Wilts and Glocs Loop

The weather forecast was grim, promising thundery showers. We nearly didn't go, but decided to chance it. The plan was to get down to Stoney Littleton, then visit some of the other sites in the area. Reading the entries on TMA, I thought "the last thing I want to do is forget the torch". And sure enough, the last thing I did before leaving home was forget the torch.

Stopping on the M4 for breakfast, I took the opportunity to swiftly rehash the day's plan. First on the list was Aldbourne Four Barrows, but I took a wrong turn, and ended up on the wrong side of the hill, so I decided to try to loop back this way later in the day (it didn't happen). Next was the Coate Stone Circle. I couldn't get to the stones themselves, as several extremely healthy looking horses were in the field, the site gave a good feeling, and it was a good first site for the day.

I didn't check for alignments when I was there, but I suspect there may be a possibility of a line up with a 'sleeping figure' in the hill to the south. I took a picture at the time, I'll have to dig it out and check.

A minor spot of retail therapy in the delightful village of Criklade was next, in order to appease Mikki – she's far too patient with me at times and needed some more craft materials.

Shopping done, we headed over toward Stroud, to see the Longstone of Minchinhampton. I parked, and with the comment "it should be here somewhere", climbed out of the car, only to have it stare me in the face on the other side of the fence.

Next was Hetty Pegler's Tump, a wonderful barrow. Not having the torch, I decided not to climb inside on this occasion, but will certainly return another day, better prepared.

As Nympsfield Long Barrow was just up the road, it seemed churlish not to visit, and for anyone who can't visualise the construction of a chambered barrow, this site affords a good view of a barrow 'with the top off'.

We next headed down to the Giant's Cave at Luckington, which was every bit as wonderful as Rhiannon's fieldnotes suggest – the bluebell's were out and the place had a wonderful atmosphere to it. What a wonderful site. Majestically ancient and mysterious, with a couple of resident horses who didn't pay me any attention whatsoever.

I guess we're lucky that the Victorians didn't take all the stone. It's still possible to make out a couple of the chambers from the stone peeking through the earth, although they're covered in moss and I would guess will be impossible to see in high summer. I loved this site, and will treasure the memory of it for a long time to come.

We'd been fairly fortunate with the weather so far, with only a couple of minor, brief showers. Lugbury Longbarrow was next on the list, and as we arrived on the Fosse Way, the heavens opened. Luckily the rain didn't last too long, just enough to get on the camera lens and spoil the photos of the site…

It was raining when we arrived here, but luckily it was only another brief (though heavy) shower. We'd parked right by the gate to the field, by the footpath sign and I donned my waterproofs for the first time this year for the short trip across the field to the stones which were easily visible from the car.

I've never seen so many dandelions in one field before. I also have to say I've never seen so much dung in one field before either. And so varied in colour, texture and consistency! Keeping my head down to check my path, essential in these conditions, I progressed carefully to the stones. The wind must have been in the right direction, as although the M4 was clearly visible, there was no traffic noise to be heard, even when the rain finally stopped.

There's not much left of the original mound now - it's probably less than a foot or so high from the rest of the field, but easily discernable. The landowner had stacked up a lot of brushwood at one end, and the stones themselves had quite a bit of undergrowth on and around them.

What we have here are two uprights, and what looks like a collapsed capstone leaning against them. There is a 'bite' out of the lower end of the capstone. It reminded me very much of the hole in the capstone of somewhere like Trevethy Quoit, but cut out to the edge of the stone.. a sad and dilapidated site holding only memories of it's previous splendour....and I couldn't find the Golden Wheelbarrow....

We dropped down to see the Three Shire Stones before heading for home, but passed them twice, before turning to the trusty GPS to locate them. Weird site, they made Mikki laugh in wonderment.

Heading home along the A4, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to turn off after Cherhill onto the Avebury road. This time, I turned left through Avebury Trusloe to take a stroll up to Windmill Hill – my first visit to the site, and a fitting end to a long day.

We didn't manage to get to: Stoney Littleton, Devil's Bed and Bolster, Lanhill Longbarrow or Aldbourne Four Barrows, but there's always another day, (and a torch!)…

An Essex Desert

A trip over to Basildon afforded an opportunity to look for a site in the comparative neolithic desert that is Essex.

Poring over the map the night before, the best candidate seemed to be Danbury Hill Fort (TL779050), just east of Chelmsford. A word of warning. When planning trips, make sure you have up-to-date maps. My Chelmsford map was 1974 vintage, where the fort is clearly marked as being behind the church in Danbury. I found the church with no problems, despite the A12 being rerouted and several other roads being re-designated, but there was no sign of a hill fort.

Driving around the block and approaching the site from the south, the hill could clearly be made out, but was topped by a water tower and what must be the ugliest communications tower I've ever seen.

Undaunted I looked around, and through a hedge I spotted what may or may not have been an embankment, but being on private ground it was impossible to discern whether anything of the original hill fort survives.

Avoiding Chelmsford town centre, which appeared to be gridlocked (it was Good Friday!), I obtained a newer version of the OS map, to find that there is no longer any mention of the fort in Danbury.

Cutting my losses, I headed home, stopping at Ambresbury Banks for a quick neolithic fix on the way. Despite being so close to the road, and with the M25 within spitting distance, there's a real feeling of the age of the place here. Sadly, many of the birch trees are dead or dying and it's almost impossible to feel the ground beneath your feet due to the depth of the mulch.

Tomorrow it's Oxfordshire again.

A Quick Spin Round Oxon

We chose Oxfordshire for our first outing following a minor operation on my shoulder and Mikki's removal of an ingrowing toenail that had made movement for both of us, and particularly driving for me, difficult. I planned a quick (circular) road trip to take in some of the barrows and stones of Oxfordshire that I'd not seen before.

Staying away from the motorway, we decided to take the A41 to Bicester then cut across country to our first destination.

Sadly, we made the mistake of stopping in a Little Chef for breakfast. Why are they so damn slow? It really shouldn't take the best part of an hour to serve up two basic breakfasts. Having made a late start anyway, we found the best part of the day had passed when we finally got on the way toward our first stop, The Hoar Stone at Enstone.

Despite the warnings about missing the stones, we had no difficulty in locating them first time. I found this a delightful place, with a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere, despite being within feet of the road.

Incredible stones! So peaceful, despite being so close to the road, an oasis of calm. As is my wont, I laid hands on the stones, and it was only later that I noticed my hand had been dyed bright green by the lichen which was rampant on the main stone.

Next stop was the Thor Stone at Taston. I'd forgotten about the mention of the spring, so we missed that this time round…

The Hawk stone was next on the itinerary, and I found this a fascinating site. I felt strongly that the notched top should have some significance, but despite walking all around, I was unable to identify any visual alignments.

Knollbury was next, before moving on to Lyneham Longbarrow, where parking was extremely precarious on the main A361 Formula 1 racetrack.

Knollbury is an interesting site, if only for the lack of features. What we have here is a square embanked enclosure, approx 200 yards on a side, with (entrance?) gaps at the corners on the eastern side. I didn't enter the site itself - there are no information signs and the gates to adjoining fields were locked - although the wall is easily surmountable as a section is being repaired completely out of keeping by the application of a slab of flat concrete on top rather than drystone.

The enclosure commands excellent cross-country views to the south and east, but the ground rises to the north obstructing the view in that direction.

A quick phone call to the Cornbury Park estate and we'd obtained permission to look at the barrows in Wychwood Forest. We spotted Leafield Barrow on the way to the Forest, but decided not to stop for photos. Judging by the number of people walking through the forest, I'm not sure the permission was essential, but better safe than sorry. I'm not altogether sure I would have found the Slatepits Copse Long Barrow without my trusty GPS, but it was certainly worth finding. Even stood just 10 feet away, it was difficult to make out there was a barrow there at all, until the stones came into view.

Time was moving on, so I left the rest of the Wychwood sites for another day as we still wanted to pop up to Chipping Norton for a look around before heading back to London.