thesweetcheat

thesweetcheat, 7 hours ago to random

Last stone standing in Pen-y-Beacon (Hay Bluff) stone circle for today's #StandingStoneSunday.

Rather forlorn next to a parking area now (although it does sometimes have its own ice-cream van), the circle stands at the foot of Pen-y-Beacon/Hay Bluff in the Black Mountains. It has great views all the way to Y Mynydd Ddu on a clear day.

This visit April 2010 on a walk from Talgarth to Hay-on-Wye along the northern summit of the Black Mountains.

#BronzeAge #StoneCircle #BlackMountains

thesweetcheat, 23 hours ago to random

Hot Hillfort Summer starts here.

13 bluebell and wild garlic-filled miles along the Cotswolds escarpment this morning, taking in Painswick Beacon hillfort, Cooper's Hill cross dyke and Crickley Hill hillfort, with views of Leckhampton hillfort for a finale.

#HotHillfortSummer #IronAgeInfluencers

#Hillfort #IronAge

Bluebells and wild garlic in a sunlit glade in beech woods.
Cowslips in flower on the grassy earthworks of Crickley Hill. Looking along the escarpment towards a wooded promontory. Green fields below.
Looking from a grassy hillside to another hill topped with a hillfort that has been damaged by quarrying.

thesweetcheat, 7 days ago to folklore

A terrific stone circle in Dartmoor's inner space for today's #StandingStoneSunday - White Moor (sometimes called Little Hound Tor) stone circle, a spacious ring with a 6 foot outlier.

In #folklore the stones are a huntsman and his hounds, turned to stone for hunting on the Sabbath (makes a change from the usual 'dancing on the Sabbath' tales).

Visited on a scorching hot and thankfully dry underfoot St George's Day, April 2011.

#Dartmoor #BronzeAge ##StoneCircle

thesweetcheat, 8 days ago to random

Oh, tragedy, the Tories have been made extinct on my local council.

#LocalElection2024

fkamiah17, 10 days ago to UKpolitics

Well that was predictable.

The Civil Service Union applies for judicial review of Rwanda policy.

#UKPolitics #Rwanda #RefugeesWelcome

Vibracobra23, 14 days ago to random

Carfury Menhir in Madron, West Penwith, Cornwall. Photographed from the north-north-west on 5 July 2003. #CarfuryMenhir #Cornwall #Kernow #Megaliths #StandingStoneSunday

thesweetcheat, 14 days ago to random

One of Dartmoor's finest stone rows for today's #StandingStoneSunday - Cosdon Hill triple row, with terminal cairn and stone circle.

Visited on a scorching hot St George's Day, April 2011.

#Dartmoor #BronzeAge #StoneRow

thesweetcheat, 15 days ago to random

"Through the door of the birds where the breeze breaks..."

Following in the footsteps of Will Stanton and Bran Davies, high up above the Dysynni valley on Craig yr Aderyn (Birds' Rock), looking towards Cader Idris and the mountain fastnesses of Y Brenin Llwyd. A place that I have known since I was at primary school, but have never been to before except in my imagination.

#SusanCooper #TheGreyKing #TheDarkIsRising #CaderIdris

thesweetcheat, 18 days ago to random

After 5 months of no walks, finally got back up a (small) mountain in glorious weather today. Foel Goch in the Arenig range is a very modest 2,004 feet, but stands isolated from other ranges giving it an amazing panorama from Yr Wyddfa, Glyderau, Carneddau, Clwydian Hills, Y Berwyn, the Hirnant Hills, Aranau, Cader Idris and Arenig Fawr and Fach.

Quite emotional to be back in the hills, it's such a boost to my mental health. Bonus Bronze Age standing stone and cairn too.

#Hiraeth #Nuttalls

View from the summit of Foel Goch. A small modern marker cairn in the foreground marks the summit. The view looks down over green foothills towards distant mountain ranges; Aranau, Cader Idris and Arenig Fawr, rising to soaring peaks. It is sunny but very windy.
Bronze Age summit cairn Garnedd Fawr. The top of the mound is damaged and is now the meeting point of three post and wire fences. Some stones are piled on top of the cairn, probably moved from with the original configuration. The sky is blue with white clouds.
View of a blue river from a bridge (Pont y Bala). The river runs between green grassy banks. A man is fishing from the riverbank. It's very sunny and quite warm in the Spring sunshine.

thesweetcheat, 21 days ago to folklore

One of my favourite stone circles for today's #StandingStoneSunday

Mitchell's Fold in Shropshire. Standing on a upland plateau at the foot of Corndon Hill, on a clear day there are tremendous views of Cader Idris, Aran Fawddwy and Y Berwyn.

The circle has plentiful #folklore, especially the legend of a magic white cow that gave a pailful of milk to all who wanted one, until a witch milked it into a sieve. The cow left in disgust (there are variations of the ending)

#Shropshire #BronzeAge

thesweetcheat, 28 days ago to random

A visit to Shropshire's 'other' stone circle for today's #StandingStoneSunday

Close to Mitchell's Fold, near the Welsh border, this is Hoarstones. It sits in an often boggy area, off the higher ground of Stapeley Hill and the Stiperstones ridge. The circle is little-frequented and many of the stones are fallen. It has a fine view towards Corndon Hill, a prominent summit with many Bronze Age cairns.

This visit on a glorious sunny day in April 2011.

#StoneCircle #Shropshire #BronzeAge

A single standing stone of gritstone, with a curved, tapering top which comes to a point. It's no more than a metre tall above ground. The top is covered in bright yellow lichen. Reedy grass grows all around the base of the stone, almost hiding it. The sky is an intense, bright blue.

thesweetcheat, 29 days ago to random

An enjoyable long read about solitary walking and thinking, with side nods to children's literature, Kate Bush, Can, Dickens and Hardy. Much here that I can relate to as an often solo walker.

(It's also effectively a promo piece for the writer's new book, but don't let that put you off.)

#Walking #LongDistancePaths

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/apr/13/david-nicholls-one-day-peculiar-pleasure-of-long-soggy-solo-walks

thesweetcheat, 1 month ago to random

Borderland for today's #StandingStoneSunday

This is Carreg y Big close to the Welsh border in Shropshire. The Bronze Age stone stands just across a field from the (much later) Offa's Dyke earthwork. Although the stone is in England, just, the Welsh name appears to mean 'peaked stone' or 'pointed stone'. Very happy to be corrected on that!

Visited April 2011 while walking Offa's Dyke Path. Portrait, needs a click.

#Shropshire #Marches #OffasDykePath

thesweetcheat, 1 month ago to random

Three more ruined Aberdeenshire recumbent stone circles for today's #StandingStoneSunday

Ardlair (top two), the mighty Stonehead, and Wantonwells.

Visited March 2011.

#Aberdeenshire #StoneCircle

The fallen stones of Ardlair circle in a ring, with the recumbent and flankers on the left. Looking towards a high hill (Tap o' Noth) covered in snow.
Stonehead; a huge recumbent stone between two very tall, tapering flankers standing at either end. The stones are set in a grassy field. The sky is blue but the sunshine is weak.
Wantonwells. A single, pointed flanker stands on the left, with a large recumbent stone lying lengthways in the centre foreground. Fallen stones lie behind. The setting is a scrubby, overgrown field. A conical hill with a squat tower on its top (Dunnideer) forms the backdrop.

thesweetcheat, 1 month ago to random

Four ruined Aberdeenshire recumbent stone circles for today's #StandingStoneSunday. Despite their incomplete state, all four still have presence in their landscapes and are well worthy of visits:

Wheedlemont, Upper Ord, Mill of Noth, Corrstones.

Visited March 2011.

Upper Ord. Two squat, irregularly stones stand in a grassy field. They frame a conical, snow-covered hill rising behind (Tap o' Noth). They sky is blue with some cotton wool clouds.
Mill o' Noth. Two tall stones stand in a field. The one on the right leans slightly. They would once have had a recumbent slab between them. A very steep, conical hill rises in the background, framed by the stones (Tap o' Noth). It is covered in snow. The sky is deep blue and clear.
Corrstones. A recumbent and its two flankers stand in a setting of open deciduous woodland. The flanker on the right has fallen and lies at an angle pointing towards the bottom left. Pale spring sunshine filters through the unleaved canopy. It's a lovely place.

thesweetcheat, 1 month ago to folklore

A fine 2.5m monolith for today's #StandingStoneSunday - this is Lulach's Stone in Aberdeenshire. Sweeping views to Tap o' Noth. The stone is said to commemorate Macbeth's stepson, who was killed in battle, although the stone is more likely a much earlier monument. In folklore it's reported to have crushed a treasure-seeker to death.

Visited March 2011.

#Aberdeenshire #Folklore #ShakespeareSunday

thesweetcheat, 2 months ago to random

Orthostat on top of An Sithean chambered cairn on the Isle of Skye for today's #StandingStoneSunday

Located at the foot of the Red Cuillin mountains, the tomb has an amazing setting and backdrop. The mountain on right, Beinn na Caillich, has a large Bronze Age cairn in its summit.

Visited March 2011.

#Skye #BronzeAge #ChamberedTomb

Wen, 2 months ago to maps

Can’t read a map or add up? Don’t worry, we’ve always let technology do the boring stuff

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/09/cannot-read-a-map-or-add-up-donot-worry-we-have-always-let-technology-do-the-boring-stuff

Another rather vapid column from the Gruaniad. Probably someone who has never had the joy of exploring an area on paper before venturing there or even understands the real need to be able to manipulate simple quantities in your head.

The future beckons…

#Laziness #Maps #Numbers

tangleofwires, 2 months ago to random

Is Sketchers the only brand to do this kind of tie-in while also offering shoes whose main selling point is that they're easy on your back because you don't have to bend down to put them on 😂

thesweetcheat, 2 months ago to random

A black and white world for today's #StandingStoneSunday.

Aviemore 'Clava' cairn; the remains of a kerbed cairn (which likely had a central mound and chamber), surrounded by a free-standing stone circle. It's in a neat little suburban setting now, with glimpses of the Cairngorm mountains beyond.

This visit March 2011.

#Clava #Aviemore #BronzeAge #Cairngorms #StoneCircle

megalithic, 2 months ago to random

🎙️It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the toppermost standing stones in Britain according to our @megportal visitors and 📸 photo posters. #5 to #1. With 🎁 competition winners too: 🧵/1 #StandingStoneSunday

Vibracobra23, 2 months ago to random

Part of the Nine Maidens Stone Circle near Boskednan in Penwith, Cornwall. Photographed from the north-east on 29 March 2003. #Cornwall #Penwith #Boskednan #StoneCircles #StandingStoneSunday