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Fieldnotes by megadread

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Showing 1-20 of 30 fieldnotes. Most recent first | Next 20

Cup stone (Cup Marked Stone)

Around 200 metres NNE of Wet Withens stone circle, with no path leading to it, a single cup mark on the NNW face of a largish but mostly covered boulder.

I found this whilst hunting for a possible piece of rock art further to the West, pointed out by Paulus on TNA, i didn't find the piece but discovered this whilst taking a direct route off the moor due to torrential rain.

Good old British weather eh. !

Canklow Woods Rock shelter / Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter)

A walking friend alerted me to this little cave / shelter, i'd never heard of it.

His directions are as follows.

If you go to Canklow woods, there is a cave there (SK432907), marked as a settlement on os map. It's only tiny, but urban legend say's it's neolithic... (it'd be nice to know if this was true)

If you've not been it's a nice walk if you've only got an hour,

Park at mcD's and walk past the garage.

Just before the houses there is a dirt track. Go up hill, heading for Boston castle.

When at the top, follow path through park, following edge (Past cave).

Drop down the opposite end through the woods (Terraced - this was an ancient farming site) and back along the bottom.

Toads Mouth Cairn / Barrow (Cairn(s))

Another one that's hardly worth a visit, but if your planning on visiting Hathersage Moor ring cairn you'll pass by it, so why not. !

Located between Over Owler and the ring cairn, on the sloping heather covered moor.

To look at this one appears like an old grouse butt, probably due to it being robbed out.

Nearby there's 2 small standing stones (within 10 metres) that should help you locate it.

Longshaw Estate (Round Barrow(s))

The kerbing is nice innit. !
Worth a look if your in the area, and not far to walk from the road.

Wet Withens (Stone Circle)

A new path has been cut across the moor and passes with in 150 metres or so of the circle and the barrow.
They've basically mown a 3 metre wide section through the heather and bilberry.
At one point the path seems to end, but carry on a few metres and you'll find it again, you'll still have to keep your eyes peeled for the barrows though, then head off the path towards it through the heather.
This is by far the easiest access i've known to the area of the monuments.

Toad's Mouth (Cairn(s))

Not much to look at this one, but it's there, just a smallish heather covered bump in the landscape.
I was passing by anyway, so thought i'd log it.

Access is via a very rickety stile by the roadside 100 metres or so down the road from Toads Mouth rock at SK 25880 80545.

It's only 100 metres or so from the road so if your passing anyway it's worth a look, maybe.

Hathersage Moor Ring Cairn

Unlike Stu, luckily i managed to find this first time, ably guided by my gps and a 10 figure GR, i admit though, i almost missed it, went back for another look, as you do and found it.
The site is quite overgrown now but a dozen or so stones are still easily seen, especially the ones to the North East, one of which i measured at 97 centimetres in length.

The best preserved part of the ringcairn is to the North East with the bank easily visible, though you can trace it's circumference all round, the entrance to the south is well defined.

To the North Higgor Tor looms large maybe a kilometre away, whilst Over Owler stands proud to the West.
I was amazed how close to the brook this site is, no more than a metre or two, this lead me to think i was looking in the wrong area as i've never encountered a site so close to water before.

This is an amazing little site well off the path though not to much of a struggle to get to if you start off at Over Owler where you'll need to head down hill towards the brook.
I was very impressed with the size of the stones and i could easily be convinced this was a stone circle and not a ringcairn at all.

Go have a look, you'll be impressed, though i will say this one is bordering on "anorak" territory.

Barbrook IV (Ring Cairn)

Hmmmmmmmm, to visit in summer and see the site partially covered in bracken, which is now starting to encroach on it, or go in the winter for a clearer view and negotiate the very boggy terrain.
I chose the former for my first visit and it's still quite tough going across this very uneven terrain.
My starting point was the access gate further up the road from the access point for Barbrooks 1 & 2, from there i took a bearing and headed off in as straight a line as i could, reaching the site in 10 - 15 minutes.

A bit of an anoraks site this one, there's still a lot of it to see, though it is quite ruinous and a gps is advised, if you have one.

My gps recorded the site at SK 29025 75615

Swine Sty (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork)

I walk on Big moor a lot, well it is only 15 - 20 minutes drive from home, though this is the first time i've been up to have a look at the cist.
I took the direct route, from the track that leads to Barbrook 1 & 2 i headed down the banking through waist high bracken then over the Bar brook, there's then the climb up the other side onto the moor.
the going is quite tough this way but doable if your reasonably fit, expect achy legs after though, the grass is very long and the moor equally uneven and there's no path to speak of.

The wooden fence post in Stu's pic is still the best marker for tracking this site down.

Wonderful little cist and worth the effort needed to see it.

My gps marked it at SK 27455 75320.

Ash Cabin Flat (Stone Circle)

Called in at the circle today and found they've cut all the trees down.!
The moor and the circle look very different, not sure i like it, though it is nice to know the circle wont suffer from root damage now.

Doll Tor (Stone Circle)

There's a cup marked stone laying within the rectangular cairn adjoining the circle, it's laying face down as i left it, top left hand corner.
Paulus discovered it on our visit there, it was by the head of the quarry.
Someone had camped there and built a little stone windbreak and a fireplace, the stone was besides it, i think a little modern rock carving was going on.
The face the cup is on is obviously a clean "face", no lichens, no sign of age as you'd expect etc.
I was gonna lob it in the quarry or smash the fucker up but it could have been a well meant "offering" so i left it there.

Nicely done piece but don't be taken in by it. ; )

Bradley Tor (Rocking Stone)

Btw, Bateman was somehow mistaken, the passage beneath the rocking stone is nowhere near big enough to pass animals through, yeah at the front of the stone there's a rather large opening but it narrows down to almost nothing at the back, no way could you safely pass a baby through unless you had octopuss arms and a couldn't care less attitude to your young uns.
Ok prod a piglet with a pointy stick and it would make it through i admit but it's not practical to do so on any scale.
My Jack Russel could do it at a squeeze if i stood the other side with a nice bit of meat to temp her.
: )

Found another "cup mark" after searching the tor for a good few hours.
I credit it to Thomas Eyre along with the other carvings i found. ; )

Fyfield Down Cup Marked Stone

Imo all the markings are natural, for what it's worth.
Sorry.

Monster Stone (Natural Rock Feature)

A stone similar in size to the Avebury stones that lays on top of of the earth to the side of the sarsen drift at the bottom of a natural ramp leading up to the high point of the down in the direction of Avebury.
It's said it may have been destined for Avebury but never made it for some reason.
For me it's a stone of significance due to it's size, location and the story attached to it, it's also the largest surviving (non buried) stone in that area, though a few lumps have been knocked off it.

Follow the Herepath up to the ridgeway, enter Fyfield down via the gate then carry on till you cross the gallops, follow the path into the valley then turn right following the course or the sarsen drift, to the right of the drift you'll easily spot the Monster stone, to me it looks rather like a giant frog, well from a distance anyway.

Bolster Stones (Standing Stones)

Located within the grounds of Saint Mary's church in the tiny village of Bolsterstone, the two stones lay recumbent, one on top of the other and are said to be the base of two Saxon crosses now long gone, sockets are still visible in the uppermost stone.

The stones once stood in the centre of the village probably on the village green and are thought to have been moved to their current position in the 19th century for safekeeping.

The stones are just inside the church yard through the lych gate, the main entrance, and can be viewed at any time.

Walder's Low (Cairn(s))

What an intriguing place.
The cairn is located within a walled field, 3 of the field walls are constructed from modern style dry walling whilst the other which runs around a hundred metres is built from material robbed from the cairn, there must be 10, 15, 20 tons of it which would have made the cairn quite a sight before it was robbed.

Today the megalith and the few rocks that are holding it in place are an eyesore, the reconstruction was done with concrete it seems, very ugly and unsympathetic.

Great site not far from parking in bolsterstone village, a must see if your anywhere nearby.

Ash Cabin Flat (Hillfort)

What a strange strange place, i can't make head nor tail of this jumble of boulder.
I spent over an hour wandering around scratching my head, hmmming and arrring.
I'm no ancient fort expert, which would have been evident had you been there with me, still scratching my head now.
Great place for a fort though, if that's what it was.
*Scratches head some more*

New Hagg (Standing Stone / Menhir)

From Redmires Road, follow the path on the opposite side of the road from the reservoirs that follows the "conduit": a man-made drainage ditch that empties into the upper reservoir and marked on the map at SK 26018578. You'll need to follow this for about 1km till you come to a junction with a path crossing a small bridge on your left, and a path to your right onto the moor. You need to take the latter for about 200 metres downhill. The standing stone is roughly 100 metres onto the moor in a NNE direction.

Standing around 1.2 metres high, surrounded by mature heather and aligned roughly North / South I noticed this particular stone one day whilst making my way back from the Reddicar Clough / Ash Cabin Cist and heading towards the Headstone (.5km NNW), there's no history i know of as i can't find reference to it anywhere but the weathering on it's top certainly suggests it's been stood for a very long period and probably back in to prehistory.

Nine Stones Close cup marked stone

From Nine stones Close circle and with your back to Robin Hoods stride walk downhill to the right hand corner of the field and go through the gateway, turn left and follow the wall to the gateway half way along and go through it, turn right and walk around 10 metres down the wall and the cup stone is on top of it.

I've never heard mention of this stone anywhere before, if you know different could you post the info please.
Showing 1-20 of 30 fieldnotes. Most recent first | Next 20
Neolithic 'nut'
Often seen wondering the countryside mumbling 'bloody hell where is it'.

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