Too Far, and Too Wide a Net...

I never learn. Trying to fit too much in never works.

The initial idea was to visit some of the sites around the Avebury complex. Then "oh, it's only a little further to Glastonbury. We could stock up on well water and visit the bookshop. And see some sites on the way there and back".

We made an early start, and after breakfast on the motorway (and the hilarious sight of a pheasant taking a leisurly stroll across to the central reservation without a care in the world, with cars breaking and swerving all around), we were approaching Chippenham by just after 10.

Having done a quick recalc of the map on the way down, Lanhill Longbarrow looked a good bet, and so it turned out.

Approaching from the East, Lanhill Farm is on the left. Shortly after this, there is a pull in to a gate for a field, with a footpath sign present. I managed to pull off the road, out of harm's way here.

Instead of doing the intelligent thing and taking the footpath, I walked along the road until I saw the barrow through the trees, then navigated the knee high nettles and jumped over the fence.

The barrow was an absolute delight, covered in buttercups. No livestock in sight. It certainly pays to circumnavigate such things as I wouldn't have known about the chamber on the southern side if I hadn't. Taking some photos, I had the fright of my life when I nearly stepped on a pheasant resting in the long grass. It took off like a rocket as I stepped backwards, framing a shot.

Looking in the chamber, some remedial work has obviously been carried out, as iron girders are holding parts of the roof in place. A nice barrow, in a pleasant setting, on a glorious day.

According to the 'thisiscirencester' web site, Lanhill is: "A late Neolithic chambered long barrow, named Hubbaslow which can clearly be seen from the road and public footpaths."

Moving on, I had the Devil's Bed and Bolster as next on the list. Unfortunately, a call of nature meant I wouldn't make it up the path, and the pub wasn't open to use, so we carried on to the next services to avail ourselves of the facilities. Never mind, we'll be coming back this way...

And so to Glastonbury. The tower on the Tor is still shrouded in scaffolding for the remedial works, so we went straight to the Chalice Well to replenish our stock of well water for the next week or so before hitting the bookshops in town. Back in the car, a quick check of the map, and "hang on, we can route back to Avebury via Stoney Littleton..."

Finding Wellow was straighforward. Luckily, a local saw us poring over the map, guessed right and gave us precise directions to the barrow, we had little difficulty in locating the 'car park', and the walk up the hill didn't seem that far either. First view is amazing as you come to the stile and realise it's just there in front of you!

I had remembered my torch, and crawled inside, but found the external light was sufficient to see what I was doing. But, being a wuss in confined spaces, I didn't go all the way in - just past the first side chambers was far enough for me to explore. I tried a couple of basic chants to test the acoustics before I left, but found that the sound was just absorbed by the stones (the 'eggbox' effect).

Sitting outside and facing the entrance I noticed that the hills behind the barrow seem to surround and 'cuddle' the barrow itself. Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just my imagination? I was reticent to leave, but with Mikki waiting down below, I reluctantly returned to the car.

Time was now against us, and I still hadn't seen any of my Avebury targets for the day. Heading straight back to Devizes (and ignoring the sign to Rode and the Devil's Bed), we made for Alton Priors and the underfloor sarsen.

I'm not normally one for churches (I tend to burst into flames!), but I couldn't pass this one up. There's a delightful old wooden 'turn'-stile into the field containing the church, which is contained in the middle of a field.

There's a trapdoor to the right inside the church proper, and a sarsen can be seen here. There's what looks like a drill hole, at least 6 inches deep into the stone, and the end nearest the door looks as if it's been sheared at some point - very flat and angular. Sadly, the other trapdoor cannot be opened due to staging being constructed over it - I'll try writing to the church conservation people to find out why.

It was a very peaceful and cool place to rest on a warm day though. And there are information leaflets available about the church (which don't mention the sarsens at all).

Driving past Adam's Grave and associated sites was difficult, but I carried on up to the Ridgeway at the Sanctuary, as I wanted a crack at the Polisher, if at all possible. I gave myself 20 minutes as Mikki was flagging fast. This was plainly not enough time, I headed back to the car after the allotted time, bowed but not defeated. We still had a 2 hour (turned out to be 3 and a half with Bank Holiday traffic) journey home.

Next time, I'll plan a more compact journey, with specific targets in the Avebury area, and stick to the plan...

Yeah right, like that'll work!

Hopping Down to Kent

Despite a heavy cold, we decided to take another spin down to Kent to check out some sites I'd not covered before.

Of course, I couldn't forget Mikki's needs, so we scheduled in a few shops on the way. First stop of the day was Shoreham, before moving down to Ashford.

My main target for the day was Julieberries Grave, but sadly I didn't find it, despite having an OS map and a bit of exploring around the Kent Fishery. I should have taken the book with me I guess...

Heading up to Canterbury, we passed directly by Bigbury Camp, but couldn't see anywhere obvious to stop and explore.

Mentioned in Dyer's "Discovering Prehistoric England" as "a late Iron Age, univallate hillfort of irregular shape and about 10 hectares in extent" . We drove right by it, according to the map, but couldn't see much at all through the trees.

After a quick diversion into Whitstable, we headed back to the Aylesford area and I hunted down the White Horse Stone without much difficulty.

I'd failed to find this site on a couple of previous occasions, and had been told it's tricky to find, but strangely went straight to the stone this time round with no problems whatsoever. From the A229 southbound, take the slip road immediately after the Shell garage, and park. Walk back toward the garage, and follow the path round to the right. There is a bridge across the railway line, the stone is less than 100 yards up the footpath on the left.

Heading back towards London, we stopped off to pay our respects to the Addington Long Barrow before the final stop of the day at Coldrum.

I was so angry after visiting this, the last stop of the day. Some idiots had set a camp fire within about 8 feet of the stones. The ashes were cold, but didn't look as if they'd been rained on, so were obviously recent and fresh. In addition, one of the rails of the surrounding fence had been broken, presumably during the camp's high spirits.

On the positive side, I learned something new. This was originally though to be the remnants of a stone circle, as shown by a plaque at the base of the terrace.

South Coast Excursion

An early start. A grey day. Heavy rain. Hey, let's go to the seaside!

Ok, not really, but we had planned a trip to Worthing for a craft show that Mikki wanted to attend. Obviously I therefore checked out potential sites en route.

Sussex roads are amongst the least driver-friendly I've ever encountered. Minimal lay-bys, poor forward visibility, high hedges (no good views), no possibility of overtaking even if the weight of traffic allowed it. And no Little Chef south of Dorking on the A24! Having had to skip breakfast, and having to watch the road carefully, I missed any indication for Chanctonbury Ring that may have been available. Was I impressed so far?

I even took the wrong road for Findon, ending up in a dairy farm, but eventually found the village and we made our way up to the car park for the Cissbury Ring Hill Fort. If the road hadn't petered out to a dirt track, I'd have probably missed that too, as the rain had stopped and a heavy mist was now descending. Leaving Mikki in the car as is our practise, I decided to risk a brisk walk to the top to have a quick look around. The chalk and flint path was very slippery underfoot as I ascended, but I managed to get up and get a good look at the outer ditch and embankment. Rather than walk the full perimeter, discretion being the better part of valour I returned to the safety of the car as the mist followed me down.

On to the fair, followed by a decent lunch at a Beefeater on the A27. The afternoon was now mine to command. First stop was the Rest And Be Thankful stone at Southwick. A very depressing experience as it turned out. I had considered walking up to Thunder Barrow, but decided against it.

What a place! The road leading up to the track is a normal seaside town suburban road. Bungalows and terraced houses with clipped front lawns and twitching net curtains. All very nice and Stepford.

The track leads up past some allotments, and then the fun starts. Most of us carry a plastic bag to put rubbish in when we visit sites. I think this place would need a fleet of dumper trucks. In a walk of less than 500 yards, I saw 2 mattresses, an armchair, 3 large gas canisters and countless bags of assorted household refuse. I seriously thought I'd strayed onto the council tip at one point, and if it weren't for the GPS telling me I was getting close, I'd have given up.

Very very sad. I'd planned to continue on to look at Thunder Barrow, but was so depressed by what I'd seen when I reached the stone, I turned back to the car.

Next up was the Goldstone in Hove. Very quaint, pretty and 'municipal' in its setting.

The plan said that Alfriston Church was next. And so it would have been. We passed through the village, which is extremely unfriendly to drivers, albeit very pretty apparently – we didn't stop to pay the extortionate parking fee in the car park half a mile outside the village, as Mikki can't walk that far.

My main target of the day was the Long Man of Wilmington, but passing through Alfriston I missed the turn and had to drive right down to Seaford on the coast before returning up on the other side of the Cuckmere River to Wilmington. This was a fortuitous diversion, as it allowed us to stop at 'High and Over', a glorious viewpoint over the Cuckmere valley.

Finally arriving at Wilmington, I just had time to take the standard view photos and to visit the Yew in St Mary and St Peter's Churchyard (the church was closed for refurbishment following 'fire damage') before the heavens /really/ opened up on us. Visibility was seriously impeded by the heavy downpour, but determined to complete the plan we headed for Hellingly to view the church there. Alas, we were thwarted once again, and the road to the village was closed 'access only' as the bridge was apparently down. A quick check of the map showed that the diversion was a bit too long to attempt, given the weather and distance from home, so we reluctantly headed for home.

The inclement weather continued all the way back to London, and joy of joys, it still took over two hours to cross London from Croydon to home. A distance of just over 20 miles. Today was not my most favourite day trip, but then you probably gathered that…

Herts Runaround

As Mikki wanted to visit a couple of craft shops today, I decided to fit in a couple of sites I've not bothered with before. Having got the shopping out of the way we headed along the A10 to Standon to see the Pudding Stone, in its picture postcard village setting. Back down the A10, then across country through Hertford and Welwyn to Wheathampstead to see the Devil's Dyke.

Just around the corner from the village church, Standon was idyllic on a sunny Sunday morning. Villagers were cutting the lawn and gossiping over the hedge, giving a wonderful picture of rural village life. The stone sits next to a memorial oak on a small green at a junction off the main High Street through the village. The information sign could do with a good clean, and the stone looks as if it's had a bit knocked off the top. It looks for all the world like a piece of modern sculpture in its shape. Interesting texture and well worth seeing if you're in the area.

Popped along to take a look at Devil's Dyke today, and also its continuation in St Albans, Beech Bottom Dyke.

It's an impressive defensive ditch, but I'd be inclined to just walk along to the end and attack at that point!

Of course, it's very overgrown now, with bluebells in abundance, as well as the usual detritus of 21st century living: broken cycles, botles, syringes etc. Apart from that, it'd be a nice short woodland walk alongside the housing estate.

Finally, back towards St Albans to see the other end of the Dyke at Beech Bottom Dyke before heading home to put the shopping away...

This earthwork is in a poor condition, and very overgrown but there is a walkway along the top from which the depth of the original dyke can be appreciated. The sides are very sheer in places, and seem to drop away to a depth of around 50-60 feet.

The earthwork is thought to have originally joined up with the Devil's Dyke to create a defensive earthwork running from the River Lea to the River Ver.

I found the best viewpoint was from the alleyway running between the houses on Beech Road, near the junction with Marshall Avenue.

MayDay Weekend Travels

Another long weekend, another ignored plan...

Saturday was already spoken for. Rochester Sweeps Fair, where I've spent the May Day Saturday for the last few years. I'd agreed to take some friends along who had no experience of the Morris, whilst I knew several members of some of the sides who were appearing there.

As they'd also not experienced any stones before, I took the opportunity to pop along to Kits Coty to give them a small taste of what the stones are about, which they enjoyed.

Saturday evening was spent planning the Sunday trip. On the itinerary were the Breamore MizMaze, Giant's Grave, Whitbury Fort, the Tidpit area barrows, Knowlton Henge, Badbury Rings and the Cerne Abbas Giant. Weirdly, despite clear roads and a good speed it somehow took 3.5 hours to get to Salisbury (including a 30 minutes stop for breakfast). I can never work out the math on these trips. Time should = Distance / Average Speed but it never seems to when I go out…

Because of the apparent delay, I didn't spend much time looking for the Breamore and Tidpit sites. Dorset was disappointing in this respect. I didn't get the feeling (as I do in Wiltshire, Cornwall etc) of being in the midst of an ancient landscape. The fact there seemed to be so much (admittedly pretty) woodland around only served to hide what landscape was there. So we cut our losses and headed for Knowlton, hoping for better luck.

Knowlton Henge is one of those sites that have been the subject of discussion on the forums recently. An ancient site that's been taken over and christianised – in this case by having a church built within the henge. At this site though, I finally got the feeling I was part of the landscape again.

I travelled down after reading the reviews, looking forward to seeing the site, which didn't disappoint. Although the church has somewhat taken over the site, the fact that it's also in ruins just added to the atmosphere at the site, suggesting that no belief is constant...

I'd expected to see the two magnificent yews flanking an entrance from the entries here, but the placement of the trees is more in line with the church than the henge, which is unbroken by the trees.

Back in the car, we decided to forgo Badbury Rings and make straight for Cerne Abbas and the Giant. This was most disappointing, packed with tourists, and looking for all the world like a modern tourist attraction rather than an ancient site. No feelings whatsoever about this place.

A glance at the map showed that Yeovil, and therefore Glastonbury was not too far away, so we headed in that direction. We managed to get to the bookshop in Glastonbury before it closed, but didn't pick anything up on this occasion. We dropped by the Chalice Well to pick up some water, then made our way up Well Lane to see what was going on at the Tor, where the tower was swathed in scaffolding – apparently it's being repaired and repointed. No doubt that'll look awful and new and out of place when they're finished.

From Glastonbury we travelled up the A361, spotting what looked like an interesting recumbent hill figure near Nunney Catch. We couldn't find a suitable spot to stop and photograph it (and I subsequently can't find it on the map), so we carried on through Frome, Trowbridge and Devizes and finally reached (oh, what a surprise!) Avebury. I picked up what seems at first glance to be a good gazetteer of England in the shop, 'Discovering Prehistoric England' by James Dyer. We dropped down the Avenue, looking out for Falkner's Circle, but I didn't spot it – one for another day. Back on the A4, we stopped briefly at the Ridgeway to take a look at the Sanctuary – the first time I'd actually stopped here – before finally hitting the motorway for home.

A long day, with some wonderful views, even if we didn't see most of the planned sites. They say the journey's the thing, and on this occasion, that turned out to be true. A very enjoyable day. Monday – a day of rest to catch up on logging the trip and sorting the weekend's photos. Next week, Oxon and Glocs (Belas Knapp) is planned again. But we know what happens to plans, right?