White Raise Cairn

Date Added: 15th Mar 2023
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 20th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: I eventually get to the White Raise cairn, MD10, a large roundish mass of stones on top of a small natural hillock. Its not very round, with a few sticking out arms, and it is clear why this became known as "The Starfish Cairn". Clambering up onto the top of it, and the previous notable cairns can be seen in the distance. There is a hollow containing a large cist, fairly big and much deeper than any I have seen on Dartmoor. Near to this cist, on the eastern side, are a couple of large stones, no doubt once the capstones of the cist. There are other stones which may once have formed a ring around the structure.

Roughtor Summit Cairns

Date Added: 15th Mar 2023
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Cornwall)
Visited: Yes on 13th Jun 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Remains of cairns created round some natural outcrops within the settlement on the top of Roughtor, near to the memorials.

Seven Lords' Lands

Date Added: 13th Mar 2023
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: On the way back to Haytor, I stop to go and look at Seven Lords' Lands cairn with its large encircling ring of stones. Its really splendid here in the low sun, which occasionally peeps through the clouds. Now to the Rock Inn after a tiring day on the big moor, I sat quietly nursing a pint in the snug when Dave from Royle Family comes in with wife and dog, and sits next to me.

Trendlebere Down

Date Added: 9th Mar 2023
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Getting from the road to find this row is a bit of a struggle through gorse and heather, and I initially found it hard to find. But there it is, not quite where I was expecting to find it, but as so often with a path running down beside it, and it has had much of the growth mechanically cleared from it. The large cairn at the top is completely overgrown, as is the top of the row, but I found a few fairly large fallen stones hidden underneath the overgrowth. Further down, the row becomes more cleared, but the stones are smaller, mostly flat on the ground, and many have been substantially damaged by the mechanical machines used to clear the gorse and heather. The bottom end again becomes lost in high vegetation. Amongst the disturbance is a large stone, facing across the rows, which looks as though it may have once been a terminal blocking stone. All in all a disappointment.

Trendlebere Down Stone Row Cairn

Date Added: 8th Mar 2023
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: The large cairn at the top of the stone row is completely overgrown, as is the top of the row, but I found a few fairly large fallen stones hidden underneath the overgrowth.

Harbourne Head Standing Stone

Date Added: 8th Mar 2023
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 24th Feb 2023. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: A cold grey February afternoon walk out onto the moor to visit the Harbourne Head menhir. It’s a nice pointy topped stone, slightly taller than me and leaning to one side. Some swaling going on nearby, but not close to the stone and doesn't prevent me getting a visit.

Hembury Castle

Date Added: 5th Mar 2023
Site Type: Hillfort Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 26th Feb 2023. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: A nice sunny afternoon, after Sunday lunch at Scorriton and a walk out to Bench Tor, I decide to go and have a look at Hembury Castle before heading home. What a lovely place, old woodland with a hilltop iron age fort, modified and updated with a Norman Motte. In places the ramparts are huge, presumably increased for the Motte & Bailey castle. Lovely.

Harbourne Head B

Date Added: 4th Mar 2023
Site Type: Ring Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 24th Feb 2023. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: From the menhir I walk up to the top of the hill to look at the two ring cairns. Both quite large diameter, seemingly a ring of stone around a flat inside with a pile in the middle. The southern of the two is more distinct, and the central mound and ring are more obviously comprised of stones. I didn't see anything resembling a circle of upright stones!

Harbourne Head A

Date Added: 4th Mar 2023
Site Type: Ring Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 24th Feb 2023. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: From the menhir I walk up to the top of the hill to look at the two ring cairns. Both quite large diameter, seemingly a ring of stone around a flat inside with a pile in the middle. The northern of the two is less distinct and more grassy. I didn't see anything resembling a circle of upright stones!

Corringdon Ball Tomb

Date Added: 28th Feb 2023
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 25th Feb 2023. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Walk from South Brent up onto the moor around Corringdon Ball. Just as we get to the longbarrow and other megalithic sites my phone malfunctions and packs up. Getting very fed up with this decide to give up looking for any more old stones and just continue on with the walk up to Shipley Bridge.

Corringdon Ball Tomb

Date Added: 28th Feb 2023
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 20th Jun 2004. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: The remains of Corringdon Ball chambered tomb are marked on the map as Long Barrow, and it is situated on the saddle of land between Corringdon Ball and Brent Fore Hill, not far from the cairn at the head of the Brent Fore row. This was once one of the largest monuments on the moor, but has been badly damaged, with a track cut through its northern part, and most of the southern end destroyed. Several large stones remain at the south end, which would once have formed a very large chamber. These are now nearly all fallen and broken, with just a semblance of any chamber recognisable.

Ball Gate

Date Added: 28th Feb 2023
Site Type: Ring Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 25th Feb 2023. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Walk from South Brent up onto the moor around Corringdon Ball. Just to the north of the large gateway is a clearly defined ring cairn.

Corringdon Ball settlement

Date Added: 28th Feb 2023
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 25th Feb 2023. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Walk from South Brent up onto the moor and around Corringdon Ball. On the western side of the hill there is a clearly defined settlement comprising several enclosures. There are also many hut circles spread around on the hillside here, along with a cairn with cist.

Moor Divock Round Cairn D

Date Added: 13th Feb 2023
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 20th Sep 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Nearby to the north of Moor Divock 5 is another raised mound which initially looks to be another cairn, which the sheep like to sit on. When I do get to have a closer look, there seems to be possibly a cairn, but with no further info I am not 100% convinced this is anything other than a natural lump in the ground.

Challacombe Down Standing Stone

Date Added: 3rd Feb 2023
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 3rd May 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.