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. !
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.
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.
The kerbing is nice innit. !
Worth a look if your in the area, and not far to walk from the road.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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. ; )
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. ; )
Imo all the markings are natural, for what it’s worth.
Sorry.
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.
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.
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.
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*
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.
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.
Visited this afternoon and was kindly given permission to go up the tor.
There’s no public access to the tor but if you ask politely at the house they may let you up.
Be aware there are several large dogs roaming the grounds, if you don’t seek permission you may get bit, you have been warned. !
This stone rocks. !
Seems you spoke too soon Stu, during a visit this summer i found the site looking like a tip, remains of fires on the edge of the henge and rubbish dumped everywhere, seems by all the dog shit i encountered some of the locals are using the site as a dog toilet.
Normal service has resumed. : (
Not convinced at all this stone is of any significance, there are many naturally standing stones in the area and most are much more convincing than this one.
The nearby cairn is a walkers cairn built by a local student from the stone of the collapsed wall.
There’s no danger of being shot at this site despite what you may read, been up there loads of times and the only unnerving thing is the low flying military aircraft that sometimes buzz the site, don’t worry they won’t bomb you.
Visited today following Stu’s directions and it seems the layout of the fields may have been changed unless i’m misunderstanding the directions.
As you enter the field from the road you need to head to the top left corner of the field your in, the stile is there and the clearance stones just over it, there is a drainage ditch halfway across the field but no other boundaries. !
Won’t add my pics as the light was crap and they’re not a patch on the ones already posted by Stu.
Poor old Margery hill Cairn, battered and eroded it’s present state belies it’s once obviously important status.
Sitting atop Howden edge and a bugger to get to if you don’t like walking far this site is in need of some urgent tlc.
Now fenced off and recently awarded ancient monument status the cairn commands fantastic views down the Derwent valley and this has probably added to it’s present state offering a great viewing platform for walkers.
There’s a couple of straightforward routes to the cairn, neither easy though, my route from Langsett via the cut gate path, about 4 miles was a hard fought one due to appalling weather, the paths were running like streams, the visibility was down to less than 25 metres at times, not being the greatest of conditions for photography i decided to camp the night on the moor close by and wait it out which proved to be a god decision as the weather didn’t relent once till the early hours.
The other route is via Fairholmes visitor centre through Nether Hey, about 3 miles or so, this was my route back, take this route if you prefer half decent paths though you’ll still need your boots in all but the best of weather, if there’s any chance of bad weather be sure to take appropriate kit, the site is very exposed and the weather can make navigation very difficult.
What a bugger to find, well worth the effort though and once there you can totally understand why it is where it is.
There are no paths leading to it, the only route is to trudge through the heather.
Excellent site.
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Though i pass this site at least once a week have never Been before my visit today, i was shown the site by commonera.
The whole area is littered with stones of varying sizes with wonderful views, can be likened to the mothers jam. A wonderful place for a family visit and picnic. Ample parking at the Surprise view pay and display car park across the road. A short way from the site is an amazing view across the Hope valley.
Though Barnatt considers the site just a fortuitous arrangement of stones, i would say if so its very fortuitous. !