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I had previously only seen Aldbourne barrows from a distance while walking uphill on a footpath towards Upper Upham. Today I visited for the first time, walking the ancient Albourne Trackway (see post by Chance) uphill out of the village of Aldbourne. It was a bright, windy afternoon; the track did indeed ‘feel’ ancient becoming a green path after about 300 metres out of Aldbourne. The landscape was Wiltshire through and through, though being further north and relatively close to the M4 motorway it is less familiar that the Marlborough Downs.

The four Bronze Age round barrows are large and undamaged with the exception of the third one which seems to have its top missing. What is remarkable about this site is its alignments. A disc barrow is immediately below in the next field, not visible from the barrows but just a short walk downhill. Looking directly south, at approximately the same height at the four barrows, the Giant’s Grave long barrow can be seen on the horizon.

This week I’m a refugee from some building work in my home; on Monday I visited Avebury on a bright and frosty morning. Sort fell in love with the place again after a period of disenchantment. Today, still on the run from building dust, I headed back out there with a walking companion. My friend parked in the West Kennet lay-by and we headed up towards the White Horse Trail in search of the Harestone Down stone circle. I first read about this site many years ago in Terence Meaden’s book ‘The Secret’s of the Avebury Stones’ (this was also the first book I bought about Avebury) but had never got around to visiting.

We headed towards East Kennet and took the green track up to some fields where East Kennet long barrow was visible. Following the White Horse Trail uphill we came to an area of rough grass on a hillock – climbed over what looked like a wooden horse jump to get up to a scatter of large sarsen stones – at first glance there did not seem to be any particular circle like structure, though we noticed one deeply grooved stone. What deeply impressed me, however, was the absolutely astonishing panoramic view. Stretched out before us was not only a great view of East Kennet long barrow but also clear views of West Kennet long barrow, Silbury, Avebury, and in the distance Windmill Hill. This must be one of the best views in the whole of Wiltshire.

Unfortunately, I discovered the battery in my camera was flat and I had left my spare charging so only managed to get a couple of pics before my camera turned itself off. It didn’t matter though, the clouds made the sky and landscape majestic – no photo of mine could ever do it justice.

From Harestone Down we headed to Langdean stone circle (also mentioned in Terence Meaden’s book). I looked back at Harestone as we walked away heading south and have to say a stone circle did seem to take shape around the tussocky mound. We stopped for a bit in a field with three or four sarsen clusters in it. Something about this field reminded me of Piggledene though the stones were not scattered as they are there.

I’m no archaeologist nor do I have any aspirations in that direction – I can only report on my impressions when visiting ancient sites/landscapes. My impression of Langdean is that it is a sarsen drift as there is a scatter of stones clustered in a valley bottom. It is true that one of these groupings of stones was circle like.

We followed a track back to East Kennet village, gifted with some superb views of East Kennet long barrow for most of our walk. Perched on the horizon with its resident trees shorn of leaves, it is a magnificent barrow – seen from the Harestone Down perspective it seemed to be very much in the foreground of this spectacular landscape.

This morning I set off bright and early to meet up with a small group of Ramblers – I haven’t been out with them for a while but today’s walk was up around Uffington White Horse (one of my very favourite places). The whole hill was covered in frost as we up walked towards it from the car park, everything shimmered in the winter sunlight.

We crossed the Ridgeway heading apparently for the Lambourne Gallops. Mist covered downland lay to our right and although I had my camera with me I made no attempt to use it. A curlew called and then skylarks ... there was nowhere I would rather have been.

Then came the surprise – as we came up towards the Gallops our walk leader mentioned Idlebush Barrow – I saw two barrows, the first being what looked like the remains of a long barrow. Then a well preserved disc/saucer barrow came into view. Again I made no attempt to photograph it as these sort of barrows only seem to show up well in aerial shots.

I recommend seeing this barrow because of its proximity to Uffington and the brilliant views of the downs on the walk over to it.

I had never actually been up to Old Sarum before, though have passed it many times. Today to celebrate the new year I travelled down to Salisbury with a friend intending to walk up to Old Sarum along the River Avon and through water meadows. The weather forecast was for the rain to hold off until late afternoon, this proved incorrect as we just made it to the village of Stratford Sub Castle when heavy rain set in. Not wearing a waterproof jacket today so just at the foot of Old Sarum we decided to turn back, although we still got a soaking. No matter, as we started our return walk a lone swan circled us in flight, always a rare and wonderful sight.

We decided to drive up to Old Sarum on the way back; as reported in the News Section about winter closures there were indeed closed signs. The hillfort is open to walkers, however, as I spotted a stoical runner go through the gate. My friend parked the car for a few moments by the entrances to the hillfort where we stood in the rain looking towards Salisbury Cathedral – just visible through the rain. We also had a very good view of the deep ramparts of the hillfort.

Travelled back via Stonehenge which looked majestic and beautiful in the rain – the umbrellas of the visitors adding colour to a scene which otherwise would have been rain swept monochrome.

I’m not sure of the best place to put this item, not news as such but happened yesterday. This little known hillfort is one of north Wiltshire’s ‘hidden’ ancient places – it lies between Wootton Bassett and Swindon and has some lovely views towards the also little known village of Greenhill. I made my second visit yesterday from a completely different direction to the first time I visited. This time walking from Greenhill, it was uphill across farmland which gave the place much more a sense of being a defensive site. The first time I visited was from Purton where the approach seems generally flat.

It is obviously a favourite place for dog walkers which not many people have a problem with. Yesterday, however, we were approached by a farmer who told us someone had been letting their dog worry the sheep (in the adjacent field). I never fully understood what the term sheep worrying meant – its not pleasant. The dogs when they do it bite the hind quarters of the sheep injuring them badly. This particular farmer had removed the two injured sheep back to a barn for treatment. Its sometimes helpful to hear the farmer’s story and the reasons why they are often reluctant to give people (and their dogs) free access.

Did a linear walk the other day which gave a different perspective to approaching Avebury as went via Windmill Hill. Travelled by 49 bus to Berwick Bassett then followed one of the North Wessex Downs AONB superb bus walks. The walk (see link below) suggests a small detour to see St Nicholas Church in Berwick Bassett – this is worth the effort however ambivalent you may feel towards churches as it is built from sarsen stone, the first church I’ve ever seen built completely with sarsen. Three of the gravestones are sarsen standing stones though all erected relatively recently.

The approach to Windmill Hill is along a right of way which takes you across two fields so it is visible for some time before you reach it. Interesting when you remember that Windmill Hill was a causewayed enclosure and a site of Neolithic gatherings long before Avebury was built – I could well have been walking an ancient route. Once on Windmill Hill it seems compulsory to sit on the main round barrow for a bit and contemplate the amazing landscape that stretches out all around you. The day I visited it was misty (though lifting) giving the view towards Avebury the mysterious appearance I love so much. Silbury only just discernible through the mist along with Cherhill Down on the right.

The walk down to Avebury from Windmill Hill was just so peaceful; the mist was lifting fast to reveal a perfect still November day. Hardly anyone at Avebury and on this occasion I went into the Alexander Keiller Museum which is a must for anyone visiting Windmill Hill for the first time.

Its strange that you when become too familiar with a place like Avebury, all it takes is approaching it from a different direction to bring it back into sharp focus again (even in mist). If you are able, I recommend this walk and I understand the 49 bus now runs hourly on a Sunday – use it or lose it.

northwessexdowns.org.uk/wba/nwd-aonb/NWDWebsiteV2.nsf/$LUcontent/8.1/$FILE/Walk%203%20EXP.pdf?OpenElement

Visited 27/10/2011:
To be completely honest, I first read about this stone on the Megalithic Portal website about two weeks ago. It fired up my imagination as I had been on Minchinhampton Common very recently. Minchinhampton Common and Rodborough Common meet at around the point where this stone is located. Having said that, however, it is one of the most obscure stones I’ve ever managed to locate.
I could not have found it without the assistance of my good friend M who provided the transport, OS map and large brolly – as it was persistently raining.

We left my friend’s car by the Bear Inn which is just where the road crosses from Minchinhampton Common into Rodborough Common – free range cattle wandering across the roads.

Bownham Park residential estate in just across the road from the Bear Inn walking slightly uphill. There are two entrances into the estate both say ‘private road’. If you enter (you can drive in) by the main entrance (look for ornamental white chains and posts) straight ahead about 50 metres in you will see the wrought iron gates of Bownham House – turn left here and follow the road downhill for about 150 metres. Look for a turning on your right near to the bottom of the hill which has a sign saying “Nos 18, 20, 22 only”. Go to the top of this short uphill road and you will find the stone in the shrubbery under a large tree near the entrance of the very last house.

I would like to say it is in character with the holey oolite stone at Minchinhampton but I’m afraid it is not really, no similar evidence of erosion. I’m not sure what type of stone it is – probably limestone.

It has been set in concrete with a strange step holding it all in place and imagine it stood on this spot long before the modern houses were built, though it is possible that it was moved during the building of the houses – hence the concrete setting.

It would be interesting to here the views of other TMA-ers.

Previous postings on the site by some eminent contributors to TMA, including the late Wysefool, contain lots of information to supplement this brief field note. Seen today by pure chance while walking back to Upper Upham, they suddenly appeared in the landscape – four round barrows with a bowl or disc barrow in the foreground. (One of my walking companions said the foreground barrow was a saucer barrow which had been ploughed out, the landowner who was later required to ‘reinstate’ it). If anyone knows more about the detail and accuracy of this, I’d love to hear it.

From the by-way leading back up to Upper Upham the view of the barrows against the Wiltshire land-sky-scape is rather wonderful. Unsung I’d say.

Out walking this morning around the Upper Upham area of Wiltshire – a part of Wiltshire I never walked around before. Apart from encountering a ‘shooting party’ who tried to convince us we were not on a right of way, it was a lovely downland walk with the usual invigorating breeze and cloud driven sky. Walking back up a track to Upper Upham near the end of the walk, Giants Grave long barrow appeared on the right of the path. At first I thought it was a round barrow as marked on OS map as tumulus – it looks too long to be a round barrow though.

Just past this point there appeared a stunning view of the four Albourne barrows on Sugar Hill with a distinct bowl or disc barrow in the foreground.

Not much I can add to Chance’s excellent fieldnote on this obscure but large hillfort. Visited it today as part of a six mile walk from hamlet of Wittonditch.

The countryside leading up to Membury is very clearly private farmland though there is a Right of Way through it. We walked through some woodland where some forestry work had been taking place and came out into a field containing a small herd of deer, two of which were white – quite rare I believe.

We followed a quiet lane to Membury Farm which, with its gate lodge and rather impressive wrought iron gates, was a bit daunting – glad I wasn’t walking alone. However, the Right of Way was clearly marked with signs saying ‘stay on the footpath’ so we kept going up to the hill fort. The ramparts of the hillfort are completely covered with mature trees (a lot of oaks) on all sides. The middle of the hill fort was a ploughed field with a broad path going through its centre. One of the things I love about walking to hillforts is the views of the surrounding landscape – no views to be had from this hillfort because of the dense trees on the ramparts. The wind did pick up briskly while we stopped for a bit so from the elemental viewpoint it did feel like a hillfort.

The pond, encircled by oaks, mentioned by Chance on the north side of the enclosure seemed completely dried out.

This hill fort has been on my list to visit for some time. Today I received the opportunity via a friend who wanted to make an autumnal visit to the New Forest – Danebury was on the way.

Surprisingly easy to find as well sign-posted from Andover – we left the car in the first parking area at the bottom of the hill, although there was another one further up the hill next to a small discreet roundhouse-style toilet building (with information boards).

Its a relatively gentle walk up to the hill fort where there is yet another information board explaining that the eastern entrance once had a timber gate which had been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Originally the fort had two entrances but the west gate was filled in and only the east gate used.

It appears to be a trivallate fort, at least in parts; 2500 years old and occupied for 500 years until the Romans arrived. Excavations by Professor Barry Cunliffe of Oxford between 1969-1988 found evidence of 73 roundhouses and 500 rectangular buildings – roundhouses for the people and the rectangular store houses and pits probably for grain.
180,000 pieces of pottery and 240,000 bits of animal bone and stone objects such as querns and bone implements for weaving were found. There are still dips in the ground where grain stores used to be and a high spot in the centre which is thought to have been a focal point for religious gatherings and important meetings.

Its a massive and impressive hill fort, the lower ramparts now quite densely wooded in places with beech and yew trees. The paths have had sand gravel, rather than chalk laid down, which slightly detracts from the ambience, as do the wooden steps up one of the higher ramparts. Both these measures protect the hill fort from erosion so no complaints from me.

The wild flowers which appear to grow in profusion have gone with the onset of autumn; a ‘must go back in the summer’ sort of place with panoramic views over Hampshire and towards Wiltshire.

A beautiful, warm Autumn day, my first visit to Crickley Hill Country Park. The site of the neolithic settlement, hillfort and later roundhouses is impressive.
The following information was taken from a ‘time-line’ information board:

Archaeological investigation suggest the hill was intermittently inhabited for about 4000 years between 3500BC and 500AD. The soil on the hill is shallow but has never been ploughed so many of man’s past activities are recorded in not only the bedrock but also the subsoil. Excavations over the years have produced hundreds of thousands of finds, pieces of bone, fragments of pottery, daub from the walls of buildings, metal work, glass, charcoal, and various stones, many of which are foreign to the site.

A wonderfully evocative site with the later roundhouses marked out by circular ‘post’ marks. Spectacular views towards Cheltenham and Gloucester – the Malvern Hills just visible through the afternoon haze.

The last day of September and it feels like a summer’s day. My first ever visit to Crickley Hill hillfort with its amazing views towards the towns of Gloucester and Cheltenham. A long barrow spotted on the OS map took us up into and through a beech wood on Crickley Hill. It took a while to find this barrow as it is screened from view by a line of trees. Coming upon it through the beech trees, it seemed instantly familiar and I recalled the splendid ‘long shadows’ photographs posted here on TMA by people like the Sweetcheat and Gladman.

The gate to the field with the barrow was padlocked today so we carefully climbed over a wire fence to take a closer look. A lovely barrow in profile; closer up, however, the centre of the barrow is sunken indicating that is has been excavated and the chamber stones possibly removed.

Today’s visit to this truly hidden (partial) stone circle was a complete surprise. A friend had asked me along on day trip to the Dorset coast via Corfe Castle then along to Studland for a walk to ‘Old Harry’. How could I refuse? While plotting the route to Studland my friend had noticed a stone circle marked on the OS map about 2/3 miles from Corfe Castle on the road to Studland, so we thought we’d have a go at finding it – as a bonus to all the other delights of the trip.

After initially missing the pull-in we turned round, stopping at a small parking area opposite Rempstone Hall; a gate into a wood and a bridlepath sign pointing to Nine Barrow Down is what to look out for. Going through the gate we turned right into a small wood which was a mixture of deciduous trees and plantation pines. The pine needles under our feet made our footfall silent – all rather lovely.

The stone circle was hard to find – we passed one solitary dark red sandstone before we eventually found what is really the remains of a stone circle, now just a semi-circle. Approximately eight stones plus the solitary stone as you enter the wood; the circle stones were covered in moss and being dark reddish brown in colour were well camouflaged amid the pine trees.

Later in the day, we went into the Heritage Centre in Swanage where I learnt that the Rempstone Stone Circle had been erected in the Bronze Age 4,000 years ago by the Beaker people and built with Studland sandstone.

Wild, windy weather today, the tail-end of an Atlantic hurricane. I just wanted to be somewhere high and open – so Barbury Castle it was. I’ve been here many times before but today, after an exhilerating walk into the wind along the ramparts, for the first time I headed up along the Ridgeway towards Hackpen Hill. Made it to a large clump of trees before turning back towards Barbury; seeing Barbury from the Ridgeway gave it a whole new perspective. From that view point it is clear that Barbury is a promontary hillfort as it sits on the end of a hill ridge with the land dropping gradually away towards the plain below.

The information board on the Ridgeway side of Barbury tells us that the area is rich in burial mounds, among which an ancient disc barrow is the most important. Dated 1700BC it is thought to be the burial site of an aristocratic woman.

The information board goes on to say that during the laying of a trench by Esso, the skeleton of an elderly woman dated at around 300AD was found deep in the chalk bed. Probably a member of the local Romano British community who farmed the area. (The workers who found the remains originally called them ERIC ‘Early remains in chalk’ but later changed this to Erica).

Yesterday I walked the section of the Ridgeway between Hackpen Hill and Avebury (to the Polisher stone). Overcast and very windy, it felt very autumnal; was wonderful to be up there overlooking the Wiltshire downs. The hedgerows were laden with berries of many varieties which reinforced the autumnal feel.

Last time I was up here was in the winter and the surrounding fields were covered in mist so I missed the intriguing large sarsen stone that stands alone in the middle of a field to your left, walking towards Avebury. Not possible to get closer without climbing wire fencing so just had to look from a distance.

Was concerned to see part of the track heavily rutted and, coming back, three vechicles passed – one was towing some sort of people carrier that had people in it (they didn’t look like farm workers).

Love this ancient trackway so much; it is always different according to the time of year and weather conditions – and always an intense experience.

I came across this long barrow today more by accident than design. Was in the Stroud/Selsley area to look at Pre-Raphaelite stained glass, approaching the village of Selsley from across the Common. What a lovely place – open unfenced common land (how rare is that) with wonderful views over the Stroud Valley. The first day of September and the sun was shining.

The long barrow had a couple of families picnicing on it today, flying kites and running around. I pushed any proprietorial thoughts away and refrained from taking all but just one photograph. As with most of the Gloucestershire long barrows there are stunning views to be had; in this case across the valley, towards the river Severn. The Severn could be clearly seen today along with the hills beyond (just a little haze). The 55 metre long barrow dips in the middle as so many of them do as a result of past excavations. Today I left it to the children playing on its slopes but will go back another time to take a closer look.

Monday, 11th July 2011

Set off to ‘test’ another nine mile walk for the North Wessex Downs AONB forthcoming series of Heritage Walks. Started from Pewsey Wharf along the Kennet & Avon Canal to pick up the White Horse Trail at Pains Bridge up to Giant’s Grave Settlement.

It was a hot, humid day, I had been troubled for the past week or so by horse-fly bites. This occasion was no exception which, along with the heat, made walking uphill uncomfortable. Fortunately by the time Giant’s Grave was reached a slight breeze had sprung up.

Fabulous views over the Vale of Pewsey in one direction and the ridge of hills towards Knap Hill (Oare and Huish Hills) in the other. The nine mile walk towards Gopher Wood along the White Horse Trail (Tan Hill Way) was abandoned for a cooler day ... so it was back down hill and a walk into the village of Oare in such of refreshment.

Note: Oare and Pewsey are accessible by bus from Swindon, Marlborough and Salisbury via the Wilts & Dorset X5
wdbus.co.uk/site/uploads/publications/157.pdf

18/7/11
Another, this time successful, attempt at the nine mile walk mentioned above. Undistracted today by heat and insect bites I was able to take a better look at the rampart known as Giant’s Grave. Approached along the fence-line at the top to Martinsell Hill (the Pewsey side) it was clearer today to see it as a defensive bank and ditch, broken by the a fence driven through it. Later viewed from Tan Hill Way – a different perspective, the shape of a hill fort became clearly visible.

Due to one of life’s quirky little detours I found myself in Petersfield today visiting family of a friend. A lovely afternoon so we walked around Petersfield Heath which, is spite of having a prosperous market town right next to it, still feels like a heath. Surprisingly there are several round barrows dotted about, some hidden among the trees. Not much to add to Jimit’s fieldnote except to say that the person showing us the barrows also told us that they were aligned to the midwinter sunset between the gap in the two westerly hills which can be seen from the nearby lake (formerly marshland). One of these, Butser Hill, being the highest hill in South Downs. It would be difficult to test this theory now as there the area is quite wooded – a treat though to have a little bit of prehistory come my way without any real effort on my behalf.

My first visit to Bincknoll Castle – today as the culmination of a nine mile walk taken from a leaflet poduced by North West Downs AONB. The second half of the walk was from Clyffe Pypard to Broadtown, along to the lesser known Broad Town White Horse then following the bottom of an escarpment to the track leading up to Bincknoll Castle. Once up there, the distant sprawl of Swindon and constant flow of the M4 motorway became hidden behind trees, before me lay the Marlborough Downs and Ridgeway.

Note:
Apparently the Normans adapted the Bincknoll hillfort as a motte and bailey castle but all trace of this has disappeared.

Today I caught the 49 bus out towards Avebury, disembarking at the village of Broad Hinton; the objective being to ‘test’ walk one of the new ‘bus walks’ compiled by North Wessex Down AONB.

The first part of the walk took me onto the old trackway of Vize Lane, apparently an ancient trading route which once connected settlements now known as Wroughton and Devizes. The track comes out by the Winterbourne Bassett stone circle at Lambourne Ground and effectively forms a cross-roads; the large sarsen overlooking this junction becoming visible as I walked towards the crossroads. It struck me that on the other occasions I’ve visited this site I’ve always been in a car – walking towards it along Vize Lane gave it a different perspective. I found myself thinking that instead of being an outlier to the almost buried stone circle, the large sarsen might in fact be an prehistoric Mark Stone – as talked about by Alfred Watkins in The Old Straight Track.

Edit: Local antiquarian friend has kindly sent me this message:
The Winterbourne Bassett Stone was erected in memory of Rev W.F. Harrison who fell from his horse and died here in 1857.

Visited Sunday 22nd May 2011
Very interesting to read the field notes by The Eternal and Gladman on this one as I had no idea it came into the category of hillfort. We walked up to the top of Castle Crag on a damp morning, the first day of a week’s walking holiday in the Lake District. A lovely and relatively easy walk from where we were staying in the village of Grange; after a night of heavy rain the woodland streams tumbled downhill over their stoney beds into the river Derwent.
We saw no one until we started to ascend the hill, then dozens of people (and their dog) appeared making their way downhill from the summit – our first hint that the more popular footpaths in the Lake District can become quite busy, especially at weekends. Marvellous views towards Skiddaw on one side and over the Borrowdale valley on the other.
The top of the hill is a narrow track up through what looks like a slate mound – I didn’t do this bit as was still finding my feet and to me it looked slippery. My holiday companion went enthusiastically to the top and reported jagged slate rocks sticking up in castellations.
Later in the week I climbed the very little mountain of Cat Bells, also walked up Great End Crag at the Great Gable side of Seathwaite Fell (2000ft) so Castle Crag was a great way to start.

Visited on 24th May 2011 on the way back from Long Meg and Her Daughters.

Information board says that this huge henge has a circumference of 150 metres and was built from 5 million cobblestones brought from the nearby River Eamont many of which have now been removed for building materials. It varies in height from 4 metres to 7 metres and has no internal or external ditch. There were 4 large stones at its centre though only one remains. There were also 4 stones standing at a single 7 metre entrance to the east – these too are gone.

The nearby King Arthur’s Round Table can be clearly seen from Mayburgh Henge.

Visited 26th May 2011.
We headed towards Broughton in Furness then took the A595 towards the village of Hallthwaites taking turn-off for Broadgate, as far as Crag Hall farm. Here the track turned into a bridle way so we obtained permission to park car on a grass verge near the farm.

The stone circle is about a mile up the track towards Thwaites Fell – seemed longer as uphill and on this particular day a cold wind swept across fells making it feel more like March than late May. The stone circle is truly remote – it sits at the bottom of Swinside Fell with views towards Dunnerdale Fells in the distance to the east and Duddon estuary to the south.

There is a four stone ‘entrance’ into the circle which seems to be aligned to the eastern skyline (I wondered whether this was a solstice alignment). As observed by other TMA-ers, Swinside bears some similarities to Castlerigg though not as dramatic. It is probably the loneliest stone circle I have visited – we met no one at all along the way, just free range cattle and the odd curlew.

Note taken from David Watson’s “A Guide to Stone Circles of the Lake District”
There are 55 stones with 32 still standing. Originally there would have been about 60 stones. The stones are made of local metamorphic slate. Circle is about 28 metres in diameter. Tallest stone is about 2.3 metres

Tuesday 24th June 2011 – we drive over to Penrith temporarily leaving the Lakes and mountains behind. There is a Radio4 programme on the car radio about Bob Dylan who is 70 today so it is to the strains of “Like a Rolling Stone” we set off from the village of Little Salkend in the Eden Valley to visit Long Meg & Her Daughters. The Pennines are to our right as we walk up the track, it’s a gusty cloud-skudding day, my companion identifies the sound of a curlew.

Much has been written about Log Meg and the stone circle known has Her Daughters – its diameter is between 100 and 93 metres putting it amongst the biggest stone circles in Britain. Long Meg is an irregular four sided pillar of local red sandstone whilst the circle stones are the granite rock rhyolite. Long Meg is 3.6 metres high and is partially covered in silver crystalisations and lichen. Famously it has three examples of rock art on one side of its surfaces – a cup and ring with gutter, a spiral, and some incomplete concentric circles.

After spending some time walking around the circle and looking at Long Meg from various angles, we make our way through a couple of fields to Little Meg – a very small granite stone circle in a nearby field. Then on to the small red sandstone church of St Michael’s and All Angels, Addington which oddly stands away from any sizeable village inside a walled churchyard. A hefty shower blew across so we took shelter inside the church for a bit – I found the following passage in a booklet about the church (author not stated, though revised in 2010).

“Standing on the route towards the Tyne Gap, Long Meg is one of the eight circle henges along the 350 miles between Fife and Wiltshire which share similar characteristics. Each has a large open ring within a smallish henge and each is on a trackway of Neolithic occupation.
Some 200 Neolithic people are thought to have occupied the areas immediately around the Lake district mountains. Long Meg herself stands in the right place to relate to a midwinter sunset but only if seen from the middle of the ring with a flattened arc, making its centre difficult to determine. Yet such was the skill of the ring builders that Long Meg is aligned so that the winter sun would have set exactly over it. For this to happen its top would have to rise clear of the skyline, hence Long Meg’s height”.

I had lost my heart to Castlerigg a few days earlier so Long Meg & Her Daughters in the pastural Eden Valley didn’t make the impact I had expected – its odd how some stone circles immediately touch something within whilst others leave you pondering and puzzled.
(Photos to follow when I return home at the weekend).

Staying for week at the small village of Grange in the Borrowdale valley near Keswick. When a friend asked me several months ago to share a walking holiday in Lake District I jumped at the chance – unbelieveably I had not visited before. At last I would be able to visit Castlerigg, named by so many as their favourite stone circle.

As we approached Keswick on Saturday, the rain as forecast, had started – I spotted the sign for Castlerigg so we did a detour to make it the first the thing to be seen. I was childishly excited as I ran into the circle in the rain – with just sheep for company and surrounding hills shrouded in low cloud it, seemed a remote isolated place.

It rained all Saturday night and yesterday morning it eased a little so we walked to the top of Castle Crag, a nearby hill. By the afternoon the rain had stopped to be replaced with cloudy, sunny intervals ... so we headed back to Castlerigg to see it in different weather. Not wanting to do a long walk in case the weather changed again, my friend parked on the A591 (the road out of Keswick) and we walked from ‘High Nest’ through the meadows to Castlerigg. I became acutely aware of the surrounding fells as cloud shadows and sunlight played on their steep slopes. It was Sunday afternoon, the sun had come out after heavy rain so needless to say there were quite a few people wandering around the circle – which made no difference at all to the impact my second visit had on me. This beautiful stone circle with its small cove of inner stones – surrounding on all sides by the high Cumbrian hills blew me away. I live near Avebury, have been to Brodgar and Boscawen-un, both of which affected me deeply. Castlerigg is up there with them. It is set on a plateau above Keswick in an amphitheatre of hills including Skiddaw, Blencathra (Saddleback) and Lonsdale Fell; in some ways seems to mirror them. I stood for a long while at the far side of the field watching the shadows race across the fells all around the stone circle.

Right now, I’m typing this in the attic room which is also my bedroom in the riverside cottage where we are staying (curses, there is a computer and wifi link there too). The rain is falling in white sheets and the River Derwent has swollen to scarey proportions. The drama is spectacular ... no doubt we will venture out soon – perhaps go down to Grasmere as walking is out of the question until the rain subsides. Up here in the Lakes – almost unspeakably beautiful to this particular southerner – once again Nature rules and puts everything in perspective.

Over and out ... photos to follow when I return home.

Am a bit taciturn at present so it takes a good friend to seek out my company. My Cotswold Walking Friend with whom I spent so many sunny days last year tracking down Gloucestershire long barrows, proved their steely merit today. I was collected with a brisk “we’re going for a walk, whatever” and transported to Chavenage Green near Tetbury.

Using OS Explorer 168 we found the footpath which led to Longtree Bottom Covert – a peaceful wooded area whose resident tawny owl was making its presence heard. On to Pond Covert then uphill where my friend pointed out Lechmore long barrow to our left. Over a rickety wooden fence/stile, we found ourselves in the meadow full of wild grass and cow parsley. The song of skylark rose upwards around us; swallows swooped.

The long barrow has a single hawthorn tree on it, today in full may blossom. Cow parsley and wild grasses covered the barrow and to some extent concealed the scatter of limestones across the top of the barrow. The sun tried to shine, the rain tried to fall, the wind won the day. Lovely!

Walked up to Segsbury Camp today from the village of Letcombe Regis (having started from Letcombe Bassett).
A steep but steady uphill walk to Segsbury Castle – the narrow road is little used except for farm vehicles. Segsbury is a huge hillfort cut in two by the road and on the edge of the Oxfordshire section of the Ridgeway. The hillfort and surrounding meadows are under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and Countryside Access Scheme; sheep graze on one side of the hillfort whilst wild flowers flourish on the other.
There is something about the downland hillforts that never fails to have a rejuvenating effect – today I walked up there under my own personal dark cloud. The clean fresh air and this grand Iron Age endeavour with its magnificent skyscapes blew my cloud away, somehow everything fell back into place. I had a strong sense that this hillfort must have once held a community of people – its massive diameter seemed far too big to be just a defensive position.
Leaving the hillfort for the Ridgeway caused a minor problem as the step to the very high stile was missing. Not blessed with paticularly long legs I had to do a bit of precarious clambouring and jumping to gain access to the Ridgeway before walking for about half a mile or so to another stile (this one fine). Then a lovely downhill walk on springy meadowland back to Letcombe Bassett. Spotted my first ever stoat which ran across across our path several metres ahead.

Like many of the long barrows marked on the Cotswolds OS Map there is not a lot to see. This long barrow is situated between Upper and Lower Swell. It can be accessed by walking out of Lower Swell along the quiet road which connects the two villages; is visible from the road within a beech wood/plantation. Although no open access or RoW, today we walked around the field edge of the sloping crop field leading up to it – the stone wall along the field edge is broken in a few places so access is quite easy. The view from this barrow before the beech trees were planted would have been quite something – as it looks directly towards the hill-top town of Stow on the Wold. Stow is on the Fosse Way and probably began its existence as a hill fort or perhaps an even older settlement. According to an information leaflet in the small part Norman church at Lower Swell (which is situated on the old Roman road of Ryknield Street) there are five neolithic burial chambers in the local vicinity although today we only visited this one.

Note of interest to walkers:
Also in Lower Swell you can pick up the Heart of England Way – “a green route, for 100 miles, the length of the West Midlands region. Linking Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in Staffordshire, with the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in Gloucestershire, with much mileage in rural Warwickshire.”

heartofenglandway.org/5078.html

After walking through Lockeridge Dene sarsen drift we headed up a narrow path towards Huish and into West Woods. How wonderful West Woods is at the moment – the bluebells are almost fully out so a haze of blue to be seen in almost all directions.

A more or less straight path across the wood to Hurley Bottom then onto Strawberry Ground (wild strawberries flourishing here). Turning left, follow the outer path, the Wansdyke also runs along this part of West Wood. And there is the long barrow – today covered in bluebells and dappled sunlight. Magical!

Have been through Lockeridge many of times on route to walks starting from Knap Hill but it was only when I went past on the Henge Hopper min-bus a few weeks back did I realise how far this sarsen drift spreads.

Today my walking friend parked up near one of the southerly access points into West Wood and we walked along the narrow road towards Lockeridge. About a 15 minute walk until we came to a gate leading into the drift. It has the same ‘other-worldly’ quality as Piggle Dene though perhaps a bit more accessible. There are three fields of grey wethers leading up to the village of Lockeridge where the first field can be clearly seen from the road. An essential part of the Avebury landscape – the NT information board says these stones have been used for building for the past 5,000 years and indeed many of the houses and garden walls in Lockeridge are built from sarsen blocks.

Walking from Bibury towards the lovely village of Ablington, past an area marked as a ‘settlement’ on the OS map (though no visual evidence). After leaving peaceful Ablington we made our way to a strange other-worldly valley which felt like a stream or river had once flowed there. This we followed up to some abandoned stone pigsties, then with Gambra Hill to our left we followed a field edge to Lamborough Banks long barrow. On the edge of a grouse rearing wood, the barrow is behind a Cotswold stone wall. We didn’t attempt to climb over the wall as a very good view of the barrow without doing so. Like most un-restored long barrows, this one is much damaged and overgrown with brambles – though probably the longest long barrow I’ve yet seen (excluding WKLB). Today parts of it were covered with a profusion of wild violets.

Timothy Darvill in his book Prehistoric Gloucestershire describes another nearby mound as a beehive chamber. We did manage to locate the mound a short walk from Lamborough at the side of a nearby farm – again enclosed by a stone wall and at the centre of a newly planted saplings. (Sometimes described as Ablington Barrow 2)

Visited Rybury hillfort today, walking through the mid-day mist from the village of Allington. Taking the hard surface track uphill towards the Wansdyke, it was easy walking; initially seemed to be a gentle incline but became progressively steeper, reaching 294 metres at it highest point. Earthworks visible to our left (near some sheep holding pens) as we reached the top of the hill . Amazing views of the rolling downs overlooking the Pewsey Vale; almost treeless apart from a few low lying thorn bushes, there was something beautifully bleak about the mist rolling across them.

Clifford’s Hill was to our left as we walked across the high flat hill top. A walk downhill, then a surprisingly easy scramble up Clifford’s Hill to the hill fort surrounding the summit. As with all of Wiltshire’s hillfort’s, fantastic views, in this case, towards Milk Hill. And a sense of the solitary. A windy walk along a ridge back down to the Pewsey-Marlborough road crossing over to Cannings Cross Farm where the footpath is clearly marked towards the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Misty, windy and thoroughly invigorating.

From Lyneham Long Barrow we walked in a more or less straight line along the Darcy Dalton Way to Sarsden then onto Churchill.
Just as you walk up into the village across the lovely Sars Brook the moss-covered remains of what may have been a chambered tomb stand at the entrance to the Old Rectory on the right hand side of the road. Stones on either side of the driveway – the village church of All Saints was just in view behind the larger stones resonating with the Cove at Stanton Drew.

We concluded our day out Oxfordshire trip to look at the ‘other stones’ by sitting in the now warm spring sunshine on the bench outside the church. Next to the bench is a magnificent line of standing limestones .. intriguing indeed.

Once again, many thanks to Ocifant for posting this information on The Heritage Journal thus facilitating a truly memorable stony day out.

Four miles west of Chipping Norton at the side of the A361. We parked by the sign pointing to Chadlington and Chilson and walked back to the barrow across a field. The most striking thing about it was the large standing stone which is now separated from the barrow by a barbed wire fence (evidence of sheep but none in the field today). We walked along the corner of the field and climbed over a wooden bit of the fence to gain access to the barrow. A tangle of moss covered stones littered about, the barrow is now completely covered with either hawthorn or blackthorn bushes.

We parked on the Charlbury Road to visit this enchanting scheduled ancient monument – the remains of a what must have been a magnificent chambered tomb perhaps once on a par with Waylands Smithy. One very large stone and a few smaller ones, it stands within a Cotswold stone enclosure surrounded by holly trees. The overall impression was one of dark green coolness. A place of tranquillity in spite of the nearby busy road.

A tall stone, leaning rather than standing, against a Cotswold stone wall opposite the stone cross in the centre of the lovely little village of Taston. After spending some time with the stone,we went down the steep narrow lane and by chance came across a spring spilling into a pool that fed a fast flowing stream. The cottages by the spring were called Thorstone Cottage and Spring Cottage respectively (a Victorian monument circa 1869 stands next to the spring-head).

Part of Ocifant’s Tour of the Other Stones in Oxfordshire.

With acknowledgement and thanks to Ocifant for his notes elsewhere, we did his tour of the ‘Other Oxfordshire Stones’ on this bright and beautiful day. I met my friend in Highworth and we headed off in the direction of Lechlade and Burford.

Parked up in the village of Dean in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds; a tranquil walk along a sunlit country lane, tranquil with birdsong, until we came to a gap in the hedgerow. The Hawk Stone was clearly visible from two fields away – we followed the field boundaries until we came to a way mark and another hedge gap. This beautiful standing stone stands proud about 8’ tall, obviously similar to the Rollrights, very holey.

February 19th – belated Imbolc visit to Swallowhead Spring.

Today I was out at Avebury with a couple of friends and a young Cambodian man who was visting from London for the day. We did the Henge, Silbury and WKLB – refreshing to see this fabulous landscape through a visitor’s eyes. Coming back from WKLB we did a detour over to Swallowhead Spring – the subject of tying ribbons on trees at ‘sacred places’ came up with our Cambodian companion. He said this is common practice in Cambodia and is now used as a means of protecting trees from being chopped down. The Cambodians are deeply religious in the Buddhist sense and if a tree is deemed a ‘spirit tree’ it will not be touched.

The willow at Swallowhead was festooned today with ribbons and flags; springs flowing and water running fast. We made our way across the sarsen stepping stones to the stile that accesses the water meadow. This was the first time I had walked across this meadow from the spring or seen the Kennet from this perspective.
Very lovely, and yes, it did feel sacred.

This stone is not easy to find as a field hedge has been planted around it. Just off the busy Swindon to Highworth road past the turning for the Honda car factory. The village of Stanton Fitzwarren is situated behind Stanton Park – as you go into the village (by foot) follow the footpath sign to Sevenhampton.
A single sarsen standing stone on the edge of a field, possibly an ancient boundary marker, it stands 5’4” high.
Edit:
Acknowledgements: Terence Meaden (archaeologist/author) and PeteG for mentioning on a forum about three years ago. Also my walking friend MC who spotted it on a walk about a month ago and kindly helped me find it again last weekend.

Starting from the small car park by Oliver’s Castle we headed right along a trackway towards King’s Play Hill and long barrow. A typical January day, chilly with a hint of rain in the air but it was a pleasure be out on the Wiltshire Downs again. A round barrow sits on the crest of King’s Play Hill, to get to it we did a back shuffle under a barbed wire fence (a first for me) to come upon an amazing almost sheer drop on the other side of the hill – made negotiable only by the tiers of sheep tracks.

My walking friend, being a keen map-reader, pointed out the long barrow, although not very prominent, sat just below the crest of the hill – where we had just come from on the other side of the barbed wire, so back we went to take a closer look. From where we were standing we could also see the round barrows in the distance on the highest point of Furze Knoll near Morgan’s Hill.

Ultimately, we were heading for the village of Heddington to pick up the track at the bottom of Roundway Down back to Oliver’s Castle so it was under the barbed wire again to make our way downhill along the sheep tracks. This is when the astonishing hillocks that Rhiannon mentions in her fieldnote came into view – similar to the ones near Oliver’s Castle but far more ridged (see photo).

Once on lower ground our way became very muddy; at one point we had to pass through liquified mud by a farmyard near Heddington. A farm worker directed us to the path ‘up on the left’. I looked up and heard my horrified voice say “But there’s a dead cow lying there”.
Farm worker: “Yes, she dropped dead yesterday.” Horrified Voice: “Oh ... what are you going to do with her.”
Farm Worker: “The hunt will have for the hounds”. For a townie out walking, this is one of the unpalatable realities of country life.

6th January 2011

A rejuvenating hill/woodland walk around the Slad area in the Cotswolds.
Mid afternoon, still quite light as we headed towards The Camp village. Friend parked in a layby along the Calfway – don’t be mislead by the name, this is a fast road. From the road the tumuli and long barrow looked uninviting set as it is in a smallish triangular field, surrounded by a stone wall with an electric fence running along it. At first I thought I would be content to just have a look from the grass verge – until I spotted a couple of tantalising old stones atop the long barrow. We gained entry to the field via a gap in the hedge, across a tumbled down, mossed covered wall and under the electric wire – no problem. Access also possible by climbing a rusty old gate near the layby, which was the way we left. Something of an enigma – the long barrow is much ruined from excavation though the chamber stones seem to still be where they should be. Alongside the barrow is a large tumuli which I didn’t know quite what to make of – possibly another long barrow but somehow didn’t feel like one.

Still walking in your footsteps tsc

2/11/2010
I’ve seen the Beckhampton or Longstones long barrow many times – as the 49 bus whizzes around the Beckhampton roundabout. It sits approximately at the end of the Beckhampton Avenue, tucked away at the side of Beckhampton training stables.

Today I took myself off for a much needed ramble – the walk went via Yatesbury then up to Windmill Hill. On the final part of the walk we returned to the layby near Beckhampton along a very muddy track which is virtually a continuation of the path down from Windmill Hill. It was an unusual perspective of the Beckhampton Avenue and one I have not experienced before. Strangely, it seemed to bring this lesser known part of Avebury to life – easy to visualise that the Avenue led to the long barrow much in the same way as the West Kennet Avenue leads to the Sanctuary. The other aspect of the landscape that seemed to fall into place was the relationship of Folly Hill (over which now is the road to Beckhampton) to the bigger picture of Avebury. I intitially posted a brief fieldnote which included the paragraph below, however, today walking with a group of ramblers (far to many to be honest) somehow triggered a deeper understanding of the mysteries of Avebury which took a little while to percolate.

Passing the Longstones (Adam & Eve) I got to talking about the Longstones long barrow; someone in the group said that when the Longstones barrow was excavated plough marks were found under it – suggesting the land had been ploughed before the barrow was built. Apparently the oldest known plough marks to be found.

Another fine long barrow which was a lovely surprise for me today, I totally have my Cotswold Walking friend to to thank for this. Had just visited Sodbury Camp hillfort and visited this longbarrow, which was comparatively close by near the village of Luckington, on our way home.

Rhiannon’s fieldnote has it covered – a fine long barrow in an elevated position; looked peaceful in the long shadows of winter afternoon sunlight. No evidence of restoration to this one and no English Heritage information boards – just the remains of a chambered long barrow. Large moss covered limestones at the centre of the barrow and – curiously (as Rhiannon pointed out) about five neatly stacked limestones to one side of the barrow. Perhaps some reconstruction work planned for the future – would now doubt preserve barrow for prosterity though in its present natrualised state it has loads of ‘ancient’ atmosphere.

Pleasant day after the bitterly cold spell (a positively balmy seven degrees) today I met with my Cotswold Walking friend. We headed to south Gloucestshire via the village of Sherston then on to Old Sodbury on the Cotswold Way.
There is a clearly way-marked track up to the hill-fort; snow and ice thawing fast though ground still hard, quite slippy in places.
A pair of ravens flew overhead as we drew close to the hill-fort which I believe is quite rare to see in this part of the world. Our visit was spontaneous so I knew nothing in advance about Sodbury Camp hillfort – when reading up on it before writing this fieldnote I came across this passage – copied from the Northstoke Blog:

(Quote)
It is an amazing place, the ground is as flat as a pancake, 24 acres (according to Nicholas Thomas’s Guide to Prehistoric England) he describes it thus;

“Its outer bank and ditch are iron age; the earthworks at the S.W. end enclosing 12 acres are probably Roman. In places the inner (Roman) bank is 10 foot high. Original entrance to the I/A camp is approached by a track up the escarpment along the N.W.side of the camp (the one already described). It enters just S.W. of the N. corner of the pre-Roman earthwork; here there are in-turned banks defining it. Date of pre-Roman earthwork; 3rd to 2nd century B.C. Traces of earthwork to the N belong to deserted medieval village” (Unquote) Very helpful notes – thanks Moss.

We initially walked around the outer bank until coming upon a group of horses from a nearby smallholding. Somewhat deterred by two large barky guarddogs and a fence across the outer ditch we moved back to the inner bank. Spotted a couple of large mature yews on the sides of the inner banks – seemed unusual for a hillfort – usually hawthorn and blackthorn are predominant bushes.

I really enjoyed this visit – a manageble short walk from Old Sodbury which was just what I needed – last time I was out, slipped on a stile (bruised leg, jarred neck) its easy to get out of the habit of walking to ancient sites.

I’ve heard a lot about the Blowing Stone over the years, saw for the first time today. Wysefool and Rhiannon’s entries under folk-lore are well worth a read, I won’t duplicate them. For a small donation (towards the maintenance of the church in Kingston Lisle) you can pick up a leaflet by L.V. Grinsell (1993) which tells you everything you may need to know about the Blowing Stone. Most of it is included in previous fieldnotes and folklore entries.

Leaflet does say that stone is not officially classed as an ancient monument and is therefore not shown on OS maps in Old English lettering. Grinsell says the interest in the stone is botanical and geological rather than archaeological.

Leaflet is in itself a little gem – worth stopping by to see stone and pick up a leaflet.

Inspired by Chance’s fieldnotes and his recent mention of the Woolstone wellsprings (OS: SU296872)
in a comment on Dragon Hill, I persuaded my walking friend back up to Uffington Hill today. A frosty, bright, morning as we made our towards Uffington Castle; today, however, the mission was to reach the woodland at the horse-shoe bend on the road below. We climbed over a stile into the tussocky grass and slowly followed the sheep paths down the hill. Going was surprising tricky, with the wet grass quite slippy – we made it to the bottom of the hill and over the road to the wooded area where we walked along the side of the road to gain access to the wood.

The view of Dragon Hill and Uffington White Horse hill is spectacular from here. Very much a ‘first’ experience for me – Uffington Hill forms a massive amphitheatre with Dragon Hill positioned within it, though to one side rather than the centre. Several springs emerge in the small woodland at the foot of the hill, it is easy to visualise that there may have been a ceremonial aspect attributed to this landscape.

With some difficulty, we scrambled through the wood, over the streams and up the bank on the other side – coming out on private farmland.
A stop for lunch at the White Horse Inn in Woolstone before we followed the waymarked ‘circular walk’ path back up to the Ridgeway.

Wonderful wildlife, a roe deer, frantic fast moving squirrels (clearly not used to people), a flock of fieldfares, buzzards, two herons in flight and best of all – as we reached Uffington Castle, two red kites flew overhead. At one point on the ramparts of the hillfort a red kite flew across our line of vision before gliding down to the woodland where we had scrambled about a few hours earlier.

A friend down from London looking for some photo opportunities; against the odds another beautiful November day broke through the early mist so I suggested Uffington White Horse. Parked friend’s car in Ashbury and walked uphill along a narrow downland footpath at the side of the village church.

Along the Ridgeway via Wayland’s Smithy to Uffington Castle; the White Horse is impossible to truly appreciate from the hillfort – tremendous views of Dragon Hill today though. (See link for history and folk-lore).
berkshirehistory.com/archaeology/dragon_hill.html

While we looked down at Dragon Hill two motorised hang gliders flew over and graced us with a display of their aerial manouvres; a bit later both a kestrel and buzzard appeared over this magnificent place.

Mid afternoon and the sun was sinking fast; by the time we reached the path back down to Ashbury it was setting in the western sky and almost full moon was rising. Utterly peaceful and a perfect day out for my city friend and me.

In a cultivated farm field, a venerable old standing stone along with some fallen stones on the remains of a long barrow, now just a small mound. A small leafless tree growing next to it – an elder I think.

Visited today on a bright, chilly afternoon; near the Cotswold village of Daglingworth in the Duntisbourne Valley is the Hoar Stone long barrow. The field next to it has a locked gate (easily climbed) and a gap in the field hedge for access. I did it the hard way as usual; climbed over a barbed wire fence into the actual field getting caught on both fence and blackthorns in the process. Glad to report no serious injury and jeans still intact.

In Old English ‘se harne stan’ – hoar stone indicates the boundary between the known, familiar world of human activity and the frightening realm of monsters and the supernatural. Also means ‘grey-haired with age, venerable’ which seems about right.

Just up the lane to the left, is Duntisbourne Barrow – two mounds in Cherry Wood (notice on gate saying walkers welcome). I understand these are the remains of one very large long barrow – much evidence of past excavation and damage.

Today was my second visit to Stony Littleton long barrow – my first last summer.

Firstly, thanks to my friend for providing transport and plotting out a walk from the village of Faulkland. Weather-wise a rare exquisite November day with sunshine and a clear sky; the going was muddy in places but no matter, my walking boots finally well and truly broken in. Wellow Brook was running fast and full from the recent rain, the walk up to Stony Littleton over two stiles was just as I remembered it from last year. Today we had this wonderful site completely to ourselves, my friend crawled to the back of the barrow to investigate the small side chambers. I suffer from claustrophobia but managed to get as far as the first two chambers. The stonework inside, though no doubt restored, is just fabulous.

Outside the barrow a pair of buzzards hovered overhead; a flock of seagulls circled. There seems to be something mystical about buzzards over long barrows. We stayed for a bit, sitting on the edge of the barrow facing the early afternoon sun before returning to Faulkland village – followed the lane on the other side of Wellow Brook then the lane out of the village of Stony Littleton – at this time of year probably the easiest route from Faulkland to Stony Littleton.

(Note: We examined the large ammonite in one of the entrance stones though today it was in shadow so didn’t show up in any of photos.)

Finished our megalithic day with a visit to Westbury White Horse hillfort – the sun going down, casting long shadows onto Bratton long barrow.