin).
On top of a mountain called Drum 770metres up and on the edge of Snowdonia national park this cairn occupies an epic position above Llyn Anafon, across the valley Foel Fras (942m) and Llwytmor (849m) flank in the hidden valley below, and behind us the Conway valley.
The cairn has been badly ruined, being turned into a very effective wind break, the cairn material has been cleared from the interior down to the bedrock.
We parked at the end of the road under the power lines at Bwlch y ddeufaen, walked up to the standing stones past the cairn and when we reached the wall, we followed it up to the top, 670 metres high, to find this large cairn and the most spectacular of views.
Although it was raining lightly the ferocious wind whipped the tiny raindrops into your face like a micro meteor shower, a bright and vibrant rainbow arched right the way across the valley below, and disappearing into the brightening sky a crescent moon hung low above the peak of Foel Fras.
Wow it was windy, but another hundred metres further up is another cairn,I wondered if maybe it was too windy to be wandrin’ round up here, soaked and cold but smilin’.
There is a convenient placed lay-by right where the roads closest to the cairns, we left the car, jumped a fence, we hid amongst the trees untill a large mound hid us from the nearby farm no doubt of the same name, and jumped the other fence and headed for our quarry, well cairn.
The smaller of the two was easy to find as it straddled the end of wooded area and open field, it was wholly in the trees but probably due to stone robbing as there is a really indecent scoop out of the middle so that only a crescent moon shape cairn is left.
The other cairn is two metres high and in much better condition so I wondered how I’d missed it, is it behind the large mound ? to make sure we had the best possible chance of being able to see it we climbed the large mound, but before we’d got there the penny dropped and ...“oh it is the large mound”.
There has been some cairn slippage and it’s virtually covered the quite big natural mound that its builders chose for this cairn, mound, mound, go on say it slowly mooouuunnd.
Geographically only a couple hundred yards away from the easily found sitting duck of Gruline, but an adventurous expedition is what my visit turned into.
The os map said the stone stood in a clearing, a long rectangle of grasses within a large wooded area, unfortunately the abomination that is Rhodadendron had got in there and most of the free land is now impenatrable. Eric and me got turned round several times finding ourselves back in the same place not twice but three times, same idyllic bend in the river, same fallen tree. On one of our ways round a herd of Red deer passed us by on their way somewhere, just about ready to give up and try to find the road (where ever that might be), when my son Eric who was beginning to know his way round and was about twenty feet ahead suddenly shouted there it is, and it was.
Leaning in god knows which direction, but doing its best to hide amongst the ‘orrible bushes which are pretty but far from home. About eight or nine feet tall, three feet wide and one foot thick, it would have been nice to sit in it’s thrall for considerably longer than we did, but it was a combined visit to the other stone and the two big cairns, wife and daughter were wating at the car with two hot dogs (K9) and it seemed like we’d been gone for ages.
Bye stone.
I parked on the Hepple to Holystone road next to something called a Bastle, of which there are a few hereabouts, what one is I don’t know, a castle with a cold probably.
There is no path to the stones from here, but with a good os map it should be easy enough, a good os map is needed for all places round here.
Eric was initially unimpressed with the site “is that it” he said , we had come a long way perhaps he was expecting some thing more.
After we had cleared and flattened as much bracken as possible and Eric had climbed up the biggest stone the place was much more agreeable.
Away over the trees at the armies otterburn camp the army was letting rip with the big guns, rifles punctuated by cannon fire, this was no grouse shoot.
So what happened to the fifth king ? I think it was he who turned these four kings to stone, as kings aren’t really known for dancing on the sabbath, and they definatley don’t conga. The stones are set at strange angles to each other specially the wide terminal stone at the west end.
The two end stones are much bigger than the inner two. A good stone row, pity about the view.
At upper chatto farm the farmer let us park and walk up from there, which saved us about half a mile, the directions are identical to the Five stanes circle except go round the left hand side of the long fenced off copse.
Once your on top of the ridge your standing on a roman road known as Dere street, because of the three ancient places along these hills can I assume the Romans only made the original track more Rome worthy.
The cairn is the other side of the wall but doesnt hide behind it, its stones actually peep over it to visitors walking along the other side, like a puppy wanting a fuss.
Only two stones are still in situ the others are strewn about and broken. Brilliant place though, I think i’ll come back to these Cheviots again, and soon.
A mile or so east of the ring is Upper Chatto farm (not to be confused with Chatto at the bottom of the hill) I drove up there and asked if it was ok to leave the car somewhere round here whilst we go up to the stones. The nice farmer said it was fine and showed me where to park and even pointed out where on the hill above us the stones were, I thanked him kindly and Eric and I set off up the track which is driveable but not allowed by the farmer I’d just seen.
When the track becomes undriveable just head up hill, bend round the right hand side of a long fenced off copse, just go up to the top you cant fail.
Remarkably there really are five stones at the Five stanes stone circle, not like some of them other sites that lie and tell tales. Aubrey reckons there was probably eight stones but I’d guess nine mostly because of ninestanes rigg a few miles southwest. Two of the five are out of place and another two are twenty yards down the hill.
A really nice place with glorious views of the Cheviots, Trestle Cairn should be seen half a mile south and a standing stone can be seen from both the circle and the cairn at NT 758 161, we didnt have enough time for all three which I kicked myself for half of the way home.
An uncharacteristic trip east far beyond the Peak district, hah !! Norfolk laughs in the face of the Peaks easterlyness. It still took a yawning three hours to get here, and this was the only destination on the list (except Sherwood forest on the way back).
It was Saturday morning in early June and we had the entire site to ourselves, which was nice.
We bought our tickets and went straight to the shed that houses the stairway to below, which threw the guide a bit as most people have a look around first, but not me, time for chilling amongst the sleepy hollows later, right now I want my mind blowing, and Grim was the man for the job.
Our lad Eric chickened out and wouldnt go down, so me and the wife took it in turns, she went first, she came back up 5minutes later with a glazed look on her face, and said “uummm that was cool” . I’ll be the judge of that said I, then the earth swallowed me whole and I was in a different world.
The air was cool down below and I was all alone, the only sound was the tour guide many feet above me wittering on about the Iceni no doubt, what do they say about a bit of knowledge?
I settled into the place and explored as fully as possible every nook and cranny. I really liked the well worn floor under the stoop, but I only hope ancient feet made it and not some self important
victorian dudes. Hayley was right, it was cool
Time to go back up top side, half way up is a line of big black flint nodules still poking from the mine walls, then when light starts to make a come back so does the mosses and ferns.
The tour guide was just telling Eric how the miners were six year old children and it only took one summer to fully excavate and fill back in again. My spidey (bollocks radar)sence tingling we exited the shed and the guideman sent us in a easterly direction towards Boudiccas mound where she may or may not have adressed her native followers to expel those dreadful Romans.
She’s understandably a major theme round here as this was centre of the Iceni home turf.
More than four hundred mines, thousands of buttercups and a handfull of singing birds chilled me right out after too.
Why not visit Weeting castle afterwards a delightful ruin amongst strong mature trees ,we did, which was nice.
The last place on our summer solstice sojourn, parking can be had further down the road in the proper carpark then a short walk back down the road to the footpath. Once on the footpath, I’m affraid we walked in a circular motion looking at all the field walls (and there were many) for I knew only of this chamber that it was in a wall, worked a treat too.
The whole burial chamber has collapsed, except perhaps the large capstone which is still propped up at one side by the wall, the wall only cuts the place in two on a visual level. the place felt unaffected by the wall