Sewingshields Crags

Date Added: 8th May 2015
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 8th May 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Sewingshields Crags Possible Stone Row, now known to be a boundary feature: I'm putting this on for completeness, as Andy B has added this as a site in it's own right; for my originalvisit report with more details, see Simonburn (Davy's Lee) Stone Circle visit report, 20th July 2014.
Having spotted a group of features on the map 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).
Note: at the time of writing, I am going along to this area next week to help survey a group of stack-stands and/or sheilings (12th to 15th) so will have another look at this feature then.

St Kentigern (Aspatria)

Date Added: 5th May 2015
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 1st May 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Anglo Norse Crosses and a Viking Hogback, St Kentigern's Church, Aspatria: Following the A596, signposted to Aspatria, the church is on the right hand side as you drive into the village, set above the road and separated from it from a stone wall.
Parking in a one hour disk parking spot just outside the church, we noticed straight away a tall cross standing at the exterior east end of the church and went straight round to photograph it [according to Wikepedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosforth_Cross “In 1887, the Rev. William Slater Calverley commissioned a replica life-sized copy of this cross and erected it in the churchyard at Aspatria, Cumbria.“ There was also a collection of artefacts with what looked like parts of two Anglo Saxon Cross heads built into the wall.
There was a church festival, with flowers, fairy lights and candles, lots of regular church-goers helping out and many other visitors popping in, so with my camera and flashgun, I felt a bit as if we were intruding.
Enterging the church from the west doorway through the porch, we literally had to walk round another cross at the west end of the church. I asked if it was OK to take photographs using the flash it is was in relative darkness on its western side; the surrounding displays made it a little challenging to take photographs although one of the gentlemen helpers offered to move the flower stand they were using to hold leaflets for visitors, which made it easier.
There was another table with all sorts of reading material displayed on it, including a browning newspaper article saying the cross outside was a copy of the Gosforth Cross [whilst the shape was similar, I questioned whether or not the carving was the same – I’ll need to compare the photographs].
The guide then pointed us in the direction of the unusual and lovely 13th century font and told us there was part of a Viking Hogback displayed. The carvings were intricate. The church guide told me this stone was “found amongst the building material of the Norman church”.
A quick walk around the rest of the flower displays followed, especially as we ended up blocking the aisles with our small granddaughter’s pushchair and no-one could get past! As a result, we missed some of the other crosses within the building, particularly those in the vestry, but we’ll go back again when the festival isn’t on and we can wander around more freely. According to the Pastscape record there is another cross (sans top) 40 yards south of the church.
With directions from one of the guides in the church, we walked to the north side of the church yard to find St. Patrick’s Well.

St Patrick's Well (Aspatria)

Date Added: 4th May 2015
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 1st May 2015. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: St Patrick's Well, Aspatria. This well can be found in the churchyard of St. Kentigern's Church at Aspatria. Driving into Aspatria along the A596 from Carlisle, the church is on the right hand side of the road with disk parking on both sides of the road. There are steps up from the gate into the churchyard.

We arrived during the annual church flower festival (1st to 4th May). Before going into St. Kentigern’s Church to see the Anglo Saxon Cross and Viking Hogback Tombstone, we’d had a quick scout around the churchyard to see if we could see the well, but no. Asking directions from one of the guides at the church, he told us to “go out of the west door, turn right and it’s 50 yards down – you can’t miss it. Following his directions, where the path around the church turned along the northern corner, all we could see were gravestones and a fenced off area containing shrubs. The path stopped at this point and we had to make our way over the grass, avoiding the humps and bumps of grass-covered graves. Once at the fenced off area and having turned the corner, we saw immediately where the well was, contained within a neat, modern-looking stone walls with a path leading up to it.

The well was dry at the time of our visit, and looked as it if had been for some time. It wasn’t obvious where the water went to – it must have formed a small pool within the confines of the paved area, any overspill running onto the grass beyond. Whilst the well was said to have been used by St. Kentigern for baptisms, I didn’t find it had any atmosphere at all. The Pastcape record (id=9583) says that “The feature consists of a short path, steps, and the rectangular enclosure of a spring, all of Victorian construction. The vicar confirmed the name as St. Patrick's Well but there are no records of a pre-19thc structure, only of a natural spring."

There was a good view of the Anglo Saxon cross at the east end of the church from here, together with the dovecot – the most original and complete of its kind in Cumbria.

Note: St. Kentigern was also known as St. Mungo (meaning ‘dear one’). According tothe church guide booklet, he was “rescued with his mother from a drifting coracle on the Firth of Forth .... was taken into the monastery at Culross in Fife .... The people of Strathclyde revered him for his holiness of life and chose him as a bishop, but in a time of political disorder, he fled south, possibly to Wales. It is believed that on his travels he found the area which is now northern Cumbria to be unevangelised, and the dozen or so churches dedicted to Kentigern or Mungo are thought to have been founded as the result of his preaching.” Kentigern or Mungo is the Patron Saint of Glasgow.

Dere Street Cairn

Date Added: 25th Apr 2015
Site Type: Round Cairn Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Black Knowe Cairn (Dere Street Cairn), Scottish Borders:
From Trestle Cairn we followed the other side of the stone wall from Dere Street back downhill (this being Scotland I can’t get wholly used to the ‘right to roam’ even though we lived here for over 10 years. I wish we had this in England, too) with some interesting ‘lumps and bumps’ in the landscape on our right hand side – old quarries for Dere Street, old buildings or just marshy patches that have collapsed over the years?
Further down hill towards Black Knowe Cairn we spotted a green mown path cutting through the heavily tussocked grass that we were walking on by the stone wall, so switched onto this and it was easy walking down to the cairn.
What a site to end up at at the end of the day – it was very atmospheric and we spent ages wandering around the stones, looking at what might possibly be alignments between them, spotting two outliers to the north west and west, and just generally soaking up the magic of the place.
At the large stone in the field to the west I thought I saw a cup mark – it was definitely very smooth but worn, but I never know if my imagination is getting carried away. My husband certainly found no mention of rock art in this area before the visit.
Hubby walked over to the stone wall to see if there was possibly an alignment with the Black Knowe Standing Stone at the other side, but it was difficult to tell (I’d love to see an aerial photograph of these features).
Standing on the outlier at the north eastern edge of the cairn looking back, five of the stones seem to form an alignment running south west down the hill.
From the cairn the grassy path continues southwards down the hill. The only gate from the field is right in the middle of the lower side, then we had to track diagonally left to get back to the gate leading back onto Dere Street near the Scout Hut and parking area by Pennymuir Roman Camp A.

Trestle Cairn

Date Added: 25th Apr 2015
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Trestle Cairn, off Dere Street, Scottish Borders: Continuing north up Dere Street from the Black Knowe standing stone, the stone wall is continuous uphill. To get back to Black Knowe Cairn we either had to carry on to Trestle Cairn then double back to Black Knowe Cairn or walk back down the hill to a gate lower down the field at the lower field boundary and walk back uphill to Black Knowe Cairn. We chose the former.
Continuing uphill, there is a gate in the next field boundary. At the time of our visit there was stock in the field and an electric fence which we had to duck under. A few yards to the left hand side there was a gate into the field immediately below Trestle Cairn. 50 yards along the stone wall to the left there was a gate into the Trestle Cairn field giving easy access to the cairn.
The Canmore/RCAHMS records for this site (Canmore ID 57949 Site Number NT71NE 34) record in 1947 that this is a ‘Druidical Circle .... consists of 17 stones distributed within the circumference of a demolished cairn which originally measured 55’ in diameter’. There were clearly 2 ovals/circles of irregularly placed stones with banks and ditches around them. My impression was that this was a cairn, with some similarities to the Loupin’ Stanes which we’d seen near Eskdalemuir a few weeks before. The views to the west and south were stunning at this time of early evening, with the distant hills bleeding into the grey of the dusk.
From here we could see the Five Stones Stone Circles down in the valley to the right of Dere Street, which we’d hoped to make it to that day. The walking had been slower than we anticipated so we stayed to photograph and appreciate the location of this cairn and made our way downhill to Black Knowe Cairn. There is so much to see in this area that we’re going to make another trip, with the Five Stones Stone Circles top of the list.
Note for future visitors: returning to the gate in the field within Plea Shank, don’t go back to the gate onto Dere Street. Continuing down the field you will come to some smoothly mown pathways within the heavily tussocked grass. These lead back to Trestle Cairn and is easier walking than in the long grass.

Black Knowe (Borders)

Date Added: 24th Apr 2015
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Black Knowe Standing Stone, Scottish Borders: Continuing on northwards from the Falla Knowe Cairn the path becomes more of a grassy footpath with evidence of ditches at either side in parts, so we knew we were following the old Roman road of Dere Street (funny, as this Roman road continues south down through Corbridge just a few miles from where we live). Climbing the gentle slope, to the left hand side the Black Knowe Cairn comes creeping into view. On the right hand side of Dere Street are what might be other archaeological features (look like a mixture of rectangular remains of old walls and sunken waterlogged patches with reeds).
Suddenly the land flattens out slightly and there is what looks like a free-standing boulder sitting almost next to the path. Interestingly the RCAHMS records “contradicts” itself – for Site NT71NE 44/Canmore ID 57960 the 1973 visit records it as a natural erratic boulder; the 1979 visit report says “its size and shape suggest that it may be a companion to the outlying stones of the adjacent cairn”. We’ve come across these solitary standing stones next to Roman Roads before, as if they were used as markers/waypoints or to pass and respect sites that were ancient when these roads were built.
Looking more closely there are actually three boulders, one just to the south and another just to the north. My opinion is that it is either a small cairn in its own right or is associated with Black Knowe Cairn, but the stone wall/dyke in between the two features makes it difficult to ascertain. Even though my husband went up to the stone wall to line himself up with the larger cairn behind to see if we could make any connections between the two monuments it was difficult to tell. Oh to have an octo-copter with camera!.

The views from here are spectacular, particularly as we were just under the edge of a weather front, with big dark rain clouds coming down from the north and the sunlight hills all around the other compass points.
As there were no gates in the long, long stone wall (I never know what to call these – when we lived in Dumfries the locals referred to them as dykes; where I was brought up in Yorkshire, dykes were ditches!), we continued up the hill to Trestle Cairn.

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.

Barmishaw Stone

Date Added: 20th Apr 2015
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Yorkshire (West))
Visited: Couldn't find on 17th Apr 2015

Log Text: Barmishaw Stone, Ilkley: we planned to find this piece of rock art after visiting the Comet Stone as it's not far away. From the small car park on the Keighley Road near the Comet Stone grid reference, there is no direct footpath but a track through the moorland grass could be made out. My husband was bold enough to try, but his route was blocked by a rock face. An approach from a different direction will be needed on our next visit.
We abandoned finding this stone to get to the Wulfhere Cross at Addingham before the church closed for the evening.

All Saints (Ilkley)

Date Added: 20th Apr 2015
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Yorkshire (West))
Visited: Yes on 17th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Three Anglo Saxon Crosses, All Saints, Ilkley: On the way I telephoned All Saints in Ilkley to find out if they were open as some churches we've visited recently have been kept locked because of vandalism. A very nice lady in the Parish Office answered and told me the church was open until dusk and that we’d be very welcome to visit.
We found the church easily enough, being just out of the town centre. We parked in a nearby car park, just off West Street (grid reference: SE 11593 47690) which is central for the shops as well, and walked round to the church.
The three Anglo Saxon crosses are kept under the 15th century tower in the west end of the church. They are impressive, although cluttered up with other things being used by the church and such bright spot lights I had to use flash to counter-balance the light. The light also streamed in from the window in the west end making photography (for me) a little difficult. There are some good interpretation boards, and also three Roman altar stones displayed against the west wall.
The tallest cross is impressive, although the cross shaft and cross head are an amalgamation of two pieces; the cross-piece on top came from the River Wharfe where it was found in 1884. The top panel on the front of the cross (as it is displayed) “depicts Jesus seated in glory with a palm branch or pastoral staff in one hand and the other hand raised in blessing.” I confess to thinking at first that the palm branch was a set of ribs and I was looking at a skeleton! I was rapidly corrected.
The second tallest has the most beautiful carving; even though worn and damaged (it has in the past been used as a churchyard gatepost). It has cable edging and rounded scroll stems.
The smallest cross (to the left of the tallest cross as you face the west window) probably dates from the late eighth century.
The interpretation boards say that these crosses were probably grave markers although other sources say they are preaching crosses.
There were some other lovely features in the church – a box pew dating from Elizabethan times (dated 1633) and a font cover with an impressive counterweight.
After this we ended up at Betty’s for a much welcome pot of tea and toasted tea-cake with strawberry preserve - much recommended.

Panorama Stone

Date Added: 19th Apr 2015
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Yorkshire (West))
Visited: Yes on 17th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Panorama Stones, Ilkley (Rock Art): Climbing up out of the town centre, we found St. Margaret’s Church on Queen’s Road easily and parked outside it. Just across the road there is indeed a small wood and the enclosure around the Panorama Rocks can be clearly seen.
I have to say it felt like a “Do not feed the rock art” notice should have been placed on the railing around the enclosure (sorry, just my sad sense of humour), and although worn the rock art was good to see although very worn and it was easy to understand the railing was to stop people clambering all over the rocks and wearing them away further.
Of the three stones, the rock art on the largest stone (broken into four pieces and reassembled) was easiest to see. I could just about make out some cup marks on the two smaller stones.
Whilst we were there another couple came along, studied the board and said “Oh, rock art” then wandered away again - clearly impressed.
Worth a visit if you're passing.

Westwood Drive 01

Date Added: 19th Apr 2015
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Yorkshire (West))
Visited: Visited (still working on) on 17th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: The Comet Stone, Ilkely: (we found the grid reference but queried if this was the stone): From the Panorama Stones, driving the 700 metres up towards the moor we parked by the footpath sign just west of the junction of Moorlands and Westwood Drive and headed up the steep path (with steps) onto the moor (to get nearer, Keighley Road travels up onto the moor and there is a small car park near to the grid reference given).
The grid reference led us to the back stone wall of a house. The grass had been badly overgrown and someone had put weed-killer down on this patch of ground, but nettles were springing up in between the dead undergrowth.
Walking up and down the wall and identifying several possible stones, the grid reference led us back again and again to the same stone over which the stone boundary wall between a garden and the moorland was built. Cheekily peering over the wall of the house, found the stone extended some way into the garden. It had shrubs growing over the sides and was covered by moss and twigs so it wasn’t possible to make out any of the rock art by eye.
Shame, as I thought I’d be the first to submit a photograph of this stone, but it will take a knock on the door of the house when someone is in to get permission to go round and look!

Wulfhere's Cross

Date Added: 19th Apr 2015
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 17th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Wulfhere's Cross, Addingham, West Yorkshire: After a busy day with an early start and a disappointment getting to rock art sites on Ilkley Moor, this was a great end to a long day.
St. Paul’s is in the prettiest little spot in the small village of Addingham down by the River Wharfe and is in a historically interesting spot. Driving over a small bridge, the lane to the church leads across a field which clearly holds the remains of two fish ponds belonging to the old manor house which used to sit on this site.
We parked near the gate to the church yard in the car park by the church hall. Being 17:40 we weren’t sure if we could get into the church, but the door was open (note: on leaving the church, the door locked behind us and we were unable to get back in – the door must be on an electronic timer which triggers about 18:00 or at dusk). The porch was very dark (the lights didn’t seem to operate in this part of the church) and I cautiously made sure we were able to get back out again!
This building is clearly very ancient – the roof timbers are very old, the church information sheet saying they date from the 1520s or 1530s.
The Anglo Saxon cross sits at the entrance to a side chapel on the south eastern side of the church. Nothing in the church records refer to it as “Wulfhere’s Cross” although it’s named after the Archbishop of York, Wulfhere, who had a residence here at the time the Vikings raided York in AD867. Next to the cross there is a notice on the wall: “Fragment of an Anglo-Saxon Cross: This fragment of the shaft of an Anglo-Saxon cross was uncovered in the churchyard in 1947 during the digging of a trench. The fragment has been examined by experts in Anglo-Saxon sculpture who have dated it to the 10th century and almost certainly prior to 972. The scene on the front is, according to the experts, a representation of the apocalypse. Both sides have scroll carvings. The back is very worn but it is possible to make out carvings which could be vine scrolls. In the churchyard is a cross base dating from the same period.”
Standing by the cross and turning to face the southern wall, I was immediately hit by the size of the internal wall – huge. There was also the fragment of an Anglo-Saxon bone ornament (a comb?) kept in a glass topped case in the book case at the north-west corner of the church. This was almost impossible to photograph because of the light and reflections in the glass (or at least by me at the time!).
The old door to the bell tower in the western wall of the porch was really old and interesting.
Going back to the car I noticed some modern day carving in the wall of the church hall, together with a modern cross shaft.
We didn't look for the cross base in the church yard as it was deep in grass and daffodils and I didn't want to tread these flowers down in my search.

All Saints Church (Weston)

Date Added: 15th Apr 2015
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 31st Mar 2015. My rating: Ambience 5 Access 5

Log Text: The Weston Cross - repeat visit with key to church! We picked up the key to the church from The Cock Pit Farm Tea Rooms, which is open from 11am until 4pm (summer hours – very popular with cyclists and great tea-cakes and tea). We were very kindly told that if we were back after 4pm (which we were) to drop the key back through their letter box at the rear of the cafe.
We went to find the remains of the Anglo Saxon cross in the north side of the chancel but found this to be a most unusual and interesting church, well worth the visit. Now Grade 1 listed, the present building dates from the 11th century. Locally called “the little church in the fields” it houses a three tier pulpit, the original box pews, a squire’s parlour and a fragment of 14th century glass. There is also an 18th century sundial (minus its brass top).
On the external north wall of the chancellor remains of a scroll can be seen below the window. Behind the mortar, the stone with this carving looks to be contiguous with the one above which seems to have some very weathered patterns on it. Higher up and to the left of this window are two stones which have squares incised into them.
My next mission will be to visit the Yorkshire Museum to see The Weston Man.
The Weston Cross, All Saints Church, Weston, This higgledy-piggledy, pretty little church, almost a patchwork of stonework from different times and styles, is situated in some impressively pretty countryside. Although I understood the church key was readily available from a cottage nearby, no-one was in, so I've had to email for the contact numbers to telephone when we return to the area in a couple of weeks. Parish Administration tell me there's also a key kept at Cock Pit Farm tea rooms on the
main road (opposite the turning to Weston Church), which is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm during summer. There is a small parking area opposite the gates to the stable yard within a few metres of the church gate, which the owner told us was OK to use whilst looking at the church. I'm really looking forward to going back.

Bogle Walls

Date Added: 12th Apr 2015
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 6th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Bogle Walls Earthwork/Fort, Eskdalemuir: We spotted this earthwork as we drove back to Bentpath and Langholm on the way back from Bessie's Hill and stopped to take a closer look and take a few photographs. Sitting at the foot of Enzieholm Hill to its 'back' and a bend of the River Esk to its 'front' it is an emminently defensible position. Would have liked to take a closer look and walk up to the top of the bank but daylight was fading and we'd seen a lot of other sights that day and my brain was a little tired and overloaded by this stage! Next time - which I hope won't be too long.

Girdle Stanes

Date Added: 11th Apr 2015
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 6th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Girdle Stanes, Stone Circle near Eskdalemuir: Even though we lived only 10 ½ miles from Eskdalemuir for 4 years in the laste 1990's, we’d never explored this area, apart from taking our (then very young) kids to a local river to paddle and visit a few of the Roman forts nearby, which in hindsight was a shame, but we’re rectifying that now.

Driving along the B709, about 2 km before Eskdalemuir, we spotted the signpost to Girdle Stanes on the right hand side of the road and pulled into the field gateway, making sure we weren’t blocking access. There was a splendid view of the Girdle Stanes and the White Esk in the valley below. As the road is about 100 feet above the stones, it was easy to see how part of the circle had been eroded by the river.

It was a glorious, warm day with no breeze. The footpath was an easy downhill stroll. The stones felt welcoming and the sun glinted off the river. The stones appear to be built within a bank which is still visible. Someone had left a bunch of flowers underneath the stone which sat underneath the largest hawthorn tree, and we wondered if it had been the monks from Samye Ling (the Buddhist monks in this area of Northumberland also celebrate standing stones and stone circles here).

Looking across the valley to a where the map showed earthworks, we saw these clearly, but contained within these earthworks was a cemetery. We decided to explore this feature later in the day. I've just found (10th April) out that this site is a moated homestead, RCAHMS site ID 67233.

Just to the north of the stones, a footpath sign pointed us in the direction to the Loupin’ Stanes, following the fields along the edge of the river.

St Oswald (Guiseley)

Date Added: 11th Apr 2015
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Yorkshire (West))
Visited: Yes on 10th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Anglo Saxon Cross, St. Oswald's Church, Guiseley: I had tried on several occasions to phone the vicar, the parish office and some of the church wardens to find out if the church was open during the day, even leaving messages on voice mails which weren’t returned. A couple of hours before our visit I did manage to get through to one of the churchwardens who said it was no trouble to meet us at the church at 1pm. “We always aim to please,” he told me. The church is apparently now kept locked as they caught some intruders levering brass plaques off the church wall but they always try and accommodate visitors.
I’d explained in advance that we wanted to see the Anglo Saxon cross, and expected to keep him only 10-15 minutes. But on arriving at the church he told us he was going to give us the “full church tour” – 1 hour and 40 minutes later I felt very rude when I had to make excuses as we were expected over at All Saints in Weston and had to cut the tour a little short. Make no mistake, St. Oswald’s church itself is very interesting and this gentleman knew his history; he spoke with knowledge and enthusiasm - the time flew by.
On the left hand side of the main entrance there can be seen the vague outline of one of seven original consecration crosses (now the only one remaining); the church unusually has two sanctuaries, it is also where the parents of the Brontes were married and the Patrons of the church include Trinity College Cambridge.
Entering through the porch with its now interior original Norman archway into the church, the Guiseley cross is immediately on your left hand side at the north entrance to the baptistery. Dating from the 9th century, it is very obviously an original cross shaft, mounted on a stone block with one part of a cross arm bolted/cemented on top to make it look like a full cross. The whole is blackened by soot and the churchwarden told us it had stood for many years outside in Town Gate nearby. He told us the church had considered having the cross cleaned but been advised to keep it in its current state. I found it difficult to photograph due to the bright spotlights shining down on it (had we been on our own we would have turned the lights off) and the proximity of the rear of the cross due to the stone column behind.
The churchwarden led us to what we were told was the original Saxon part of the church (now the Lady Chapel? I haven’t been able to find a floor plan of the church to double check this). He told us as a small boy he attended worship with his class from school to find two gentlemen had lifted up a slab in the floor of this part of the church; he could see a staircase leading downwards and was told there was a charnel house with many bones it in. It’s not accessible to the public and he hasn’t been down there since he saw it as a youngster.
The southern aisle is unmistakeable Norman with the original columns (although the churchwarden said there was some debate about whether or not this had been moved to accommodate a further extension at some time). There are some very notable stained glass windows in the church and one of the original box pews.
My one regret was that having to rush away to All Saints in Weston as we were very late, I wasn’t able to get any photographs of the exterior of the building. I had little time to also look at the cross. We had an invitation to phone up and arrange another visit sometime soon, and we will do that as there wasn’t enough time to take everything

Tree of Life Stone

Date Added: 11th Apr 2015
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 10th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Tree of Life Rock Art Stone, near Otley: From seeing the remains of the Anglo Saxon cross shaft at All Saints in Weston, we re-joined Moor Lane, turning left to the village of Askwith. This appears to be a ‘rat run’ from Ilkey to Otley, and there are a lot of cars along this very narrow lane, so approach bends with caution! Once in Askwith, we turned right onto Askwith Lane which turns into Moor Road. Continue straight on at the cross roads with Weston Moor Road. We managed to park one field passed the gate to the access land, just passed the entrance to Carr Farm (there is room for one car on the grass verge).
Walking up the hill towards the Tree of Life stone, we admired the outcrops of crop to our right hand side. At the top of the field there is a gate through into the moorland behind it. The Tree of Life stone is about 50 feet west from the corner of the stone wall to your right hand side as you come through this gate. Its full grid reference, taken from our GPS device is SE 17981 51166.
There are splendid views across the Washburn Valley and to the Swinsty Reservoir to the north east, but as we stood the murk from the polluted continental air moving across the UK rolled across slowly and even the mast at Norwood Edge disappeared into this mist.
Continuing along Snowden Carr Road, this lane eventually joins onto Askwith Moor Road with in turn joins with the main A59 towards Harrogate.

Over Rig

Date Added: 11th Apr 2015
Site Type: Misc. Earthwork Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 6th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Over Rigg Enclosure/Settlement, Eskdalemuir (south of Bessie's Hill but before reaching Castle O'er): We saw this natural amphitheatre to the right hand side as we drove down towards Castle O’er, seeing what looked like man-made banks and ditches on its slopes with the meandering White Esk glinting in the evening sunlight below. Rounding the corner, we came upon an information board and screeched to a halt, to the annoyance of two cars which had suddenly appeared behind us (not having passed much traffic all day); fortunately there was room to park on the verge near the board.

There was an information sheet in a wooden box below the board which visitors were free to take with them on a walk around the site and replace when they’d finished with it. This told us “Over Rig now consists of three well-defined banks and ditches, forming a deliberately designed concentric system which is surrounded by a further (and later) rectangular ditch .... this is one of the few Prehistoric Trail sites to have been excavated recently (note: in the 1980s) .... revealed that a platform had been constructed of clay material that had sealed off sections of the site. Beneath this, on the eroded river side of the site, were discovered the partial imprints of two circular constructions identified as houses.”

The RCAHMS records (site 67422) state that this “enclosure was presumably originally circular, but has been eroded away by the White Esk, almost to a semi-circle, which a chord of 200 ft and a radius of 85 ft. It is surrounded by an inner ditch 3 to 4 fet deep and 13 feet wide, a concentric rampart 5 ft high and 18 ft broad and an outer ditch 3 ft deep and 15 feet wide.”

We debated the use of this site; whilst a lovely place to be located, the lower part of the site must be a flood plain for the river. Whilst the information sheet/board indicate it might be for habitation or industrial uses, other sources I’ve looked at since our visit suggest it could be a funerary or religious monument, an enclosure for animals or an unfinished settlement.

If you are passing, it is well worth stopping to look. Apparently the acoustics, should you wander down to the river, are amazing. There is a good view of another settlement on top of a hill across the valley.

Bessie's Hill Fort

Date Added: 11th Apr 2015
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 6th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Bessie’s Hill Hill Fort, Eskdalemuir: Travelling on from the enigmatic earthworks and cemetery at the foot of Holm Craig (which I haven’t been able to find anything out about – yet), by the time we arrived here it was gone 5pm and the forest was deserted, apart from one other car in the visitors car park (no sign of its occupants anywhere). It was a very pleasant walk in the early evening sunlight up a soft, springy mossy path through the forest up to the fort, if a little steep in one place where there were steps to aid visitors. Once onto the top of this first hill, another trail led into the fort itself.

Unusually, we could hear the sound of rabbits thumping in their burrows as well as the call of the curlews as we followed this trail, at one point squelching over an area of grass and reeds (a spring? the water source for the fort?) just before the first double ditch/bank. The construction of this fort reminded me so much of Maiden Castle in North Yorkshire (but without the heather in bloom). I drew my breath in at the steepness of the drop on the south eastern side, where the land drops steeply down to the White Esk valley, although we were unable to see much of the river because of the tall pine trees in between.

We walked to the far end of the fort where the interpretation board was, but this was in very bad repair.

As the light was going and my husband was keen to see Castle O’Er before dark we didn’t venture further up the hill to the settlement, but will come back another time. There really is so much to see in this part of the world.

Loupin' Stanes SE

Date Added: 11th Apr 2015
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 6th Apr 2015. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: The Loupin' Stanes Stone Row, Eskdalemuir: The walk between the Girdle Stanes and the Loupin’ Stanes along the side of the river was boggy and wet and we kept having to step over modern field drainage ditches so we deviated onto higher ground towards the road. In doing so, we came across a number of boulders sitting on the hillside in isolation. After seeing a couple, we began to wonder if we were walking along an avenue between the stones, although without taking the grid references and plotting them on a map, we weren’t sure if there was any alignment between these stones. One seemed to be more of a small cairn.

The Ancient Scotland web site (site 106) makes reference to this line of stones, as does the ‘Langholm Walks (Loupin)’ brochure, saying they either link the stone circles or act as pointers. The latter asks us to make our own mind up as to whether it's a stone row or not. We were undecided and stood scratching our heads - there was obviously some purpose to these boulders being placed - they didn't seem like natural bedrock.