White Moor Down

Date Added: 24th Apr 2025
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 8th Apr 2025. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 2

Log Text: Approaching the top of the hill, I was expecting the stone circle to come into view much sooner than it actually did. In fact it is not to be seen until it is fairly close. It’s a lovely circle and on a superb sunny and clear day like today this is a most fabulous place, with extensive views all around. I spend a fair bit of time here taking lots of pictures, including full 360 degree panoramas from within the circle.

White Moor Down

Date Added: 24th Apr 2025
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2004. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 2

Log Text: This is a truly lovely stone circle, situated on a flat saddle of land between Little Hound Tor and Hound Tor, miles away from any signs of modern life in the middle of the desolate moor, and there are views for miles around in almost all directions from the site. There are 18 remaining stones of a probable nineteen arranged fairly evenly, in a circle of diameter 20 metres. The stones are arranged flat side inwards, and vary in height between 2 and 4 feet high. 150 metres southeast of the circle is the Whit Moor Stone, which is more than 5 feet in height, and has been adapted as a parish boundary stone, with its parish marks cut into it. This stone is almost certainly much older than just a boundary stone, and is likely to be associated in some way with the circle. Between this stone and the circle are the remains of a cairn.

White Hill, Devon

Date Added: 19th Apr 2025
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 8th Apr 2025. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: I now head northeast to cross the Small Brook running down from the moor, which requires finding a suitable place to jump across, and thankfully it isnt too boggy here today. Now I can head southeast up the hillside towards White Moor stone circle along a fairly reasonable path, which passes the remains of a couple of settlements, with clear hut circles and other features.

Metheral Kerb Cairn

Date Added: 19th Apr 2025
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 8th Apr 2025. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: So the boundary stone isnt the kerb cairn, so I still need to find that. With a bit of searching around, it becomes clear a short distance over to the southeast. There are a couple of reasonably sized slabs set on their sides and still upright, with several more forming a circular feature, around a clear cairn of stones. Are the side slabs the remnants of a cist?

Taw Marsh cairnfield

Date Added: 18th Apr 2025
Site Type: Barrow Cemetery Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 8th Apr 2025. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Before heading up to White Moor, I look for the kerbed cairn Paul has made a sitepage for, over by the marked Boundary Stone. I firstly find the boundary stone, standing proud of the long grass, and it seems to have been mounted on a large stony area. I read later that this has been declared as one of several cairns located in this area, and it makes sense to me.

Metheral circle

Date Added: 17th Apr 2025
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 8th Apr 2025. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 2

Log Text: From Belstone I head south, crossing the river Taw at the large shallow ford, then keep heading south along the east side of the river, following a simple track along a line of waterworks drains and features, then keep going some more. I don't think I would have been able to find the stone circle without an accurate grid ref and my gps, as it was not a clear thing to see, and not at all obvious. I was only sure I had found it when I walked across the remains of one of the filled in trenches, with its post stating "trench 5". My thoughts. I was initially not sure of there being anything making up a stone circle, but then I got my eye in and saw an arc of about three or four equispaced stones. They seem to be just natural boulders rather than shaped stones, although some have been set on their sides. Further exploration and I was able to find other stones which may have formed part of the circle, which seems to be much bigger than most of the Dartmoor rings. As I sat having my lunch, the circle seemed to take its place in front of me, with stones and shadows making their presence known around me, all seemingly equispaced. OK, yes I believe this to be a stone circle, although quite different to the normal Dartmoor stone circle, in both size, stone selection, and of course its flat valley bottom position, which to me seems unusual.

Belstone Dolmen

Date Added: 14th Apr 2025
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 8th Apr 2025. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Heading down towards the river and on the south side of the Irishmans Wall, a couple of large slab like stones can be seen. One of these reveals itself to be a good sized slab leaning atop a couple of side stones, with a few more nearby possibly a couple more slabs once holding up what is now a moved capstone.

Irishman’s Wall circle

Date Added: 13th Apr 2025
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 8th Apr 2025. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Fabulous sunny day to Dartmoor to check out the "new" Taw Marsh stone circle etc. This one is easily found by walking along the trackway south from Belstone, and then heading off the track to the west, just before reaching the Irishmans Wall. Its position was notable for the flattened area of short grass, and remnants of the filled in excavation trenches. There were a few upright stones making an arc, with a small sector of about three very close together. I think that this would be some remnants of a cairn circle rather like the nine stones, rather than a true stone circle.

Carn y Defaid (N)

Date Added: 4th Apr 2025
Site Type: Cairn Country: Wales (Monmouthshire)
Visited: Yes on 26th Mar 2025. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: From the hilltop southern cairn, the northern cairn can be seen about 100m away down the slight slope with Blorenge and Ysgyryd in the distance. But the ground underfoot up here is so bad for walking across, no path, knee deep heather, broken stone, muddy holes and adders, that I didn't risk my ankles in going over to it.

Carn y Defaid (S)

Date Added: 31st Mar 2025
Site Type: Cairn Country: Wales (Monmouthshire)
Visited: Yes on 26th Mar 2025. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: A visit Raglan Castle, and as it's such a lovely day and seeing the hills on the horizon, I just had to go up top of Blorenge and walk along to the highly visible Carn y Defaid. It's a terrible path underfoot from the Foxhunter car park, all a jumble of rocks, bog and heather. The hilltop southern cairn can be seen from miles around, and equally, on a day like today, can see for miles from it. To the north is the great whaleback moutain Blorenge, while to the northeast, over Abergavenny, can be seen the broken hill of Ysgyryd. Superb, but I do remember being here in the past, all cold and wet with about 10 yards visibility!

Carnac Plage Dolmen

Trip No.206  Entry No.35  Date Added: 23rd Mar 2025
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 29th Jun 2016. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: In square Leblois in the seaside resort of Carnac plage can be found a dolmen and a menhir.

Carnac Plage menhir

Trip No.216  Entry No.36  Date Added: 23rd Mar 2025
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 29th Jun 2016. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: In square Leblois in the seaside resort of Carnac plage can be found a dolmen and a menhir.

House Crag (Howl Moor)

Date Added: 11th Dec 2024
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 20th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: I had an hour or so to spare, but it was foggy on the moor so had to be careful where I went. Decided that having a look for the stones beside the road from Goathland was sensible, then maybe over to the roman road. A closer look at the Mega Portal map showed this (possible) stone circle fairly near, and not far from what appeared to be a decent path, so I gave it a go. Perhaps stupidly, as I had deemed it not far, I went without my bag, therefore no paper map or compass, relying on the phone app alone in the fog, something I would never have done in the past. Anyways, it was a decent track up to the top of the hill, so then came time to hunt for the stones, as seen on the portal. I proceeded across the open moor from the path to where marked on the portal map, but nothing. So call up the portal site page and see that the accuracy rating was not good, but that comments from JohndHunter did give a better reference. Now a fair distance from the track which would lead me back, and in very limited visibility, I was unsure of proceeding in case my battery went flat or I lost the signal, but my curiosity got the better of me, aided by the thought that all I needed to do was head back in the direction I had come, keeping the hill edge to my right and at some point I would get to the track. Anyways, all worked out just fine, and I found the stones as seen in the pictures. At first they just seemed like a jumble of mostly large stones laying on the ground, but then I got to a point where a good arc of stones could be made out, or maybe several arcs. A few of the stones were definitely once standing and set into the ground. Having seen the Bridestones, and in the past Commondale, I personally decided that this indeed could once have been a stone circle. The fog was getting thicker, not aided by it starting to get dark, so I decided to head back, across the moor to the track and then back down to the car, all in taking about an hour. All was good, and I had a real feeling of achievement, so went for a well deserved pint at the Mallyan Spout Hotel.

Hunt House Road Waymarkers

Date Added: 9th Dec 2024
Site Type: Marker Stone Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 20th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Had an hour or so to spare, but it was foggy on the moor so had to be careful where I went. Decided that having a look for the stones beside the road from Goathland was sensible, then maybe walk over to the roman road. First one was easy, but nowhere obvious to park on the single track road out past the next two.

Hunt House Road Standing Stone

Date Added: 9th Dec 2024
Site Type: Marker Stone Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 20th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Had an hour or so to spare, but it was foggy on the moor so had to be careful where I went. Decided that having a look for the stones beside the road from Goathland was sensible, then maybe walk over to the roman road. First one was easy, but nowhere obvious to park on the single track road out past the next two.

Low Bridestones (S) (Yorks)

Date Added: 7th Dec 2024
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 17th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: The sun is getting low and I consider giving up at this point, but I wisely decide that I do still have time to go and have a quick look for the southern of the three marked groups of stones, and I am very glad that I did. Walking southwards through some initially very difficult boggy ground with long couch grass, I find easier going up the hill a bit and then along what was presumably a sheep track. Then I see in the distance a row of about half a dozen stones standing proud of the moorland, showing clearly as shadows with the golden light of the settng sun behind. They look magnificent. Feeling good now that I have found them, I head over with a spring in my step, and not worrying about the boggy ground underfoot. Thank goodness I have my boots on! When I get there, the five or six large stones are clearly standing in an approximate straight line, but with many other smaller stones also with them. In the middle it seems to be a double row of stones about three or four feet apart, reminding me a bit of a Dartmoor double row. At the lower, southern end, any real form sort of disintegrates into a bit of raised ground with lots of stones almost in a heap. The light here is now just beautiful, all golden with a blue sky and green/brown moorland underfoot. Time to head back, and there looks to be a boggy stream between me and the bridle way back, but after a good look around I find a sheep track which leads me through the marsh ground and across to get me back to the bridleway. All my years of training on Dartmoor have paid off, as it is much easier going than much of that! Walking back to the north along the bridleway I see many large stones laying between the stony track and the nearby field wall. Could these possiby be the remnants of anther row of stones, or are they just large stones which have been moved and dumped out of the way of the track? Its hard to know. Back to the car and time to go for a celebratory pint. It has been another great day, with some grade 1 stone hunting this early evening, and I have a real feeling of achievement.

Low Bridestones (N) (Yorks)

Date Added: 6th Dec 2024
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 17th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: From the High Bridestones I now drive down the hill to the northwest and am able to park in a big area where the bridleway crosses, and an entry road to a quarry. From here it is easy to walk out towards the Lower Bridestones, which I don’t remember finding before (I was being rushed), but it is now much easier with the detailed maps available through the Megalithic Portal which show three groups of stones. A couple of hundred yards along the bridleway and then head southeast up the slope to look for the first of three groups marked on the detailed OS map. Yes, theres the top of a stone peeking above the long grass. And another. Three in a line to start, then a good look around in the boggy ground and there are many stones to be found, maybe a couple of lines across the slope, but to be honest, they could be almost anything. I now see a couple of bigger stones standing above the long grass to the west of here, which must be the second group, so head over towards them, which is not quite so straightforward with the long couchgrass and a very boggy area between me and them. Approaching them and I can first see three stones standing in a line across the slope, and several confusing sheep, which look just like more. When I get to them, it is clear that there are many more stones here, again forming a perhaps a couple of lines around the hill, but its all a bit obscured in the long marsh grass, and a bit of a megalithic mess. The upper line seems to go on for a fair distance, with one stone after another to be found. Further over to the northeast a sort of circle of stones is shown on the map, so I wander over for a look. Without GPS and detailed map ths would be impossible to find, but I do get here and find a small cairn like pile of stones, but no semblance of a stone circle.

High Bridestones (Yorks)

Date Added: 4th Dec 2024
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 17th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: After a day walking the beautiful coastline between Runswick bay and Staithes, I had an hour or two of beautiful sunshine left in the day, and made the decision to drive over onto the moor for a quick look for the Bridestones, of which I have vague memories from 27 years ago. In this weather, three upright stones standing can clearly be seen, so I walk over to the tallest, more than 6 feet tall. At this point, three other large stones can be seen flat to the ground along with several smaller ones. My memory tells me they were in a circle, but that doesn't really look to be the case to me today. To the northwest, slightly down the hill, can be seen several other standers in a rough line, and walking down along the row the I come to another group of several stones, but this time nothing more than a few feet tall. There are many other smaller stumps and flat stones can be seen before progressing down to another fairly large stander. Back at the top, there is another short stander off to the southeast, and what appear to be several moor, but which turn out to be sheep munching! Its all a bit of a mess, but I dont think this should be given stone circle status, it's more like a stone row to me. A megalithic disaster indeed.

Whitby Abbey

Date Added: 27th Nov 2024
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 15th Sep 2024

Log Text: Whitby Abbey in its bleak windblown position on top of the hill above the harbour is a good visit. It has to be said that I thought the weathering shapes and patterns of the stone remains made it truly memorable. The museum was also fascinating with many items of ancient historic interest.

Blakey Topping

Date Added: 27th Nov 2024
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 14th Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Walk from Saltergate layby above the Hole of Horcum along Old Wife's Way to Newgate Foot and up to Blakey Topping and it's stone circle. One six foot standing stone and a stump in the field, with another stone standing at the gate, a flat stone in the field, and a couple of wooden posts. Is that another stone in the hedge I see?