Green Humbleton Hillfort

Trip No.37  Entry No.8  Date Added: 8th Aug 2017
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 6th Aug 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Green Humbleton Hillfort: Having been virtually blown off the hillside at Green Humbleton Scooped Settlement on our way up the Pennine Way, we decided we’d visit the Stob Stones first and see if the wind died down on our way back. If the wind was bad on Stob Rig, then what would it be like on the top of this cone-shaped hill? It didn't, so reluctantly we decided to try on a warm, sunny day.

By the time we walked back down the Pennine Way/St Cuthbert’s Way, we were absolutely soaking wet, but at least in the valley below the wind had died down. Rather than the 6-8 cars in the parking area by Bowmont Water, there was only one camper van and our car. A lovely spot for some ‘wild camping’.

Midshiels Cairn

Trip No.29  Entry No.8  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Midshiels Cairn, Hawick: See visit report for Midshiels Standing Stone (the two are 90 metres apart), sites entered separately as Canmore lists them individually. Couldn't get really close to the cairn - would have loved to have walked up to it, but there was a really big bull and lots of over-friendly and very lively bullocks in the field. Must revisit at a different time of year!

There are plenty of other forts and settlements around here. The problem with another visit, is which sites to pick?

Elvaplain

Date Added: 23rd Jul 2017
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 29th May 2016. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Elvaplain Stone Circle, Setmurthy, Cumbria: After having seen the tumulus and settlements at Aughertree Fell we set off for Elva Hill. With a stunning image on the Visit Cumbria website, which told us this although this stone circle was on private land, it could be approached by a footpath, we found Elva Plain farm and the footpath up to Elva Hill easily enough. With well kept sheep and their large lambs, we enjoyed the sunshine as we walked up the hill. But, and there was a big BUT - the farmer had tied the gates up so strongly with thick twine it was like trying to untie the Gordian knot. With four gates to get through, and some of them wired shut, we could only see this stone circle from afar. Frustrating. If the farmer had been around, I would have asked (nicely) for access to the field. Whilst the stones are largely flat and just visible above ground (between the sheep!), this stone circle is in a stunning location, looking out over Bassenthwaite Lake in the valley to the south west and the fells beyond. Elva Hill (now quarried) lies to the north.

Carby Hill

Trip No.31  Entry No.5  Date Added: 30th Jun 2017
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 24th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Carby Hill Settlement, Scottish Borders: We only got to see this from a distance because of the ENORMOUS cattle grazing it's slopes. Even my husband, who was brought up on a farm was wary of these beasts. We plan to come back for a repeat visit in a month or so. Whilst the hill looks steep, from the path from the nearby quarry towards the base of the hill, the climb didn't look too bad.

Gogar Stone

Trip No.25  Entry No.4  Date Added: 21st May 2017
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Midlothian)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 18th May 2017. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: The Gogar Stone, West Lothian: This stone was conveniently located on our way back into Edinburgh, although we were only able to see it from a distance. Sited towards southern edge of a huge field, about 300 metres south east of East Norton Farm, access to the field can be gained from Freelands Road through the large gaps in the hedge which runs to the northern side of the road.

At the time of our visit, a crop of wheat was almost knee high in the field. We walked along the crop-free area of the field running alongside Freelands Road side, seeking a tractor track we could walk along to reach the stone. Not finding this, we turned and walked north, following the edge of the field along Gogarstone Road. Again, no track. I started trying to place my feet carefully between the densely planted rows of wheat without damaging them, but even my feet were too large to fit sideways inside the rows; it took me five minutes to get some 20 rows in, and only 1/10th way there!

I could have kept walking round this enormous field, but time was running short. We decided to come back once the crop had been harvested, and moved on to the Physic Well in Corstophine.

Falla Knowe Cairn

Date Added: 24th Apr 2015
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 23rd Apr 2015. My rating: Access 4

Log Text: Falla Knowe Cairn, Scottish Borders: Not quite the actual Falla Knowe robbed out cairn, but one nearby.
Travelling up Dere Street, having parked next to Pennymuir Roman Camp A just across the road from this section of the Roman Road, we made our way north up this deeply rutted section of the footpath towards Black Knowe and Trestle Cairns (wellies will be needed after wet weather - it was bad enough after a dry spell). Whilst there were a number of cairns, settlements and earthworks marked on the map in the field to our left, it was difficult to make out any features amongst the tussocks of grass and heather. The forest marked on the map immediately after the road has now been cut down, leaving large stumps sticking up out of the ground like ancient teeth.
We did notice that the corner of the stone wall/dyke and wooden fence post was placed almost dead centre of a circular raised mound. Whilst this cairn is marked on the Canmore Mapping for RCAHMS site 58154 no details are given. Grid reference for this cairn is NT 75204 14973.

Garn Turne

Date Added: 28th Aug 2014
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 23rd Aug 2014. My rating: Access 1

Log Text: Burial chamber at Garn Turne Rocks, Pembrokeshire: (couldn't find anywhere to access this site): The final sites we wanted to see before hitting the motorway home to Northumberland were the burial chambers at Garn Turne. Having successfully located the field and the footpath nearest to the largest burial chamber, we parked in an extended passing place near the footpath. We met a couple of local ladies with their families picking blackberries in the hedgerows and chatted briefly, telling them where we were going; they didn’t seem to think there would be a problem with access.

Walking to 50 metres or so up the footpath to a gate in the field, we could see no access into the Garn Turne Enclosure. My husband hopped across the gate whilst I took photographs of the very curious cows in the adjacent field who’d come to see what we were up to!

From this footpath, the chamber appeared to be inaccessible – there seemed to be no gates whatsoever. When we looked at the Portal later in the day, there were lots of other photographs of this site, and we are left wondering how they accessed it. Other web sites mention squeezing through hedges, and I don’t like to do this without permission from the farmer. I had to be content with a photograph from a distance.

By way of compensation, we went to see Ogham and Latin inscribed stone at St. Dogwell’s Church (just marked as ‘Stone’ on the map, next to Sealyham Bridge).

However, there was a second chamber on the map, at approximate grid reference SM 98269 26566 (the UK Grid Finder’s images are shrouded in cloud, so can’t get a precise fix). We found the very overgrown footpath that took us closest to the chamber, only to be met by a very aggressive combine harvester driver, who forced us to reverse at least a quarter of a mile, pull over for him, then block our way. At this point we gave up and decided to head for home, only to catch up with said combine harvester and had to follow him at about 15 miles an hour for the next four or five miles (he refused to let us by at any available passing place).

Trefael

Date Added: 27th Aug 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 23rd Aug 2014

Log Text: Trafael Rock Art, Pembrokshire: We were looking forward to seeing this rare example of rock art in Wales, but despite driving up and down the B4582 road twice, we couldn’t find any of the marked footpaths. We could identify from the field pattern from our detailed map exactly where the stone was located. I suggested going to Bayvil church, further down the footpath, and walking back from there. On our second drive-past, we saw a very clear, official notice on the gate to the field saying ‘access to the capstone only with the permission of the landowner’. As we will have to research who the landowner is, we’ll need to save a visit to this rock art for another time.
However, we were well compensated by stumbling upon Nevern church with its stone crosses a few minutes later.

Ros Castle hillfort

Date Added: 19th Aug 2014
Site Type: Hillfort Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 17th Aug 2014. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Driving back across Hepburn Moor towards the A1, the purple heather spreading in front of us was truly impressive. Although early evening with looming black clouds, we were going to stop off and look at this really impressive ancient monument, but when I opened the car door, it was torn from my hand by the wind and the map I'd been using was whipped across the dashboard to the far side of the car. We'd also had difficulty standing upright in the wind at Fowberry Moor only an hour before, so despite seeing an intrepid family with backpacks and young children in tow make their way across the moor, we decided to leave walking to the top of this Iron Age Hill Fort until another day.

I wasn’t aware that there was any rock art in this area, but thanks to SolarMegalith’s photographs, we’ll look forward to seeing this on our next visit.

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.

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.

Cross Stone of Keverigg

Trip No.180  Entry No.3  Date Added: 11th Jul 2022
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Couldn't find on 9th Jul 2022

Log Text: Cross Stone of Keverigg: The location of the stone was clearly marked on the Historic England Map search map, but despite my husband clambering (very carefully) over the dry stone wall and stock fence at the eastern end of the access land, he was unable to find the stone. There was considerable growth of grass and weeds in the area, and plenty of moss and lichen on the surrounding stones. He did, however, find the Cross Shaped Stone that MonumentMan has submitted (SID 52464), 23m away.

Ladye Well (Terregles)

Trip No.177  Entry No.2  Date Added: 8th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Couldn't find on 6th Jun 2022. My rating: Condition 1

Log Text: Ladye Well, Terregles: Armed with the OS map and a description from “Saints in Scottish Place-Names”, we went back (after many, many years) to Terregles. This well is on private ground, so I found myself chatting to a lady who was gardening just opposite the village hall about how we might be able to ask for access.

She was very cagey about giving us any information at all, telling us in order to see it, we’d have to walk half-way down someone’s driveway. I did explain the purpose of our visit – my ‘holy well’ project, and that we used to live in the area - which didn’t seem to convince her.

I did try and knock on the door of the house at the very end of the village, at NX 92749 77497, but no-one was at home, apart from the dogs. Just to the west of this house there was an access road into a building plot, and with no-one around to ask, we ventured down this track to the back of the "garden". All was derelict ground with weeds galore.

Finding nothing, we made our way back to the road, and I was going to walk down to Ladywell House, which was some distance down a long driveway, with the house not visible, only for a second lady who drove out of Ladywell House and parked up just down the road, to speak to the Gardening Lady (presumably waiting for us to walk up). I went up to them and told the Gardening Lady we couldn’t find the well, found myself telling them we used to live around here years ago, and my kids went to Shawhead School (only 4 miles away). The New Lady said “there’s nothing to see – it’s all weeds. Even the site of the old chapel is just a lump at the end of the field, covered in weeds. Nothing to see at all”. So that was us told!

We felt really unwelcome, which was very sad.

We went onto see a named well (not a holy well or sacred spring) at Kingholm, and our reception was completely different. Two of the residents were enormously helpful, even giving us a guided walk of the field with possible locations of the well and associated spring.

Holy Well (Stonehaugh)

Trip No.171  Entry No.1  Date Added: 31st Aug 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Couldn't find on 15th Aug 2021

Log Text: Holy Well (Stonehaugh): We last tried to find this well on 30th June 2014, but failed, despite being directed by a local farmer and his dog, Meg. On this occasion, the steep path down the gorge was very slippery, with wet, knee high grass along the path, and quite dangerous, so we gave up, determined either to come back after a dry period, or to try a different path from the village of Stonehaugh towards the Black Pool.

Crossfoot Farm Standing Stone

Trip No.169  Entry No.5  Date Added: 9th Aug 2021
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Couldn't find on 15th Jul 2021. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Crossfoot Farm Standing Stone: We tried to find this stone, and even hopped across the gate into the field which the OS map shows it in, but no standing stone was visible.

The field is next to a building site and it looks as if the field was being used to store both materials and rubble, making the field very difficult to walk across.

We think the stone now may have fallen, and may be in an area of unmown grass, so is not visible from the highly chained and padlocked gate into the field.

The Monk's Well

Trip No.167  Entry No.2  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Couldn't find on 12th Jul 2021

Log Text: Monk's Well, Clyro: Despite having the grid reference and the Coflein information, we were unable to find this well, which appears to be on private land.

Gilsland Spa Sulphur Spring

Trip No.146  Entry No.2  Date Added: 28th Aug 2019
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Couldn't find on 27th Aug 2019

Log Text: Gilsland Spa Sulphur Spring: We tried to find this well from both sides of the river. Continuing west along the river walk for about 20m, we found the path had been washed away, and not even husband-cum-mountain-goat Andrew felt comfortable walking this section of the river (he said it would have been easier to walk in the river).

We did cross the footbridge and made our way along the side of the river to within what should have been 'sighting distance' of the well, but the banks were too heavily wooded to see. Shame, as I really wanted to find this well-in-a-grotto. May return and have a second look from the Irthing Gorge walk path.

Homers Lane (Warden)

Trip No.126  Entry No.2  Date Added: 1st May 2019
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Couldn't find on 1st May 2019. My rating: Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Homers Lane, Warden, Rock Art Panel: Having visited Warden Hill Hillfort, we decided to drive the 1.15km to try and find this rock art panel, as it was so close. Driving north up the almost single track lane we managed to park next to the gate into the field with the rock art panel in, at NY 91110 68391, and walked back south the 50m or so towards the grid reference where the panel was located.

I'd gone armed with the ERA information and their photographs, and the GPS took us to within 9m of the previously recorded location of the panel. We leaned over the very ivy covered dry stone wall and tried to identify the boulder, but could not see it.

The field was planted with wheat, but with a large, long pile of fertiliser combined with a wide grassy edge to the field, we thought if we trod very carefully, we could let ourselves in through the gate and walk back to the piles of boulders. This was easy enough to do, although I wish there was someone I could have asked permission from first!

Using the GPS, we got to within 3m of the recorded grid reference, but still could not find a boulder the right size and shape. With the ERA photos in hand, I identified the two trees in one of the their photos, lined them up, but there were no boulders at that location. It looked as if they had been rolled further downhill, towards the drystone wall, to make room for the huge pile of fertiliser.

Andrew very bravely balanced on the boulders, trying to locate the panel, but after a reasonably through search, had to give up. Disappointing, but the NADRAP survey photos were dated 2008 - some 11 years ago.

Barningham Moor 1.

Trip No.117  Entry No.4  Date Added: 12th Feb 2019
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (County Durham)
Visited: Couldn't find on 6th Feb 2019. My rating: Access 4

Log Text: Barningham Moor 1: Despite having the grid co-ordinates and also being with rich32, who knew where this stone had previously been located, we were unable to find it. in the end we started a few hundred yards to the west of Barningham Moor 96 and the three of us walked in a line back to BM 96, but no stones were visible in the ground. This panel was completely covered by grass and moss. Shame, perhaps we'll be able to see this on another visit.

Fairy Stone (Fourstones)

Trip No.116  Entry No.2  Date Added: 27th Jan 2019
Site Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Couldn't find on 26th Jan 2019

Log Text: Fairy Stone (Fourstones): This is one of the sites I added to the Portal from The Northern Antiquarian, so whilst we were in the area, decided to try and find it. We parked at NY 89360 67929 on the outskirts of Fourstones Village (I didn’t think there was much at Fourstones, but there is a large papermill there).

Armed with the grid references (the one given by TNA, the other by Pastscape, we wandered along the road, up past the farms and along the lanes, but could find no trace of this stone. What a shame – I was looking forward to rediscovering it. Andrew, through looking at the age of the stone walls and the road surface, was able to tell where the road had been widened, which helped our search before admitting defeat.

I did photograph an old well/drinking trough next to the farm at about NY 89325 68021. This is a lovely old village.