North Plantation A

Date Added: 6th Sep 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Would like to visit

The Poind And His Man

Date Added: 25th Aug 2014
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes

Log Text: I didn’t expect this site to be as atmospheric as it was. We parked on the road that runs just south of Bolam Lake, in a small layby about 100 yards to the south west of Craig Hall, approx. grid reference: NZ 07126 82266 (only a couple of kilometres from the busy A696). We walked down the gravelled footpath past which turns left from this road through Bolam West Houses; in the second field to our left hand side past the houses, the tumulus came into view on the horizon. Whilst it is marked on the map as being just a tumulus, it is actually a tumulus with standing stone on its southern side.

Being on a slight hill, the tumulus stood out well against the surrounding terrain. There was no sign of the standing stone from this point, although some stones were poking up from the grass at the left hand (eastern) side of the tumulus.

We found out afterwards that there was actually no public access to this tumulus and standing stone, so I felt guilty about walking up to it, although it was a short distance from the main footpath. The field was full of the most beautiful sheep, all kinds of different breeds. As we approached the tumulus, the standing stone is on its southern side appeared - much larger than I anticipated.

I got the tape measure out, and husband Andrew helped me take the approximate dimensions of the standing stone: 2 metres from the current ground height, width on widest faces: 1.50 and 1.54m, and on the narrowest faces 0.6 metres each.

There were stunning views across the fields to the hills in the far distance to the east, south and west. The views to the north were blocked by the trees of the North Plantation. The sun was also very strong, and I didn’t manage to take photographs of the most spectacular views across to the south west and west.

There appeared to be another small circular mound slightly to the south west of the tumulus, and we wondered if this might be another tumulus.

Similar to the standing stone at Newtown Mill (which we saw on 17th August), the Devil’s Causeway Roman Road, which runs within a few yards to the east of Newtown Mill standing stone, runs immediately to the west of this tumulus, although this is no sign of the road in the landscape that we could spot.

There is a Northumberland County Council leaflet (Exploring Bolam, walk number 3, Bolam Lake to Shaftoe Crags) describing the tumulus: (this) “barrow or burial mound is in a prominent position and is 28m in circumference and 1.5m high. It was excavated in 1718 by Warburton, an Excise Officer with a keen interest in antiquities. Writing to a friend Warburton described that he - “found a stone coffin about 3ft in length and 2ft in breadth and 2ft deep which was black inside with smoke, and in it several lumps of glutinous matter….pieces of the dead heroes flesh” It is likely that that the main burial may be intact as Warburton did not dig deep enough. Such mounds were frequently re-used and may have many burials of different ages. The mound was important in Medieval times when Watches were set to warn of Scottish raids. In 1552 Wharton, Warden of the English East March stipulated that Watches should be set at “the two stones the Poind and his Man with two men nightly the inhibitors of Bolam”. The second stone is at Wallington Hall and was probably moved there by William Blackett. The Devil’s Causeway runs just to the west of the mound.”

In the same field, about 100 yards to the east of the Poind and His Man, there was an outcrop of rock, similar to the formation at West Agra, and we wandered over. The strong sunlight brought out what might be cup marks; in particular, there was a line of deep cup marks against a ledge in a crack in the middle of the rock, and what appeared to be a grouping of heavily weathered cup marks to the eastern edge. We need to research if Stan Beckensall has listed any marks on the ERA site.

Salters Nick Settlement

Date Added: 25th Aug 2014
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes

Log Text: Following our visit to The Poind And His Man, there was a settlement marked on the map at Salter's Nick, and I was keen to try and see this as it was nearby.

We continued westwards along the footpath from the Poind and His Man, the pebbly surface giving way to concrete slabs leading onto access land. The kindly farmer (presumably the one living in East Shaftoe Hall?) has provided a small car parking space for walkers, complete with signs about where to park, so next time we visit, we’ll drive down rather than walk from Craig Hall. There were other cars already parked there, although we walked for well over a kilometre before seeing other people on Shaftoe Crags to our left.

From the above mentioned car park, there is a gravelled track heading off left towards East Shaftoe Hall, but the actual footpath is over grass and carries on westwards, past a wood on the right; where this ends there is another small wood to the left. Walking slightly up hill, there is a well-built stone wall to the right hand side, and a limestone pavement which drops down a few feet to a small brook on the left, giving the impression of an old road. There were a large number of cows and calves in the field, complete with bull, but they appeared very docile and only mildly curious. Looking at the internet later, we found out that this track used to be an old Drover’s Road.

The settlement is just on top of the hill, just where the footpath takes a slight turn to the right. Walking into this area, the settlement isn’t immediately obvious given the covering of heather and bracken at this time of year, but a bank where the bracken stands taller than the rest defines its eastern boundary. It’s easy to step up this small bank and into the main settlement area; across what appears to be a valley to the south, large limestone blocks and outcrops can be seen. Walking a little further on into the settlement to where the western bank appears to rise up, we were suddenly taken aback by the appearance of steep drops to the south and west – we were suddenly on the edge of an amazing limestone outcrop, looking down on other walkers below, and across to others climbing on Shaftoe Crags.

A natural entrance, formed by a crack in the crags, became apparent as we walked across the settlement area to the north. I could immediately identify with our ancestors and why they had chosen to settle here – it was easily defensible from the west and south, with 360 degree views (hidden a little in modern days by the woods to the east) all around, and what looked like superb farmland to the west and east.

I wanted to see the natural entrance from below, so we walked back to the footpath and carried on westwards. There were clear signs of how the old drover’s road had been cut through the settlement (there were pick marks on the sandstone rocks), and an easy walk that takes you below the crags at the western end of Salter’s Nick.

We did try and find the heavily weathered rock art mentioned on the Northumbria County Council leaflet for this site (which I downloaded on my phone whilst we were there, so we could understand what we were looking at), but they didn’t identify exactly where these where, so we’ll need to research Stan Beckensall’s records to find out where they are. The same leaflet (Exploring Bolam, walk number 3, Bolam Lake to Shaftoe Crags), tells us: “This trackway was probably used for smuggling illicit salt into Scotland on pack horses during the time of the Salt Tax. The return cargo was often illegally distilled whisky. There is also a settlement split by the trackway. The southern end of the fort consists of a series of defensive walls and works, and two pairs of semi-detached stone foundation round-houses. Attached to the north side is an Iron Age field system, of native or Romano-British origin.”

Looking at the map, the Middleton Standing Stone is only about half a kilometre away, if you carry along the footpath after Salter’s Nick; we’d done the walk to Middleton the other way round, from South Middleton Medieval Village on 27th May 2014. This is a much easier (and prettier) walk than the walk we'd previously done, and we'd use this route again.

St Helen's Church (Bilton-in-Ainsty)

Trip No.19  Entry No.2  Date Added: 1st May 2017
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes

Log Text: Anglo Saxon Crosses, St. Helen's Church, Bilton-in-Ainsty: We’d tried to visit this church before, but because there was no vicar in post, the church was kept locked. Emails to the York Diocese weren’t helpful.

Knowing we were coming down to Ingelby Arncliffe again, I checked on A Church Near You, and have been corresponding with the vicar, the Reverend Richard Battersby. In the last communication I had with him, he said he had set up a mother and toddler group on a Thursday morning, which met between 10 am and 11.30am. An email to enquire if it was OK to call in after this (so as not to clash with the M&T group) and drop the key off after had no reply, so I phoned and spoke to his mother, who told me the Bishop had sent him to an event so he wasn’t around.

There were three crosses in the small chapel at the south-east end of the church, next to a very interesting set of mass dial/scratch clocks and old graffiti. There was the lovely effigy of a woman in the sanctuary.

I waited until the M&T group had finished before taking photos of the wheelhead cross at the west end of the church. Even though it was a dull day, this proved difficult to get a good image of because the light streamed in above it. In the end, I had to use the flash to compensate. I was unable to get to the notes as the group was closing up and moving everything out of the church, so I grabbed a guide book, thanked them for letting me ‘barge in’ and quietly left.

The Rev. Battersby also recommended visiting Healaugh Church, although we didn’t have time today. Next stop was Bardsey near Leeds.

Rochester (Otterburn)

Trip No.31  Entry No.2  Date Added: 19th Jun 2017
Site Type: Modern Stone Circle etc Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes

Log Text: Rochester (Otterburn) Modern Four Poster: We’ve seen this stone circle and a tumble-down round house whilst driving by on the A68 on a number of occasions but never stopped. However, today, after a hot but pleasant afternoon walking to Dour Hill Cairn, we doubled back to the café for refreshments and got chatting to the owners.

The café owners told us there used to be a round house here, but it was demolished by the University of Newcastle who ran the Brigantium project. There is now a timber faced building on the site and they intend using it for ‘Dark Skies’ and the Redefest music festival which is run on 1st weekend of August in Redesdale (this year it will be Friday 4th August to Saturday, 5th August). See https://redefest.org.uk/about-us.

St Blane's Chapel (Isle of Bute)

Trip No.51  Entry No.3  Date Added: 8th Oct 2017
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Scotland (Isle of Bute)
Visited: Yes

Log Text: Cross base/socket stone, St. Blane's Chapel, Isle of Bute: Whilst I was wandering through the ruins of the chapel and photographing it, husband Andrew was in search of this sandstone socket in the lower churchyard. In the end, it was easy to find – head south out of the ruins, into the upper churchyard, down the steps, and it is virtually in front of you to your left hand side. I confess that without the Canmore record, I might have very well missed this, as I’m used to seeing socket stones that are sitting on the ground, not buried within it.

Belsay Tower Cross (Northumberland)

Trip No.60  Entry No.2  Date Added: 27th Nov 2017
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Belsay Tower Cross, Northumberland: Passing Belsay on the way back from the Bolam Cairn, we decided to try and trace the cross marked on the OS map. Although we’ve been here before, we’d not tried to look for this, as we largely had our small grand daughter with us.

The cross is located (on the map) very close to the Castle, so we walked through the grounds, having received a stern reminder from one of the staff members, that we had to vacate the car park by 4pm, but became thoroughly disorientated. Husband, Andrew, got his compass out and we decided that to reach the cross from the castle, we would have had to jump the ha-ha or scale a fence to get into a field to cross over to it.

In the end, we walked back through the Quarry Gardens to the private road which runs north from the gate at the bottom of the croquet lawn (where the paths from the Hall cross over to Quarry Gardens); after 100 metres it joins the road which runs east-west between the Hall and the Castle. Turning east along this, we walked for around 150 metres, then found a short trackway running through a sparse wooded area, into a field. Through the wooded area, we got our first sight of this cross.

It is on private land, but we took the chance of going through the gate and taking a quick look. It is within 200 metres of the castle, which is to the west, but the land is well fenced off.

In the end, it would have been easier to walk from the car park, past the estate cottages towards the castle, then take the first track on the north side of this minor road into the field with the cross.

It really reminded me of the Shitlington Cross, with its chamfered sides and missing top.

Powdonnet Well (Morland)

Trip No.90  Entry No.4  Date Added: 31st Jul 2018
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Powdonnet Well, Morland, Cumbria: If not quite so overgrown, I'd have awarded this a '4: Good' rating on Ambience (despite the downpour after the long dry spell!). This well is marked on the OS map, but there is no mention in either Pastscape or HE.

The Holy Wells of Cumbria booklet describes this well as: “Morland. Location: Approx. 6.5 miles south east of Penrith. At the northern end of Morland village. Take road from Morland towards Cliburn. On right, as you leave village, opposite ‘Morland’ sign, is a small parking area. The standing stone and pool are close to the road.

The well had been neglected since the booklet was written in 2008 and we had to pick our way through the tangle of tree branches. We were just approaching the site of the well when the heavens opened, and there was an absolute downpour. Somewhat protected by the trees, we nevertheless decided to explore.

The easiest way to the standing stone and well is to find the overgrown footpath at the southern end of the bridge across the small stream which crosses under the road and joins the Morland Beck to the east of the well site.

The water in the pool is crystal clear. The water really does appear from nowhere. We stood at the southern end of the spring, listening to the water rushing up from the ground. The pool has been created by a couple of stone/concrete dams across the spring just to the northern part of the site. A lovely place. Next time we visit, remember to bring pruning shears!

St Bartholomew's Church (Newbiggin by the Sea)

Trip No.97  Entry No.2  Date Added: 30th Sep 2018
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes

Log Text: Ancient cross slabs, Newbiggin by the Sea: The website for St. Bartholomew’s announces that the church “has one of the most important collections of coffin lids and grave markers in the county, mostly re-set during the 1913 restoration, when the north aisle, demolished in antiquity, was reinstated. Other fragments are distributed around the church and in the South porch. There are around 20 pieces in all. Most of the slabs are of late twelfth or thirteenth century date; several show signs of post medieval re-use.”

I have included my photographs and notes here, as I think these grave markers are more spectacular than those in Kilmartin churchyard – their designs are less worn and Peter Ryder, archaeologist for the church, has written about them in his assessment of the church, dated January 2013.

On the day of our visit, the mid afternoon sun was streaming through the windows on the northern side of the church, which made photographing some of the fragments a little tricky (my photographic skills weren’t quite up to it!) and the stream of visitors into the church made me feel rude by continually using the flash.

Some of the cross slabs are in the vestry and some in the tower, but it was not possible to see these. Another three have been used as paving slabs on the external west wall of the tower, but I didn’t spot these, as they seem to be worn.

From the small guide book “The Church of St. Bartholomew”, centre right page:
The two (cross slabs) above the altar at the east end are outstanding with their richly carved borders, delicate florets and symbolic shears and keys. An engraving of one was published as long ago as 1854, shortly after their discovery, when they were recognised as being of national importance.

Packman's Grave (Whiteadder Reservoir)

Trip No.105  Entry No.3  Date Added: 4th Nov 2018
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: Scotland (East Lothian)
Visited: Couldn't find

Log Text: Packman's Grave, Whiteadder Reservoir: Despite having the grid reference, we were unable to find anything at this site, which was disappointing. We did find something remarkably similar at NT 62814 64541 - five stones in a kite-;ike shape, not far to the south west of the Mayshield Stone Setting.

St Ninian's Cave (Isle of Whithorn)

Date Added: 3rd Jul 2019
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Would like to visit

St Martin's Church (Kirklevington)

Date Added: 9th Aug 2022
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: St Martin's Church, Kirklevington: Visited just before first lockdown was enforced. The church wardens opened the church for us and made us very welcome, but what we didn't know before our visit was that most of the stones are at the Preston Park Museum in Stockton-on-Tees. #

There is obviously some 'bad blood' between the congregation and the museum, as the church warden and the ladies cleaning the church made it very clear they think the stones have been 'stolen' and belong in the church.

Am trying to arrange a visit to the museum at some time in the future.

Powburn Rock Art

Date Added: 21st Sep 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 22nd Sep 2013. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Stopped at the Visitor Centre during our Breamish Valley Hill Fort Trail walk, to visit St. Michael's Church at Ingram.
Beautiful setting next to the river. Came across this stone quite by chance outside the Visitor Centre (now closed and The Muddy Boots Cafe).

St Andrew's Church (Corbridge)

Date Added: 26th Sep 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 16th Mar 2014. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: St Andrew's Church, Corbridge: My first proper visit to this church to find, and photograph, the Anglo Saxon cross fragments and grave markers in the south transept. What a beautiful church.

Roughting Linn Rock Art

Date Added: 20th Jun 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 20th May 2014

Log Text: None

Middleton Standing Stone (Northumberland)

Date Added: 20th Jun 2014
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 27th May 2014

Log Text: None

Meg's Well, Aydon

Date Added: 20th Jun 2014
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 28th May 2014

Log Text: None

Bow Bridge Homestead

Date Added: 20th Jun 2014
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 28th May 2014

Log Text: None

Grasmere Cup-Marked Rocks

Date Added: 20th Jun 2014
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2014

Log Text: None

Sidwood Iron Age Settlement

Date Added: 20th Jun 2014
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 11th Jun 2014

Log Text: None