Cairnpapple Hill

Trip No.25  Entry No.1  Date Added: 21st May 2017
Site Type: Round Cairn Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 18th May 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Cairnpapple Hill, West Lothian: Our first stop of the day, and I was really excited to visit this site after what I’ve read about it. We pulled up in the layby at NS 98968 71832 and made our way up the steps to the grassy field in which the cairn sits. My first reaction was ‘wow, look at those views – what a place to be buried’. The friend I was with told me we could see for 17-20 miles north and east.

At first, the mast in the farm nearby seemed to encroach upon the whole of the site, but as our visit progressed, I completely forgot it was there. The door to the Nissen hut was open, so I walked in clutching my ‘English Heritage’ cards to pay and buy a guide book from the gentleman inside. But, he told us he was an electrician, just there to carry out some tests; if the keys he had let us into the burial chamber proper, he would let us in. We followed him up the steps to the top of the mound, but sadly his keys wouldn’t open the black metal doors. What a shame!

We did, however, spent about an hour walking about the cairn (I was really disappointed to find out the dome was a modern construction, built to protect the burials), trying to understand it’s layout and the various stages of construction.

The interpretation boards said that the timber circle holes were filled with gravel, although there were others filled with grey/light brown gravel that were much bigger. I joked with my friend that the larger holes were big enough for crouch burials, so in fun, he demonstrated, with his mobile phone and glasses as his grave goods.

We could see the modern Knock Stone Circle in the distance. We said we’d go back with my friend and his wife when the visitor centre was open (Friday to Monday during summer months); she was brought up in the vicinity and knows the site well.

Cairnpapple Hill

Trip No.54  Entry No.4  Date Added: 12th Oct 2017
Site Type: Round Cairn Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 30th Sep 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Cairnpapple (Chamber), West Lothian: We’d spent quite a lot of time around Cairnpapple and surrounding area, but on this trip had not visited. Andrew had not seen this site before, so we parked and joined the other families visiting in the wind and drizzle, and I managed to buy a guide book and as the other visitors drifted off, went back to talk to the guide. I saw the display showing the cup and cup & ring marked stones in the chamber.

The chamber into the concrete dome was open today, but the ladder was really steep, and even Andrew described it as difficult to get down. After he emerged from taking the first batch of photographs, I took him back into the hut to speak to the guide and he clambered back into the chamber and took some more photos. I confess the photograph in the hut made the cup and ring marks a lot more visible than in reality!

Then onto our last trip of our holiday, and one I was looking forward to – another of the Torphichen Refuge Stones.

Cairnholy 2

Date Added: 22nd Sep 2014
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 19th Sep 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Cairn Holy 2, Dumfries and Galloway: From Cairn Holy 1, there is a gate in the stone wall leading up to this monument. In the field to the left of this footpath there is the remains of another possible cairn.

I found Cairn Holy 2 more atmospheric that Cairn Holy 1, but the ambience was spoiled by the close proximity of a bungalow and farm buildings (but what a view to have outside your lounge window!).

A smaller, only slightly less spectacular than Pentre Ifan, it is on steeper ground than Cairn Holy 2. The cap stone has two modern holes drilled in, presumably to lift it back into place.

With it now being late afternoon and a hint of dusk starting to fall, we wanted to go onto Anwoth to find the Holy Well and visit Trusty’s Hill.

In the hour we spent at Cairn Holy 1 and 2 we only saw one other couple walking a dog. Almost as quiet and empty as Northumberland!

Cairnholy 1

Date Added: 22nd Sep 2014
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 19th Sep 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Cairn Holy 1: Having lived in Dumfries and Galloway for 10 years in the 1990s, we’ve driven by the signs to Cairn Holy on many an occasion, but never detoured to look. Now having seen the images, my husband described both these cairns as ‘like Pentre Ifan, but without the people’ (not quite, but almost!).

Easy enough to find, these cairns can be reached by turning right off the A75 to Stranraer, up the signposted track.

It was quiet, peaceful and atmospheric, with great views over the Fleet Bay and Wigtown Bay to the south.

Our first glimpse of the stones at the first cairn gave the impression of tall, ragged teeth, challenging us to pass them. The rabbits had certainly had fun digging burrows in and around the mound, and I’m sure they must be making good use of any chambers/gaps underneath the turf.

I loved this spot. I would love to see any excavation notes to see how similar or different this cairn is to the chambered cairns in Orkney that we saw.

Cairnbaan 2

Trip No.89  Entry No.4  Date Added: 4th Aug 2018
Site Type: Rock Art Country: Scotland (Argyll)
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Cairnbaan 2 Rock Art Panel: Leaving Cairnbaan 1 by its western corner, there’s a notice saying ‘further panels’. This was a little further than we thought, but very much worth the additional walk.

This second panel was truly magnificent, with its interlinked carvings. As the nice young couple from Huddersfield said: “A lovely one to finish on.”

We waited for the sun to come out to get the best contrast on the motifs. I really, really enjoyed seeing this panel.

As it was very hot, we decided to wander back through the forest slowly and make our way to Lochgilphead for refreshments. With only two more standing stones on the list to see, this almost concluded our Scottish visit.

Cairnbaan 1

Trip No.89  Entry No.3  Date Added: 4th Aug 2018
Site Type: Rock Art Country: Scotland (Argyll)
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Cairnbaan 1 Rock Art: This site is marked on the OS map, and we also got details from “In The Footsteps of Kings” page 149. Following the directions in the book (between the hotel and the neighbouring houses is a sign saying “Cup Marked Rocks”. After a flat start to the path, it then climbs relatively steeply for around 100 metres, then is a pleasant walk through woods, following the metal arrow signs.

We came across the main outcrop, protected by a metal railing, but with two sets of steps to allow you to get in and out of the compound. Someone had recently deturfed the main rock, although the rest were heavily turf covered and apart from a few cups, couldn’t make out much.

Just as we arrived at the site, we came across the same young couple who had been at Kilmichael Glassary yesterday and Dunadd this morning. They were travelling back to Huddersfield today and said the next panel was “a nice one to end on”.

To our surprise, there was a sign saying ‘further panels’, pointing further north, so we followed the track through the grass into another fenced off area, with the most remarkable carving (next entry).

Since getting back home, I’ve managed to get hold of a second hand copy of Stan’s book “The Prehistoric Rock Art of Kilmartin” and will be comparing my photos with his writings as soon as we get a dull, rainy day (or two or three). So much to learn!

Caddrounburn Calvert

Trip No.31  Entry No.1  Date Added: 26th Jun 2017
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 24th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Caddrounburn Calvert, Scottish Borders: [Note: whilst the site can be seen from the road by Liddel Water, it is a short climb up the slope to walk round the exterior walls of the settlement. I found the tussocks of grass and hidden lumps of stone challenging on my ankles, but took a walking pole to help.]

Following the road to the west of Kielder Water, this twists and turns gently through the countryside. The border here takes some interesting lines, but we ascertained we were just into the Scottish Borders. This fort/settlement is in a lovely spot overlooking a bend of Liddel Water. The grass was almost knee high, but it was still possible to make out Enclosure B from the road. To the western side of Enclosure B, there was a deep ditch and the start of another boundary feature, but the grassy was too long and lush to make out much of Enclosure B at this time of year.

We parked on the south side of the road at NY 58270 98319, where it widens out very slightly on a bend (avoiding the sheep and their large lambs who were totally unperturbed by the car) and headed up the slope to Enclosure B.

The banks are high (up to 1.5 metres) in places, clearly made up of stones and earth. Whilst not quite a square, the corners are well rounded and there is an about 8 foot wide entrance at its south western corner. The banks appear to be between 3 to 4 meters wide, including the tumble at either side. There was a north-south bank from about the middle of Enclosure B to about half way down the enclosure, before it petered out. I (stupidly) thought this was the division between Enclosure A & B, but looking at the site on UK Grid Reference Finder once I got home, I was sadly mistaken! We’d missed Enclosure A completely, although I did spot the ditch dividing the two areas. The grass was very lush and thick, and any banks of Enclosure A were certainly hidden from both the road and Enclosure B. I’d love to see this site again in the winter.

Ca Knowe (Hawick)

Trip No.29  Entry No.3  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Ca Knowe Cairn, Hawick (aka Hero's Grave): Simply marked as ‘cairn’ on Trigpointing UK's OS map, we could see this cairn from Lord’s Tree Cairn. There is a proper tarmacked footpath up to the modern standing stone with plaque on it. Closer to, it is much larger than it appears from the mark on the map, and has a proper tarmacked path up to it.

Unfortunately, both on our way to our next site, and our way back to Hawick, the monument was surrounded by a number of very large cows with their calves, so we decided not to risk upsetting them and drove on after having taken some photographs.

Bywell Cross

Trip No.150  Entry No.1  Date Added: 12th Sep 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Bywell Cross: Considering we live less than a couple of miles from here, and we regularly pop down to walk around here, I've never really stopped to photograph the cross here. Having decided to photograph the medieval cross slabs in St Andrew's church, I got the camera out, only to find another visitor stopped to look at it.

The gentleman told me he'd been doing an annual walk around this area for the last 5(?) years, and was heading off to Ovingham/Ovington next. I decided to come back and photograph the cross after going to St Andrew's, only to find him still there!

This is a very lovely, peaceful spot, with the River Tyne about 50m away. He did eventually wander off after a brief conversation, and I popped into the field to get a photograph of the cross from its eastern side.

Bygate Hill

Date Added: 23rd Jun 2014
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jun 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Having previously visited the site the weekend previously, we were put off from going in by alarms coming from within the plantation and a notice 'not to enter without the necessary authority' on the gate, so I sought the landowner's permission to enter. Bygate Hill Plantation houses a telecommunications mast (which apparently requires a permit to go near) and the landowner told me there are also regular paintballing activities carried out within the plantation.
There is a grassy track from the gate to the mast, with a small track running off to the right (just before the mast) through the trees which leads to the stone which stands in a small clearing.
The standing stone itself is impressive, and very atmospheric amidst the trees with the sunshine breaking through.
The land surface has clearly built up with all the leaf debris built up around the base of the stone, which also appears to have been propped up on one side by two smaller stones, to stop it leaning further.
There also appears to be a smaller buried (heel?) stone within a few yards of the main stone.
Had it not been for the trees, the site would command superb views of the surrounding land. We later walked up to West Bitchfield Peel Tower (grid reference: NZ 09081 77126) and looked back towards the plantation. The views were magnificent.
The landowner told me that Buddhist Monks from nearby Harnham Monastery regularly visit the stone and hang bells, and indeed there are charms and wind chimes on the trees surrounding the stone, and offerings placed on top of the stone.

Butt Well

Trip No.108  Entry No.2  Date Added: 9th Nov 2018
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 30th Oct 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Butt Well, Sterling Castle: We parked in the layby near the King’s Knot, just off the A811. There is a footpath signposted to Butt Well leading through the field next to the layby, just down the grassy slope.

Walking up towards the Castle, we were met by a fair number of dog walkers walking to or from the well. The footpaths here look as if they give access up to the castle, but we stopped short at the well.

Our first sight of part of this feature was a small well chamber, still with a fair flow of water running into it, just over the dry stone wall, below the main well housing and at the bottom of the flight of steps, at NS 78937 93894. The water from this runs in a small channel across the field to the northern side of the wall, at the opposite side to the footpath. Looking down at this chamber from above, there appears to be the remains of a stone drinking trough just outside the chamber, but largely buried under the grass and weeds around it.

The well itself, at NS 78948 93898, is now dry and capped off, with a handy bench next to it.

Climbing up the few steps above the main well housing, there is a channel running underneath the footpath running off to the north west at NS 78952 93902.

As I was photographing the well, a young black Labrador was running around with a large tree branch in his mouth. I was laughing at him, and his owner came up and asked us where we were from. He said when he was young, he used to play on the ‘cup and saucer’ (the King’s Knot) then run up here for a drink; “the water was the clearest you’ll ever taste”. He told me that they’d capped the well off some 20 to 30 years ago.

Burnswark Hillfort

Trip No.4  Entry No.1  Date Added: 7th Aug 2016
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 31st Jul 2016. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Burnswark Hill Fort, Dumfries & Galloway: A week of being stuck in the house contemplating on, and preparing for, the building work to come I was glad to escape the house for a walk in open countryside with few people around. Considering we’ve lived in this area for 10 years, we never visited this impressive and enigmatic hill fort. It was as good as (if not better than) Edlingham Castle, and in my view, more interesting. There was such a lot to see. Exiting the A74(M) at Ecclefechan, we headed off up the narrow one track rock up past farms called ‘Paulsland’ and ‘Relief’. There is a small parking area just before the gate to Burnwark Farm at grid reference NY 18788 78332. We then plunged into the darkness through a track through the forest, to emerge onto a grassy hillside filled with large sheep. It was strange and nice to make the transition from English ‘stick to the footpaths’ to the Scottish ‘responsible right to roam’; different rules for only a few miles apart.

From the forest track, a trackway follows the hillside upwards to the hillfort. The first things to come into views were ‘the three bretheren’, which we took to be burial mounds surrounded by ditches, although the Canmore record below describes them as possible Roman artillery positions for attacking the fort.

On top of the plateau, there were huge views around 360 degrees, including the sun shining off the Solway Firth. Neither Andrew or I have ever been at a point where it’s been possible to see both Criffel and the Lake District (Helvelyn was the tallest peak) at the same time. There are also the grassed over remains of structures, although I found it impossible to interpret what they were.

Having walked over to the north-western side of the fort to see the Roman fortifications below, we made our way over to the nearby cairn on the next hilltop.

Burnswark Hill Cairn

Trip No.4  Entry No.2  Date Added: 7th Aug 2016
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 31st Jul 2016. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Cairn at Burnswark Hill, near Ecclefechan: After walking around the hill fort, we spotted this cairn on the next hill top to the north east and followed the tracks over. There were great views down to the Roman fortifications on the north western side of the fort. Whilst Romans usually leave me cold, the juxtaposition between the hillfort, the fortifications and the cairn, together with the views of the Solway Firth, Criffel and Helvelyn in the Lake District beyond, were stunning. A great afternoon, and well worth the visit.

Burgh Hill Stone Circle

Trip No.29  Entry No.4  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Burgh Hill Stone Circle, Hawick: After visiting Lord's Tree and Ca Knowe Cairns, we headed off towards Teviothead and some wild, lonely countryside. There is a track leading up the hill towards the stone circle (and the hill fort beyond), at NT 47365 06725, with parking for 2-3 cars opposite.

Following the track up the (reasonably steep) hill, we took the left hand fork and followed the mowed grassy track towards the stone circle. The circle lies just past the first peak with rocks outcrops to your right, but not as far as the fort. We went past the stones at first, having climbed too high up the hill, but Andrew found a metal pole with a large aluminium star attached to it, presumably marking this as an archaeological site.

Looking at the site on UK Grid Reference Finder, the circle lies in between two small banks running in very shallow arcs. The stones of the circle seem to lie in a dip with a small bank around. It reminded me very much of a cairn circle rather than a stone circle, as none of the stones seemed to be worked in any way, and they were all comparatively small. I note the Canmore record for this site says it's been re-designated a Stone Setting rather than a stone circle.

Having stayed to enjoy the views, and also photograph the Dod settlement from above, we climbed up to the fort, where it was VERY windy (but thankfully the wind was warm).

Burgh Hill Hillfort

Trip No.29  Entry No.5  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Burgh Hill Hillfort, Scottish Borders: What is a 'bit more of a walk' for me is probably a 'short walk on a footpath' for others, but even so, this was a brilliant place to have visited.

With Burgh Hill Stone Circle (or possibly a cairn circle?) not far away, it was worth the additional short trek up to the south west summit of Burgh Hill. Goodness it was windy, although thankfully, as it was a nice warm spring/summer day, the wind was at least warm.

On the western side of the hillfort, the ground (as at Woden Law) dropped away sharply, making me take a quick step backwards to admire the views over the Allan Water valley below.

There are clear internal boundaries/banks/walls and a couple of hut circles, although these didn't come out very clearly on the photographs I took. There was a solitary large (standing) stone which didn't seem to be associated with any internal features.

The double banks and ditches on the south, east and northern sides of the fort were really visible, made of stone and earth, with two clear entrances to the north-east and south-west.

Burdhope (Rochester)

Trip No.33  Entry No.5  Date Added: 11th Jul 2017
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 8th Jul 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Burdhope Hill Village, Rochester, Northumberland: After having stopped at the Camien Café for refreshments, we headed off into the hot sun again. This time it was only a few hundred metres up the road. There was a small layby at the side of the road opposite Woolaw Farm entrance. Crossing the road was fun as you could hear the roar of the motorbikes and cars coming from a fair distance, then they zoomed past, the rush of air lifting my hair. A quick run across the road was safely achieved.

Andrew had found out from friends who visit Trig Points that the only footbridge across the river was at Woolaw Farm, so we walked down the track and joined the footpath just west of the farm house.

The grass is tussocky and some parts of the field are boggy, other parts cut by modern field drains, but it wasn’t too challenging a walk (for me).

The monument is on access land, although it has been fenced off to protect it. As the gate into the field was at the top of the hill, we took a short cut by climbing through the barbed wire fence. We must have spent an hour wandering around, trying to interpret the different bits. Fascinating!

Bull Stone (Crook of Devon)

Trip No.109  Entry No.2  Date Added: 10th Nov 2018
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Perth and Kinross)
Visited: Yes on 31st Oct 2018. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: The Bull Stone, Crook of Devon: We parked in St Serf’s Road, Crook of Devon, at NO 03303 00037 and walked down Church Road, then took the right hand fork of the footpath, which lead almost directly south. Just under 220 metres from the fork, there is a farm track which leads off to the east. The Bull Stone is showed on the map just up this track, on its northern side.

I thought this stone was just part of an old stone wall, as the stone was fragmented and cemented together again. It wasn’t until I saw the photo on TNA that I believed we had seen the right stone! Not a brilliant monument, but a nice, short walk, and another to ‘tick off the list’ of sites seen.

Buck Stane

Trip No.106  Entry No.1  Date Added: 5th Nov 2018
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Midlothian)
Visited: Yes on 28th Oct 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: The Buck Stane, Braid Road, Edinburgh: Our first stop of the day in the Tour of Edinburgh Stones. The Buck Stone is in a niche on the western side of Braid Road, about 125m north of the junction with Buckstone Drive and before it turns into Buckstone Terrace.

There is a sign explaining what the stone is: The Buckstane. This march stone, a relic of feudal times, occupied a commanding site on the old Roman road about 250 yards north from this spot. By tradition the name was derived from the stone having marked the place where the buck hounds were unleashed when the king of Scotland hunted in this region”.

A nice, tidy, well looked after spot.

Brownrigg (Rochester)

Trip No.33  Entry No.4  Date Added: 10th Jul 2017
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 8th Jul 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Brownrigg Ancient Cross Base, Rochester, Northumberland: Two cross bases in one day, although this one isn’t marked on the map. Husband, Andrew, found it by doing a location search on Pastscape before we set off (he gets to look at settlements and Roman forts he's interested in whilst I get the cross bases and tumuli!).

Again, just off a layby on the A68 just before it meets the A696, where a footpath goes north west towards Rattenraw. The layby was being used by a solitary motorbiker who looked at us curiously as we drove up and parked up.

Letting ourselves in through the farmgate to the footpath, which is signposted Rattenraw and Bagraw, we first of all tried to follow the ditch and mound of the line of Dere Street, but this was very boggy and the GPS was telling me we were getting further away.

Wading back to the farm track, the metres on the GPS dropped rapidly, then we suddenly came across the cross base, sitting slightly to the north of the farm track, some 30 metres short of where the official gps reading says it should be. I made the grid reference NY 85668 94716. On UK grid reference finder, the line of Dere Street crossing the field can be clearly seen, as can one of the banks/ditches which matches the line on the OS map.

The cross base is well buried in the grass and sits in a slight dip, just east of some old mine workings. Nothing terribly remarkable about this except the socket hole seemed really small, measuring only 10 cms square.

Worth stopping off to look, as no-one else seems to have spotted this, but nothing hugely exciting about this site. The next stop was most certainly the best of the last few months!

Brow Well (Ruthwell)

Trip No.177  Entry No.1  Date Added: 6th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Brow Well (Ruthwell): Having escaped the noisy builders across the road, we decided on the spur of the moment to visit the Brow Well, as it’s only about half an hour’s drive away. We bombed off up the M6, turned off onto the A75 at Gretna, turned off down a side road which turned left at NY 13732 69544 (note: HUGE mistake – too many large, enormous pot holes – continue on down to the B725!), only to find the cottage next to the well was blasting out music at huge volume. Boo hoo.

In addition, the area around the well had been turned into a building site, meaning the entrance to the small parking area was blocked off, so we pulled into a gateway a few metres from the well.

The well was almost dry, very muddy, and not very nice to visit at all. So disappointed after all the photographs I’ve seen on the internet. We found out from the couple we were speaking to at Kingholm (Lady’s Well) that the bridge by the well had recently collapsed and had just been replaced.

The information board tells us:
“Healing powers of water.
Brow Well is a chalybeate spring with natural iron-salt rich water believed to cure a multitude of ills and was popular with the residents of Dumfries at the time of Burns. From early times spring water was believed to have healing qualities and many locations in Scotland were renowned for their holy or healing wells. In the 17th century spas with mineral rich waters became fashionable locations to visit in the pursuit of health and beauty. Later sea-bathing emerged as part of a growing activity and built on popular traditions that saw seawater as having healing powers.”
That Robbie burns bathed in the well in 1796 but died 3 days later isn't a hugely great advert for the healing properties of this chalybeate well!