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Visited today, 10/11/10
An exquisite day weather-wise, the final day (perhaps) in the summer’s ‘Cotswold-Severn long barrows Tour’. It is my friend Ravensroost who I must thank for providing the transport, maps and often much of the research too.

In the village of Rode we parked the car in The Bell pub carpark before setting off over the fields; although waymarked with stiles we did in fact have to crawl under a barbed wire fence (found an alternative and much easier way back). Defra signs on a couple of fenceposts marking out route of a walk.

The barrow itself was a complete surprise – I knew nothing about it until today. The large stones are pale yellow limestone (Bath stone perhaps) I thought I saw some white quartz in one of them. Although we were not conscious of walking uphill when we looked around we could see we were on higher ground – panoramic views. A great start to the day before carrying on to Stony Littleton long barrow.

Visited 1/11/2010

In the fields at the foot of Oliver’s Castle, there is a small wild wood, with tangled undergrowth from which emerges a lively stream (carrying a surprising amount of water) at its western edge. This wood is marked on the OS map as Mother Anthony’s Well. Access to the interior was difficult, but once inside the wood,there are springs in abundance.
We had given up on finding the well in the wood and were walking around its perimeter to retrace our steps back up to Oliver’s Castle when we heard the clear sound of running water – and there it was, forming a small pool before falling into a fast flowing stream.

It is reputed to be the site of a Romano-British shrine, but archaeological finds there put its use back well into prehistoric times: flint tools from the Mesolithic and Neolithic; a Neolithic axehead and pottery fragments; Bronze age pottery and flint tools; and various objects from the Iron age, including a brooch, a ring and a whetstone.
ref: (Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre Sites and Monuments Record).

Note:
The hummocky hillock landscape on the ‘other side’ of Roundway Down has an ancient, odd feel to it – hard to describe, walking through it is recommended.

A free day – and golden autumn sunshine beckoned …

We stopped at Rodmarton long barrow,aka Windmill Tump, on our way to a  Cotswold walk around Oakridge and Bisley . The plan was to walk to three different OS marked long barrows in an attempt to see what remained of them. Before this, however, my friend, now something of a Cotswold long barrow enthusiast, had identified Rodmarton as one not yet visited.

Rodmarton was a wonderful way to kick off – the sun still low in the sky and frost on the grass when we took the turning to Trull not far from Cirencester. The barrow’s position, like most long barrows, was a joy – with views of the open farmland all around. Quite a few large trees growing on the around the edges of the barrow (a golden Beech, Oak and Ash) and evidence of some large tree stumps on the barrow. The three burial chambers are easy to identify though sadly they have collapsed in on themselves now (quite possibly due tree root damage) – just two entrance stones remain visible.

The English Heritage information board says: “A late Neolithic shrine incorporating at least three stone ‘porthole’ entrances. It was crudely excavated by antiquarians in the 19th century and its contents rifled”.

As we drove away,we were reminded we were in ‘horsey’ country when we encountered a hunt about to set off; being an ex-townie this was a first for me so I sat quietly on my emotions and observed this privileged group of people doing what they felt was their god-given right. It was gratifying to see a large deer run across the field behind them, unseen – away and free.

The walk later was golden and crisp – we passed Money Tump near Bisley; visited Seven Wells in the village of Bisley; and walked to Giant’s Stone (overgrown and unidentifiable as a long barrow) before heading back late afternoon.

Just in case they read this, a very big thank you to my friend for the transport and enthusiasm – without which this lovely day would not have happened.

Inspired by the arrival yesterday of the book “An English Countryside Explored – The Land of Lettice Sweetapple” (By Peter Fowler and Ian Blackwell) I set off this morning to do a circular walk through Piggledene over to Fyfield Down (now a designated nature reserve) and up to Devil’s Den.

As Rhiannon pointed out in her fieldnotes, the A4 is fast and dangerous at the point of entry into Piggledene. The friend I walked with today left their car in Lockeridge Road at the small village of Fyfield (SU 145685) and we walked along a footpath for about a quarter of a mile before crossing over the A4.

My first visit to Piggledene was several years ago when I was still quite new to the area; subsequently I always thought without transport or a thorough knowledge of the landscape it would be difficult to access. I have since discovered the Wilts & Dorset bus route 96 (Swindon to Pewsey) also stops on the A4 at Fyfield.

As we climbed over the stile today, it was clear nothing had changed – no fox this time as there was on my first visit though still the strong sense of time standing still. A valley of greywethers with curious sheep in the morning sunshine; venerable old hawthorns and a clear trodden path to follow around to Fyfield Down. The obvious path is on higher ground above the stony valley, it was an incredibly peaceful walk along to Devil’s Den. The knowledge that Devil’s Den dolmen never existed in its present form until the early part of the 20th century (being on the remains of a genuine neolithic long barrow) does not detract from its stony charm.

This walk with clear directions and a map is available as a Ramblers publication “12 Walks Around Marlborough” either directly or from the Swindon Tourist Information Centre.

There is not much I can add to Chance’s thorough fieldnote about this hill; last Sunday (10/10/2010) out walking on Pewsey Hill and into the landscape. It hard to photograph a hill when you are actually walking on it so no photographs of the White Horse. The chilly mist lifted and the day became one of those perfect elemental Wiltshire days – a crystal clear sky and a light wind which refreshed rather than chilled. Picked Hill came into view as we made our way to Swanborough Tump (an interesting and historic spot). The most striking thing about Picked Hill is its similarity to Silbury ... or vice versa. Chance has listed all the surrounding hills so I won’t repeat them here other than to say that however you want to define the word mystical on that particular autumn day, Wiltshire was it.

To quote from D.P. Sullivan’s “Old Stones of the Cotwolds & Forest of Dean” – This monolith, of Old Red Conglomerate, stands at the side of the Gloucester to Monmouth road about a mile from Coleford in the Forest of Dean.

My very first visit to the Forest of Dean (and Symond’s Yat) today – off topic so a quick mention in passing. Just before the village of Staunton approximately 4 miles from Monmouth on the A4136 stands this 8ft monolith. Impossible to stop (or slow down) if driving towards Monmouth, my friend pulled into a lorry layby about 100 metres further along and we walked back on a narrow asphalt footpath laid down at the side of the verge. An intriguing stone much detracted from by its proximity to a fast A road.

(D.P. Sullivan has written some notes which I which type up for the Folklore section).

A friend has a double NT membership which is about to expire so we took advantage of it yesterday morning and set off for Stonehenge quite early.

What can I write about Stonehenge that hasn’t already been written ... its a fantastic ‘landscape’ with Stonehenge itself the centre of barrows scattered in every direction – seeing the landscape from the central perspective of the henge was illuminating. The stones are stately and yes, awe-inspiring; I had to resist the urge to run across the grass and touch them; the avenue is clearly visible leading up to the Heel Stone.

Starlings gathered there in great numbers – perhaps preparing for autumn (thanks for your comment Drew) always a spectacular sight to observe.

I’ve said many times before that I’m not into knocking tourists as I am one myself ... at Stonehenge, however, it is BIG BUSINESS. The site opens to the public at 9.30am – we arrived at 9.40am by 10am the car-park was almost full (lots of coach parties) with hundreds of people milling around. It is almost impossible to experience the scale and grandeur of the Stonehenge landscape in the presence of so many people ... so if you can’t make the ‘out of hours’ visit, arrive at 9.30am and you will have a better overall experience.
---------------

Edit: Just came across this, which is something I wrote on 25/8/09 in reply to Rupert Soskin’s thread on ‘the theory of blood-sports at Stanton Drew’. I add here as a very different visit to the Stonehenge complex.

I had the great treat a month or so back of being taken around the Stonehenge complex by someone called PeteG (who posted here until quite recently). We started at the spring by the river Avon where the Avenue begins, we walked through the Durrinngton Walls site (easy to imagine a village with livestock existing there), walked towards Stonehenge along the Avenue until just the top came into view with no visitors, no cars, and no road visible. It almost felt like ‘time travelling’ (I do have a vivid imagination). Then we walked over to the barrows and along the cursus. Some of it was done by car but all in all we walked a lot of ground and, as you point out in your dvd, it is an enormous site.

What came to life on that occasion was that Stonehenge was part of a community where life was lived on sorts of levels ...for me the midwinter alignments (heel stone and its missing partner) will always make the henge feel like some sort of temple as the midwinter solstice had always been the most important time of the year and why the Christians nicked it ... it was too important to leave lying around.

This must be one of the largest hill-forts I’ve yet seen; we walked here along the Cotswold Way from Nympsfield long barrow. Gorgeous walk on an up/down path with the steep wooded slopes of the Cotswold escarpment to our right; to our left, evidence of past quarry work had resulted in some impressive cave-like clefts in the rock face.

We had lunch sitting on the high rampart of Uley Bury overlooking the landscape to the south. A chunky white bull appeared between the ramparts, strolling purposefully along leading a small herd of young cows behind him – heading no doubt for the water trough near the entrance to the hill-fort. We walked around the ramparts only to find a larger herd of young cows congregated by the gate we needed to walk through. As we then noticed the white bull heading back in our direction we climbed onto the top of the hillfort (which is a massive open field) making our way diagonally back towards the water trough.

From here another lovely wooded walk along to Hetty Pegler’s Tump. Splendid!

Very easy to access by car as on the site of a viewing/ picnic area on the Cotswold Way. Although there is a plantation of trees blocking the spectacular views over the Severn Valley from the actual barrow, the views a few metres along make this a very satisfying place to visit.

Rather manicured and to be honest somewhat soulless, this is my second visit. This time, however, I was struck by the characteristic cross shape of the chambers – the entrance facing east, with north, south and west chambers visible from the top of the barrow.

From here we headed to Uley Bury hillfort and Hetty Pegler’s Tump along the Cotswold Way.

A beautiful late summer day and a walk planned along the Cotswold Way from Nympsfield long barrow to Uley Bury Hillfort then on to Hetty Pegler’s Tump.

My friend (the amazing map-reading M) picked me up at the usual place in Cricklade and away we went, heading in the direction of Malmesbury. M had a little surprise tucked away; en route we went through the little village of Leighterton, deep in the rural Cotswolds; M had been studying OS Explorer 168 and spotted a long barrow just past the village school along Boxwell Road.

This is an enormous barrow and easily visible from the road; we parked in a little pull-in and donned walking boots – although on private land we were definitely up for a clamber over the three Cotswold stone walls that were between us and the barrow. Be warned about these walls though, especially the road side one – a low wide wall with a much higher drop into the next field; not really a problem until we returned.

The barrow is magnificent, reminiscent of the East Kennett Long Barrow it is a similar size – 80 metres and 6 metres high. Although it didn’t appear to be on high ground there was tantalizing glimpses of harvested bales spreading out to the south of the barrow. The barrow itself is surrounded by an old Cotswold stone wall which is relatively easy to climb so we did … it is completely covered with ivy and trees (either sycamores or field maples). Clues to long past excavation in the dips where there was once possibly an entrance to the barrow, however, this is no longer in evidence.

A few scrapes and scratches to show for this one, but so well worth it.

Walked here today after spending a couple of hours in Randwick Woods looking for the Randwick long barrow. It really was a case of coming out of the shade into the light. After being in woodland the afternoon dazzled; not much to add to thesweetcheat’s excellent fieldnotes other than to comment on the spectacular views, especially looking towards the River Severn.

I also noted that, as with the Wiltshire hillforts, this one appears to be chalkland – odd in the limestone landscape.

Met up with friend MM today (something an expert on the Cotswolds) pointed car towards Stroud and the village of Whiteshill; parked up at Shortwood car park just off the Harefield Road. Having read a bit about the Randwick long barrow hidden in Randwick/Standish Wood we abandoned our planned circular walk and set off to see if we could find the barrow. Not an easy task as, having once been quarried, Randwick Wood is the full of small mounds and dips. We had climbed over a few wooded bumps before we came across a metal National Trust information plaque which was actually headed “More Than Just Lumps and Bumps” (I have posted a photograph of this beautifully made plaque as it is one of the best I have encountered).

It helped us to identify the Iron Age Cross-Dyke, a 2000 year old earthen mound and ditch, the purpose of which can only be guessed at as either defensive or a boundary marker.

And finally with the help of OS Explorer map 179 we found the long barrow – only really identifiable by its alignment of east to west. A Neolithic long barrow dated 4500 – 5400 years old; it was partly excavated in 1883 when human skeletons were found in stone lined chambers.

The Cotswold Way runs through Randwick Wood and I have to say it is one of the most atmospheric and unusual woods I have yet to walk through – apparently full of bluebells in the spring.

I visit Barbury Castle whenever the opportunity presents itself; not that easy to get to without a car so I am always on the lookout for local walks/events that take place or start from there.
Apart from being a scheduled ancient monument it is also a designated local nature reserve. A couple of Sundays ago fellow member of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust gave me a lift up there to participate in a field talk on butterflies. I’ve never attended anything like this before so had some inital reservations – it was however, very enjoyable. I learnt that Barbury is ‘managed’ in order to encourage blue butterflies – the Common Blue and Blue Adonis in particular, although we saw many other varieties.
The views are spectacular, especially on the far side of the ramparts which overlook rolling Wiltshire downland. It is also the starting point for a ten mile walk along the Ridgeway into Avebury. Haven’t yet done it, but soon ...

swindon.gov.uk/barbury

My Cotswold Summer … culminated today in a visit to Belas Knap long barrow. I caught an early bus to Cricklade where I met my good friend MM with their sturdy steed, a little red Honda. We started our five mile walk at the small picturesque village of Brockhampton; walking to an ancient site seems to make the arriving so much more satisfying and today was no exception. We passed a field of sunflowers nodding in the breeze and noticed the house martins were gathering – no doubt preparing to depart as our summer starts to take on an autumnal tinge.

Our walk was a gradual uphill one with a steep climb up to Humblebee Cottages – here we turned left and walked about 200 metres to the road where we turned right and walked downhill until we came to the sign pointing to Belas Knap. Next, quite a steep climb uphill through woodland emerging into a field; no crop in the field so we walked diagonally uphill and across to a kissing gate where the barrow is well signposted. Another short walk through woodland emerging with Belas Knapp immediately in front of us on the other side of a low stone wall.

What a wonderful position for a long barrow – at 300 metres the hill (escarpment) upon which it stands is nearly 1000 feet. It was a surprise to learn from the information board that upper and most impressive ‘entrance’ is in fact a false one. There is a NE chamber, a NW chamber and an uncovered chamber at the lower end of the barrow. The information board told us that 38 skeletons had been found in the chambers along with animal bones, flint implements and pottery.

The sun came out while we were there and a breeze picked up – it was about as good as it gets. The walk back to Brockhampton from the west side of the long barrow was a gentle one, a gradual downhill decline and a bit of random blackberry picking.

Edit: I omitted to mention the small hobbit-like SE Chamber – four in all not counting the false entrance.

I think we must have visited Gatcombe Lodge too yesterday; all down to friend with map – I can take no credit apart from tagging along gamely. Just across the road from the Minchinhampton Long Stone there is a tree covered long barrow, and yes we were passed by a couple of landrovers which we, perhaps naively, ignored. From here we continued into the estate, no-one challenged us; we walked up (and down) some steep slopes to eventually reach Hazel Wood in search of another long barrow. According to the map this barrow is in a field at the top of the wood – which had restricted access. Couldn’t make out more than just a raised curve to the land so must be mostly ploughed out.

The route we took was marked on OS Explorer 168 as a footpath (apart from the Gatcombe Park bit) so I guess it was ok to walk there.

Visited 5/08/10

This beautiful lichen covered standing stone is similar to the Rollright stones and I imagine it is the same oolite limestone. Positioned in a gated field near the road between Gatcombe Park and Nailsworth it is full of holes and crevices so to be enjoyed while it remains. Also noticed the nearby Cotswold stone wall had been built around second stone which seemed to be a different type of stone – no holey permeations.

Visited 5/08/10

Continuing this summer’s exploration of barrows and megaliths in the Cotswolds, friend (with a car) had plotted out a walk using OS Explorer 168. We set off this morning from the pretty village of Avening heading towards Norn’s Tump on Minchinhampton Golf Course. Norn’s Tump was overgrown with summer vegetation and hawthorns so as not too much to see we continued across the golf course towards Gatcombe Park.

Very much out of my comfort zone here but Friend seemed confident about plan to walk down an access road into Gatcombe Park to locate the Tingle Stone and barrow. What we didn’t know was that the British Eventing Festival was being set up in the same field as the Tingle Stone; there were marquees, landrovers and contractors in profusion. Feeling illicit, we slipped round the back of the marquees hoping not to be noticed; no one challenged us and we spent 15 minutes or so looking at this unusual limestone on the top of a tree covered long barrow. When we spotted a convoy of black rangerovers drive down the access road and not wishing to be introduced to royalty we beat a hasty retreat back up to the road trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

This was such a surprise; a friend in my walking group mentioned they had seen it from the road on the way Scotts Poor this morning where our walk started. The walk didn’t take in the longbarrow so the friend who had spotted it offered to stop later at the byway a mile along from Scotts Poor (SU285562 Exp 131). An astonishingly large longbarrow on the brow of a hill overlooking some stunning views. A very odd shape, sunken in the centre it gave the appearance of two banks; reading the previous fieldnote it appears to have been plundered in the past – a couple of sarsen stones are still visible at what must have been the entrance.

It had the lot, the views, the hawthorns and the sheep. A great end to a totally enjoyable walk.

Today I decided to celebrate Lammas weekend by participating in a ten mile walk to Knolls Down, Tidcombe Down and Hippenscombe Bottom. Today’s walking group were a lively mixture with a few of them in training for more strenuous hill walking at more exotic locations.
Harvest time in Wiltshire and the crops are being gathered in; some of the fields already cut but most still golden with barley, wheat and oats.
My favourite Wiltshire walks are the ones take in an Iron Age hill fort and this one took in one of the highest (at 950ft) and largest hill forts in the county. Fosbury overlooks Hippenscombe Valley on one side and the North Downs of Hampshire on the other.
We stopped for lunch on the bank overlooking Hippenscombe before walking along to the wooded section with its massive much initialled beech tree and down into the valley

Visited 28/7/2010
I first visited the Rollrights at midsummer about five years ago; there had been a low-key Druid summer solstice ceremony taking place and anyone who wished to was invited to participate. It was a memorable occasion indeed so when offered the opportunity to revisit today, needless to say I did not hesitate. The friend I went with wanted to visit Wychwood, a remnant of an ancient forest in West Oxfordshire and was willing to make a detour (yes please, I said).
My summer sabbatical around the woody byways of the Cotswolds was about to reach its climax.

The Rollrights are on the Oxforshire/Warwickshire border and are true holey stones; nodular, oolitic, limestone they are quite unlike the sarsen, granite, and sandstone stone circles of my previous experience. There is a information notice by the entrance which states admission £1.00 but as nowhere to leave this money, we didn’t; the hut that was by the entrance when I visited five years ago no longer exists – I believe burnt down.

Before wandering down to the Whispering Knights dolmen we spent some time walking around the Kings Men circle, marvelling at the shapes and erosions in the stones. What a impressive setting for both circle and dolmen looking out over the Oxfordshire countryside. Back across the road to visit the solitary King Stone, we noticed there is a small cluster of half buried stones a couple of metres uphill from the King Stone – there had been a recent campfire lit inside the cluster with the usual associated rubbish which we collected up (a Homebase catalogue included would you believe).

After my visit I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the Rollrights; usually visiting a stone circle makes me think about ‘permanence’ in an ever changing world. These stones, permeated as they are with small cavities and holes made me think the opposite ... that all things eventually pass away. Including an ancient stone circle if it happens to be built from limestone.

Wonderful stones, wonderful skyscape! More info here
rollrightstones.co.uk/index.php/stones/

Today I visited Epping Forest with a friend who has recently published a book of seasonal photographs taken in the forest. One of the photos featured is Ambresbury Banks – my friend thought it was probably a boundary enclosure where livestock were taken at times when attack or threat might be imminent.

The following notes are taken from the website “Unlocking Essex’s Past”
unlockingessex.essexcc.gov.uk/custom_pages/monument_detail.asp?kids=1&monument_id=301

“Iron age hill fort. Subrectangular enclosure of 11.7 acres. The defences are of single bank of dump construction originally separated from the ditch by a berm. The bank still stands 1.3m-2.2m high. There is also a 0.4-1.0m high intermittent counterscarp bank on the outer lip of the wide, silted ditch. The main bank now has 6 major breaks in its circumference, although only one appears to be original. This is approached from the north west by a trapezoidal-shaped causeway. The ends of the bank at this point were revetted with coursed puddingstone blocks. The width of the passageway so formed was sufficient to suggest double gateds, but no central post holes were found. At the south the head of a small valley is enclosed, from which a stream flows south east through a gap in the bank. Augering across the present stream bed suggested the bank was originally complete at this point, so assuming the stream existed at that time an overflow through the bank would have been necessary. The present stream bed is a breach, not a deliberately left gap. No trace of internal occupation has been found. Pottery from the ditch suggests a construction date of the second half of the 1st millenium BC, and reuse in the Belgic period. In medieval and later times several tracks passed through the earthwork and it was used for quarrying sand and gravel, and possibly as an enclosure for cattle on their way to the London market. Wild Service trees (sorbus torminalis) are to be found in the immediate vicinity of Ambresbury itself. Such trees are taken as an indication of relict woodland. Thus it would seem to indicate Loughton Camp was constructed in a still wooden landscape, whilst the country around Ambresbury was probably cleared.
Dated: 700BC to 42AD”

Note: the name Ambresbury is thought to come from Ambrosius Aurelianus aka King Arthur.

Visited Liddington Castle this afternoon with a group of friends. Although the most visible hillfort in the area (Liddington Hill is a landmark seen from the M4 that lets anyone heading for Wiltshire know they are nearly there) these days it is not the easiest place to get to as the only ‘permissive path’ heads up to the Ridgeway up from Shipley Bottom layby on the B4192. In the days of Richard Jefferies the route by foot was probably uphill from the village of Badbury. Liddington Castle at 909 feet is the highest point in the Borough of Swindon.

A memorial to local writers Richard Jefferies and Alfred Williams set on a large sandstone rock at Liddington Castle, dated 2000 to mark the Millennium it has these words by Richard Jefferies set on a plaque “I felt immortality as I felt the beauty of a summer morning”
A place much loved by both writers particularly Richard Jefferies – Alfred Williams wrote these lines for Richard Jefferies who died in 1887 at the age of 39, ten years after Alfred Williams was born in 1877 (who died 1930). They did not know each as some people believe:

“Of times on Liddington’s bare peak I love to think and lie,
And muse upon the former day and ancient things gone by,
To pace the old castellum walls and peer into the past
To learn the secret of the hills, and know myself at last,
To woo Dick Jefferies from his dreams on sorrow’s pillow tossed
And walk with him upon the ridge, and pacify his ghost.”

(Poem courtesy of Wysefool).

I walked up to Chisbury hillfort this morning from the village of Great Bedwyn; look for Castle Road which will take into into a (now golden) barley field. There is a ‘right of way’ footpath through the centre of the crop.

A very pleasant walk up to the hillfort which is now completely wooded; a lovely place to chill out on a hot day. As previous fieldnotes have mentioned there is an old chapel in the farmyard of Manor Farm unususal in being thatched. Today I was walking with a group of people so didn’t get to mooch around for quite as long as I would wanted. Like Ringsbury hillfort (also wooded) this is one of Wiltshire’s lesser known hillforts though being fairly near to Marlborough it overlooks some stunning rolling downland.

Inspired by Scubi’s recent little solstice film, I was determined to see this barrow. Tonight (or rather yesterday) I seized on the opportunity on our way to Box to persuade a friend to drive by and stop for a bit.

A quiet country lane under an M4 bridge, somehow we just went straight to it. The barrow was at the far end of a field of maze so we walked along the hedgerow then carefully stepped through the maze crop to take a closer look. Although the grass around the barrow had been cut back, the barrow itself was very overgrown. The elder tree has sprung back into life, as elders seem to do; the most resilient of hedgerow trees. I’m not sure that it can be thwarted even though it presence is not welcome.

I spotted the Cove stones in the ‘pub garden’ as the bus had pulled into Stanton Drew and my first impression was that they were in the churchyard. We bought lunch and a drink at the Druid Arms just before it closed though the landlord said we were welcome to stay in the Cove Garden for as long as we wanted. Probably the best pub garden I have ever sat in; I found the relationship of the Cove Stones and the nearby church very interesting – the Cove Stones feel as though they belong to the same ‘site’ as the church as are really quite separate from the pub, there are steps leading up to them from the road. It felt once again like a church superimposed on an ancient site.

Note: the pub closed at 2.15pm though there is access to the garden at all times from the road.

Today met up with Bristol based Friend for another little stony adventure; same Friend as I got lost in Cornwall with. Some reservations as a very limited bus service served by the *672 small bus (see below for details) which went the scenic Chew Valley route. Friend said the driver bore a striking resemblance to Otto from the Simpsons as he was wearing a bandana and dark glasses. When he asked us if we were going to the Stones somehow it boded well for the visit.

I had printed off the field notes from TMA which I read on train; all were distinguished contributors though Treaclechops of 2003 shone out with a sense of fun and wit (as her field notes always do when by chance I stumble upon them). I will try therefore not to duplicate what has already been written and just give a few impressions of our visit. We picked up the helpful English Heritage leaflet from the gate and dropped some money in the empty sounding honesty box.

I found the diagram in the leaflet very helpful as we made our way slowly down the slope to look at the stones from all perspectives. Looking uphill in the diagonal direction of the church tower seems to give the impression of walking towards and into a ‘ritual site’. After half an hour or so we made our way back up to the South West Circle though needed to circumnavigate a small field of dairy cows to get to it. All the stones in this circle are now lying flat; it was however an interesting perspective to look downhill towards the Great Circle and small NE circle.

* Details of how to get to Stanton Drew by public transport:
The 672 from Stop CP on Colston Avenue, leaves 11.35am arrives Stanton Drew (Druid Arms) 12.46pm. Although just over an hour it was a drive through along scenic lanes with fabulous views.
Return journey from outside the Druid Arms at 15.11pm.
NB: These are the only two journeys to run but give well over two hours for visit.

I have been to Wayland’s Smithy about half a dozen times since I have lived in the north Wilts area, not really that often considering it is one of my favourite places.

One of the aspects I love about visiting this site is the walk of about half a mile or so along the Ridgeway from the nearest parking area; this gets you in the right frame of mind. Yesterday afternoon, I had spent some time with a friend who is a garden enthusiast – I mention this as an aside because earlier we had visited the Woolstone Mill garden which has one of the best views of Uffington White Horse (seeing the White Horse from their little tree house there was a true delight).

The friend later obliged by driving up to the Ridgeway from village of Ashbury; this is also the best place to head for if you are visiting by public transport: take the 47* (Newbury) bus from Swindon to Ashbury, picking up a downland path by the church which leads up to the Ridgeway (this just in itself is a lovely walk) then about a mile along the Ridgeway towards Uffington.

Yesterday, late afternoon it was still quite hot and we had neither hat nor drink with us (not clever when walking the Ridgeway). We walked briskly along this particularly beautiful section of the Ridgeway, ancient hedgerows on both sides. Walking into the Wayland’s enclosure, with its massive beeches, on a hot summer’s day is like walking into an oasis of shade and cool; thirst disappeared and for once the site was completely deserted. I was able to go inside the two small side chambers which are like West Kennet Long Barrow in miniature – the shafting afternoon sunlight playing on the stones as I examined their surfaces. Like most of the long barrows in the Wiltshire/Cotswold area some reconstruction has obviously taken place to the entrance.

As we walked around the barrow a couple turned up, headed for the end of the long barrow and lay down in the long grass looking up at the sky. Their presence only added to the peaceful ambience, probably my best visit yet.

Note: The small EH information board near the entrance of the enclosure is discreet and helpful.

*Public transport information below:
thamesdown-transport.co.uk/times/047.htm

I took a wander up to Castle Hill at Broad Blunsdon this morning. A very easy walk up a single track road called Burytown Lane which leads to Upper Burytown Farm. I had been unaware of this hillfort until I heard recently that the farmer wants to fence off the ‘right of way’ ... at least I think it is a right of way. There are two notices at the gate into the hillfort; one says “bull in field” the other indicates by a dotted line the path across the hillfort with the emphatic statement that there is no permissive circular path around the fort.

There is a superb view to the north and on this beautiful sunny morning it did look impressive. The hillfort has open access to a herd of pedigree cattle though today they had congregated in a lower field. I understand the farmer wants to fence the path off so that the cattle are not harrassed by dogs not on leads. Its quite hard to visualise a hillfort with a fence across the middle, even one as relatively low profile such as this one.

Another sign of the times, I noticed on my walk back down that the attractive village church has had a load of its roof tiles nicked. Sigh!

Visited today; a pleasant walk across north Wiltshire meadows from the village of Purton near Swindon. This hillfort is unlike the other Wiltshire downland hillforts as the landscape is meadowland against the backdrop of Brockurst Wood.

If you are planning a visit – go soon! Just by the north side of the hillfort is Brockhurst Meadow, now owned and managed by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Today there were common and spotted orchids growing in great abundance, along with a profusion of other wild flowers and grasses. A wonderful and unexpected treat as I was unaware of the meadow until today. It is cut in July and then given over to grazing, so don’t delay if you want the simple and glorious sight of a wildflower meadow and a  peaceful wander around ancient hillfort set in wooodland.

There are many aspects to Avebury, most of them have been covered here by previous posts. Last night I had a ‘first’, went out to Avebury with a group of friends to see Rory Motion* perform in the village hall (Rory is a Yorkshireman, comedian, poet, singer and tree impressionist).
Before the performance we sat for a bit outside the Red Lion and watched the peace of evening settle over this wonderful place – the unripe barley crop on Waden Hill looked like a green sea as it rippled in the breeze.

Rory’s performance was brilliant (catch him if you can). The ‘bonus’ highlight of the evening was the Avebury night sky; as we came out of the village hall at the end of the evening a bright star, which I believe to be Venus, was setting in the west against the silhouette of Avebury church. It was about 11.00pm and as we walked towards the cars the stone circle seemed to be bathed in ethereal light. Then I saw it, the full moon was rising ... what an amazing sight Avebury is by the light of a full moon. After recently feeling a little jaded with the often busy, very public face of Avebury, last night I fell back in love with the mysterious and mystical Avebury.

* rorymotion.com/

Visited Sunday 23 May 2010
It was already very hot when we made our way mid-morning from Devizes along Quaker’s Way up by Roundway Hill to Oliver’s Castle. In restrospect it was probably unwise to embark on an 11 mile walk along a section of the Mid Wilts Way during one of our rare heatwaves. The highlight for me was definitely reaching Oliver’s Castle.

Once up there the heat was relieved by a breeze, the views, needless to say, were spectacular. I noticed a small glimpse of purple in the grass and went to investigate; was treated to the sight of a whole bank of early purple (or fragrant) orchids. I have never seen wild orchids in such abundance – on the grassy slopes of a hillfort.

Visited 22 May 2010

I had arranged to spend today with my oldest and closest female friend for a general potter in the vicinity of Oxford. A beautiful summer’s day rolled out before us and I suggested we do a detour to Stanton Harcourt to see the ‘reconstructed’ stone circle I had read so much about. I knew from previous TMA posts that it was next to a recycling plant near Stanton Harcourt so we were soon tootling around the lake towards the layby opposite a portacabin office. As we pulled up a man in a yellow jacket came out in our direction, my friend said in her best posh voice “We’ve come to see the stone circle”. He was obviously taken with her as he couldn’t have been more helpful, telling us where to park and where to walk. A few minutes later he reappeared with a rather attractive information sheet produced by Wardell Armstrong, the engineering company responsible for reinstating the site. The leaflet headed “Dix Pit Landfill Devil’s Quoits” explained the background to the project; the Devil’s Quoits Circle had been one of the most important Henge sites in Britain dating back four and half thousand years, used by the local people from the Thames Valley Region. The circle was some 75m in diameter with a two metre ditch and outer Henge bank surrounding them. The three original stones were geologically assessed and the new stones were sourced locally from the same conglomerate stone.

We set off along the gravel path – lake, willows and wild fowl on one side and fairly new tree plantation on the other. The circle itself was unlike any I have yet seen; even in the brilliant mid-day sunshine the landfill site in the background initially gave it a stark feel, however, this soon disappeared. Within minutes of our arrival a pair red kites soared overhead and glided down as low as I have ever seen red kites. Their interest was clearly the landfill site but what a display. They glided on thermal currents giving us a splendid view of their reddish brown tail feathers which strangely enough echoed the colour of the stones.

Seen from the far Henge bank the circle comes to life and the knowledge that it will still be there in another hundred years when the landfill has long since been abandoned was very satisfying. Later we sat on the stones near the entrance stile while I made a few notes – my friend called for me to look up … the kites had returned to give us yet another magnificent aerial display.

A great day … and many thanks to the lovely people we met earlier who gave us clear and accurate directions.

Footnote: The gates of the recycling plant close at 5.00pm (on Saturday anyway) so only day time visits are viable by car.

Monday 19/4/2010: walked along the fairly quiet B road to the well which is clearly signposted. Stopped of at the site of a cairn en route – we entered by a wooden gate and were dismayed at the sight that lay before us. Like other parts of the country, West Penwith has a policy of rhododendron clearance and what lay before us was acres of rhododendron stumps – probably necessary though not an attractive sight. i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm200/TJJackson66/046-2.jpg
The wooded walk to the well was lovely; the low growing trees not yet in leaf and the lichen covered branches gave them a silvery quality. Spent a bit of time at the cloutie tree – I did a few jumps across onto some moss covered boulders to get a better feel of the place. I understand this is not the source the well and I have to admit I didn’t get a sense of it being a ‘holy’ or mystical place. On to to the Baptistry where we sat for a bit before continuing the walk along the wooded path to a field before retracing our steps. I have since read the wellspring is hidden a bit away from the path – this I can believe as I came away feeling I had missed something.

Visited 22/4/10 – I have copied details of the walk we took in case it is of help to anyone without a car planning a visit – see below my fieldnote.
Having managed to get lost a couple of days previously while walking back to the Merry Maidens across fields from Lamorna we followed the directions of the walk reproduced below to the letter – and it worked.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with a fresh breeze – perfect walking weather. Many of the stiles have ‘snagging’ blackthorn hedges growing around them so a pair of jeans is recommended walking attire.

Boscawen-Un was everything I had imagined; ‘magical’ is an over-used word when describing ancient sites but this one really is. My previous experience of a stone circle was Avebury so finding this perfect small circle of nineteen stones with it leaning ‘sun-dial’ centre stone and one white quartz stone was beyond superlatives. There were two women sitting in the centre when we arrived so we just sat down outside the circle and waited quietly. After about 15 minutes they left wishing us an enjoyable visit. It was pretty much perfect – a stone circle encircled by yellow gorse and creamy blackthorn blossom; a pale half-moon in the clear blue sky. I didn’t really want to leave and definitely took the spirit of the place with me when I did.

Walk taken from the Signpost ‘Discover St Buryan and Lamorna’ leaflet.
The route follows public rights of way but may be heavily overgrown in summer. Shorts are not advised at such times (Note: a ‘hedge’ in Cornwall refers to a granite wall).

1. From the St Buryan Inn walk along the Penzance road, passing the Anglican church on your left. Continue along the main road (no pavement on the LH side) and, just before the St Buryan Garage, go left at a public footpath sign and follow the path between the house, crossing two stone stiles to reach an open field. Trend right across the middle of the field towards a telegraph pole, then cross a stile into another field. Keep ahead past a gap in the field hedge and continue keeping the hedge on your left. Soon, cross left over another stile, and continue with the hedge on your right.
2. At the field corner, bear left, then after a few yards go right over a stile and keep ahead down the right hand side of the next field. Where the hedge bends sharply right, then quickly left, with the hedge on your right. At the bottom corner of the field, go left along its bottom edge for 150 yards (137m) then go right over a stile into another field. Continue with the field hedge on your right and descend towards a wooded valley.
3. Descend stone steps and follow a rough path to cross a fine little ‘clapper’ bridge. Continue out the trees and bear up left* then right to emerge onto a broad track. Go right, and through a gate into a field. Cross the middle of the field towards a small, isolated, granite barn next to a farmhouse. At the bottom of the field cross a stone stile beside a field gate, then bear left through another gate into a field. Pass the small barn, then keep ahead with the field hedge on your right. At the bottom of the field, step over some boulders onto a footpath between high hedgerows.
4. Turn left and follow the path for about 400 yards (366m). Where the path bears right go left through a wooden gate to reach Boscawen-Un stone circle. Reverse the directions to return to St Buryan.

* This has now changed slightly and you should bear up right where there is a new stile. We went left as directed to find a single strand of barbed wire across the path – it didn’t cause a problem and we noticed the stile a few metres along.

The second bright warm day of Spring, I was desperate for a sunlight-downland fix. Met a friend by the Beckhampton roundabout and started our walk from the first layby on the Calne road.
The walk up to Oldbury hillfort on a fine day is just fabulous; a pair of deer ran across a field below – the same scene held Silbury nestled at its centre. I’ve seen the old Lansdown monument many times from afar, coming upon it through one of the castle ditches gave it a very different perspective.
Cherhill long barrow sits at the highest point, now much damaged it is easy to overlook; where it is positioned is what is so impressive though – panoramic views of the Wiltshire landscape.
I agree with what others have written, it is the view towards the ancient Calstone Coombes that captures the spirit and feels almost like flying – a landscape of undulations and shadows, must be one of the best views in Wiltshire.
Lovely close up of the Cherhill White Horse too.

I have walked through the Greywethers drift many times; today I was in the unusual position of leading three ‘walking’ friends who had never seen them before up to Fyfield Down. The Polisher first; where an ominous mist descended – we were not deterred and descended diagonally across the bumpy stone-strewn downland towards the Herepath. In the distance a pair of brown deer leaped their way across our line of vision.

As we made our way across the Herepath and around the sarsen ‘greywethers’ the mist disolved and the pale January sun made an appearence again. One of my friends was plotting a route for a guided walk so following the OS map we picked up a green track along a field boundary. A word of caution – perhaps because of the recent snow there were many potentially ankle-turning deep crevices and holes in the ground so not a good place to walk alone at this time of year.

Most people who experience Fyfield Down for the first time are astonished that somewhere so wild and ancient still existed in Wiltshire. My three friends were no exception. Words used – misty and mystical.

It was great to have the opportunity to visit Nympsfield and Uley long barrows this afternoon (courtesy of a friend who was visiting family in the Stroud area).
Both barrows are closed; the Uley barrow (Hetty Peglers Tump) is by far the most impressive. My over-riding impression of both, however, was the stunning locations. Both overlooked the Severn Valley with views of the snow covered Brecon Beacons; the Nympsfield barrow has a picnic and viewing area beside it though both barrows had their views obscured by small plantations of trees which no doubt served act as windbreaks. However, it did not take much imagination to see why these sites were selected by the ‘ancients’ for burials.
The Uley site has a glider club nearby and three or four of them glided over the barrow; a pair of barrow buzzards made an appearance as well – it all added up to a sense of tranquility. I hung about on my own for a bit while my companions made their way back to the road and would love to have stayed for the sunset but was grateful all the same to go back to the warmth of my friend’s car.

It was a perfect crystal clear afternoon, too cold today (for me) to head off along the Cotswold Way but I will go back later in the year and do that section by foot.

Thanks to thesweetcheat for directions, which we proved extremely helpful.

Another Avebury first for me today; a few hours to spare this morning so headed out to the downs on the 49 bus (fantastic views of layers of mist lifting). The morning still bright when I met up with a couple of friends – we headed out to Gunsight Lane near East Kennet village. From here they led the way up field-side tracks towards East Kennet Long Barrow. Like most of the less accessible sites within the Avebury WHS it is the walk to them that makes the experience so special. Today was no exception, en route there is a very different view of West Kennet Long Barrow across the sparse fields – no road, no cars, no visitors; just a view of an ancient long barrow as it must have looked for the past few millennia.

From the direction we were walking, East Kennet Long Barrow seemed to appear suddenly – too large to photograph in its entirety, the now leafless beech trees holding it fast. Apart from some badger damage it remains intact, we all all agreed that we hoped it would remain so. Long may it keep its secrets, its atmosphere and its sense of apartness.

[Once again acknowledgements to PeteG for his expertise on the Avebury landscape and for his willingness to share it]

Devil’s Den – 2nd August 2009
I should have posted this under field notes back in August, the day after Lammas when the sun was shining. As autumn sets in with the wind and rain its good to remember that sunny Sunday and Devils’ Den.
I didn’t set out that morning to find the Devil’s Den, only to participate in a 10 mile walk ‘around Marlborough’. The person leading the walk lived in the small village of Fyfield so knew the area very well. It turned out to be the sort of day that is feels like a gift, sunny, warm with butterflies everywhere.
When the walk-leader led us into a field of wild flowers, predominately poppies (apparently the second flowering this year) there it was on the far side of the meadow. To the best of my knowledge, Wiltshire’s only dolmen, Devil’s Den. I understand the field is now under Natural England’s Countryside Stewardship Scheme so the dolmen is a lot easier to get to. I believe there was previously an issue about going onto private farmland.
I had only seen Devil’s Den once before and then only from a distance as I walked across Manton Down. It looked very beautiful in the sunshine and meadow of wildflowers in August.

Spent a day in St David’s last week and headed down the quiet lane to St Non’s well. It sits, overlooking the sea, at the bottom of a short track next to the ruins of the original chapel. The well is housed in a small stone grotto shaped structure, the inside of which had recently been whitewashed – there were flakes of whitewash floating on the water which also looked brackish, so no impulse to drink from the well occured. However, in the adjacent field the spring runs away from the well towards the sea and has a far more natural sense of the elemental.
There is another whitewashed stone grotto nearby with a religious image inside it which I admit to recoiling from ... however, the ruined chapel, a small standing stone and the splendid walk along the cliff to Porth Clais (where there are some disused lime kilns) made the visit more than worth while.

Just returned from Pembrokeshire; this was the first ancient burial site I encountered and I went back to Manorbier twice. King’s Quoit is built from red sandstone and sits in a sheltered spot just before the brow of the cliff. Directly behind it there were five or six large sandstones set into the bracken covered cliff. The other interesting thing is that apart from the path up from the beach there is a second cliff path that runs from the quoit directly to the village’s Norman Church of St James – the leaflet about the church says “The foundation date of the church is unknown. However, the oval shape of the churchyard suggests a religious site of great antiquity”.
It is not hard to imagine that in times when people believed we are spirit as well as flesh, this was a place to set the spirit free – into the wind, sky and sea.

Today I went with some friends to visit Stoney Littleton for the first time. The visit left me with a lot of mental impressions and images to digest – not ready to write about them just yet. On the way back however, the friend who was driving us suggested calling off at Lanhill Barrow, near Chippenham.
What a lovely and unexpected surprise – this long barrow is tucked away in a field quite close to a busy road. In spite of the background traffic noise it was incredibly peaceful ... hay baled up in the field, the route of a now dried up river leaving an indentation in the centre of the field. There was a stream on the far boundary of the meadow along with a small ‘water works’. The barrow is sealed but with one of its side chambers open – our guide today, the ever knowledgeable PeteG took us to the end of the barrow by two old oaks and pointed to a short stone wall which had been build with the stones from the exterior of the barrow.
Compared to Stoney Littleton, Lanhill is unspectacular in its setting but I found visiting it curiously satisfying ... very much the cherry on the cake.

On Saturday I walked up to Painswick Beacon and hillfort from the village of Painswick. I was surprised to find that much of the walk up towards the beacon is a golf course. Even more surprised when reaching the top, to find the golf course is also inside the ramparts of the hillfort.

I understand the hillfort to be a scheduled ancient monument, is a golf course on one unusual I wonder?

Terrific views, now inspired to explore some of the long barrows in Gloucestershire.

After my wonderful visit to the Orkneys last week I visited the Shetlands and Jarlshof. It is similar though much bigger than Skara Brae and visitors are able to wander around freely. Also by the sea, the neolithic bit is now thought to be 7000 years old. Our guide, who was local, produced some oyster shells which had been found in the sandbanks along the shoreline – he told us oysters are not found in those waters so must they have been brought there by the neolthic settlers; these shells had been examined by photo luminescence which dates the last time daylight fell on minerals and were found to be 7000 years old.

Jarlshof reflects a settlement dating back to the Neolithic. In the earliest part of the village a Bronze-Age smithy can be seen.

There was a large Iron-Age roundhouse in the courtyard of the broch which was built about 2000 years ago.

Other additions to the village include a wheelhouse which was occupied until the Norsemen arrived plus the remains of stone buildings right up to the 17th century with the ruins of the laird’s house.

It is a wonderful and remote place not far from the stunning Sumborgh Head where I saw puffins close up for the first time in my life.

(I did take lots of photos but had difficulty posting them, will have another try when I get time)

I visited Caithness, the Orkneys and the Shetlands last week. It was a tiring journey to the north of Scotland, made by coach over two days (a night in Stirling) but so very worth the effort. The highlight for me was without question the Ring Of Brodgar on the Orkneys; just now I did a search for it on TMA and found that other people felt the same way.

The light was the sort I have never experienced before; a crystal clear midsummer day and the whole island looked the brightest green-blue. I was out around Avebury today and struck by the fact that it has its own unique flora, wild grasses etc, today the scent of camomile was in the air. At the Ring of Brodgar it was heather – I was not prepared for the elation I experienced when walking up to the site, I did not want to leave. Sadly I had to, as was travelling with a group of people and at 11.00pm that night we boarded an overnight ferry to the Shetlands.

I am determined to go back and stay for at least a week – we also visited Scara Brae but it was the Ring of Brodgar, Stenness and Maes Howe that blew me away – astonishingly they mirror Avebury is many ways. Brodgar has the blue sea/loch; today, Avebury had a green sea of wild grasses and ripening barley/wheat fields.

I did not get to go inside Maes Howe this time as you have book in advance with Historic Scotland and they do not allow large groups in – so that will be a must when I go back (next year maybe). I noticed that buses run to these sites which is very helpful for people like myself who don’t run a car.