Ramsdale

Date Added: 18th Aug 2014
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 15th Aug 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Having escaped the rain and wind in our part of Northumberland, we headed for the east coast, where it was sunny and warm (although windy). However, it was a real relief to escape the sheer numbers of people in Whitby and head for the relative peace of the moors. Heading out of town on the A171, we followed the directions on the Portal site for the Ramsdale Stone Circle, which were spot on, thanks! Driving down the A171, we spotted the footpath we needed about 400 yards north of the junction of the A171 with the B1416, so turned round at the B1416 junction and parked on the grass verge at the edge of the entrance gateway to the track/footpath leading to Ramsdale House/Ramsdale Holiday Cottages.

We then followed the metalled track down towards Robin Hoods’ Bay; once over the brow of the hill, the views across to Robin Hood’s Bay were spectacular - we could see the waves breaking on the shore of the bay below.

Avoiding being mowed down by the four-wheel drive vehicles which came up and down the track at regular intervals, we missed the track off to the right mentioned in the directions on the Portal (but spotted it on the way back, as it dog-leg’s across the metalled track, rather than going straight across), and ended up following another track down to the gate in the next field boundary. It was then easy to turn and follow the sheep tracks back up the small hill to where the stones where located. The Ramsdale Stones appeared quietly, but suddenly, out of the heather. What a place to build a monument.

It was odd that there were only three stones, and we wondered (like many others) if there had been a fourth. We wandered around looking for stones under the grass, but only found a number of small, loose stones.

There were clear cup marks on the western most stone, and some possible ones on the northern stone.

The A171, which wasn’t far away, was very busy with Friday afternoon traffic, which spoiled the ambience a little, but the site itself is a lovely place to be. It is only a short walk from the main road, and worth stopping to visit, should you be passing.

Wades Stone (South)

Date Added: 18th Aug 2014
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 15th Aug 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3

Log Text: From Wade’s Stone North, we drove back down Goldsborough Lane to the junction with the A174 and crossed straight over to East Barnby. Immediately over the road junction, there is a view of Wade’s Stone South from the first field gate (about 50 yards south of the junction), to the right hand side of the road.

There are no public footpaths leading to the stone, so we contemplated asking the Outdoor Centre next door if we could walk to the back of their site and hop over the hedge to take a photograph. However, this place was very forbidding, with many notices requesting ‘visitors to report to reception’ and a strong, metal barrier across the entrance gate, it had more of a feeling of a strict army camp rather than an outdoor activity centre. There was no-one wandering around, so we bottled out.

Bumping up onto the verge opposite the Centre, we walked back to the field gate by the road junction and looked over. There was a clear track used by a tractor from the field gate diagonally across the field to the Wade’s Stone South field. I later regretted not being brave enough to walk across the field to get a closer photograph, but the part of me that obeys the code/rules baulked at trespassing. We used my 300 mm lens to take a photograph of this stone; however, as this lens doesn’t have any vibration correction, the shots were fuzzy.

I’m going to try and track down the farmer/landowner, and next time we head back (hopefully to see the Old Wife’s Neck), we can include this in our list of sites to visit.

Wades Stone (North)

Date Added: 18th Aug 2014
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 15th Aug 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: From Robin Hood’s Bay, sadly Old Wife’s Neck was the wrong direction (at this time of day and for this trip) so needs to wait for another day; wanting somewhere to go on the way home, we hit upon Wade’s Stones near Goldsborough and East Barnby. Avoiding Whitby, we headed west on the A174, and turned off north onto Goldsborough Lane towards the northern stone. Goldsborough Lane is a single track road and at this time of night (about 6pm) was busy with traffic going home. After just over 1km, we passed a wood on the left hand side, and almost immediately found the footpath/track heading westwards towards Brockrigg Farm. The only available parking space visible at this point was at a field entrance on the opposite side of the road, so thinking we could run back if the tractor in the field needed to get out, we squeezed into the field entrance and headed up the footpath opposite.

At first, we saw nothing but stacks of hay bales, then after 100 yards, the track took a shallow left hand bend, and the stone came into sight - about another 100 yards up the track and about yards left across the field.

There was a combine harvester in the field, and a car had just bombed up the track as we were walking up, but we couldn’t find anyone to ask if we could walk up to the stone. The crop had only just been harvested, so we didn’t think the farmer would mind up walking over the stubble to take some photographs.

The sun was quite low in the sky at this point, and the quartz crystals on the stone sparkled in the light. I had to admire the skills of the farmer and his combine harvester – judging by the wheat stalks left around the stone, he managed to get incredibly close to the stone, without touching it (We wondered to ourselves if he had ever knocked it down in the past, but there were no signs of damage from machinery!)

I just started to talk photographs when there was a loud rustling from the wood to the south. There was a short silence, then something burst out of the trees and headed towards us – I thought at first it was a couple of large dogs, but then realised they were two deer. They chased across the field we were in, into the next field (I got photographs of their ears and heads peeping above the wheat), then they appeared back in ‘our’ field, just seeming to chase each other for the sheer pleasure of running around. Only having seen deer once or twice in the daylight, this felt very special, although they were too fast to get many photographs of. The deer disappeared back into the woods, and we continued to take photographs of the stone.

Had the modern hedges not been in the way, you would have been able to see clear views of Whitby to the east and Runswick Bay to the west, and I checked this out when we crossed the road back to the car, and peered over the gate to the coast.

The Castles

Date Added: 4th Aug 2014
Site Type: Stone Fort or Dun Country: England (County Durham)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Aug 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: We’d come across mention of this site from Time Team Series 15 episode 11 (“5000 tons of stone”) in 2007, and noted it because it was a site relatively local to us. Being late on a windy, but sunny, Sunday afternoon, and wanting to go out somewhere without going far, we decided to head off to Hamsterley to see if we could find this site.

Following the signs for Hamsterley village from the A68, we went through the village along Saunders Avenue, turning first right up Bedburn Road when almost through the village, then first right again along Howlea Lane. I didn’t measure the distance from Hamsterley village, but it is at least several kilometres along this lane. West Shipley Farm doesn’t have a sign outside, but having spotted a sign for Shipley Moss Farm, we knew we were close.

West Shipley Farm is the next farmhouse on the left hand side of the road, and has a wide entrance to the farm track, so we bumped up on one side. The track goes past the farmhouse, then a stile crosses a stone wall (broken right hand post on the far side, so be careful – having fallen heavily during a walk the weekend before, I ended up going back to the gate to the field and walking around), and down hill to what I believe is the Harthorpe Beck valley below.

To the left hand side of the track, there is a modern curving stone wall with a wooded area behind. Between the trees, we could see tantalising glimpses of hefty stone walls. Following the modern stone wall, there is a gate towards the southern end of the field, at approximately grid reference NZ 10269 33059, which took us straight into the un-farmed field containing The Castles.

This is certainly an intriguing site. We gained access by walking across the ditch (not deep in the south west corner) and clambering up a fallen section of wall in the same area – following tracks where other people have done this).

Once inside the Castles, you are immediately within a large stone-built enclosure, away from the wind and very, very quiet and peaceful. There are vast dry stone walls, largely tumbled, but with the lower courses very much in tact. Having walked around the inside of the walls, there appears to be only one entrance, to the east of the site, and this contains a ‘guard room’, or small room, built within the wall itself. A ditch runs around the whole exterior of The Castles, although there is enough flat land between the exterior stone walls and the ditch to walk around the circumference of the walled area (avoiding trees occasionally). The eastern entrance leads down to a stream, which helps to form the eastern boundary.

The site itself is on a slope, half way down the hillside, somewhat similar to Maiden Castle in North Yorkshire, but rather than having a levelled interior like Maiden Castle, the site itself slopes downhill to the stream below, which would make no sense if the site had been occupied. However, the site was wooded and overgrown, so it was very difficult (virtually impossible) to make out any internal ground features.

I went onto the Wessex Archaeology web site when I returned home, and downloaded their archaeological evaluation and assessment for the site. They note that the site is likely to be iron age, although they had very few (virtually no!) finds, and is of rhomboidal, describing an area some 81.26m (west)/85.6m (east) by 65.83m (north)/79.5 m (south), with the wall in the east being thickest – 7m wide at the base.

Certainly enigmatic!

Maiden Castle (N Yorks)

Date Added: 4th Aug 2014
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 30th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: We ran out of time to see this site on 11th July, when we visited Thorborough Henges and West Agra (we got thoroughly distracted by the tremendous rock art at the latter), so took advantage of a trip down to Nottingham to detour via North Yorkshire and Swaledale to visit Maiden Castle.

Signs of the recent Tour de France were everywhere in this area (lots of yellow bunting and yellow bicycles, and spray-painted signs of encouragement to the riders on the roads). We stopped off in picturesque Reeth for lunch, then headed off southwards through the village of Grinton, turning west down a small narrow road with views of the river Swale to the north. This single track road runs for about 2km past ‘Bleak House’ and Harkerside Place. There are a number of footpaths and bridleways which run past Maiden Castle, but we picked the westernmost one, just past the fort, where there is a small parking area, sufficient for 4 or 5 cars.

From the car park, there is clearly marked path which runs (quite steeply) up past the western edge of the fort. As we were putting on our walking boots, two walkers were coming down and commented that the fort was ‘very well preserved; well worth seeing’.

I don’t like steep slopes or drops, but the path was relatively easy, and I needed a helping hand in only one or two rocky parts.

The fort was virtually invisible from the path, and is strangely situated part-way up the hillside. About 200 metres up the slope, the wsestern ditches of the fort suddenly come into view, then a few more paces open up a vista across the whole of the fort area. Turning to look back down the path, there are stunning views across the Swale valley and to the villages of Healaugh and Reeth across the valley.

There is a clear ditch and bank surrounding the fort; from the footpath to the west of the fort, it’s relatively easy to negotiate the ditch and bank easily (husband like a mountain goat, me picking my way gingerly), and ended up in a quiet, gentle spot, out of the wind and spotting rain. The brush underfoot wasn’t like other sites I’ve visited – the interior of the fort had what appeared to be low growing box plants with ferns, and we used sheep tracks to navigate from one point to the next within the fort area to avoid prickled ankles. At the southern end of the fort, where the slope drops steeply into the valley, there are quite a few tumbled stones, as if the fort had an outer wall at some point.

Before we visited, I had come across, and downloaded, the Durham University Archaeological Services report on Maiden Castle and West Hagg (geophysical surveys, report 2631, May 2011), which is available on the web when typing in ‘Maiden Castle Yorkshire’ on my web browser, so were able to largely identify the features they found within the fort, which was a real help in understanding what we were looking at.

Where their report had indicated a probable roundhouse, we found a circular area with very different vegetation, with low lying stones popping up through the grass to indicate where the foundation walls had been.

The walled approaches on the eastern side of the fort were impressive, giving the fort a ‘banjo’ shape. There is also a cairn/round barrow immediately adjacent to the northern end of the northern wall approach road to the fort.

Whilst exploring the fort, we saw other walkers pass by on the footpaths above and below, but very few people actually came into the fort, which was surprising. Definitely worth a visit.

Paines Bridge, Wallington B

Date Added: 4th Aug 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 29th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Visit report logged under 'Wallington A', as there are three stones within 2 metres of each other. Worth looking for if you are passing by Paine's Bridge/Wallington House.

Paines Bridge, Wallington C

Date Added: 4th Aug 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 29th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Full visit report under 'Wallington A', as there are three boulders with rock art within 2 metres of each other in the same location. Worth a visit if you pass over Paine's Bridge or are visiting Wallington House.

Paines Bridge, Wallington A

Date Added: 4th Aug 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 29th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: “Just for some fun, how about going to Wallington to try and spot the three rock art portable stones that Stan Beckensall says are near the bridge?” my husband said. “The web site says they are set into concrete, so they should be easy to find.” It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, so I said “why not”. Wallington isn’t far from our house, and we managed to park at the small lay-by off the B6342, just 20 metres south east of Paine’s Bridge, where the road turns sharp left hand to go over the River Wansbeck.

Immediately across the road from the lay-by was the gate and footpath leading down to the river and the bridge, then carries on further eastwards to the stepping stones which form part of the walks around the Wallington Estate. Following the path under the bridge, there is a stile (with a doggy gate) at the far side. Climbing over this, we turned immediately round to the bridge parapet and walked onto the bridge pier. The river was only a trickle after all the dry weather we’ve been having, and Wallington A was easily identifiable at the far end of the bridge pier.

The bridge being so narrow, I then took my life in my hands (particularly when a large lorry with large wing mirrors went by) and leaned over the western side of the bridge to look down at Wallington A from a different angle.

We struggled to identify the other two stones mentioned in the Beckensall Archive, and I wished we’d brought photographs. After hunting for some time, and exploring the parapets at the northern side of the river and beyond, we were at a loss. There being no service on my mobile to access the Portal, we drove to the cafe in Belsay, and over tea and cake looked again at the images on both the Portal and the Northumberland Rock Art web site, before setting off again back to the bridge.

This time, it was easy to spot Wallington B – we knew it was 80 cm east of Wallington C. The light had also changed, as it was early evening, and we wondered how we could have missed the markings the first time.

Wallington C, 95 cm east of Wallington B, was trickier, and I photographed several more of the stones, and we ended up comparing them to the Beckensall archive images once we’d arrived back home. If I hadn’t had these images to compare, and the photo with the stones marked by SolarMegalith, I never would have known this was a piece of rock art.

I would have loved to have seen these portable rocks in their original locations. If the river is high, and covers the bridge piers, it will be impossible to see these pieces of rock art.

[As an aside: We found it amusing that there are large signs either side of the bridge saying to “sound your horn” (before crossing); hence the peace of the countryside was endlessly shattered by the cars having to cross Paine’s bridge in single file. My husband commented that we were lucky not to have seen two cars meet in the middle!]

Ketley Crag Rock Shelter 1

Date Added: 28th Jul 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Couldn't find on 27th Jul 2014. My rating: Access 1

Log Text: We went to seek this magnificent example of rock art, well armed with map, compass and camera, and parked outside South Lyham farm. At the adjacent cottages, one of the residents came out to speak to us, and pointed out the way to the permissive footpath across to Ketley Crag and Chattonpark Hill, telling us how to find the Ketley Stone. It had rained heavily the night before, and following the footpath across the first field from the farm, we remained undeterred by boggy ground and wet feet in the dip where the permissive path splits off right from the farm track. After a search, we found the wooden footbridge across the stream and the permissive footpath sign.
The bracken was shoulder high, and 50 feet further up the path, we were confronted by a high wall of bracken, which proved impossible to get through. So sadly we retraced our steps. Apparently we missed a sheep track through the bracken, which the resident, talking to us on our way back, told us had been there a month before.
We then tried again from the access track from the B6349, at grid reference NU 06362 30614. This was easy walking for the first kilometre or so, but just past the ford, the trackway became very overgrown, with deep ruts and it was very hard work to make progress through the weeds, and despite waterproofs, we were soggy. We did try walking along the edges of the fields rather than on the trackway, but there were no gates between fields, so sadly we had to give up.
I had been really looking forward to seeing this rocky crag; there is a third option, which is from this same trackway, but from Chatton Park Farm, which takes us up over the top of Chattonpark Hill, so we'll try this another day.
We then went in search of some rock art at Doddington, to see if this was more accessible

Dod Law Main Rock A

Date Added: 28th Jul 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 27th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Access to Dod Law Main Rock is exactly as DrewAndrews describes. It is a relatively easy walk up hill, following the path up hill, southwards, through Wooler Golf Course (one of the golfers told us it was alright to leave our car parked in their car park).
Immediately opposite the fenced boundary of the upper end of the golf course, there is Newcastle University Rock Art poster, indicating where the main rock is, although as DrewAndrews says, it is out of scale. We missed the rock on the way up, being hidden by bracken, and ended up walking up to the Trig Point. Had it not been raining so hard, the views from the settlements and enclosures above Shepherd's House would have been spectacular; indeed, when the rain stopped about 20 minutes later, and the sun came out, the almost 360 degree views (complete with rainbow) were wonderful.
We spotted the main rock on the way back down the path (it's actually only about 4 metres east of the footpath, which turns left up to the trig point, just above the top end of the Golf Course), and were rewarded by these wonderful rock art motifs.
Someone had been there not long before us, and literally ripped and torn the turf and moss away from the rock surface, to be able to view the whole of the motifs.
The rain made the markings stand out beautifully.
By the time we'd taken photographs, we realised how wet we were, having been caught in heavy rain for some time, and made our way back to the car.
My next trip to this area will be to see the remains of the stone circle, but I think we'll plan a longer circular walk, parking near Weetwood Hall, to take in more cup and ring marked rocks shown on the Ordnance Survey Map, with the furthest point being The Ringses Hill Fort.

Davy's Lee Enclosure

Date Added: 21st Jul 2014
Site Type: Misc. Earthwork Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 20th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 2

Log Text: Continuing south on the footpaths from Standingstone Rigg at Great Lonbrough would have brought us to Davy's Lee Settlement and Davy's Lee Stone Circle and tumuli, but on this walk we elected to park at the Old Repeater Station, just off the B6318 (old military road), and follow the footpath to Sewingshields Crags, on the opposite side of the road.
We've done this walk before, but only to see the Roman Loughs (fishing ponds) in 2011, and couldn't do this bit of the walk due to the boggy ground. Note: I wouldn't like to follow this footpath after a period of wet weather - too wet, wellies would be needed!
We followed the footpath through Hadrian's Wall Vallum, up the hill past Sewingshields Farm, then turned round the back to the northern side of Sewingsheilds Crags. At the bottom of the hill, just past the cattle grid, there is a track that leads off to the left hand side which leads to both Davy's Lee Settlement and Davy's Lee Stone Circle.
At the top of the first ridge we came to, there were what appeared to be a row of standing stones, and possibly another small stone circle, but my inexperienced eyes thought I might be confusing these with quarried rocks left lying on the ground. However, we came across some blue posts hammered into the ground and some blue spray-painted crosses; the farmer we met shortly afterwards confirmed that archaeologists had been to do an initial survey of this area.
The footpath disappears for a while, but can be picked up at the western end of this first ridge. After walking up and down another ridge (with another rocky outcrop with a possible empty cairn at the top), it was necessary to cross another boggy piece of land, with a small, bubbling stream at the bottom, then it was an easy walk up to the settlement.
The entrance and the outer banks of the settlement are easily identifiable, and is in a fantastic landscape.
Davy's Lee Stone Circle is about 50 yards to the east of the entrance to the settlement, with other tumuli further to the east.

Davy's Lee 1

Date Added: 21st Jul 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 20th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 2

Log Text: Having visited Davy's Lee Settlement and Davy's Lee Stone Circle, rather than walk directly southwards across the boggy ground and the stream, we headed eastwards back to the main footpath between Halleypike Lough/Folly Lake. We lost the footpath, but continued as best we could, trying to keep on the access land (there was no delineation between access land and non-access land) and stumbled across this stone lying in the grass.
It definitely looked as if it had been shaped, so we stopped to look some more, and as our eyes adjusted, clusters of cup marks appeared. We weren't sure if the grooves had been deliberately made, or if they had been carved in antiquity (rival sites say they are natural grooves which determine the position of the cup marks).
We thought this stone rivalled the stones in the group of rocks in West Agra Farm Fields (although not the West Agra Plantation).
Not being aware this stone existed before our visit, this came as a real treat, especially with the lovely landscape around - it was a very special afternoon for us, in glorious sunshine.

Simonburn

Date Added: 21st Jul 2014
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 20th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 2

Log Text: We know this stone circle as either: Davy's Lee Stone Circle, King's Crag Stone Circle or Haughton Common Stone Circle, rather than Simonburn Stone Circle, although the Grid Reference is the same.
Having spotted a group of features that looked interesting: Davy's Lee Settlement, Davy's Lee Stone Circle and various tumuli, we decided to take advantage of the sunshine and walk to this area.
The previous weekend, we'd visited Standingstone Rigg, near Great Lonbrough Farm. If we had continued south along the footpath for a couple of kilometres from Standingstone Rigg, we would have reached Davy’s Lee from the north. Instead, we took the opposite approach, from the south, from the old military road (B6318).
My husband parked the car by the Old Repeater Station (parking on the Old Military Road being sparse and difficult, with soft verges, lay-by's virtually non-existent and fast-flying cars driving up and down) having dropped me off at the farmhouse 100 yards west from this road junction, on the opposite side of the road, by the footpath up to Sewingshields and Sewingshields Crags. We’ve done this walk before, to see the Roman fishing loughs, but with this walk, we needed to follow the path nortwards past the farmhouses, round the back of Sewingshields Crags to the bottom of the hill, then turn off a track to the left hand side (approx. Grid reference: NY 80653 70820). The track disappears for a while, so we headed left up a bank with what looked like quarried stone at the top, running in a double row running approximately east to west (approx. Grid ref: NY 80393 70793), plus what looked like a low lying stone circle with a blue ‘x’ in the middle of it. We wondered whether or not this was just the results of quarrying, but then spotted blue crosses sprayed onto the grass and a blue painted peg in the middle of what I thought might be the low lying stone circle.

Just after this, I got sight of a huge bull about 100 yards away; walking further along, we realised there was no fence between the marked field boundaries, and I suddenly got worried the bull was going to charge as we were walking between him and 'his ladies'. We were at the edge of a boggy area, and had just started picking a way through. At this point, the farmer appeared on his quad bike to look at his ‘beasts’, and he stopped to talk to us. I said we were heading up to the Stone Circle and asked if this was OK. He told me the bull was alright, and confirmed that the archaeologists had indeed just been up to do a survey of the rocks/stones we’d just seen. He asked us if we knew where the stone circle was, and pointed out the direction of the tree in the distance to head for; we’d then see the stones poking up out of the grass.

He then said he’d give us a lift part of the way, and we hopped on the side of the quad bike, and went about quarter of a mile. Neat! A very powerful machine – not sure I’d make a good motorcycle pillion rider, though. He dropped us off at the top of a ridge of rocks, and we made our way over, stumbling into what looked like an open cairn. I took some photographs, and we headed down the slope to another wide area of boggy ground with a small stream bubbling along the bottom. I wouldn’t have liked to have done this walk after a period of wet weather – wellies would have been required – me being me, I still managed to get wet feet!

We stumbled first upon the Davy’s Lee settlement – perched on the end of King’s Crags, which dropped steeply into the valley below. What a view. Wandering eastwards, we came upon two small standing stones (or one with a forked top, buried in the grass), then the stone circle poked it’s head up to the right hand side of the track, towards Folly Lake.

There were some clear cup marks on two of the stones within the circle. The grass and marsh grass was so tall, it hid most of the stones, and it was quite difficult to photograph, but the circle was clearly there – about 9 metres in diameter. I thought at one point that there might be an outer circle, but the grass was too overgrown to really tell (a winter visit will be needed!).

The main stone in the circle was a funny ‘chair’ shape with cups in the top. Someone had been there recently and left a tea-light in one of the cups.

The views south and east to Sewingshields Crags was magnificent; looking south-west towards Greenlee Lough, we could see a large erratic rock, Gwenhyfar's Chair, standing proud of Queen’s Crags. This stone is connected with Arthurian legends, although I’ve yet to explore this. We decided it was too far away to walk to this today, so headed back to the footpath. I could hear voices, and Andrew identified they were from climbers on the crags immediately opposite Gwenhyfar’s Chair.

Leaving the stone circle, we headed off eastwards, but lost the footpath. Some of the land here is not access land, although the boundary isn’t de-lineated. Heading down the slope, we came across a large, apparently shaped rock, just lying on the ground at grid reference: NY 80670 71319, so I've recorded my visit and submitted images to the separate page on the Portal (Davy's Lee Rock Art). I would put this rock on a par with the rocks in the fields at West Agra Farm.

Thornborough N

Date Added: 14th Jul 2014
Site Type: Henge Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: After visiting Thorborough Central (and having tried to see where Thornborough South was), we went back to the Northern Henge. Having driven past the first time and failed to find somewhere to park, this time we spotted where other people had parked, complete with a gap in the trees to nip through.
The henge is completely covered in trees, although the outer banks, berm and inner ditch are visible, although not conducive to good photography. There is a footpath which leads all the way round the berm.
We managed to get to the southern entrance of the henge and looked out to central henge. I've submitted a photograph of the view from one henge to another on the 'Thornborough Central' page.
With the sun coming through the trees and no-one else around, this was a very atmospheric spot.

Standingstone Rigg

Date Added: 18th Jul 2014
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 13th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 2

Log Text: Having first visited Goatstones Four Poster stone circle on 30th June, the farmer from Great Lonbrough Farm further up the track (whom we met on the track as he was coming down from the farm in his Landrover) had mentioned some other standing stones, but was mysterious about the location – we thought it was because they were on his land. I was intrigued.

The quickest route up to Standingstone Rigg is from Ward Lane, using the Bridleway at NY 81632 75077, but the verges had very deep furrows so no parking here, and also the crop had just been harvested, so there was grassy stubble which would have made walking up the hill a little heavy. We decided to turn back to the Manor House, opposite Ravensheugh Crags and use the small layby next to the footpath which led past Goatstones Four Poster stone circle. This meant a slightly longer, but easier, walk past Goatstones and up past Great Lonbrough Farm – a walk of around 7km in all, but easy on a gated farm track. You would have needed a four-wheel drive or a quad bike to drive up this lane, but the walk was across very pleasant countryside, with views of the Cheviots in the far distance, and when we got past the farmhouse, to Hadrian’s Wall country and beyond.

We first came across what looked like a large barrow at the first sheepfold past the farmhouse, about 1km from the farmhouse, at grid reference NY 81783 73355, having had to cross some very boggy ground to reach the tumbled stones. We walked up the ‘barrow’ and turned left, seeing other stones lying the other side of Standingstone Rigg (Ridge), on Harvest Green. This also looked like another barrow, with very definite shaped stones lying around, although these were largely covered by turf and marsh grass.

I confess we struggled to find the stone row, and I was disappointed. We tried to orientate ourselves with a map I’d found on my phone from the Tynedale Archaeology Group, who had carried out a volunteer survey on the site in 2013. We spotted what looked like two gate posts on top of the ridge, so Andrew ploughed his way through the boggy dip and came running back: “Those are the stones, and there a long row, they just go on and on”. There were absolutely beautiful views over towards Hadrian’s Wall, with Halleypike Lough shining in the distance, so we sat back and had a snack and a drink in the sunshine and the warm wind before exploring further.

Once we’d navigated the marshy bits and climbed halfway back up Standingstone Rigg hill, the first stones became apparent. There was a very clear double row of stones climbing up to the ridge, just poking their tops above the turf. Once we’d walked up to the top, the stones just carried on going, down the scarp and turning right round what looks like it might have been a spring or a pond, and back towards what the first ‘barrow’. They looked at first glance to be a single row leading back down the hill.

We probably walked this monument backwards – working from the Harvest Green up to Standingstone Rigg, back towards Great Lonbrough Farm. I felt very much like I’d been on a journey – from death at the first barrow (if it was indeed), up to the ridge, to see over the amazing countryside for miles and miles to look over the Moors and what became Hadrian’s Wall country.

The first double stones we first saw were only about 1 metre apart, so if it was meant to be walked as an avenue, it would have to be done in single file.

On the way back, we stopped at the first ‘barrow’ and looked at the rocks more closely. Some had very definite cup marks in them, and I’ve recorded them in the photographs submitted to the Portal.

The Tynedale Archaeology website states that the stone row has a north-north-east to south-south-west double alignment, which runs for 134 metres north-south up over the scarp of Standingstone Rigg. They also record a cairn on the top of the ridge, which we also saw, but which I didn’t photograph.

On the way back, I managed to turn my ankle by falling between two stones hidden in the grass, and had to hobble 3km back to the car. But I am still amazed by this little known spot, and feel privileged to have been there.

Thornborough Central

Date Added: 14th Jul 2014
Site Type: Henge Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: I was completely taken back by the sheer scale of Thornborough Henges. Wow. My husband had managed to get the afternoon off, so I picked him up at Thirsk, and we followed the A61 then the B6267 through Ainderby Quernhow, under the A1, until we got to Nosterfield - a distance of just over 9 miles. It didn't help that Thornborough Henges are one third on one Ordnance Survey map (302) and two thirds on another, which I didn't have with me. However .... Turning left at Nosterfield, we drove past the Northern Henge, but there was nowhere to park, so we decided to carry onto West Tanfield, where we turned left at the mini roundabout, then the next left, towards Thorborough. Back Lane, as I think this is called, goes right past the quarries and immediately to the southern end of Thornborough Central. We bumped up onto the grass verge about 100 yards away and walked back to the Henge. Up and over the very rickety style (one leg was at 45 degrees to vertical) and over into the field.
The scale of this henge was too big to take in - certainly almost too big for the camera. The outer banks of the henge are largely still in place, although it looks as though people have been digging on top of them, although with the rough grass in the middle of the banks, it wasn't possible to see any of the internal ditches.
After having walked all around the banks, we tried to walk down the side of the farm to the northern edge of the henge, which we thought was a bridlepath coming down from Moor Road, close to the Northern Henge, but the field was full of lively cattle, so we gave up and walked back to Back Lane.
There was a bridlepath heading off left about 50 yards up the road towards West Tanfield, so we decided to walk to the southern henge.
After the first 200 yards, the bridlepath went through a field of very ripe oil seed rape plants, and it was hard going getting through this.
We were almost at the place where we thought the southern henge was located when someone starting shooting very close to the bridlepath; they were shooting at birds, and one came down very near me. Whoever it was didn't respond to our (loud) voices asking if it was safe to continue, so sadly, we had to retreat.
We went back to the car and drove round to Thorborough North, where we found a place to bump up onto the side of the road, where we weren't blocking traffic down this relatively narrow lane.

West Agra

Date Added: 15th Jul 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Google maps showed it was only just over 10 miles between Thornborough Henges, which we had just visited, and West Agra. Stopping off in Masham for a cup of tea, we need to take a minor road passing through the small villages of Fearby and Healey. We took a wrong turn which lead us down over the River Burn and to a reservoir, so we had to turn back and take the higher road past High Barn and Gollinglith Foot. Just after the road had done a sharp right/left about 1km past Gollinglith Foot, the entrance track to West Agra Farm appeared on the right hand side; there is room for 2 or 3 cars to park at the bottom. We then walked along the road for about half a kilometre to where the footpath heads off right up the hill (note coming back there is another footpath which is not marked on the map but passes about 100 yards in front of the farmhouse and leads back to the road). The footpath appears steep, but it’s on a soft, well kept grassy path, and is easy to climb. After the second gate, the area becomes a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with many different types of bird nesting in the area around.

We followed the trackway up to the junction of the drystone wall with the plantation, to our right hand side. Just before the end of the wall there is a gate into the field, then another gate to the north which leads into the plantation. We did go into the fields and the plantation, only later finding out we should have asked permission from Swinton Estates to walk across their land and through the plantation.

The West Agra site has at least 9 prehistoric carved rocks in 7 different areas on the southern side of West Agra Plantation and in the fields around West Agra Farm. They are significant because of the number of different carvings in the same area. 6 of the carvings are on individual rocks; the seventh is in a group of closely spaced rocks on the westerly side of the field system around the farm, which show heavily weathered cup marks. During the summer, the rocks within the plantation are covered by heavy bracken and mossy growth; it would be interesting to return in the winter months to find the rest of the stones.

We walked past the group of rocks in the field immediately to the east of the footpath, but couldn’t see any rock art; on our way back down to the car, we looked again, and because the light had changed, cup marks became very apparent and we wondered why we’d missed them in the first place.

Easiest to spot was the rock lying underneath the drystone wall – there is a great hump in the wall where it travels over the stone, which appears to be bedrock. The ground round the stone is very marshy, particularly on the eastern side of the stone on the other side of the wall, which also has a cup mark. The cup and groove marks on this stone were quite remarkable; the grooves appear to surround groups of cup marks . On the southern side of the stone there were other cup and worn groove marks which looked vaguely like a man, but it was difficult to tell. English Heritage say there are over 40 cup marks with grooved lines on this stone.

Since coming home, we’ve found the map showing the seven different areas, and we’ll definitely go back to see this site again nearer to Christmas.

St Mungo's Church

Date Added: 9th Jul 2014
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 9th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: I'd read about the hog's-back tombstone located in this church, and as Simonburn is only 20 miles away from our house, took advantage of the sunshine to go and explore. By absolute chance, I happened to arrive at the same time as a small coach party who had booked an organised tour with the vicar, so took myself off to the Old Post Office nearby (the only tea shop in this small hamlet) to have lunch.
Whilst the site of the church is very old, there are only a few small parts of the stone 13th century structure visible; the rest is 18th and 19th century, although if you look hard enough (and use the visitor notes available in the church) it's possible to spot some old gems of tombstones and other features built into the current fabric of the building.
The remains of the hogs-back tomb is built into the east wall of the porch, placed vertically in the centre of a display of other interesting artefacts, including (quoting from the visitor notes here!): parts of a medieval table-tomb with shears on; parts of two 13th and 14th century tomb covers; in the left and right hand corners examples of Anglian or Roman champfered impost moulding; a piece of double roll moulding with rosettes; part of the original sundial; part of a coat of arms from a medieval tomb and what is purported to be the central boss of the stone cross on the opposite west wall (Note that when you turn round to look at this said stone cross shaft, it has been clearly cut in half at some point).
Above this group there is also the remains of a stone cross.
Even though only a small portion of the hog's back tombstone remains, it is impressive, which miniature roof tiles clearly visible on both sides. The visitor notes say that the tombstone was reused in medieval times, having shears and three rosettes carved on the roof-ridge.
On a previous visit to Simonside recently, we went in search of the old castle (not much remains, and it's apparently a folly anyway), plus an old well near the river (which we couldn't find).
There is parking at the tea shop, or off the road to the left hand side of the church as you enter the village.

Thunder Stone (Shap)

Date Added: 26th Sep 2016
Site Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 5th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Return visit 5th July 2014: We recently obtained the farmer's permission to walk across the fields to look at any of the Shap Row Stones on his land. Having woken up after a night of heavy, heavy rain to grey skies, we hopped in the car and went over to the Lake District, where the forecast was much better, having spent half an hour researching the exact position of the stones near Shap Village from a map the Shap Local History Society website (well worth a visit to get further information).
The Thunder Stone field was commanded (literally!) by a young bull who was very protective of his cows and calves, and made a move for us the minute we opened the gate, so we backed off (the farmer did warn us he had a bull in the field, but some bulls can be quite placid if kept at a distance). Having come all this way, I didn't want to go away without a picture, so walked up the farm track in front of High Buildings Farm House and round the back of the barns, to get a photograph from the gate to the field.
There is a smaller stone within this same field, so when we go back to Shap in the autumn, once the undergrowth has died back more), we'll visit again to get some more photographs.
First visit 28th June 2014: We went to have a look at some of the stones in Shap Stone Row, but found it almost impossible to park on the very narrow lanes around Keld. I was curious to see The Thunder Stone, and we managed to squeeze our car into the road junction leading down to Shap Abbey and walked back to look at the stone. It lies within a private field, and a clear view was difficult. I have since written to the landowner to ask for permission to get into the field to take photographs, so I'll see what comes back. There is a footpath along the far edge of the field the stone is in, but this leads away from the stone, so this was the closest we could get for now.
The stone is a little difficult to make out in the photograph I've submitted, as there was a lot of farming 'clutter' around the stone.

Swinside

Date Added: 7th Jul 2014
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 5th Jul 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: After an afternoon spent visiting the Shap Stone Row, my husband was particularly keen to see Swinside Stone Circle, so we took an additional hour to travel to this site. I have to say it was well worth the visit, and I would very definitely go again.
We parked in a small layby just down from Cragg Hall and walked up the marked public bridleway to Swinside (Sunkenkirk) Stone Circle. The first part of the track was steep, but concreted and thankfully short; the rest of the walk was relatively level and had magnificent views. Visibility during our visit was amazing, and we estimated we could see a good 30 miles to the eastern lakes in the far distance. The tide was out, but we had a good view of (what I am assuming from my limited map reading skills!) Duddon Sands in the estuary below until the land levelled out and we could see the circle in the far distance ahead of us.
Surprisingly, we were passed by two separate cars heading up to the farmhouses further up the track - what a remote, but very lovely place to live.
The circle surpassed my expectations. It had a wonderful atmosphere, and I would happily have stayed there until sunset, which, being summer, was a good 5 or 6 hours away, and sadly we had to get home the same evening.
My photographs aren't as good as some of the ones already on the Portal website, so in the images I've submitted, I've tried to pick out some of the features which stood out for me, which include the portal stones at the entrance to the circle.
On reflection, I think we should have climbed up Swinside Fell to get a distant shot of the circle, which would have completed my album for the circle. Next time.
Just to note that in the fields to either side of the bridlepath (particularly the right hand side) leading up to the circle, there were a large number of what appeared to be shaped stones, and we wondered if at one time there had been an avenue leading up to the circle. I've submitted a picture of one stone which has a striking resemblance to the stone in the circle with the quartz banding across it.