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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.