postman

I’ve wanted to do this for ages, watch the sunrise from Swinside stone circle in the Lake district then M6 it up and into Scotland, A75 to Newton Stewart in time for sunset at Torhousekie stone circle, they both have solstice alignments, Swinside’s over the right hand portal stones, and at Torhousekie the three central stones are aligned on the winter solstice sunset, and the summer solstice sunrise, but I did that one years ago.

It was even possible to get to a few close to sites as well, it all worked a treat, apart from a bungle at the beginning. But everywhere we’d been was just leading up to this place, the cloud cover was 50/50, the sun came and went quickly, but would, it seemed be in attendance at the crucial moment. We sat and watched for a while, but it was windy and cold so Eric wrapped himself in blankets and lay down out of the wind by the central stones, which was fine for a while. But then the groovy sky lights started to dance and I took to frenzied photo mode, trying, mostly in vain to not include my 11 year old vagrant. In the end, the cold, and being in the way drove him back to the welcoming warmth of the car.

Freed of parental considerations I swung into action, balancing on gate posts, teetering on wall corners, ducking, diving, crouching and standing still like a normal person as the light dictated. It was Gymnastics meets photography, Photonastics perhaps.
Then I sat and watched for a bit more, it is a fantastic world, is it not? if this all happens by complete chance, then we really are a lucky bunch of buggers aren’t we, then I wished the boy hadn’t gone off to the car, moments like this were made for sharing. I’ll go and get him and go for a look see at the last of the golden glow from the three stone row over the road.

One up two down.

Just a couple hundred yards south south east of the well signposted Cup and ring marked rocks. Very muddy gateway between fields. Moderate quarrying halfway between the two sites.
There wasn’t long before we had to be at the end of day site of Torhousekie stone circle for the winter solstice sunset, so it was i’m afraid a rather fleeting visit.
But it didn’t take long for me to notice that the number of upright stones has decreased by the number of one since my last visit many years ago, leaving just the one lone stone reaching for the sky.
When did it come down ? more than a few years ago it seems. The earthen tide mark on the stone reveals how little of the stone was planted, no wonder it is down, I can imagine very fast moving winds across this mostly flat countryside, it’s probably a wonder all three aren’t having a lie down.
It would really be something to see all three stones standing proud, but even with just the one this is still an essential must see for the area.

Stones for goal posts.

Across the road and a couple of fields from the wonderful Wren’s egg and nest is this neat pair of standing stones.
They are not tall, not much more than three feet, but they are good looking stones and are aligned just south of east/west, pointing at not much, but vaguely at some cup and ring marked rocks. The hill fort of Fell of Barhuliion is just north of east from the stones and highly visible across Blairbury loch.

The stones would make good goal posts, if a little short, a game could be played between them and the wrens eggs, which are closer together, but at this distance the opposition would claim it as optical illusion, “it’s just because your further away”
The Wren would be a static referee....“play on”

Stone the crows.

I really can’t believe no TMA’er has been here but me in over ten years, perhaps they have, but have no pictures and nothing to say about this rather bizarre site, I find it hard to believe.
The name of this site is a bit of a problem for me, it struck me as just a bit off, The Wrens egg and nest, ok, the nest is the big apparently natural stony mound, that bits ok, but is the egg the big boulder, what of the two small standing stones, why aren’t they mentioned ? and why a Wren ? if all you’ve got is a nest and an egg, how would you know what species bird it is ?
Unless, the big boulder is the Wren and the two small standing stones are the eggs, and they’ve rolled out of the nest and the bird is trying to get them back in. That would make more sense of what is there, the big boulder is even slightly reminiscent of a little Wren scurrying about.
So the sites real name should be .................... The Wren, nest and eggs.

The site has lost none of its charm in the intervening eight years or so, the sun was low in the sky and shining yet again as it always does in bonny Scotland. The stones seemed bigger than in my memory, it often happens, the notice board seems even more ineffective than before though, a big boulder and concrete lump with a sign saying the sites name and who cares for it, if this is the best their care gets I suggest perhaps someone more caring would be better. A big friendly Golden Retriever ( is there any other sort )followed us down the road and looked mournfully at us as we left it to cross the field to the stones.

A really brilliant site, much to think about here, please can someone else come, I know it’s kind of on the edge of the world but there is tonnes of other stuff round here.

Reacquainting.

We started the morning at Swinside stone circle but concluded that sunrise would be happening from behind a thick bank of cloud, and seeing as ive experienced that particular spectacle twice already, I decided to get on with the days stone hunting festivities and headed off for Ash house pair of stones.
I’ve been here once before, but it was ages ago and my memory of the place has faded, all I knew was that they are on a hillside, and don’t park where you did last time as someone bashed the car last time so find somewhere better to park.
My better place to park was in a parking place on the A595, north of Holme farm and below Stanley wood. Perfect.
The hillside was steep,steeper than I’d anticipated from just looking at the map, but we kept at it by just going straight up, up, up and away. Near the top we turned and saw through the trees the sun rising across Duddon sands estuary, damn and blast I thought, if we’d only stayed another thirty minutes at Swinside, we’d have got it all. Oh well, Jacks always a naughty lad. Keep going.
We emerged from the trees and made for the highest ground, as you do, to see further, and to find ones destination. Couldn’t find it at all though. We wandered hither and thither, from hills crest to peak, looking at the map and saying it should be right here and such. I sat for a while, Eric silently champing at the bit next to me, looking at the map, and reckoning the positions of the three farms I could see on to it, the Eureka moment came like a flash, we were much too far north, in fact, the hill I could see when watching the sun rise across Duddon sands is probably where I should be. Off we went, again.

Five minutes, a gate and a fence later and we there, first one stone came into view, aye up I said, and then another. Result, just as I was entertaining the idea of giving up, inspiration guided me on, and we got there. What a place this is too.
Barring the big hill right behind the stones, the views are extensive, if I can really under use a word. North across lower fells is The Old man of Coniston, west is the pretty wooded hillside of Stanley wood, east is the inner reaches of Duddon sands, and south nothing cos of the big hill. When ever the sun breaks through and bathes the rolling landscape in it’s glory, it’s more pretty than, well, most things, at least.

It’s been suggested that this is the remains of a stone circle, and I suppose it could be, but i’m leaning toward a pair of standing stones. For no other reason than I always thought that was what they were and every one knew it, now I don’t really know at all.
The only certainties are both stones have fallen, well definitely one has, the stone with grooves on it. But if it had stood then the grooves would have been underground leanding credence to Fitz’s misc note....... John Waterhouse speculates that they ‘may have resulted from abortive attempts to topple the stone during the destruction of the circle........ or standing stone.

So, a confusing site, not the easiest site to find, but some marvelous views can be had, and why not have a crack at the mystery that is Ash house carving/standing stones/stone circle.

Snakes alive.

Carl rightly mentions his surprise at not finding any field notes here already, I don’t know what I was thinking, so here I am again, seven years later, god where does the time go, Eric was just four.
As pluses go, dragon repelling proprieties is a pretty
big plus for a standing stone, some stones point the way to somewhere, some stones stand round in circles, but this one is a dragon slayer, how cool is that.
It’s really not a far walk from the road, I parked blocking the gate to the stones east, if farmer came I could have it moved in a jiffy.
A very tall stone this one, at least twelve foot tall. A very rectangular stone it is too, specially at the bottom. Rough to the touch, except on the corners where sheep rub it smooth.
I think Craig Rhiwarth is visible from here, and Glan Hafon with it’s exceptional cairn, but most eye catching on the near western horizon is the volcano shaped hill with a half decent fort on it’s summit.
Good stone.

Glad I didn’t.

I had originally decided to leave this barrow for someone else to go and find, but with the nearby little cracker of Glan Hafon cairn with central boulder I couldn’t leave it out. Similarly I was going to leave Craig Rhiwarth hill fort off the list, but with another nearby cairn with cist and the loveliest of Welsh scenery i’ll be back up this way sooner or later.

It will be a long walk to this out sized barrow no matter which way you come from, I came from the east off Y Clogydd near Glan Hafon, the route passed several old quarry work sites, there are many in the Cwm. A footpath leads straight to it from the road though through the forestry area to the barrows west, if you just wanted to see the barrow.

Rhiannon’s Miscellaneous notes point out the barrows dimensions, 19 meters across and 1.5 meters high, and also mentions the quartz covering the barrow once enjoyed, even the boundary stone is there, I think. But sometimes numbers can’t do it the justice it deserves, so in plain speak, it’s a really big one, twice as high as me, and the footprint as big as a house. Pleasantly huge. The quartz is mostly grass covered now but in places the stone that one can see, be a gleaming white. On the barrows summit a big gnarled lump of quartz stands upright, almost mimicking a two stone row with the probable boundary stone.
You can see the barrow clearly from Glan Hafon cairn, but why cant I see the cairn from here, Craig Ty Glas cairn with cist should be visible across the valley east-ish from here but for the forestry trees. A gap through the hills south west reveals a sadly flat area of Wales leading on to the English border. But south is the massive lump of rock Craig Rhiwarth, cairns from the bronze age crown summits within an Iron age fort and later Hafods (summer highland farm dwellings)were constructed.
The views are worth the long trek alone, take a circular ish walk of five hours to see Glan Hafon cairn – Bedd Crynddyn barrow – Craig Rhiwarth, you’ll be glad you did, you’ll be knackered, but glad.

A cairn with a difference.

I came across this site whist drifting through Coflein, it can be very addictive, those little blue spots could be anything, you never know what you might come across next. This is what they say about Glan Hafon cairn......Stone built circular kerbed cairn with large, probably natural, boulder in the center.......not overly descriptive is it, but tantalising all the same, even better though are the three photos Coflein thoughtfully supplied, ooh that’s different I thought, you don’t get many of those to the pound. Just two weeks later and i’m there laying hands on to that very cairn. Splendid.

It’s probably quicker and maybe easier to come at it from the north, off the small road that leads to Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales longest waterfall. But I opted to come at it from the south, passing by on the eastern side the massive bulk of Craig Rhiwarth, it has a fort on top, and if time allowed I’d have a closer look at that too .(I didn’t)
There are, the map says, several footpaths leading up the way I want to go, but I could only find one and so after leaving the car in a wide farm entrance with plenty of room for tractors and whatnot I started my upward stroll in lovely last of Autumn Welsh countryside.

After the initial heavy up hill walk the ground levels out and you follow the Nant Sebon up into the steep sided Cwm Glan-Hafon.
After hopping over a stile next to an old farm building the path branches, taking the right fork then leaping the thin Nant Sebon the path then more or less goes straight up the hill following the even thinner Nant Ddial. After much huffing and puffing I’m at the top, there are several boulders scattered across the wide ridge between Glan Hafon and Y Clogydd. I turned left towards Y Clogydd, the cairn I was looking for wasn’t there but I did come across what ive now found to be Garned Wen clearance cairns and a funerary cairn. Duly photographed I move back to where the proper more interesting cairn must be.
Without much messing about I locate it fairly quickly, with that big boulder in the middle you’d have to be willfully negligent not to.

This site set me tingling, it is a real blinder.

The cairn is maybe ten meters across and almost a meter high, though really it mostly resembles a small ring cairn, because it dips down in the middle to accommodate the central boulder. I noticed that Coflein says it’s probably natural, but then there is the chance, all be it a small one, that the boulder was placed there intentionally. The cairn is mostly smack bang in the middle of the saddle between the two nearby hills, on the edge of the steep hill, looking across the valley to Craig Rhiwarth, which has a more than passing resemblance to the boulder itself. So if the boulder was there first and the cairn thrown up around it, then the boulder was very fortuitously placed.
Then one wonders where the burial was placed, is it in the cairn or under the boulder ? a small recess leads under the capstone, if that is what it is, heck for all we know the bottom of the boulder could be covered in cup marks. I could locate only one or three definite kerb stones. The boulder has a large broken off lump at it’s western end.
Also seen from here is Bedd Crynddyn, a large tumulus that I had decided to leave to someone else, until I found another reason to come up here, so that is my next destination.

The view is just gorgeous, blue skies and fluffy white clouds and lots more hills, but mostly it is all about Craig Rhiwarth, from here it presents its eastern end, massive, rocky and daunting, there is no way up that way. Behind the hill fort the Tanat Valley lies in shadows today, far along it east towards Oswestry is the Viper stone, a tall and very good looking standing stone that guards the locals from a marauding dragon.

A very good site, with a view to die for.

Eerie mountain

Alken and I are out for another highly enjoyable day mountain climbing, low clouds have put us off inner Snowdonia today so we settled, no not settled, used up a contingency plan and headed for Bala, or as my Aussie cousin would say Balaah, and the Arenigs.
The twenty sixth highest mountain in Wales is Arenig Fawr, at 854 meters it is not going to be a pushover.
A some what lonely mountain, at least when compared to the height of the other hills around here. We start the walk from the thin lane north of the mountain, it is at first an easy walk, Eric would have no doubt pointed out it’s ease of access by bike, a land rover would be quicker and it could be driven all the way to the edge of Llyn Arenig Fawr. The llyn is quite lovely, we could have sat and watched the wind pushing patterns across it’s surface for far too long, but the top beckons, as it always does.
The top is hidden from view though by low clouds, and many false crests. It is here, as we start to gain some height that the Eeriness starts, there is not much wildlife at all, not even any sheep, the odd bird flits by about once every hour. I, we have been up mountains maybe what you’d call “lots of times” but ive never been this tired out, my legs hurt, my chest hurts, it is hard going, and the rest spots are coming all too infrequently. But we slog on. Soon the rest of Wales begins to disappear as we ascend into the clouds. Up on top of a subsidiary peak called Y Castell we have to cross over a wire fence and follow a vague path that looks like it’s going the way want to go, the rain is falling and my hood is up, my only view is of the ground a few meters in front of my feet, I look up and notice the bright and vibrant colours of the grasses, pinks, oranges, reds and browns, so rich in hue that you want to bend down and inspect each plant individually. I had to blink my eyes, maybe something was wrong with me, looking at other things helped, my camera, my feet, Alken, no it wasn’t my eyes, the floor was really that pretty.

We are up in the clouds proper now, there is no down, only up, with hints of sideways. We pass through a boulder field on the side of the mountain, some as big as a small shed, but all of them are as weather eaten, as gnarled as any ive seen, it is very much a lunar landscape, only with cloud and drizzle.
A couple of times we think were near the top, we even thought we could see the cairn above us, but it was always just a bit further, hiding in the mist, then showing us just enough to know where to go, and would you guess it, it was up.
Eventually the real, honest to god top of the mountain reveals itself, cairn, trig point and all. We’ve made it, but the usual elation, the wonder of it all has been replaced with cold wet hunger. We sit and consume butties, they’ve never tasted better.
Another climber approaches the cairn, he says hi, we give him one back and he sits in the other shelter in this cairn, yes it’s big enough to accommodate two walkers shelters. He’s soon gone though and we have the top to our selves again, cameras out , we do our best to show this place in as good as light as possible, which is hard in this drizzle.
It is a big cairn, despite the shelters and the trig point intruding upon it, and even though it is supposed to sport some kerb stones I saw none that I could comfortably say that is a kerb stone.
The views this way and that would I presume have moved me to some sort of poetic prose, but they were not here today, logic dictates that the rest of Wales and the world is still out there somewhere, but I couldn’t swear to it. It’s time to go now i’m not quite sorry to say, time to walk through different worlds back to our own, the high world in the clouds gives way to the lunar landscape, then through bright grassy world to the half way world, where here can sometimes be there. Not much sense to be had here today this is an eerie landscape, deathly quiet except for the wind which seems to come suddenly from no where then fade away, looking about us we can see mists being blown in several directions at once.
I wondered what ancient man would have thought of life and death on a mountain side, he could have hardly have thought it less magical than myself.

Stones in the dark.

After a big climb up Arenig Fawr, we had time to spare so we decided a stop off here at Branas Uchaf would be a good end to the day, but it was getting late and would most likely be dark when we get there. But no matter how little we could see, or how hard the camera would have to work, it’s usually better to be there than not, if it wasn’t then you’d have to say that blind people should never go to some stones, they should.
We parked right next to the fence, ignoring my previous fieldnotes, but it was late, we hadn’t come across other drivers on the way here, nor did any come by whilst we were there. Not springing lightly over the stile we ambled over, in the way that only someone whose just climbed a mountain can.
No time at all later and we were on the mound touching stone, which is nothing at all like stroking wood. My camera was the worst at penetrating the darkness, until I pointed it at something nearer then point back at the stones and keep real still. Presently, it’s started raining, very lightly, but the only evidence of the sparkly sky water was when the flash went off, I thought I was seeing things at first, had an aneurysm decided to pop now ? here ? as good as place as any to go I thought. But it was just rain.

I enjoyed this little night time visit, it was funny coercing the camera into action, stumbling around in the darkness it reminded me of playing football in the dark when I were a lad. Good times.

The puzzle’s end.

I spotted this cairn from the road last time I was up this way a month or two ago, it wasn’t on the map so I wasn’t too sure if it was what it looked like or if it was wishful thinking seeing cairns where there are none. But upon returning home I found it on the 1,25000 map and it was on the Portal, so it was added to the list, top priority.
Handily there is a small parking place for one just right where you’ll jump the fence, if your that way inclined. I very much am so it took no more than ten minutes from car to cairn.

Upon reaching the top of the hill I came across a weird stone construction before I got to the star of the day. It was a dimple in the ground with low stone walling on one edge, I took it to be some old mine working place wotsit. Cows were conducting a standing sit in upon the cairn so I give it a wide birth to begin with, checking out what can be seen from the cairn, I was not much surprised to find good views of the three principal hills in the valley, High Wheeldon, Parkhouse and Chrome hills.
I wondered why the cairn was not on the top of the hill, so I walked up to it, just to see if there was anything there already, like another cairn, but there was only a low tumbled wall. But from up the top of the hill I could see that the view, the hills seen from the cairn could be seen from the hill top as well. I think they put the cairn at the bottom of the ridge, but at the top of the steep part just to bring the position of the cairn closer to the hills and the valley running through below them, as if they just wanted to be together, to be part of the collective, “were with them”.

The cairn itself is possibly the biggest cairn in the area. It is wide, about six feet high, and has a low linear spread of loose stone right across it, north to south crossing the center.
peppered around the cairn are half a dozen badger holes, I say badger only because of the size of the holes, I could have crawled into one or two of them. A big tree has grown up on its eastern edge, aiding in pinpointing the cairn from anywhere and giving shelter from rain or a hot sun.
This cairn, Hatch-a-way cairn and the peak of Parkhouse hill are in quite a good alignment.

We parked the car at Nant y Coed nature reserve after a  bit of a hit and miss affair to get there. The Afon Llanfairfechan runs through it very prettily and we follow it for a while until we come across a path that goes up, up is where the settlement is so we go that way. We could have come at it from the gentler eastern side but it’s a long walk in so we plumped for the direct approach, which is something of a past time for me, seeing what it would be like for any would be attackers.

The path that goes up is in a very nice wooded area, it’s very thin and steep on both sides, I do like a daring foot path. Until that is we come across a sign saying No access to Dinas, never a good thing.
We carried on the thin path until it comes out of the wood, jumped a wall, which isn’t easy with two small dogs, then made our way up a grassy slope up to the wall that’s half way up. From there it is all big stony scree, i’m afraid to say that at this time I became a bad dad, I’m fairly used to such climbs I can walk up it like i’m on stairs, but Eric was scared, Arthur the Jack Russell wouldn’t move until he got proper directions from someone who is less frightened than him, then he got upset. So we sat for a while whilst I reassured him, then I took both dogs and once more led the way.
A minute or two later we arrived at the top, and Eric had a go at me when he saw how much easier the eastern way was, but it’s ten times further I told him, this seemed to placate him but for the next ten minutes he had a moody look to him.

We sat for those ten minutes in silence taking in the sea and mountain air, surveying the splendid scenery afforded by being high up. This settlement, one cant really call it a fort, occupies a fantastic and very strategic position. From here we can see North all the way to the other side of Angelsey, Holyhead mountain sticking out like a sore thumb. West is hills and scattered over them are cup marked boulders and outcrops, arrow stones, cairns and more hut circles than you can shake a divining rod at, if you should need to. South is the mountains, and Bwlch y Ddeufaen with much stony goodness beyond it’s portals,and east is more hills but with Druids circles, cairns, cists and all that is there. You can see it all from Dinas.

The settlement is, very eroded, but still enough remains to be glad one made the effort of getting up here, it’s not as good as the brilliant examples of hill top settlements on the lleyn peninsula, but i’m not there, i’m here, and at that moment, here is all we need.
There are maybe ten huts on the hill top itself, and another half dozen at least strewn around the grassy fields east of the iron age village, there’s even a couple of barrows. The hill top huts are very close together and right on the edge of the steep drop down to the river, their closeness reminded me of Scara Brae, this would have been one close knit community. After many photos and much surveying the area we have run out of time, we descend the hill on it’s south side til we get to a wall, we follow it and it in turn leads us to another wall, I surmise the No access to Dinas sign will not be far away, then Eric says “hey look where we are”.
The rest, as they say is history.
Sorry couldn’t think of a decent way to end.

Follow directions for Carnedd y Saeson. Park in the car park at the end of the lane, in front of you up the hill is the aforementioned cairn but back down the road and over the left hand wall is another fine cairn. You wont spot it from in the car, the wall’s too high, unless your in a land rover or the like.
Getting over the wall isn’t that easy, on top of it is a wire fence, but once over everything is just tickety boo.
Id only seen this cairn on Google street view, a very handy tool for looking about, but all’s I could see was stones, but that’s enough for me, so here I am.
As I approached it looked like a good cairn, wide, quite high with good views, but it soon got better. In the middle of the cairn is a very big long stone, right next to what I took to be the cist. But the stone looks far too big to be a simple cist cover, it looks more like a former standing stone, fallen, then dragged off into the annoying pile of stones.
But I doubt it.
What ever the stone is the cairn is in a striking position, overlooking the river Anafon, and overlooked by mountains, and with a distant view over the Straits to Anglesey this is one of the best cairns on the North coast.
In the next field, actually the same field as there is no divide is another cairn, but I didn’t have time to get a good look at it as the big cairn was so engaging, it looks smaller, and less interesting, but i’ll have another look next time i’m up here.
Very good !!!

All along the North coast of Wales there are many ancient sites, masses of hill forts, a thousand cairns, even the second biggest man made mound in Britain, but it is the Druids circle that shines out most to me. But a close second is this place, Carnedd y Saeson, very overlooked, mostly ignored, but highly entertaining.
Two concentric circles of small stones, with a large displaced cist capstone in the middle. Marked on the map as just one in a group of nondescript cairns, but this is no spread of loose stones, if it were cleared and tidied of all the choking gorse bushes it would not look out of place on Dartmoor, with it’s big cist and surrounding stone circle. So to that end I shall be trying to get up here a bit more often, with my shears and flick saw and see if I cant make it a bit more visitor friendly and to finally see the whole thing. Unless anyone has any reservations.

This stone is a doddle to find, at the meeting of two paths/tracks/roads with Arrow stones and cairns also very close by.
I wonder if Idwal got any feedback from the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust or if he contacted them at all. I’m quite convinced about it, but only quite. There is another stone about twenty yards away, of which Ive included a couple of pictures of it. Both stones seem to have some smaller stones at it’s base but without digging impossible to tell if their packing stones

Ok, so this is as far east as we go. If you don’t have a compass, and cant take a bearing, just locate granite pillar number 7, from there the arrow stone is the biggest, flattest, most art worthy stone you can see, Eric and me went straight to it.

There seemed to be more incisions on this stone than the two we’d already passed, I hadn’t been measuring the length of the incisions so I didn’t notice that they were shorter, consequently I didn’t have any doubts about it’s authenticity.

How ever, I didn’t know about the concentric square motif just a short distance down hill, or rather I did but didn’t know it was here or I would have looked for and found it.
Oh well, like all good places, just once is never enough.

These two Arrow stones would be as far east as we were going, from here I can see distant Moelfre and the saddle where Cefn Coch the very good cairn is, closer to is Dinas, iron age settlement, somewhere closer to me from there is Garreg Fawr cup marked stone. Swinging right to look east is Bwlch Y ddeufaen the pass through the hills that leads to new vistas and many top ancient sites.

This arrow stone was quite easy to find, it’s more or less right under the pylon wires. But when we looked at the stone I prematurely decided this wasn’t the stone I was looking for, the grooves on it were much rougher, less defined, too natural looking, glacial I decided, and walked off to find the real one.
So I found the arrow stone without realising it, I even at Eric’s behest took a photo anyway, more of Bwlch y Ddeufaen than the arrow stone. Then I got home looked more closer at the map made up with Coflein and found out that this is the one, or this is one of the two.

Not far down the track east from the cairn that is called Cairn NNW of Foel Ganol is this other in someways better cairn, who’s name cant escape me. A few hundred yards separate them, and many ruined structures and many many random and stray stones, the whole hillside seems to be liberally covered with stones.
This cairn is perhaps slightly smaller than its western sibling at 7 meters wide and 0.6 meters high, but it enjoys much the same view, which is moorland-Strait-Angelsey, nice.
It sits on a slight ridge in a bowl created by the shape of the near hills, a natural amphitheater from which to fling ones arms wide and howl into the night, or grumble in the drizzle about bloody kids and such.
Coflein says of the cairn that some kerb stones are still visible and the remains of a cist and even a capstone occupy the cairns center, unfortunately the undergrowth is still quite high and with child and dogs always wanting to go go go I didn’t have time to give it the attention it deserves, but now I have another reason to return to the area.

Coflein and myself are once more friends again, to seal the friendship they divulged this little nugget of information about this prominent cairn.....Cairn NNW of Foel Ganol at 1000ft above sea level. A circular mound of stones, 45ft in diameter and 3ft high on ground sloping to the N. Irregular hollows in the mound are probably the result of casual digging.

Casual digging ? I ask you.

Not far down the track from Foel Dduarth Arrow stone, and only ten minutes from the national wonder that is Carnedd y Saeson. In fact there are cairns, Arrow stones, possible standing stones, and habitation sites from many periods. This is a place heaving with history. Also there are the views across the Straits to Angelsey, and in the opposite direction the ground goes up and up, which is always nice, and enticing, but i’m saving our upping for somewhere else.

Just a couple hundred yards from Hafod Gelyn cairns is this Arrow stone, there are quite a few round here and this is a good example. Eric, the dogs and I entered the area where I knew it would be, I said to the lad look for a quite a big stone with lines carved onto it. Five seconds later “is this it ?”
It most certainly was, no time wasting here.

When Idwal came here he mustn’t have had his glasses on because he saw the letters RRP carved amid the lines, but there is more, it isn’t just initials but a whole name R R PENLAND. How rude.

Just what are they though ? Arrow stones ? presumably so called because the stone was used to sharpen arrow heads. But really ?
I haven’t heard a single explanation that sits well, are they even properly ancient, who knows, not me, or anyone it seems. Geeeooorge !!!

Very close to Carnedd y Saeson and Foel Dduarth enclosure, but not nearly as good as either of them.
Coflein, bless them, have the cairn at twenty four feet across and two feet high, seemed slightly smaller to me. Overlooked by Foels Ganol and Dduarth the cairn is in a grand place, but the iron giants march along this old road somewhat spoiling the view. The cairn is all grassed over, there is supposed to be two here but I couldn’t see t’other one and as Coflein says they are with in a complex field system. Which they most certainly are, history never took a break round here, it just kept on going.
Not really much else can be said except two better cairns and some arrow stones are east from here along the same track.

North of Ratlinghope, is a not even a hamlet called Stitt, there are just two farms, walk east on the road that is prohibited to motorists, pass two lakes, At the big trees ascend gently sloping hill passing the large spread out barrow en route, carry on up the hill, jump one fence and the fort is before you.

I’ve been to many hill forts, but this one was a bit weird, some say that not all forts are forts but rather defensible enclosures, this could be one of them.
I’ve heard it said that it’s a mere cattle enclosure, but if that were true why would it be on the top of a hill, surely it would make more sense to have it lower down, hidden in a low valley or something instead of advertising your big herd on top of the hill. Or was cattle rustling a big thing in the iron age, i’m guessing it might be. Perhaps it is an unfinished fort ?
Anyway, what ever its use, it is there, it is old, and you can go and have a look. The incomplete ring is as i’ve said at the top of a hill, the very big
gap faces south, out over the edge of the steepest ascent up to the enclosure, it isn’t an entrance it’s just a huge wide weird gap. The best possible entrance is on the other side, facing the barrow, north east, but it’s not a very convincing entrance.
On the south side is what looks like a hut circle, or more precisely a double hut square, shepherds quarters ? in fact the more i’ve thought about it the more it cant be a fort, but where did the people live, inside the enclosure with the animals, or elsewhere ? Why show off your animal wealth up there for all to see, or is that point.
Weird place.
No views today, no Stiperstone ridge, no nothing, visibility only goes as far as Cothercott hill and it’s barrow, if time permits a quick look could be in order, and it is, was.

Nicely tucked away from the maddening crowd, and the fort hunter, hidden amid a mass of very minor roads north of Ratlinghope. Head for Stitt, or precisely Stitt farms. In Stitt turn east, uphill, in about 600 meters park near the entrance to a lane that prohibits motor vehicles. Walk down this lane, passing two dark tree shaded lakes. When you get to the big trees follow them up the hill untill you reach the barrow, you have reached your destination.
Cothercott barrow is very visible on it’s hill top north from here, as is the fort south west from here.

The barrow has spread considerably, but is still over a meter high, it has a large footprint, it is a large barrow, but not a big one.
Some kind of horse jumping equipment was around it and on top of it.
This would be a very nice place on a nicer day, but today is cold wet and grey with added cloud.

Seeing as this barrow was just up the road from Castle hill where i’d just been, and my eye had been constantly drawn upwards I drove up the road to see how close the road gets to it, close enough, close enough for me to be unable to resist a slow jog up the hill, a quick amble, or a moderate wander, just to see what was what like.
I didn’t ignore the near by boundary marker type stone, it had a metal plaque on it ” Manor of Cothercott something 1791 ” but I should have.

Pastscape are over stating the barrows height
It’s not two meters high, one, maybe one point five.
Something has been excavating on it’s eastern side, exposing either bedrock or a big stone, it’s red sandstone.
The views were non existent, the low clouds that had troubled this barrowed summit but not covered it, had now covered it, I was getting wet, a quick amble requires no coat, but perhaps a moderate wander should do.
Short grass, bulky sheep, big barrow, rain.

Just south of Little Stretton turn west onto the B4370, then north west off that road towards Hamperley. Blink and you’ll miss it, but miss it we must, head for Priors Holt, it’s a dead end road. Pass the house on your right and you have reached your destination. Park and exit the vehicle.
There is now a gate blocking access to the road into the forest. There’s hinges and catches and stuff so entry was only momentarily impeded, we follow the track for a couple of minutes following the little stream that is called Nut Batch.
But now comes the rough and tumble, veer off left at your earliest convenience and climb the steep wooded slope. Coming out of the trees follow the tree line up hill, then strike out perpendicularly onto the open grassy hillside, let the mist envelope you, let the rain be a beautiful thing, put your hood up, head down and try to walk in a straight line going north west.
Presently my seemingly random stroll across a blind hillside brings me to a fence with conifers beyond, now turn left (south west), and follow.
Whisper sweet nothings to the cows that watch me go by, whilst dodging number two’s almost all the time. The fence now turns a corner, it goes right, at ninety degrees, with a footpath sign, and round the corner a short grassy bump, honey i’m home.
I was really quite surprised I got to it so incident free, it’s not far back to the car to be sure, but still, picking a line at random and it takes you straight to where your going is the kind of common place coincidence that you get used to.

Thesweetcheats misc note describes it well enough, 4 meters across, nearly half a meter high, a half buried donut.
There are about twenty points on the donut where stone pokes through, ten in one place, does that make it a ring cairn, distinctions escape me, i’m still too amazed that anything from so long ago still survives in fields, on mountains, and on street corners.

I’d love to be able to tell you about the lovely views, the long vistas and which sties can be seen in which direction , but the mist was all encompassing, my universe was about a hundred yards across, cows positioned on the far southern edge, and for now, centrally, a ring cairn and me, it’s a nice ring cairn, grassy.
En route back towards the cows I came across a large irregularly shaped stone, spattered with mud and such, I stood on it and took a photo back over to the nearly invisible ring cairn, I started to think about the stone, then stopped and walked in an unswervingly straight line back down through the trees to the car.

Then when I got home and looked at the 1:25,000 and noted that a small circle was in the stones position, realisation came slowly, then hard, blow me that must be the Botley stone. Bummer. Someone’ll have to go back and photograph it now, cause I did’nt

Once again I’m sorry to say that i’m guessing at this barrows name.
We parked off road opposite Pilsbury lodge, there is no footpath up to the barrow but then again there is no wall, hedge or fence barring the way, a straight walk from car to barrow takes less than ten minutes.
Quite a good barrow this one, maybe about a meter high with perhaps one or two kerb stones still in place.
It bears no excavation scars, but is quite lumpy bumpy and disheveled.
It was the end of the day and the sun was beginning to go down, bathing us in a warming sunny glow. Extensive views are all around us but the best one by far is to the north west, High Wheeldon takes on it’s southern pyramid shape, and nearby are Parkhouse, Chrome and Hitter hill’s.
A very nice place, one more trip round here and i’m done for now.

Best approached from the north, in between two farms a footpath leads most of the way to this fairly decent barrow. The hill has walls separating the barrow from the road, but there are stiles, at no point did we feel like trespassers, five minutes from car to bump.
This is by far the best barrow we saw today, then again the one before this turned out to be Anglo Saxon and the one before that cows barred our way, and the one before that was very low. As if to signal our success a partial rainbow sprung out of the ground to our south, pretty.

The barrow is maybe a meter high and has two depressions dug into it, a walkers cairn has been constructed on it’s oh so lofty summit.
It even has what looks like kerbing in places around the cairn, and almost inevitably, for the area, it has a good view of High Wheeldon. It was very windy and beginning to rain again so we scarpered back down the hill to go take in one more barrow before we must go home.

There is no footpath to this tumulus, the most direct route to it is from the main road opposite the entrance to Hindlow quarry.
Though if you were to see either of the three pictures ive supplied you’ll probably rather go see one of the other nearby cairns or barrows. Despite it’s name, The Great Low, it is anything but great, it is barely a foot high, who named it ? did they actually come here ?, because i’m at a loss to explain why it is so named, surely something like Underwhelmed Low would be more suitable, or maybe low low.
It’s one redeeming feature is the view north-ish off towards Nether low, Chelmorton and its pair of lows and further off still Five Wells burial chamber.
It’s also a good place to sit and grumble about the quarry across the road, eye sore at best, violently raped mother at worst.

The easiest way up the mostly steep sided High Wheeldon hill is from the south east, we came at it from the opposite direction though, from by the rock climbing quarry of Aldery cliff. The foot path doesn’t go up to the top, it skirts round the hill on it’s north side, so a slippy scramble and stumble up the 20 degree slope is required. Luckily we had the dogs with us to pull us up, if only they went where we wanted them to go.
The cave is up near the top, but its closed off with a metal gate and another blockage has been constructed further inside. There is a sign explaining why the gate is there and a phone number to ring if you want access 01335 350503, I’m very sure access will be readily given to anyone wishing to get dirty.
The view from the top is sweeeet and trig pointed to 422 meters, far away south I could see Minninglow, not far east is Cronkston Low, west is Hitter hill and beyond that the old coral reef hills of Parkhouse and Chrome, and just a bit further still Hollins hill.
This area of the Peak district is very under visited despite it’s obvious beauty, it was also obviously a special place for our bronze age brethren, as there is much for the TMA’er to get his/her teeth into. I’ve been round here at least five times and there is still stuff to see.

Best approached from the Leek to Buxton road the A53, heading east on the small lane turn right at the Buxton raceway. Then turn right again at the cattle grid and park at the next cattle grid. The cairn is over the fence and fifty yards distant.

There is loads of exposed Limestone outcrops between the road and the cairn but when it runs out and the grassy hill top takes over this is where the cairn is.
It is only a foot or two high, but still quite large in circumference, some stones are visible, some may even be kerb stones but I doubt it.
The best thing about this cairn, as with most hill top cairns, is the view, the surroundings. Hollins hill with it’s highly visible hill top cairn is immediately south, north is High edge with a cairn on top, but I couldn’t find it, unless it was built upon by one of the weird door-less bunkers that are round here.
South east is Tor rock and beyond that the wonderful Chrome hill, Hatch-a-way cairn, Dowel and Etches caves and High Wheeldon are all hidden from view by another nameless hill.
A very beautiful part of the Peak district and highly under visited.

We parked the car on the small lane to the east of the hill, there are parking places, but no stile into the field so i’m unsure of whether we were trespassing or not. Eric, our two Jack Russells and myself ascended the hill from the north, passing through one gate at the top. Passed the large square concrete wotsit, reservoir ? and came upon the cairn.
Or what was left of it, it has been badly treated in times gone by. Lumpy, misshapen, and very much disheveled but still there. Farmer Barleymo was muck spreading in the next field which I’m told lends a most countryside smell to the place.
Good views south and south west to Chrome hill and Hollins hill, and south east to High Wheeldon.

After Stonehenge and Avebury this is probably the most visited stone circle in Britain, with plenty of parking places, three, count ‘em three entrances into the field, all with their own information board, (all with a model of the circle with directional pointers to distant places) and close enough to Keswick to walk there, popularity is always a given for this stone circle.
Today was no exception with popularity, there must have been at least twenty people here, not since Stonehenge have I seen so many people at an ancient place, even though it was around tea time. Ten of them were all together, Indian in appearance, they seemed more intent on photographing each other climbing the stones. A few were obviously tourists killing time, some had big cameras and could have been me in ten years, one bloke had a tie died shirt, a flask of something and a book, he sat quietly reading looking up now and then with a bemused look to him, and there was Eric and me.

I’ve not been here for ages, not since the Leonid meteor shower at 2am, and before that some foggy equinox over a decade ago, I didn’t know til now but I’ve missed Castlerigg, it isn’t in my mind the best stone circle ive seen, Brodgar, Swinside and Callanish are my favorites, but in all the sites I’ve seen this is the best placed anything ever. They could’ve built a shed here and still they’d come.

I wandered over to the lonely stone by the wall, hoping that at least the Indians would soon tire of the stones, they didn’t, as I walked back some little bugger was chasing sheep around, shit, that’s my little bugger, erm I mean lovely little boy, what’s he going to do next climb on the stones, oh god Eric get down.

Time to go!!!

I wasn’t exactly bursting with confidence of finding this place at all, it’s needless to say not on the map, but then neither is Copt Howe. All I had to go on was a foggy memory of one of Gladman’s views from a mounatin. It was enough, I found the coppice the boulder inhabits, and parked the other side of the cattle grid. Two gates later and we entered the trees, five minutes from car to stone, if that.
Somewhat disappointingly, a rather crusty camper had set up home twenty yards from the stone, it is a good place to camp, but right next to a campsite ?
I wondered if he knew the significance of the stone and why two apparent tourists were paying it so much attention. I turned to look at the camper, and Eric said he’s doing a number two, daft lad he’s just sitting down, phew.

The big squarish boulder is three to four feet tall, and has at least twenty well defined cup marks on its top most surface. Rock art eh, who can fathom it, it’s the best of British mysteries.
The view north to the axe factory mountain is dulled by the close quartered trees, just as well really, I might never have left, or worse still insisted on climbing them.

We got there about four in the afternoon on the day of the Autumnal equinox, it was a Sunday. There was already half a dozen cars parked in the vicinity but there was room for one more at the end, I squeezed it in effortlessly, as I’m a professional driver.
Despite the number of cars parked on the side of the road there was only a young couple there, so we gave them some time to themselves and consumed out butties and pop. Yum.
They were gone soon enough so Eric set about exploring the boulders, not that one I told him, that ones off limits, then I sat in front of the rock art after perusing the information board and tried hard to see everything that was on the picture.
The triangle or love heart of pecked bumps was impossible to see until right up next to it, the longer I sat there staring the more I could see. Over the now very rickety and slightly dangerous stile I found more. Concentric circles surrounding a natural ? depression, two cartouche type shapes and two weird cup marks with bumps in the middle, that’s not the technical term but I lack the vocabulary.

I wonder why it is all done with the big axe factory mountain out of view. I also wonder why it’s only on one boulder, perhaps it lends credence to the map theory. But I still don’t buy it, why would you need a map, surely anyone here would know where they are going, and if they don’t then they’ve got no business being here. Not anyone could go up there and knock out their own axes could they ?

But one thing is for sure and completely undeniable, this is a sublime position for anything, rock art a stone circle a single standing stone, heck I’d come here if there was nowt at all. The grass is greener, the sky bluer, the clouds fluffier and the mountains, well, they are the best in England, rockier, higher and more inviting than anywhere else.
Come now before they get too eroded for surely one day they will be no more than big grassy hills.

I have to admit that it took me a while to find this place, having not read up on any previous fieldnotes, and with the stone circle not marked on any map, there was always going to be a certain amount of guesswork.
There isn’t even much in the way of landmarks around either, that is why I passed it by. I had to keep on going south until I reached the Ambleside turnoff at Town Head, turn round and slowly retrace the road back up the hill. Counting coppices, streams, and looking out for the footpath that loops down and round to the stones. Eventually I got to the parking place suggested by Carl, parked up crossed the road went through the gate and trundled off down the bridleway. Less than ten minutes later I spied a standing stone coming up ahead. Bingo !!!

The sun had come out so I took my cardy off, and put it on the wall, then realised the mistake I’d made, my camera was still in the car. So I set off back up the path to the road, half way there it dawned on me that my brain must be turning to mush as my car keys were in the cardy on the wall. Back to the stones up to the car and back again to the stones. It’s hard work this old stoning lark sometimes.

The siting of this stone circle is strange and beautiful, situated on a steep slope, far above Trout beck and down hill from the road, it is, I felt, a weird place for a stone circle. But it is in a very pretty place, moss covered old walls, the breeze gently brushing through the trees, and the mountains across the valley all add up to a truly captivating site. The only thing that let it down was the wreck of the stone circle itself . Four stones are still upstanding, one on it’s own and on the other side of the track are the three low stones set into the old wall. But I could detect with not much certainty other fallen stones, being consumed by the hardy grasses and stone hiding mosses. We freed them from their slumber. But the site still remained stubbornly confusing, so confusing that I had no idea that it was a concentric circle like the druids circle above Ulveston. By the time we left I thought I’d got a handle on the site until I got home read up on the other notes and appreciated the place a new.
I must return, perhaps in winter but before the snow comes.

As you come off the A5092 heading north towards the Giants grave cairn circle, look for some trees off to your right, beyond the trees two cairns occupy the saddle between two hills, Great Burney and Combes.
Parking is easy, get as close to the foot path as you can. Follow the wall with the trees on the other side till you get to the top.

We were having trouble finding the two cairns so Eric suggested we climb the nearest hill to get a better look round, couldn’t argue with his logic so up we went. from on top of Combes we could see the trig point on Great Burney, at 298 meters it isn’t a terribly big hill but would have even better views than the hill we were on. North from here we could see Coniston water and The Old Man, with his head in the clouds, and down below us between the two hills was a very definite cairn. We held hands and ran back down, it’s something we’ve always done, it saves time, and it’s fun.
The cairn is a pretty flat affair except for the pyramidal walkers cairn on the side of it, some cairn material can be seen of course, but not much.
From here it seemed a simple thing to find the other cairn, once you’ve anchored yourself into the landscape, but could I eckers like find it, there were several contenders and I took photos of them all and posted the two likeliest on here. But chances are it still remains unfound, by me at least.
We leave the cairns behind for more substantial sites and bigger mountains.

Many years ago I came here to find this cairn circle but failed to do so, perhaps I was a bit green, perhaps I didn’t try hard enough, but when I read BeakerUK’s field notes I thought it was because I was looking in the wrong place.
I wasn’t.
Beakeruk got it wrong, THE CAIRN CIRCLE IS EXACTLY WHERE THE MAP SAYS IT IS.
To be fair, there is what looks very much like a cairn circle precisely where he says it is, TSC and I were there not long ago. But, funny enough, in one of my photos of that ‘not giants grave’ you can see the real Giants grave a bit further down the hill.
Gees, why did I get it so wrong, it is a simple matter finding it, I feel like a right idiot.

But we got there in the end.
Parking is easy, trusting you are in the right place, the cairn is no more than ten yards from the road, and like it’s non giant partner up the hill it has terrific views of the distant hills and mountains.
Two stones stand out in the circle, one is still standing quite proud, and has red paint on it’s inner surface, not some manic defacer of antiquities, just a sheltering sheep with red paint on it for you know what. The other stone is lying down and is covered in modern graffiti, initials and dates mostly.
Eric and I tidied the place up a bit, removing dead vegetable matter and stuff, revealing more of the visible stones and uncovering hidden ones.
Then I took to taking pictures, near to and further away, whilst standing on a small cliff to get an overview I stepped out into empty air and fell flat on my back five feet below, it wasn’t far, but far enough to think while falling that this is further down than I thought, then oof and the air vacated my chest, two ladies passing by looked concerned and asked if I was OK, strained and quietly I said I’m alright, camera still in hand and fortunately unharmed Eric helped me up amid stifled chuckles.

So to reiterate, the cairn circle is just where the map says it is, it’s an easy place to find, and worth finding if your passing.
Watch your footing.

Just southwest of Westbury, and northwest of Mondaytown (I like that one) this one is quite easy to find, but parking can be rather problematical. Even more so when they were torturing the hedges up and down the road, but I found a spot, took it as my own and nonchalantly walked passed the tractor doing it’s hedge thing and proceeded towards the fort.
Passing a sign on the very gate I wanted that read Private no trespassing, bugger. I wasn’t going to waste time seeking permission, especially if it wouldn’t be given, so I walked out of sight of the tractor, the negative signed gate and the farm and leapt cat like over the fence. I’m in, I whispered to my non real accomplice.

As thesweetcheats link says this fort has been remodeled in the medieval period, in places quite extensively.
The defenses outside the wood are slight at best, still recognisable, but slight. But once in the welcoming shelter of some mature trees the ditches are deep and the banks are high.
Firstly I followed the long impressive ditch south on its northern side, that doesn’t sound right, but you have to remember that the fort is positioned southwest to northeast. Half way along the interior of the fort is the Norman motte on top of which is a short section of curving wall, I like castles and older forts, so it was nice to get two for the price of one, which is free. But it was/is difficult to separate the two. South west of the motte is a maze of high banks and ditches, one ditch seems to have gone right through solid rock.
Beyond the maze further south is what I took to be both the original and medieval entrances, some Norman stonework is visible here too. More ditches here as well, I follow one and it takes me to the gate with the Private sign on it, perfect, I jump it gleefully and walk back to the car trying not to look like I just got away with something, I don’t think I pulled it off entirely successfully.

Six and a half hours going spare, it’s pay day and ive not been to a good hill fort for ages, destination, Shropshire, in between Shrewsbury and Welshpool. I like the place names around here, they really made an effort to be interesting, Halfway house, Mondaytown and Picklescott are some of the best.

From Pontesbury it’s not far but a bit hit and miss trying to get to the small car park that is just north of the first fort on Pontesford hill, (Surely it should be pontesbury), parking is free, room for a dozen.

Hill forts are the easiest of ancient sites to find, you just go up,always go up, you cant go wrong with going up. The first fort is reached in a short time, ten minutes from the car park, no more. The path is easy to follow, watch out for a smaller path going left and up, you’ll need that to get to the higher fort. Twenty yards on and were at the entrance to Pontesford hill fort. It is perhaps predictably facing the entrance to Earls hill fort south of here. The best preserved part of the fort is the entrance, the part facing it’s immediate neighbor. I partake in a woodland stroll around it’s circumference, it’s a nice walk, but there isn’t much left to the fort except the entrance.
Crossing the hill top is a linear earthwork and at it’s northern extreme is a small doughnut shape earthwork, a small barrow perhaps, doubt it but it was quite mysterious. Due to the undergrowth I couldn’t really tell if either of them were in the fort or outside.

From the fortlets entrance I walk back down the track to the now right and up path, it is smaller and in places less well defined than lower down the hill, but still easily followed, even up the steep bits, of which there is much.
The ground levels out and the trees are mostly replaced with conifers, through the tunnel of trees I can see light, I’m nearly there. But underfoot I notice a raised long straight platform, I decide that it is perhaps an ancient causeway leading from one fort to the other.
Out of the trees and over the stile is the first earthwork, a long linear bank that cuts the hill in two, I cross over the line and give it some more up.Thirty yards or so up from the bank line are two big ditches either side of the walk to the forts entrance, one ditch is full of brush but the other is quite open, i’ts like a reverse long barrow.
I carry on up to the entrance high above, after much huffing and puffing I pass into the fort.

There is two parts to the fort, the high inner fort and the lower outer fort, like a digital number eight. I start the walk of the fort starting on the west and go south, the banks and ditches are slight at best here, but get better as you reach the south end of the inner fort, passing into the outer fort I follow its western ramparts south, from here the lower fort looks very impressive, above and in the distance is the Stiperstones and I think Castle Ring must be there somewhere.
I turn past some wary sheep and the now highly eroded southern entrance and start the walk back up the hill on it’s eastern side, far in the distance I can see the distinctive shapes of the Wrekin and Caer Caradoc.
Like the Wrekin, Earls hill fort incorperates some volcanic rock outcrop into it’s defenses, and is almost exactly the same layout as both distant forts inner/outer and higher/lower, interesting.
I now scramble up to the top of the hill for the now obligatory stand on the trig point, you all do that too right, at least when alone. Speaking of which, despite the ten cars in the car park Ive only seen two people, a jogger, and a yappy dog owner.

Right next to the trig point is a strange circular earthwork, a low ditch that encircle the hill top, twenty yards across maybe. If i’m not mistaken there is an identical wotsit on the Wrekin, dare I surmise it to be a drip gully from a round house, please see photo and say yay or nay.
This is a very good hill fort, very photogenic, with superb views containing four or five other forts. It’s on a parr with the Wrekin and Caer Caradoc with whom it shares many similarities.
I start the walk back down the hill, say charaa, and i’m gone.

As we approached the peak of Glyder Fach the low clouds drifted in and we completely lost any distant views, so we concentrated on what was there. The cantilever, the stone that hangs over the edge of other stones, was smaller than I thought it was, but I still clambered round and under and on top of it, I was very nervy, among the giant boulders are deep and nasty crevices. The very very peak of the mountain is only a stones throw away. Massive and pointy boulders make up the summit, perfect for clambering all over, so long as you don’t look down the pits and holes, they are very deep in places. Two or three boulders occupy the very top and they are worn smooth by the tonnes of eager feet that just have to get to the utmost top and all the tired and weary bums, like mine.

Now and then, fleetingly, a large formless shape would half materialise through the low clouds, like it wasn’t really there at all, if no one can see it is it still there? it could only be one thing, Castell y Gwynt, we made off through the pea soup towards it.
Soon the shape in the cloud started to take on a definite form, it became rooted in this reality, and showed itself to be a, well, a natural feature ? Rocky outcrop ? a rock stack ? none of these are enough, but they are all right. From the north east monstrous spires of rock jut mostly straight up, we can see someone standing on top, striking a manly pose and showing us that you can get to the top. But you have to go round the side a bit to find a less dangerous way up, and as you get in among the castell it gets bigger and taller. Alken has to get to the top, i’m only a few meters beneath him but I decide here is enough for me, my legs are shaking so I take a precipitous seat and have a very satisfying smoke.
Far beneath me I can see llyn Cwmffynnon, and I think I can even pin point the location of the stone circle there too, far away to the south west, but close enough for the Hulk to jump to, is Yr Wyddfa, the big one, Snowdon, and it’s nearby neighbours, afternoon sunlight bathes there lower reaches but with their heads in the clouds they remain aloof, for now.
We realise with downplayed concern that time has gotten away from us, so we start the scramble down off the Cathedral of rock, this giants castle in the sky has me very much taken with it. We keep on turning back to take one last look before we yomp our way up to cloud wreathed Glyder Fawr, and it’s from here, south west of the Castell that the full size of it all is revealed, it’s so much more than a castle, it is just huge, almost completely blocking the ridge between Glyders. Its as big as a small town. I couldn’t help feeling that there are no cairns here because this was the abode of the gods, you could come up here and do the things that the ancients do (Vague?) but you couldn’t stay.
This is a very important site in understanding Bronze age Snowdonia.

The summit of Glyder Fawr is less rocky than its twin across the way, but it’s higher and similarly cloud make it devoid of any views. We don’t linger long, instead we bid a very fond farewell to Y Glyderau and head for the path that leads down to the Devils kitchen, but just before we go we are rewarded with the view of the top of Snowdon and friends, from here they look very high and very formidable, more high ridges than you can shake a walking stick at, I will need to work my way up to them.
The path soon veers off to the right, and then plunges off the edge of a cliff and into the lovely Cwm Idwal. The path is a real tour de force, a masterpiece of path making, imagine the stairway at the back door into Mordor, it was impossibly steep at times, often the path is not detectable for more than ten feet, where is it going next ? Punctuated with waterfalls, and with a full on view of Pen Yr Ole Wen and with the ever present, never out of view for long Tryfan, this was an epic footpath, The Devils kitchen, brilliant.

Our time in Cornwall is almost at an end, and as it started with a stone circle I thought it only right and good to end with one as well. Time however is, as it usually is, against me, so I decide upon this Nine stones circle, which surprisingly, or not, has nine stones to it. It’s reasonably close to the A30, the main road in and out of Cornwall, so I hoped to get to a parking place quickly and easily and get to the stones with enough time to sit and appreciate the place for a while.
Looking at the map it was plainly going to be easiest approaching from the south, I did not read up on any directions, I just went for it. Turned off the A30 onto the B3257 towards Callington, at Congdons Shop (That’s what the village is called, honest) turn right onto the B3254 then right again and head for Trebartha, the road, if memory serves, kind of takes you straight to the quick and easy parking place.

Now I’m home I know this is the way Mr Hamhead suggests and the route Sanctuary took 18 months ago. The kids decided that it was too far for them so they stayed at the car and mucked about with their bows and arrows bought from Restormel castle the day before, (I knew they’d come in handy) whilst I yomped up and over the hill at double speed. I noted the stone cross , but didn’t go over, instead I followed the wall up the hill, until it ran out, someone with more time might have been able to go over the wall and perhaps search out two hut circles the map says are there, not me though its stone circle or bust.
Cresting the ridge that is seemingly known only as Ridge, again someone with more time might have gone to look for the tumulus at the east end of the ridge, I however ignore it utterly and trot down the hill towards the stone circle that is easily spotted from the ridge, I fail to see another hut circle in between the ridge and the circle, but ho hum, I’m just here for the circle and what a good one it is.
There are indeed nine stones, sometimes when they get people naming these sites they are clearly not able to count, but he was bang on the money here, although the ninth stone is the center stone, but I wont split hairs. There is a wide stoneless gap at the north east, one stone is down and one is going, slowly, down. But the others are holding up their end of the circle well. When I saw the triangular stone, I was reminded of Sanctuary, and when I saw the center stone I was reminded of a, well, lets not put a name to it, suffice to say it rules the world, or thinks it does.
A very good circle is this, blue skies, no clouds, it’s only detractor is the sheep worn ditches around the stones, usually full of water but in the hot summer of 2013 it is medium to hard baked mud, and a small puddleit’s not very good is it ? I do detest sheep, a little strong I know, but I just don’t see the point in them. Extinction beckons, don’t fight it.
On my way back I’m fairly sure I found a couple of hut circles that aren’t on the map, there is much more in the vicinity, ring cairns, cairns, tumuli and hut circles galore, but i’ll leave those for someone with more time, there are TMA’ers in Cornwall too arent there ? If I lived down here Id have been to every single one by now.

After a good meeting with the Stripple stones and a good sit upon Hawks Tor I came here, not through the farm but more to the west and then coming at the stones from the north east over the forded stream.
The Trippet stones are now, by default, my most visited ancient site in Cornwall, I say default because I have no real attachment to them per se, I don’t love them any more than any other stone circle, it’s just they always seem to be in the way of where I am going or coming from., last time it was King Arthur’s hall, and as its so easy to get to them , well, you just have to go over don’t you?

A lovely little foal was among the stones when I got there, but she went over to her mum who was very similarly coloured, leaving me to once more inspect the stones. There is no sign of any tractor tracks going through the ring, who knew the ground could be so resilient ?
I don’t know why, but I always expect the stones to be bigger than they are, they always leave me with a memory of bigness.

An early morning visit this one, the hotel was just a fifteen minute drive away so by 7.30 I was locking the car door and making my way east towards Hawks Tor farm.
No noise or movement was coming from the farm so I just walked right through it, I saw no one and I think no one saw me, unhindered and unchallenged I made good progress. As I started to go up towards the top of Hawks Tor a great pillow of cold white mist swamped the whole area, it held a chill to it, and I began to wonder whether I would be able to find the henge and it’s stones. But the low cloud was short lived, and as it moved away I turned right, away from Hawks Tor, climbed a fence and moved towards where I thought the stones should be. Then out of the thinning mist and green grasses I could see poking up dark shapes, and blammo, i’m here.
I sit for a while on the old wall that is being held responsible for wiping out the west end of the henge and the destruction of at least several stones. But it doesn’t sadden me too much, it is regrettable to be sure, but it’s done, and we have what we have.
The mist is all gone now so I release my camera from it’s bag and start to walk round and round, at least five times round it’s circumference, and regarding the stones in detail, unlike Sanctuary I only counted eight fallen stones including the central stone, there was a couple of stony bits that looked more like bedrock, perhaps they are fallen stones, but they are too bulky and misshapen, not at all like the other fallen stones and not really in the line of the circle.

The henge is indeed worn and mostly filled in but enough remains to recognise it for what it is, I’ve seen henges more worn than this.
Together with the fallen stones and the four good up right ones this is turning into a great site. It is a pity it’s not been better looked after, and some restoration of fallen stones back into their vertical positions would go along way to secure more visitors.
A path leading from the south from the A30 by the old quarry would be nice too, instead of having to sneak through or go round the farm.

Twice I’ve been to the very close by Trippet stones, but only now am I able to spend some time up here, it has been time well spent, and worth the wait. This is a very good site, with much still left to see, there really should have been more pictures of this place before now.
Leaving the henge and stones behind I climb up the Tor of Hawks for a general overview, as you do, and I can see for miles in all directions, this is also the first time ive been able to look at Brown Willy, with out laughing, I mean and be able to identify it as what it is, the highest point in Cornwall, it may be further up than me but I am definitely higher.
The henge sits in the middle of a massive bowl of hills, or rather the Tor on whose side it sits does. I can appreciate why it is where it is.
Ninety degrees in a clock wise direction and I can see the far off Trippet stones, I zoom a few photos pack up and move off towards them, not through the farm this time, there is some activity there now, but down to the west, the same way Sanctuary and Mr Hamhead went, it is a good walk.

All day I’d been telling the kids we’ll go to the bum stones after tea, but then my daughter said “can you stop calling it the bum stones”, to which I replied “well they’re actually called the arse stones so ive already been cleaning up the name to save you from the crassness of potty mouth”.
Aaah, said they
It was a bit difficult to find the right field, I went down it once but then turned round and went the wrong way only to come back again and go further down that road. I eventually parked where I think Thelonious did, but as it was the most perfect of evenings we quickly jumped the field wall and trotted over to the menhir derriere.
First of all I got Eric to take the picture I most wanted, the one where I get to know a small part of Cornwall inside out.
Then we climbed up the biggest boulder using it’s carved footholds, and found the top half covered in large basins, all dry.
Another big stone looks like a huge mushroom, a smaller one is another back side stone. A herd of small cows, or large calves, were on the go as well they’d come up close only for one to get spooked and then they’d all turn and run, the thunder of all those hooves was quite thought provoking, imagine if that was a wild herd of Bison or something and much larger, how cool would that be.

A brilliant place to end the day.

Easy enough to find, just a couple of minutes walk from the road, But a whopping great big green gate stood in our way. There was no one around, not that we checked so we didn’t climb over, didn’t leave my less than agile daughter at the gate, and then didn’t scurry over to take a quick couple of pictures of this tall and graceful standing stone. Because we didn’t partake in trespassing we have no way of knowing that there was or wasn’t a bin right next to the stone, but if there was then I reckon Eric would have pulled it out of the way whilst I take a few pictures.
It was a very nice day, and besides Lesquite quoit this morning this standing stone would have been my only stones of the day, so it would have been nice to sit under it and watch the Swallows swoop, but we didnt so we have no way of knowing if there even was any swallows.
If you felt inclined to break the law, heaven forbid, the gate is easy to climb...... I’d imagine.

Though Lesquite quoit wasn’t really making much of a blip on my radar, as it wasn’t far from St Austell where we were staying, how could I not investigate the burial chamber marked on the map. Like Carl (again) we parked up in the opening to the lane that leads to the radio mast or what ever it is. And like him we also went off down the road occasionally peeping over the high hedge to see if it was there yet. But it wasnt raining, in fact it was a nice day, a sunny day with fast moving roving bands of low mist.
We located the stones through the hedge and just a couple of meters along was a place to climb over.
Champion !
There are only three stones making up this burial chamber, but they are big stones. Two stones are standing up, they are longer than they are tall, leaning upon one of them is the monster of a capstone. It really is a big flat stone, shining white and brightly in the early sun, it looks bigger than most other quoit capstones, or perhaps it was the perspective, do stones look smaller when there up and in their proper place, doubt it, it’s a big stone.
Cows in the other end of the field were beginning to get interested in our expedition, and my new pet hate was starting to make its presence felt, dew, even if it hasn’t rained in days, dew will soak your feet, weeks even, it’s like everyone who loves the morning and lives in Britain has to have wet feet, it’s like a deal with the devil, or an old charter or something. Gets on me nerves. As the kids get older I can leave them at home and go out on my journeys in the evening.

A good few stones, big and bright.

Roche rock has been on the list for ages, and seeing as my new year resolution was to not make the list longer but to actually start getting to some of the top numbers on the list, hence my trip down to Cornwall with the kids. This place looked great for a number of reasons, like Carl before me I love rocky outcrops, scrambling round, up and over, and in some cases under, it satisfies some need in me, like a childhood rediscovered. I also like old churches, chapels and such, so to find an old chapel perched precariously a top a mini mountain, with more atmosphere than you can shake a barometer at, I was quite literally all over it.

Phillippa elected to stay at the hotel and watch some silly movie, so Eric and me took the fifteen minute drive from St Austell up to Roche. We parked on a housing estate just to the north of the rock, barely a five minute walk and we’d passed the less than helpful information board and were making our tentative way up the rocks furthest east. From here you get the best view of the chapel and its little path up to it. We scampered up said path and was confronted by a blank rock face with metal ladders secured into the granite, we ascended into the chapel, a little bit of Gods house, a shed really, it’s tiny inside, no weddings here, just contemplation.
Inside the chapel are more ladders stuck into the rock, here and there are carved steps, worn smooth with the feet of serious worshipers and the curious traveler alike, not to mention our more distant ancestors.
Up the second ladders and your right up on top of the rock, I can well imagine some hermit like robed character sitting up here to serenely enjoy a sunrise or the full fury of a thunder storm, a bit like me actually, a bit.
We gingerly descend the makeshift staircase and scramble around on to the next rocky outcrop, from here we can see the full moon rising out of the eyesore clay pit quarry place to our east. we go further round on the rocks until I can get the chapel rock and the moon into the same shot. Tremendous.
Doesn’t Roche mean rock ? it surely must, so that makes this place called Rock rock, like the river Avon means river river, daft aren’t we.
Can fully recommend a visit to Roche rock.

There are some issues with getting close to this burial chamber, but it’s so tantalisingly close to the road to warrant a sneak peek. But this was proving difficult in the extreme, never mind the cows between it and us, where do I leave the car? I drove this way and that but there really isnt much to choose from. I plumped for outside the first house going back to St Ives. Until a man came out and said could I not park there, but after he heard me out he budged a car or two up and made room for me, very kind, thank you kindly. He also added that I should ask at Pennance farm for permission.

Walking up the farm track a 4x4 came towards us, it stopped right next to me and I said in my very best not quite crawling voice would it be ok if we had a look at your burial chamber. He replied that it would be impossible and under no circumstances could he let that happen, the field shuts at five. An incredulous look must have crossed my face, he touched my arm apologetically and said i’m sorry, of course you can. Phew !
He then asked if I could outrun a cow but then looked at Eric and said youll just have to be quicker than him. Good to see humour is alive and well in far off Cornwall.

We meandered our way past the bovinators, who steadfastly refused to acknowledge us, which was nice, specially for Eric.
Carl is half right, it is in the middle of a field but its not quite the jumble as it seems from the road.
Some large stones seem to have been added on the south west side, they are much bigger than the other stones on top of the mound, field clearance would be my guess, but hard work getting them up onto the top.
The chambers entrance is not big, a belly crawl is required to get in, once in you can see an active rabbit hole, in fact there are a few all over the cairn.
The whole structure is built on a slope, no artificial platforms here, just throw it up and get great uncle Bernard in there.
It looks very much like another Scilonian tomb, which i’m beginning to like very much, ive seen three or four now and I’ve not once been to Scilly.
The sun is going down now, sinking into the sea, but this has been a very good day, and this was the perfect finish, good stones, good weather, good times.

Another one ticked off my must see list.
The kids had had enough of stone hunting for this day, so I parked as close as I dared and trotted off into the field.
The footpath is supposed to pass right by two “tumuli” but I’d obviously gone too far because I couldn’t find them. Backtracking I had to start looking among the walls and bracken/gorse which worked a treat because I came upon the lesser of the two first. It really is a lesser of the two as well, couldn’t see any stones amid the undergrowth. So I moved further south and came across the better one. It couldn’t have been better hidden if it had been through SAS sniper school, it was that well camouflaged I didn’t know it was there until I almost walked over it.
After five minutes with my PO general use scissors the entrance was uncovered, I scuttled in and took a seat. But only for a minute, the insides of these little chambers are for bones and small animals, the sunlit outside is our domain.

What a little beauty this is, small, but perfectly formed, just a slight hump in the landscape, among other slight humps which turn out to be big gorse bushes.
A lot like Brane chambered cairn but smaller.

Not been here for fifteen years so was rather eager to see them again, plus I’d poo pooed the notion of crawling through the holed stone, even when an American tourist said in a southern drawl ” have you crawled through it ? you have to crawl through it”.

So far my daughter Phil had abstained from any old stoning, so I twisted the truth somewhat and told them if you crawl through it three times you get good luck or a wish comes true, we can all do with some of that, so it was with both my kids that we made the short/long walk to these stones.

Elation, we have the place to ourselves,but upon checking the footpath people were coming, quick get through it now, the kids looked at me and said “you first” so through I go, luckily I avoided the fairy dimension and came through safely on the other side. Eric wasn’t so lucky so we had to spend three weeks rescuing him from the evil clutches of the wicked fairy queen, returning at the exact moment we’d left, which was nice.

The other people soon were upon us and they immediately got their dowsing rods out, soon they were detecting fag ends sweet wrappers and the odd inter dimensional portal, the kids ran round playing whilst I looked on. Then two dog walkers came through, and with more on the path behind us it was time to go. At least we don’t have to worry about Scrofula or Rickets.

Adios stones.