St Mungo's Well (Northumberland)

Trip No.28  Entry No.6  Date Added: 29th May 2017
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 28th May 2017. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: St. Mungo's Well, Holystone, Northumberland: We’d already visited the lovely Lady Well on 8th September 2013, but stopped to look at this one, which is at the side of the Coquet River. Sitting by the right hand side of the road just before entering the village from the Otterburn Ranges, just before the corner of the road leading up to Holystone Priory Farm and the footpath up to Lady’s Well.

The grass and weeds had grown right up to the well, although there was a small track to the well basin, showing a few other people had visited.

I did taste the water, which was clear, but didn’t taste of any particular mineral. The flow of water was strong (but not as strong as St. Cuthbert’s Well in Bellingham), indicating it might be artesian after a long spell of very dry weather in this part of the world.

I hadn’t done any research on this well before visiting, just passing by on the spur of the moment. Pastscape is dubious about this being a holy well. The shrubbery around the well hid the overflow pipe at the burn side of the structure, and I wished I had looked for the conduit at the village green. Another trip to this beautiful part of the county is called for.

Harbottle

Trip No.28  Entry No.7  Date Added: 30th May 2017
Site Type: Modern Stone Circle etc Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 28th May 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Harbottle Modern Standing Stone/Castle: From Holystone, we passed through Harbottle to get back to the A68, so stopped to look at the castle. The site is lovely.

I spotted the modern standing stone to the west of the car park. The standing stone is inscribed with words:

The Sad Castle
Who Made me/Into a ruin/like an old city?
Was it the soldiers who rode out on horseback?
Was it my old enemy the Scots?
Or was it those Border Reivers?
Perhaps it was just the centuries passing.
Felicity Lance

Apparently there are supposed to be 2 poems, the above by Felicity Lance, another by Robert Corley from Harbottle School, carved into the stone by local stonemason David Edwick. I walked all around the stone, even photographing the other faces to see if anything came up on the camera, but only saw the one poem.

The Pastscape record says there could have been a pre-Conquest fortress on the site. The motte is very steep, and a walk around the moat/outer ditch was charming. Walking into the ruins from the eastern side, there are lots of lumps and bumps of the remains of walls and buildings. Very enigmatic. Really pleased to have been here.

Hawick Mote

Trip No.29  Entry No.1  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Misc. Earthwork Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Hawick Motte/Mote, Scottish Borders: We arrived in Hawick, intending to buy a map, but the majority of the shops (apart from Dorothy Perkins, the bookmakers, charity shops and 1 café, were closed (looking at the opening times, they largely shut at 2pm on a Saturday. The town seemed deserted apart from a few tourists. We later found out that most local people had gathered near the community centre for the Riding of the Marches.

We couldn’t get a map, so relied on Andrew’s phone with TrigPoint on it. We were on our way to Lord’s Tree Cairn, driving down a street called Loan, when we spotted The Mote, so screeched to a halt by the side of the road and went round to take a photograph.

Quite extraordinary, The Mote is in the middle of a housing estate, with people’s washing hung up nearby. It rises steeply up out of the ground and there is a wooden staircase which takes you to the viewing point at the top. Andrew said it was only as large as our living room – no room for more than 12 people at most. Looking at this on UK Grid Reference Finder, it is located in Moat Park at the Southern end of the town. Plenty of dog walkers, all whom ignored me taking photographs.

Lord's Tree (Hawick)

Trip No.29  Entry No.2  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Lord's Tree Cairn, Hawick: We arrived in Hawick, intending to buy a map, but the majority of the shops (apart from the bookmakers, charity shops and 1 café, were closed (looking at the opening times, they largely shut at 2pm on a Saturday. The town seemed deserted apart from a few tourists. We later found out that most local people had gathered near the community centre for the Riding of the Marches.

Relying upon the Trigpointing UK maps (good job there was a phone signal!), we navigated our way through the town (stopping off to look at The Mote on the way), past the golf course and out into the glorious open countryside with the hills beyond.

This cairn appears as a slight bump at the top of a small rise of a hill; it's unmistakably a large, low cairn, and the lush green grass and wild flowers invited a walk through the meadow towards it.

Completely circular, there is a low bank surrounding the cairn. Shame the old Lord's Tree wasn't there. Lovely view down to Ca Knowe Cairn further south.

Ca Knowe (Hawick)

Trip No.29  Entry No.3  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Ca Knowe Cairn, Hawick (aka Hero's Grave): Simply marked as ‘cairn’ on Trigpointing UK's OS map, we could see this cairn from Lord’s Tree Cairn. There is a proper tarmacked footpath up to the modern standing stone with plaque on it. Closer to, it is much larger than it appears from the mark on the map, and has a proper tarmacked path up to it.

Unfortunately, both on our way to our next site, and our way back to Hawick, the monument was surrounded by a number of very large cows with their calves, so we decided not to risk upsetting them and drove on after having taken some photographs.

Burgh Hill Stone Circle

Trip No.29  Entry No.4  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Burgh Hill Stone Circle, Hawick: After visiting Lord's Tree and Ca Knowe Cairns, we headed off towards Teviothead and some wild, lonely countryside. There is a track leading up the hill towards the stone circle (and the hill fort beyond), at NT 47365 06725, with parking for 2-3 cars opposite.

Following the track up the (reasonably steep) hill, we took the left hand fork and followed the mowed grassy track towards the stone circle. The circle lies just past the first peak with rocks outcrops to your right, but not as far as the fort. We went past the stones at first, having climbed too high up the hill, but Andrew found a metal pole with a large aluminium star attached to it, presumably marking this as an archaeological site.

Looking at the site on UK Grid Reference Finder, the circle lies in between two small banks running in very shallow arcs. The stones of the circle seem to lie in a dip with a small bank around. It reminded me very much of a cairn circle rather than a stone circle, as none of the stones seemed to be worked in any way, and they were all comparatively small. I note the Canmore record for this site says it's been re-designated a Stone Setting rather than a stone circle.

Having stayed to enjoy the views, and also photograph the Dod settlement from above, we climbed up to the fort, where it was VERY windy (but thankfully the wind was warm).

Burgh Hill Hillfort

Trip No.29  Entry No.5  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Burgh Hill Hillfort, Scottish Borders: What is a 'bit more of a walk' for me is probably a 'short walk on a footpath' for others, but even so, this was a brilliant place to have visited.

With Burgh Hill Stone Circle (or possibly a cairn circle?) not far away, it was worth the additional short trek up to the south west summit of Burgh Hill. Goodness it was windy, although thankfully, as it was a nice warm spring/summer day, the wind was at least warm.

On the western side of the hillfort, the ground (as at Woden Law) dropped away sharply, making me take a quick step backwards to admire the views over the Allan Water valley below.

There are clear internal boundaries/banks/walls and a couple of hut circles, although these didn't come out very clearly on the photographs I took. There was a solitary large (standing) stone which didn't seem to be associated with any internal features.

The double banks and ditches on the south, east and northern sides of the fort were really visible, made of stone and earth, with two clear entrances to the north-east and south-west.

The Dod

Trip No.29  Entry No.6  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: The Dod, near Bugh Hill Stone Circle and Hillfort: It was amazing what could be seen of this site from the slope just below Burgh Hill Stone Circle. Looking at the plan on Canmore, it is cut in two by the syke by the farm to it's south, but what remains, looking at the settlement from the road, are deep ditches and reasonably high banks.

The area is boggy, but the settlement can be reached by entering the field at its north-eastern end, walking westwards along the fence line next to the gate, then cutting across the field at the far end. For those not keen on boggy ground, a lot can be seen from the road.

Thankfully (after Burgh Hill Hillfort) The Dod was not windy! The sun was very strong at the time of our arrival here, and I struggled to avoid flare even using a polaroid and UV filters together. Was really pleased to have seen this site, but with so many other settlements and hill forts in the area, how to fit them all in? We decided to call it a day, calling in at Midshiels Standing Stone and Cairn on the way back home.

Midshiels Standing Stone

Trip No.29  Entry No.7  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Midshiels Standing Stone, Hawick: We'd arrived (unknowingly) in Hawick on their Riding of the Marches day. The shops were shut and the town was almost deserted. Having visited some other sites on the southern side of Hawick, we decided to stop off to see this standing stone and cairn on the way back home. Following the curious one-way system though Hawick, we ended up on the Borders Abbey Way heading north-east out of the town. At Bucklands, we found where the entire town was - at a community centre at the edge of the town. A marshall stopped us and told us we wouldn't be able to get any further up the road as the procession of horses was coming through. Doubling back through the industrial estate, we took the A698 out of town, turning left over the picturesque Hornshole Bridge, rejoining Borders Abbey Way a few hundred yards before the entrance to Midshiels Farm.

A couple of hundred yards further north-east along the road, there was a large passing place, so we hugged the car into the hedgerow and hopped out. About 50 metres further back, on the other side of the road, a gate let us into the field leading to the dismantled railway embankment to the west. Following the left hand hedge-line along, we came to another gate, just before a tall brick bridge leading under the railway line. This gate gave access to the field with the standing stone and cairn.

However, the field was full of gently grazing sheep and lots of lively, curious bullocks along with what looked like a very large bull. My hand went onto the gate and they were running towards us. I elected to use the zoom lens on the camera, and was really disappointed not to have seen this standing stone closer up. But there is lots to see in this area, so undoubtedly a return visit will be in the offing at some point in the not too distant future.

Midshiels Cairn

Trip No.29  Entry No.8  Date Added: 31st Jul 2017
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 3rd Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Midshiels Cairn, Hawick: See visit report for Midshiels Standing Stone (the two are 90 metres apart), sites entered separately as Canmore lists them individually. Couldn't get really close to the cairn - would have loved to have walked up to it, but there was a really big bull and lots of over-friendly and very lively bullocks in the field. Must revisit at a different time of year!

There are plenty of other forts and settlements around here. The problem with another visit, is which sites to pick?

St. Cuthbert's Well (Farne Islands)

Trip No.30  Entry No.1  Date Added: 14th Jun 2017
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 11th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: St. Cuthbert's Well (site of), Inner Farne: Requires boat trip and short walk from the jetty to see exterior of the building within which it is located. The sea was very calm today, but there were lots of people on the boat – there must have been around 3 to 4 space places. We had a trip around the islands, stopping to see the seals and various colonies of birds in their different nesting places.

Eventually arriving at Inner Farne, the island was full of people with big cameras and enormous lenses, and I felt the ‘poor relation’ with my small lens. The terns were in full flight, protecting their eggs and their chicks.

I took my list of sites with grid references and asked the National Trust Warden who was manning the information point. She said it was not possible to get into the lighthouse compound to look for the cross base, as it was owned by Trinity House and off-limits. She said there was a well in the basement (Pastscape says ground floor) of Prior Castell’s Tower, but as it was used by the wardens for accommodation, the public were not allowed in. She did confirm that there was a door/panel that could be opened, with a few steps leading down to a stone lined chamber containing water, which would be the well.

She also said that they believed what is now called “The Fisherman’s Hut” was the site of St. Cuthbert’s Cell and the place of his death. “There’s a small window where he would watch for people coming to the island, and if he didn’t want to talk to them, wouldn’t open the door.” Pastscape says there is considerable doubt about the position of the cell and there are various theories about its location.

I also had the location for a cross base, but as this was located inside the lighthouse grounds (or on the cliff edge!), this area was out of bounds to tourists.

Chatton 1a

Trip No.30  Entry No.2  Date Added: 14th Jun 2017
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 11th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Chatton 1a, Rock Art, Northumberland: After our trip to the Farne Islands, as we were nearby and had an hour or so to spare, we decided to head off to Chatton to see if we could find the rock art and the rock shelter. Little did I realise that we’d be blown off the top of the hill – I found it almost impossible to stand and take photographs, despite it being a relatively calm, sunny day.

Andrew (husband) related that friends (Martin Green and Dot) who’d visited the trig point here had been unable to find any rock art. They also said that there was now a sign on the gate leading onto the track (at NU 07833 28678) leading up to the rock art site, but we didn't see any. However, the track was clear and easy to follow.

I confess to being really disappointed, as the marks were very worn and faint, and we had difficulty identifying them, even though we knew what we were looking for. We found three examples: Chatton 1a, Chatton 2 and Chatton 3.

Husband set off to the Ketley Crags rock shelter, but didn't take the camera with him, so a separate trip will be required (note: found an alternative route avoiding the stream).

Chatton 2

Trip No.30  Entry No.2  Date Added: 14th Jun 2017
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 11th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Chatton 2, Rock Art, Northumberland: See visit report for Chatton 1a.

Chatton 3

Trip No.30  Entry No.2  Date Added: 14th Jun 2017
Site Type: Rock Art Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 11th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Chatton 3, Rock Art, Northumberland: See visit report for Chatton 1a.

Dour Hill (Rochester)

Trip No.31  Entry No.1  Date Added: 19th Jun 2017
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 17th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Dour Hill Chambered Cairn, Near Otterburn: We picked the hottest day of the year so far to visit here, and climbed the gently sloping hill up past the very tall forest plantations towards the top of Dour Hill.

This visit was interesting as the army were carrying out exercises on the Otterburn Ranges less than 400 metres away. They must have been at the top of Dour Hill as, as soon as we'd reached the cairn, there was an almighty boom and the ground under our feet trembled with the ordnance being fired. On the way back to the A68 we heard the radios and voices not far away.

Unlike Bellshiel Law chambered cairn, this cairn sits in a forest clearing and nature has been allowed to reclaim it. The chambers can still be made out, and there is a large, deep Bronze Age cist cut into the cairn to the north west of its middle section (I had to pull back a large conifer branch to photograph it properly).

Well worth the walk. Would have liked to have seen the Bronze Age round cairn some 170 metres to its east but the forest was dense and we missed it.

Caddrounburn Calvert

Trip No.31  Entry No.1  Date Added: 26th Jun 2017
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 24th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Caddrounburn Calvert, Scottish Borders: [Note: whilst the site can be seen from the road by Liddel Water, it is a short climb up the slope to walk round the exterior walls of the settlement. I found the tussocks of grass and hidden lumps of stone challenging on my ankles, but took a walking pole to help.]

Following the road to the west of Kielder Water, this twists and turns gently through the countryside. The border here takes some interesting lines, but we ascertained we were just into the Scottish Borders. This fort/settlement is in a lovely spot overlooking a bend of Liddel Water. The grass was almost knee high, but it was still possible to make out Enclosure B from the road. To the western side of Enclosure B, there was a deep ditch and the start of another boundary feature, but the grassy was too long and lush to make out much of Enclosure B at this time of year.

We parked on the south side of the road at NY 58270 98319, where it widens out very slightly on a bend (avoiding the sheep and their large lambs who were totally unperturbed by the car) and headed up the slope to Enclosure B.

The banks are high (up to 1.5 metres) in places, clearly made up of stones and earth. Whilst not quite a square, the corners are well rounded and there is an about 8 foot wide entrance at its south western corner. The banks appear to be between 3 to 4 meters wide, including the tumble at either side. There was a north-south bank from about the middle of Enclosure B to about half way down the enclosure, before it petered out. I (stupidly) thought this was the division between Enclosure A & B, but looking at the site on UK Grid Reference Finder once I got home, I was sadly mistaken! We’d missed Enclosure A completely, although I did spot the ditch dividing the two areas. The grass was very lush and thick, and any banks of Enclosure A were certainly hidden from both the road and Enclosure B. I’d love to see this site again in the winter.

Rochester (Otterburn)

Trip No.31  Entry No.2  Date Added: 19th Jun 2017
Site Type: Modern Stone Circle etc Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes

Log Text: Rochester (Otterburn) Modern Four Poster: We’ve seen this stone circle and a tumble-down round house whilst driving by on the A68 on a number of occasions but never stopped. However, today, after a hot but pleasant afternoon walking to Dour Hill Cairn, we doubled back to the café for refreshments and got chatting to the owners.

The café owners told us there used to be a round house here, but it was demolished by the University of Newcastle who ran the Brigantium project. There is now a timber faced building on the site and they intend using it for ‘Dark Skies’ and the Redefest music festival which is run on 1st weekend of August in Redesdale (this year it will be Friday 4th August to Saturday, 5th August). See https://redefest.org.uk/about-us.

Old Castleton (Newcastleton)

Trip No.31  Entry No.2  Date Added: 30th Jun 2017
Site Type: Misc. Earthwork Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 24th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Old Castleton Earthworks (Liddel Castle), Near Newcastleton: At the north-eastern end of the cemetery, there is a small iron gate which leads out onto the field with the earthworks. The gate had been tied fast, but rather than walk all the way round, I used my un-knotting skills (honed from many years of knitting with cats around) and let ourselves into the field. Whilst the earthworks seemed big viewed from the B6357, they were very large as we approached them.

I was surprised, on reaching the western flank of the earthworks that the ground disappeared straight down some 100 feet to the Liddel Water below on it’s western side and a small burn running north-south to its east. There appeared to be the remains of a large ditch (moat?) to its southern flank and the mound is further divided into two parts east-west across the middle

Very impressive. A lot of history in a small area round here, with St. Martin's cemetery and the old cross nearby.

Gibbie's Knowe (Kielder)

Trip No.31  Entry No.3  Date Added: 19th Jun 2017
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 17th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Gibbie's Knowe, Kielder Forest: After our long trek up to Dour Hill Chambered Cairn, the heat was definitely getting to both of us. Andrew decided to drive the 12 miles down the Forest Drive toll road from Cottonshopeburnhaugh to Kielder. Goodness, this road is remote, but lovely.

We stopped off to see Gibbie’s Knowe, an Iron Age defended settlement, parking off Forest Drive just west of East Kielder Farm (there is a small layby at NY 65257 95857) and following the track south-south-west up the slope towards Kielder Village. We were unable to get down to the mound, but retraced our steps and drove further west along Forest Drive to park in the layby and walk down the overgrown track to the site of an old observation hide (no longer there) at NY 64791 95234. A lovely spot, with the sun glinting off this deep loop of Kielder Burn.

Unfortunately, it was almost 6pm by this time, and we were flagging with the heat, so we abandoned our next walk to Devil’s Lapful long cairn.

Castleton (Newcastleton)

Trip No.31  Entry No.3  Date Added: 30th Jun 2017
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Scotland (Scottish Borders)
Visited: Yes on 24th Jun 2017. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Castleton Cross, Near Newcastleton: Whilst this cross can be seen from the road, it is best viewed from the field (gate opposite the cemetery, otherwise its a clamber over a barbed wire fence in boggy ground). The shaft is a modern replacement, made of concrete. The field contains many lumps and bumps - the remains of the old village. This spot is virtually opposite Old Castleton earthworks (Liddel Castle) and with the enigmatic cemetery with its strange grave markers and brilliant views, it was well worth the stop. Shame the road was so busy at this time on night; cars whizzed by at 60 mph at regular intervals. Not the safest place to walk.