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Thornborough N
Date Added: 3rd Feb 2023
Site Type: Henge
Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 27th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 4
Thornborough N submitted by SumDoood on 24th Apr 2017. (Arriving only just in time, I had cut down the four Roman soldiers and told them to get their sorry European arses back to Boroughbridge, and not to bother my henge again. Meanwhile...) I was very impressed by this henge and the fact that it is still so complete, the ditch being on average 3.0m deep and the bank an average of 3.0m high.
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Log Text: Back to the car for the small drive round to the woodland at the western side of the northern henge, and there was room to park, and then follow one of several paths into the woodland. This northern henge is much more like it, very well preserved, both the banks and internal ditch. The atmosphere in this woodland is much more pleasant than the open fields of the other two. Time to look for a pub and a pint.
Thornborough Central
Date Added: 3rd Feb 2023
Site Type: Henge
Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 27th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Thornborough Central submitted by Iain_P on 8th Sep 2016. This is an image taken from stitched together frames from a drone video, taken at sunrise a month ago (early August, 2016) For scale, you can just see our car in the bottom right.
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Log Text: Crossing back across the roadway, I go in for a look and walk around the central henge. This banks of this one are more substantial, but in places are very damaged by badgers or rabbits. The internal ditch is again slight, but can be made out here. I walked north to try to get to the northern henge, but it was not possible to get across the northern road and in to see it.
Thornborough S
Date Added: 3rd Feb 2023
Site Type: Henge
Country: England (Yorkshire (North))
Visited: Yes on 27th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Thornborough S submitted by JJ on 23rd Aug 2004. Thornborough south henge
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Log Text: Travelling home from Northumberland, and the weather forecast was good, so I decided to go the eastern route and break my journey to have a look at the Thornborough Henges. After a drive around several small roads, I found a place to park with access to the fields between the southern and central henges. I decided to go walk around the henges, and started with the southern one, a fair walk on a blowy day, but nice when the sun came out. The large henge is not so well formed as I had expected, no doubt worn down over the centuries, and not much to see other than the circular bank; the internal ditch is barely noticeable.
Challacombe rows
Date Added: 31st Jan 2023
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 3rd May 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3
Challacombe rows submitted by Bladup on 11th Sep 2013. The North end of Challacombe stone rows.
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Log Text: Drive from Postbridge to Challacombe via the Soussons cairn stone circle, and park in a little quarry by the roadside, before heading west down to Headland Warren farm with its alpacas, then up over the mining remains to the lower end of the Challacombe stone rows. Most of the stones are showing white above the heather and it looks splendid. The bottom end is a bit of a jumble, no doubt many of the stones moved during the extensive mining here, several of which seem to have been placed in surprising positions. Up the hill to the south, its a clear treble row, which can be followed up the hill to the large 2m tall stone at the top. Can see Grimspound to the east, and over to the Warren House Inn to the west. Back to the car, and drive round to the Warren House Inn for a pint of Black Tor "Pride of Dartmoor" and a look at its everlasting fire, before going to sit outside admiring the views, where I can make out some of the stone row and Grimspound. Must be one of the best pub views in southern England. Fabulous.
Challacombe Down Cairn Circle
Date Added: 31st Jan 2023
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 3rd May 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3
Challacombe Down Cairn Circle submitted by davep on 19th Aug 2019. The Challacombe Down Cairn Circle, set just to the west of the northern end of this triple stone row. From the Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks website (site 270).
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Log Text: At the bottom end of the Challacombe stone rows, most of the stones are showing white amongst the heather. It is all a bit of a jumble, no doubt many of the stones moved during the extensive mining here, several of which seem to have been placed in surprising positions, with a sort of semicircular feature to one side.
Ten Commandments Stone
Date Added: 31st Jan 2023
Site Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 7th Dec 2022. My rating: Ambience 5 Access 3
Ten Commandments Stone submitted by AngieLake on 31st May 2010. While I was there yesterday there were several groups of visitors arriving to enjoy the ambience of the tor. The stones are in the foreground here.
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Log Text: A day to myself, and decide to go to Totnes, but first go the scenic way through Buckland, then decide to walk out to Buckland Beacon for a look at the Ten Commandments stones. The views from here are fantastic, right down to the sea all around the south, including right along the Teign estuary. Great to spend time looking all around the north and west trying to figure out all the various tors and bits of Dartmoor previously visited. Magnificent. There is a very interesting series of Boundary stones to the north, one of which looked to me like an old cross originally.
Hamel Down Cross
Date Added: 27th Jan 2023
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Hamel Down Cross submitted by TheCaptain on 27th Jan 2023. Hamel Down Cross viewed looking east
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Log Text: Walking back northwards along the ridge and from the top of Broad Barrow, Hamel Down Cross can be seen shining in the sun away from the modern track to the west, so I go for a look. It’s a lovely weathered old stone cross which has lost its head and one of its arms. It has some sort of carving on it's east face, probably a Duke of Somerset boundary marking, but the cross clearly predates that.
Zennor Quoit
Date Added: 22nd Jan 2023
Site Type: Portal Tomb
Country: England (Cornwall)
Visited: Yes on 27th Sep 2008. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3
Zennor Quoit submitted by thecaptain on 13th Oct 2008. Zennor Quoit looking southwest on a sunny late September afternoon.
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Log Text: I don’t quite know how I have never been to visit this before, and it takes a bit of finding, despite the fact it can be seen from a long way away on the hilltop, the problem is finding a path through the chest high gorse and brambles which takes you to it. I eventually got to it from Sperris Quoit via several long zig zag pathways, probably walking three times the distance to it as would be how the chough flies ! Wow, this is a big old thing, far bigger than I was expecting. Makes me wonder what it was all like originally, before part of it was destroyed, the capstone fell and the other alterations. This is a lovely spot up here, lots of blue scabious? flowering all around, birds singing and insects buzzing. I try a few “arty” pictures using the shadows and gaps in the stones.
Sperris Quoit
Date Added: 22nd Jan 2023
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: England (Cornwall)
Visited: Yes on 27th Sep 2008. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3
Sperris Quoit submitted by Raze66 on 17th Dec 2022. Photo taken 17/12/22
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Log Text: I parked in a little lay-by near to the Eagles Nest house, and then took the footpath up onto the moors from there. After a while the path was fairly enclosed within tall bracken and gorse, and near the top of the hill, became fairly difficult to proceed along. Once at the top of the hill, I turned left at the remains of a mine building, and took a “path” towards the natural granite outcropping, from the southern end of which the single standing stone of Sperris Quoit could be seen. However, getting to the stones from here was a bit of a bugger, with chest high gorse, brambles and bracken. Good luck to anyone wishing to visit. The remains which can be found today include a single standing stone, 6 feet high, with a few other slabs laying around the remnants of the chamber. There are also traces of an oval mound, but the whole place was very overgrown when I visited.
Hamel Down Beacon cairn
Date Added: 14th Jan 2023
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Hamel Down Beacon cairn submitted by TheCaptain on 14th Jan 2023. On the southern top of Hameldown at 517m, at a corner of the field wall, is a prominent large cairn. The field wall makes no attempt to avoid the cairn, running right over it, but not across the centre. The cairn has been cut away from the western side within the walled field.
Here seen from the south.
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Log Text: On to the southern top of Hameldown at 517m, at a corner of the field wall, is another prominent large cairn, again with a Duke Stone on its top. The field wall makes no attempt to avoid the cairn, running right over it, but not across the centre. From here the views to the south open up with almost the whole of the southern moor and southeast Devon to be seen.
Blackaton Down south (Hamel Down)
Date Added: 3rd Jan 2023
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3
Blackaton Down south (Hamel Down) submitted by TheCaptain on 3rd Jan 2023. Just to the south of the large obvious barrow can be seen the remnants of the southern saucer barrow, also within the enclosed field.
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Log Text: Just to the south of the large obvious barrow can be seen the remnants of the southern saucer barrow, also within the enclosed field.
Blackaton Down north (Hamel Down)
Date Added: 3rd Jan 2023
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Blackaton Down north (Hamel Down) submitted by davep on 14th Aug 2019. The Blackaton Down North Cairn, from the Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks website (site 586). Photograph taken 19th August 2017.
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Log Text: From the field wall corner can be seen the next large barrow, a bit further to the south, but within the enclosed field on the western side of the wall. I didn’t cross into the field for a closer look.
Two Barrows (Hamel Down)
Date Added: 2nd Jan 2023
Site Type: Round Barrow(s)
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Two Barrows (Hamel Down) submitted by TheCaptain on 2nd Jan 2023. Looking for the second barrow, and I notice a slight rise under the corner of the walls
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Log Text: Onwards southward slightly downhill to a field wall where there is another barrow with a Duke Stone on top, named as Two Barrows. Looking for the second, and it can be seen right under the corner of the walls, no doubt it has been used as a boundary corner for a long time.
Single Barrow (Hamel Down)
Date Added: 2nd Jan 2023
Site Type: Round Barrow(s)
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Single Barrow (Hamel Down) submitted by TheCaptain on 2nd Jan 2023. Hamel Down Single Barrow, which is smaller and less obvious than Broad Barrow which can be seen here on the hilltop to the south.
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Log Text: Further south along the track, and just to the west of it is the next barrow, known as Single Barrow, which is smaller and less obvious than Broad Barrow. It too has one of the Duke Stone boundary markers on top of it.
Broad Barrow (Hamel Down)
Date Added: 31st Dec 2022
Site Type: Round Barrow(s)
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Broad Barrow (Hamel Down) submitted by TheCaptain on 31st Dec 2022. Broad Barrow is at the top the highest point of Hamel Down at 532m. Seen here from the south
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Log Text: Walking on to the south, there is an obvious large cairn know as Broad Barrow atop the highest point of the down at 532m. This is one of the largest cairns on Dartmoor, but mostly an earthen construction, unlike many of the others. In its southern edge is an excavated stone structure, whether the remains of an old chamber or a more modern construction I do not know. In the central area on top is what looks like a grave, with a dug stony area and a "headstone", put here by the Duke of Somerset as a boundary marker in 1854.
Grimspound
Date Added: 31st Dec 2022
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3
Grimspound submitted by h_fenton on 11th Aug 2008. Grimspound, from the northwest (Hookney Tor). Low level oblique kite aerial photograph. There are a few people on the right side of the photo to help show scale.
Photo taken: 8 August 2008
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Log Text: I've not been to Grimspound for many a year now, in fact too long. It really is wonderful, with a multiplicity of circular hut buildings within a huge encircling wall. A lovely place to sit and eat my lunch in one of the huts, with the Challacombe stone rows visible on the hillside the other side of the valley and the Warren House Inn way beyond them. Triffic.
Hamel Down Platform Cairn (North)
Date Added: 31st Dec 2022
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 6th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3
Hamel Down Platform Cairn (North) submitted by TheCaptain on 31st Dec 2022. Atop Hamel Down tor there is a large cairn and trig point. It looks to me as though the current pile of stones is a relatively modern construction, but there seems to be a large circular platform which is presumably the base of the original cairn here, with some large stones spaced around it.
Viewed here looking southeast, with Haytor and Rippon Tor framing the cairn top
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Log Text: Climb up to the top of Hamel Down for a walk along the ridge, with splendid views down onto Grimspound from the slopes. Once at the top there is a large cairn and trig point. It looks to me as though the current pile of stones is a relatively modern construction, but there seems to be a large circular platform which is presumably the base of the original cairn here, with some large stones spaced around it. Beautiful views all around, I spend some time trying to figure out all of the various tors and features which can be seen.
Money Pit cairn
Date Added: 28th Dec 2022
Site Type: Stone Circle
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Money Pit cairn submitted by Antonine on 2nd Sep 2022. With Sharp Tor behind, 2010
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Log Text: Passing by the Money Pit cairn, had to go for a quick look. I also had a quick look for the southern, top, end of the treble stone row, but didn't follow it down the hill, as we were walking the other direction.
Cator Common Platform Cairn and Cist
Date Added: 24th Dec 2022
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Couldn't find on 6th Dec 2022
Log Text: Driving back to the cottage from Postbridge, thought I'd have a quick look for the remains of this cairn circle and cist, although I didn't have any details with me and no phone signal. It's not very accurately marked on the OS map I had with me, but I had a walk alonside the river in the boggy ground but it was getting dark and I could find nothing. Reading up on it when home, and its up on the slope somewhere.
Rippon Tor
Date Added: 24th Dec 2022
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 9th Dec 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3
Rippon Tor submitted by AngieLake on 19th Oct 2007. Having just puffed my way up the side of the tor (!), this is the first view of the Cairn that Butler calls 'C1' from the west side. In the centre of the pile of stones is a modern Trig. station. (The height of Rippon Tor is 473m.)
[see site page for further info]
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Log Text: The forecast is for a cold icy but bright sunny day as we pack up and leave Splash Cottage, so I decide for a walk up to Rippon Tor and around before the journey home. Unfortunately the real weather up there means I am in the clouds and fog. I make the effort to climb the tor, but its freezing fog up there, and can't see more than about 25 metres, so have a quick wander to the hilltop cairns, cross and millstone, then back down to the car via an old boundary cross at the edge of the frozen Blackslade Mire.