Featured: Lost Secrets - an adventure during Neolithic times

Lost Secrets - an adventure during Neolithic times

Random Image


The Walton Cross

The Modern Antiquarian Reissued

The Modern Antiquarian Reissued

Who's Online

There are currently, 361 guests and 3 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Our Photo Pages >> Hobbyhorse Bay - Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle in Wales in Pembrokeshire

Submitted by PAB on Sunday, 18 May 2003  Page Views: 21376

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Hobbyhorse Bay Alternative Name: Linney Head Camp, Linney Head Fort
Country: Wales
NOTE: This site is 19.5 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Pembrokeshire Type: Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle
 Nearest Village: Castlemartin
Map Ref: SR888957
Latitude: 51.620390N  Longitude: 5.05235W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
2 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

Internal Links:
External Links:

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) Wales: Linney Head Hillfort, Iron Age and earlier. This is the general view from the west. Would have preferred not to have the minibus in shot, but it does actually give some idea of scale...and it did allow us to go through the Artillery Range as well! (Vote or comment on this photo)
Linney Head camp is a coastal promontory fort, defined on the east, south and west by steep limestone cliffs, and by a series of constructed ramparts to the north.

These comprise a single bank and ditch to the east of a centrally placed entranceway, and a double line of banks and ditches to the west. The ramparts run in an east - west direction, 160m in length, and enclose an internal area 0.8 hectares in extent.

There is clear evidence that coastal erosion has and is destroying parts of the fort.

Crossing the interior of the fort are the remains of a shallow ditch with a centrally placed entranceway. This is clearly an earlier enclosure, which predates the later arrangement of the Iron Age promontory fort described above.

A detailed survey of the fort was carried out by RCAHMW in August 2008.

Read more at Coflein
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/408910/details/linney-head-enclosure-castlemartin

IMPORTANT NOTE: On Firing Range - Live Firing takes place. Please check safe timings locally before visiting

Page originally by Vicky
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Linney Head - this is the view west from the end of the ditch&bank defences, showing how well they complemented what nature had provided! (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Surface of Linney Head fort. The very severe storms along this stretch of coast mean that the cliff edges are very exposed - this is the current easterly surface on the headland which could not support any vegetation. I was left wondering what the Iron Age occupants would have made of a view like this... how on earth would they have made sense of these ridic... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Linney Head promontory fort, Pembs. This shows the gulf along the eastern side of the headland, demonstrating why there was only a need for defences along the northern stretch... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Linney Head promontory fort, Pembs. This shows not only the general view westwards across the defensive line of banks & ditches, but also demonstrates the reason the site is not very accessible - the rusted items in the background are tank carcasses! (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Linney Head promontory fort. This shows the eastern end of the bank & ditch defences - a single line on this side as opposed to the double one on the west.

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Linney Head promontory fort. Erosion of the limestone headland has exposed the edges of the bank & ditch defensive lines. This shot from across the chasm shows the edges rather well - for another example, you could check out Castell Bach further round the coast

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Western view - from descriptions on COFLEIN, is seems likely that the banks etc once reached to the cliff edge, with the entry point being in the centre of the defences. There is now room to go onto the headland from the western edge.

Hobbyhorse Bay
Hobbyhorse Bay submitted by pab : Site in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro): Linney Head promontory fort. Closer shot of site from the west, where the defences are a double line of bank & ditch. Minibus for scale (and transport!)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.6km NE 37° Linney Round Barrow(s) (SR898969)
 1.7km ENE 57° Castle Lady Valley Hillfort (SR903966)
 1.8km N 1° Linney Burrows Round Barrow(s) (SR889975)
 2.3km NE 44° Brownslade Farm Round Barrow(s) (SR905973)
 4.3km ESE 102° Flimston Castle* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (SR930946)
 5.0km ESE 104° Crocksydam Camp Hillfort (SR936943)
 5.0km N 360° Kilpaison Burrows Round Barrow(s) (SM890007)
 5.1km N 356° The Devil's Quoit* Burial Chamber or Dolmen (SM88650084)
 5.5km ENE 68° Merrion Court* Hillfort (SR940975)
 5.9km NNW 333° Pickard Head Hillfort (SM863011)
 6.0km NE 36° Wallaston Green* Barrow Cemetery (SM926004)
 6.1km NE 45° Corston Beacon* Round Barrow(s) (SR933999)
 7.0km ESE 107° Buckspool Down Camp* Hillfort (SR954934)
 7.2km NE 54° Dry Burrows* Barrow Cemetery (SR948997)
 7.4km NW 323° Whitedole Bay Hillfort (SM846018)
 7.4km E 82° Devil's Quoit (St Twynnells)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SR96239638)
 7.8km NE 53° Pennybridge Stone Circle (SM953001)
 7.9km E 86° Harold Stone (Bosherton)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SR96769586)
 8.2km NNE 22° Pwllcrochan Hillfort (SM922032)
 8.3km E 94° Bosherston* Hillfort (SR971948)
 8.3km NNE 11° Oil Refinery Hillfort (SM908038)
 8.4km ESE 107° St Govan's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SR96719294)
 8.7km E 96° Freynslake Round Barrow(s) (SR974945)
 9.0km E 93° Stackpole Warren* Ancient Village or Settlement (SR978948)
 9.1km E 91° Birch Hill Round Barrow(s) (SR979951)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Dry Burrows

Ash Tree Cave >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

The Old Straight Track, Alfred Watkins

The Old Straight Track, Alfred Watkins

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Hobbyhorse Bay" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Linney Head Camp by Andy B on Tuesday, 21 May 2019
(User Info | Send a Message)
Exhibition panel entitled Airborne Remote Sensing, LiDAR and the Coastal Promontory Forts of Pembrokeshire, produced by RCAHMW, 2010.
http://orapweb.rcahms.gov.uk/coflein/R/RCEX_021_01.pdf

Survey plan depiction from RCAHMW digital survey archive of Linney Head Camp, carried out as part of a remote sensing project in partnership with Dyfed Archaeological Trust.
http://orapweb.rcahms.gov.uk/coflein/L/LHC02.pdf

RCARMW: Linney Head Camp is a study site within the EU-funded CHERISH Project 2017-2021. New survey work and laser scanning was carried out during a non-firing period on 27 March 2018.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Hobbyhorse Bay by PAB on Saturday, 06 June 2009
(User Info | Send a Message)
As described in the COFLEIN entry for this site, there are very good cliffs defending 3 sides of this headland, with clear ditch & bank defences on the northern, landward side.

There is an entrance in the centre of the band of ditches, which are just over 150m across the headland's neck. Not having had time to check, and never quite being able to convert hectares to acres, I guess I will have to take COFLEIN's word for the area inside the banks being 0.8 hectares!

Just as described in my posts on nearby Flimston Head Hillfort, the coastal erosion along this stretch is destroying much of the headlands - here it has had the extra benefit of revealing a cross-section of bank, which is visible on the western end.

What I couldn't check (as I hadn't read it until afterwards!) was the assertion in the COFLEIN entry that this site has features suggesting an enclosure which predates the main Iron Age fort - please go to the COFLEIN site for details.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Hobbyhorse Bay by PAB on Saturday, 06 June 2009
(User Info | Send a Message)
Condition: 4
Ambience: 4
Access: 1 - needs permit as on a closed part of MOD range!
Accuracy: 5
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Hobbyhorse Bay by PAB on Saturday, 06 June 2009
(User Info | Send a Message)
Admin - can I suggest renaming this location to Linney Head Hillfort please? That seems to be the name used by COFLEIN and local historians. Hope this doesn't cause problems...?
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.