Showing 1-50 of 73,278 posts. Most recent first | Next 50  
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Posted by GLADMAN
4th September 2010ce
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Posted by GLADMAN
3rd September 2010ce
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Posted by GLADMAN
3rd September 2010ce
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Posted by GLADMAN
3rd September 2010ce
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Posted by GLADMAN
3rd September 2010ce
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Posted by GLADMAN
3rd September 2010ce
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Posted by tjj
2nd September 2010ce
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Walked here today after spending a couple of hours in Randwick Woods looking for the Randwick long barrow. It really was a case of coming out of the shade into the light. After being in woodland the afternoon dazzled; not much to add to thesweetcheat's excellent fieldnotes other than to comment on the spectacular views, especially looking towards the River Severn.
I also noted that, as with the Wiltshire hillforts, this one appears to be chalkland - odd in the limestone landscape.
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Posted by tjj
2nd September 2010ce
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Posted by tjj
2nd September 2010ce
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Met up with friend MM today (something an expert on the Cotswolds) pointed car towards Stroud and the village of Whiteshill; parked up at Shortwood car park just off the Harefield Road. Having read a bit about the Randwick long barrow hidden in Randwick/Standish Wood we abandoned our planned circular walk and set off to see if we could find the barrow. Not an easy task as, having once been quarried, Randwick Wood is the full of small mounds and dips. We had climbed over a few wooded bumps before we came across a metal National Trust information plaque which was actually headed "More Than Just Lumps and Bumps" (I have posted a photograph of this beautifully made plaque as it is one of the best I have encountered).
It helped us to identify the Iron Age Cross-Dyke, a 2000 year old earthen mound and ditch, the purpose of which can only be guessed at as either defensive or a boundary marker.
And finally with the help of OS Explorer map 179 we found the long barrow – only really identifiable by its alignment of east to west. A Neolithic long barrow dated 4500 – 5400 years old; it was partly excavated in 1883 when human skeletons were found in stone lined chambers.
The Cotswold Way runs through Randwick Wood and I have to say it is one of the most atmospheric and unusual woods I have yet to walk through – apparently full of bluebells in the spring.
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Posted by tjj
2nd September 2010ce
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This was a nice quiet place when I visited but it has rubbish all over it.
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Posted by Toadie
2nd September 2010ce
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Posted by Toadie
2nd September 2010ce
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Posted by Toadie
2nd September 2010ce
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Well, there you are. Stranger things have happened, of course, but not much prepares the seasoned climber for the shock of a pristine dawn upon a South Walian August Bank Holiday Monday.....
So where to go to avoid the fair weather multitudes? Snap judgement made, we head off towards Merthyr and The Sirhowy Valley. Approaching the hamlet of Trefil, it suddenly dawns on me that I was here only last Christmas to visit the great cairns upon Cefn Yr Ystrad. Suffice to say the conditions are as far removed from that wintery expedition as it is probably possible to get, the sun already beginning to beat down as we set off on foot, none too pleased at the brand new gate and signs prohibiting vehicular access much past the village... apparently your car is likely to be confiscated by the police if you disregard the warnings. Surely the heddlu haven't finally adopted the motto 'if you can't beat them, join them'? Needless to say this pedantic action adds another mile each way. Thanks. On a lighter note, however, I've forgotten my usual sun hat... so the Mam Cymru has provided a rather fetching Aussie cowboy affair from her allotment shed. Strewth, I must look a right muppet. Well, if the hat fits.....
We follow the Nant Trefil past the Trefil Quarries, great scars upon the landscape which affirm that not all South Wales' industrial heritage is in the past tense. Then it's a trackless pull up the hillside to the approx north-east, a family of wild ponies not even bothering to move as a group of noisy trail bikers move pointlessly by at a glacial pace..... ha! ha! Behind us the twin, monumental cairns upon Cefn yr Ystrad crown the hillside - sorry, mountainside - opposite, whilst to the north-west the decapitated summits of Pen y Fan and Corn Du are immediately recognisable. There can be only one. Or perhaps two, then, come to think of it. The going is hard, occasional sheep tracks easing progress somewhat but - as you would expect from such annoying creatures - never actually heading where you want to go. Which is towards two large cairns dead ahead upon the wild summit plateau of Mynydd Llangyndir. The larger, now to our left, appears to be Garn Fawr itself... a real biggie... but we decide to head for a smaller example beside the virtually dry bed of Llyn y Garn-fawr, walking across which is a strange experience indeed. To be honest I'm not sure of the ancient providence of this cairn, but it's pretty substantial and its siting, not to mention existance would otherwise appear pointless if not of a funerary origin. There can be no doubt, however, about Garn Fawr, which tops the 557m summit of the mountain beyond the (site of) lake. Duh, it's a monster, subject to the usual 'hollowing out', but massive nonetheless. As we climb to have a clamber about, a myriad flies begin to smack into us... naively, it takes the Mam to warn me that these 'flies' are actually soldier honey bees and if I don't move pretty sharpish I am in deep peril! Yes, seriously! This I do, although the blighters allow me to return in a more sedate fashion later on.
So, does this massive cairn pass the siting test? Think of Melanie Griffith in that restaurant scene. Yeah, that's the one. Apart from the aforementioned Brecon Beacons, The Black Mountains are utterly beguiling across Dyffryn Crawnon to the north, with a certain Garn Caws in the foreground. Say 'cheese' as I push the shutter. Eastwards (ish) I can make out the flat lump that is Blorenge together with its elegant Sugar Loaf neighbour, whilst behind us to the south is the great industrial heartland of South Wales. We lie beside this great cairn and somehow the overwhelming ancientness of this mountain top seeps into every pore. Unlike the fierce sun, courtesy of bonzer Aussie hat. A mare guides her foal this way and that with that somewhat impatient tenderness typical of many a mother, bees of the bumble variety are attracted to heather, not Gladman, and all kinds of other insects and arachnids do their thang. Yeah, unlike yesterday, Wales is benign. But up here benign - OK, relatively benign - can be good. Very, very good indeed.
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Posted by GLADMAN
1st September 2010ce
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The last two barrows of the day bear no resemblance to each other. The well-known Mayon Cliff cairn, which the coast path passes right next to, is rather lovely. It has a retaining kerb of rounded boulders and the remains of a central cist. A huge longstone lies across the mound, presumably dismounted from a position covering the central burial. Lands End (and its tacky tourist park) is visible, as are the Longships with their lighthouse. By contrast, the round barrow to the NE (assuming I did find it) is simply a low mound, covered in heather and almost imperceptible unless you're really looking for it. It has no visible stonework at all but is in the correct place based on the OS map and Craig Weatherhill's "Belerion" description. It is intervisible with the better-preserved cairn.
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Posted by thesweetcheat
1st September 2010ce
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Posted by Grahame
1st September 2010ce |
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