thesweetcheat

thesweetcheat, 14 hours ago to random

A little bit of Avebury for today's #StandingStoneSunday. This visit in May 2011 at the end of a walk from Wroughton airfield that took in Barbary Castle hillfort, Fyfield Down (The Polisher) and Devil's Den. I like Avebury best as the end point of a walk over the Downs, with time to appreciate the landscape.

Three stones of the southern inner circle on the left, two massive stones of the great circle on the right.

Blog here: https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/127242/ridgeway_to_heaven_barbury_castle_to_avebury_21_may_2011.html

#Neolithic #Avebury #Wiltshire

thesweetcheat, 1 day ago to random

A 10 mile, 6000 year bimble along the Cotswolds escarpment between Stroud and Dursley today. Three Neolithic long barrows, including the wondrous Hetty Pegler's Tump, a Bronze Age cairn and an Iron Age hillfort, with 4 hills (Tumps) thrown in for added exertion and heat.

#HotHillfortSummer #Neolithic #BronzeAge #IronAge #Cotswolds #Gloucestershire

A grassy mound in the foreground; in the centre of it are the exposed and roofless chambers of a Neolithic longbarrow, formed of upright limestone orthostats with drystone walling between. Trees in late spring leaf form the backdrop. The sky is blue with white fluffy clouds.
Inside a stone built burial chamber, looking towards the light coming from a small entrance porthole. The chamber is formed of limestone orthostats with drystone walling between, supporting a roof made of large limestone slabs. The chamber is tall enough to crouch upright inside, but the entrance is very low and requires a crawl on hands and knees to get inside.
Sinuous banks and ditches of an Iron Age hillfort follow the contour of a steep escarpment. The slopes are green with grass and dotted with scrubby bushes. The valley drops away to the left, with further wooded hills rising distant far left. Further away on the skyline are hills clothed in blue-green forestry. The hillfort is Uley Bury.

thesweetcheat, 7 days ago to random

Off to Wiltshire and a Neolithic chambered tomb for today's #StandingStoneSunday

Devil's Den below Fyfield Down is a reconstructed chamber, originally it would have been covered by an earthen mound. It's a lovely walk here from Avebury or The Ridgeway, taking in the stone river of the Mother's Jam.

This visit May 2011.

#Wiltshire #Neolithic #Avebury

thesweetcheat, 14 days 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, 15 days 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, 21 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, 23 days ago to random

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

#LocalElection2024

thesweetcheat, 28 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, 1 month 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, 1 month 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, 1 month 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, 1 month 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, 1 month 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

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, 2 months 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, 2 months 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

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

thesweetcheat, 3 months ago to random

Walking in a winter wonderland to today's #StandingStoneSunday offering.

Torbreck stone circle near Inverness, a lovely little ring of shapely stones, graded in size. Visited after a heavy snowfall the day before, with sleet for company.

Visited March 2010.

#StoneCircle #BronzeAge #Inverness

thesweetcheat, 3 months ago to random

Golden winter light on the low stones of Bannau Sir Gaer stone circle for #StandingStoneSunday

The circle is a bit trashed, but the exquisite backdrop of Y Mynydd Du's escarpment more than makes up for it.

Visited February 2012 at the end of a walk along those tops.

#YMynyddDu #BronzeAge #StoneCircle #DeCymru

thesweetcheat, 3 months ago to random

The megalithic gem of Moel Tŷ Uchaf ('Bare Hill of the Highest House') for today's #StandingStoneSunday

A Bronze Age cairn circle in a fantastic location in the foothills of Y Berwynau mountains overlooking the Dee valley. On a clear day there are wonderful views of Eryri/Snowdonia, but on this visit views were reduced to a hundred metres or so by cold hill fog.

This visit February 2011. Blog here: https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/123269/over_the_misty_mountains_ii_foggy_boggy_berwyns_20_february_2011.html

#BronzeAge #Berwyn #TheModernAntiquarian

thesweetcheat, 3 months ago to random

Fantastic but a little sobering to see the wonderful Gaia in Tewkesbury Abbey this afternoon. A salutary reminder that there's no Planet B.

#Gaia

thesweetcheat, 3 months ago to random

One of the most well-known megaliths in South Wales for #StandingStoneSunday - the wonderful Maen Llia, in the heart of Fforest Fawr between Fan Nedd and Fan Llia. Portrait, needs a click.

This visit on a traverse of the range from Storey Arms to Glyn Tawe, February 2011.

#BannauBrycheiniog #FforestFawr #BronzeAge #Mosstodon

thesweetcheat, 3 months ago to random

Maen Mawr for #StandingStoneSunday - This great sandstone block stands just outside the Cerrig Duon stone circle in my previous post. On this visit the boggy ground at its base had frozen hard to swirling ice.

Portrait, needs a click.

thesweetcheat, 3 months ago to random

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

Cerrig Duon is a circle of small stones. Just outside the circle is the huge block of Maen Mawr. There are various further alignments and rows of even smaller stones almost hidden in the peat and grass. The circle is located high in the foothills of Y Mynydd Du, close to the upper reaches of the nascent Afon Tawe, which finds the sea at Abertawe (Swansea).

This visit on a frozen day in January 2010.

#YMynyddDu