Merkland Cross (Woodhouse)

Trip No.190  Entry No.2  Date Added: 18th Sep 2024
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 13th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Merkland Cross: Almost ten years have passed since our first visit in October 2014, but nothing much has changed. This would have been a glorious location if not for the tremendous amount of traffic rushing along the motorway to the west of this cross.

Langholm Market Cross

Trip No.190  Entry No.1  Date Added: 18th Sep 2024
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 13th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Langholm Market Cross: It's odd to think we've driven past this cross many times, but never noticed it. A curiously small cross with a round boulder on top inscribed with a cross. Also an odd location, sited next to a statue, an information board about astronaut and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong (now a freeman of the town) and an archway created by Thomas Telford.

The heavy traffic whizzing by on the main road made it difficult to take some of the photos without risking getting knocked over by the huge lorries driving through the narrow high street.

Birrens Roman Fort

Trip No.190  Entry No.3  Date Added: 18th Sep 2024
Site Type: Stone Fort or Dun Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 13th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Birrens Roman Fort: I didn't even know this fort existed until we spotted it on the OS map and it was on our way home, so we stopped to look. My hip wouldn't allow me to climb over the stile, but the farmer had left the gate unpadlocked, so we let ourselves carefully in and out.

The field had been heavily churned up by cattle, so walking across it was difficult. Would like to return to this site with some of the reports mentioned in the Canmore record and in better weather.

St Michael's Churchyard Cross (Knill)

Date Added: 1st Aug 2024
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Herefordshire)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Knill churchyard cross: our first (and only) site visit for some considerable time, due to my current mobility issues. The church was easy to access, and it was lovely to be out in a really rural area on a warm, if overcast day.

Whilst old, the church seemed unremarkable, with no monuments inside of note apart from one very pretty stained glass window and the font, which is thought to date from the 12th century.

A very impressive carved large wooden dragon sits just to the south east of the church.

Penrith Museum

Trip No.189  Entry No.1  Date Added: 25th Feb 2023
Site Type: Museum Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 13th Oct 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Penrith Museum: With relatively few trains running between Penrith and Carlisle, and recovering from a broken shoulder, this was of necessity a brief, but reasonably interesting visit. Only a relatively small museum, it has a surprising number of exhibits, although not displayed in any cohesive way, and with frustratingly little information about the items on display. However, I was made very welcome by the staff (volunteer?) members manning the reception desk.

I asked permission to take photographs of some of the exhibits, particularly the cross base, and this was readily granted, providing I didn't use flash. I would go back for another look next time I'm in Penrith, feeling better, and able to carry my proper camera with me, rather than using my mobile phone. Am planning on going back in the not too distant future.

St Ninian's Preconquest Monastery (Ninekirks)

Trip No.188  Entry No.2  Date Added: 18th Sep 2022
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 13th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: St Ninian's Pre-Conquest Monastic Site: See visit report for St Ninian's Church (Ninekirks) for now. More details to follow.

St Ninian's Church (Ninekirks)

Trip No.188  Entry No.1  Date Added: 18th Sep 2022
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 13th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: St Ninian's Church, Ninekirks: We parked in a very small car park which is at the start of a green lane/permissive footpath, at NY 55815 28944. This was quite tricky to spot as the entrance to the car park is small and hidden by tall grass.

The permissive footpath initially leads us a gentle slope at the northern side of a very recently ploughed field, with the River Eamont downslope to our left. The path then turns northwards, still with a steep drop down to a loop of the river, but with pasture to our right. The sheep here were so large they looked like calves.

Through the trees, we could see a large tower attached to a large building, so it came as a bit of a shock to drop down to river level and see the church was so small. It turned out that the building we could see was on top of a hill on the northern side of the river.

Whilst there was no church guide book, the notes left by the Churches Conservation Trust were very helpful.

Beautiful spot, and well worth the walk.

Giants Cave Holy Well (Edenhall)

Trip No.188  Entry No.3  Date Added: 15th Sep 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 13th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Giant's Cave Holy Well: Having walked to St. Ninian's Church, Ninekirks, and wandered around the site of St Ninian's preconquest monastery, it was only a short walk northwards across the field towards the location of the Giant's Cave and the River Eamont.

There was no sign of the well on the south side of the river, and the river was too big, wide and fast flowing to cross to get to the Giant's Cave, so we tried to spot it from afar.

This section of the river is dominated by red sandstone cliffs, with heavy tree cover, so it wasn't really possible to spot either the cave or the well.

The photographs show approximate locations for the well, given the 'vague' grid reference. Goodness knows how those Victorian revellers got to the cave, but there are beaches along the river, and a beautiful meadow on the south of the river for celebrations at the well to have taken place at.

Priest's Well (Catlowdy)

Trip No.187  Entry No.1  Date Added: 2nd Sep 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Couldn't find on 30th Aug 2022

Log Text: Priest's Well, Catlowdy: Tried to find, but the footpath appears block by recently constructed areas for horses. Not wanting to disturb these beautiful animals, we gave up on our search, and will try and seek permission to enter from another direction at a future date.

Preston Park Museum (Stockton on Tees)

Trip No.186  Entry No.2  Date Added: 12th Aug 2022
Site Type: Museum Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 10th Aug 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Preston Park Museum (Kirklevington Stones): I'd tried to arrange a visit here a couple of months before the first pandemic lockdown hit, but the museum closed early, and it's been well over two years until I was able to rearrange the visit.

Some of the Kirklevington Stones are one display (some of the more important ones behind glass), some in the museum store. A small archaeology section, but with impressive exhibits.

Got to see the museum store, but the stones were stored on the floor under a very deep shelf, so some of them were impossible to photograph properly, which was disappointing.

I personally preferred this museum to Beamish, as there were more shops to go into in their Victorian Street, a small cafe, which wasn't too busy (most people were queued up in the cafe in the park), and small, but interesting exhibits.

St Peter's Church (Croft-on-Tees)

Trip No.186  Entry No.1  Date Added: 12th Aug 2022
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 10th Aug 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: St Peter's Church, Croft on Tees: The church's wedding co-ordinator kindly opened the church for us at very short notice, and acted as our guide for our brief visit. A very lovely church, right next to the River Tees. Sadly, the stone recorded on the Corpus of Anglo Saxon Stone Sculpture as Croft on Tees 01 had been moved to the Bowes Museum, and was about to be transferred to Newcastle as part of the celebrations of the Lindisfarne Gospels returning to that part of the world. This was disappointing, as this was the stone I most wanted to see.

A couple of bonuses were the additional stones built into the external fabric of the building, which we walked around to see what we could spot.

Our grand-daughter, Alice, was partly named after 'Alice in Wonderland', so it was good to be able to take a photograph of the sculpture which is said to have inspired Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat.

Long Meg And Her Daughters

Trip No.185  Entry No.2  Date Added: 21st Aug 2022
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 7th Aug 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Long Meg and Her Daughters: We walked along the quiet, shady old hollow ways from St Michael's and All Angels, Addingham to Long Meg and her daughters, coming across a well by the side of the track, plus a solitary standing stone in a field just north of Long Meg. The latter was too close to the field boundary to be a rubbing stone. It wasn't marked on the OS map, nor is it mentioned on the Historic England map search or the entry for Long Meg.

We took my daughter-in-law, son and their two dogs along, and they were amazed it was 'a proper stone circle'. The base of Long Meg itself is currently being used as a shrine, with people leaving offerings even as we walked up to this stone - including flowers, key rings and even a pair of sunglasses!

The rock art on Long Meg stood out well in the bright sunlight. The site was very busy today, and the field full of large cattle, who fortunately kept their distance.

St Oswald's Church (Dean)

Trip No.184  Entry No.3  Date Added: 31st Jul 2022
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 24th Jul 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: St Oswald's Church (Dean): Having left St Michael and All Angels at Isel, we visited the well in Eaglesfield and tried to find the Singing Well just outside Deanscales. The latter we could see over the hedge, but were unable to gain access to the field it sits in from the road. Parking by the lych gate of the church, walking along the southern side of the church, the preaching cross is easily visible, sitting on what looks like the base of a large market cross, with seven steps. The cross at the top is topped by a 'modern' (18th century) sundial.

We spent some considerable time in the church with the notes provided, tracking and photographing the medieval grave slabs that were visible. Enjoyed this visit.

St Michael and All Angels (Isel)

Trip No.184  Entry No.2  Date Added: 31st Jul 2022
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 24th Jul 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: St Michael and All Angels, Isel/Blindcrake: We had first visited the Grade II listed medieval well in Blindcrake at NY 1486 3482, which has a domed well head very similar to the holy well at Brompton.

This is a very, very pretty location for a church, and the inside did not disappoint. There are two fragments of the same cross shaft displayed immediately opposite as you walk in through the south porch, a couple of fragments built into the walls, and four sun-dials. We went armed with Guy Points's Cumbria Gazetteer, and found all the stones he mentioned.

Stewartry Museum

Trip No.183  Entry No.3  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2022
Site Type: Museum Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Stewartry Museum: We arrived at the museum with 10 minutes to go until closing, having been to St Cuthbert's Church almost next door, only to discover that the 8th century cross arm was not in that church, but now located in the museum.

Our thanks go to Isla who obtained permission for me to upload photographs to the Portal (she admits to being a keen follower of the Portal, especially stones!), and for her enthusiasm and time in showing us the cross fragments, and also the rock art and rock art impressions they have at the museum.

Would love to come back and spend more time here. A small museum, reminiscent of a smaller Hunterian museum, with lots of things packed into a relatively small ground floor room, some interesting modern sculptures (including Odin's Throne) and impressions of rock art panels stored outside adjacent to the street.

Mercat Cross (Kirkcudbright)

Trip No.183  Entry No.4  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2022
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Mercat Cross, Tolbooth, Kirkcudbright: We'd stopped to see the old well at Mclellan's Castle (not named, just a water supply for the castle, so not recorded here), then walked across to the High Street. This is a lovely old market cross, now displayed high on the steps of the Tolbooth. Well worth walking across town to the High Street, as there are some great historic, old buildings to see. Perhaps a little late for the Portal, this cross being 17th century, but well worth a visit. There is also a well/well head underneath the cross.

St Winning's Well (Kirkgunzeon)

Trip No.182  Entry No.1  Date Added: 20th Jul 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Access 4

Log Text: St Winning's Well, Kirkgunzeon: We parked near the telephone kiosk in the village, at about NX 86783 66771, and walked back to the small cross-roads, then north-westwards up the little dead-end lane. A very pretty spot. We had the grid reference of the well, so were looking around, when the owner of the large house round the corner came out to see if we were lost. He also warned us that the person who lived in the cottage at the very end of the lane was very wary of strangers, so helped us find the well. of which he told us there was nothing left. There is a small section of closely mown grass at the end of the white cottage with old threshing (?) wheel at the end, and the stand of trees under which the well is located. We walked up the 10m or so of this path and were able to see into the bowl of what was the well. It was dry at the time of our visit, although some remnants of the stonework forming its crude bowl were visible under the shrubbery. Better, perhaps, to visit in the winter when this has all died down.

Rumbling Well (Buittle)

Trip No.182  Entry No.2  Date Added: 20th Jul 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Couldn't find on 19th Jul 2022

Log Text: Rumbling Well, Buittle: Unable to get to. Since the Google Earth images and the map on Canmore were produced, an additional lake with platforms for fishing has been introduced at the head of the reservoir.

We parked in the 2-car layby by the footpath sign at NX 80296 61523 and made our way across the fields towards the reservoir, thinking we’d be able to walk around the head of this new lake. What we should have done was parked further north at about NX 80275 61662 (but this was only a field gate with no footpath sign and only passing places to park in), and walked towards the northern side of the reservoir.

With a party of teenagers arriving to swim in the waters, and temperatures in excess of 30 degrees C, the call of cross fragments and other sites called louder, so we gave up, saying we’d come back another day, as there is so much to see in this area.

Roman Bridge Remains (Bitts Park)

Trip No.181  Entry No.1  Date Added: 17th Jul 2022
Site Type: Ancient Trackway Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 1 Access 4

Log Text: Roman Bridge Remains, Bitts Park: A lovely park, and a lovely walk. Stones are hidden largely in deep shade between the main avenue running along the northern side of the park and the river. We needed to drop down onto the sandy paths below the avenue, and follow the river along. The four stone 'sculptures' come into view first. The rectangular 'display' of stones is about another 100m further westwards.

Cross Shaped Stone of Keverigg

Trip No.180  Entry No.4  Date Added: 11th Jul 2022
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 9th Jul 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Cross Shaped Stone of Keverigg: We went looking for the boundary stone inscribed with a cross, as marked on the modern OS map, but were unable to find it (grass too high and lots of lichen and moss on surrounding rocks to be able to make out the carved cross).

My impression of this particular stone is that it's the remnants of a quarried stone (or natural), as it lies on/near a long line of limestone pavement.