Drizzlecombe cairn 4

Trip No.134  Entry No.11  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Drizzlecombe Cairn 4: I took photographs of all three cairns in a row, then one at a time. My notes indicate this is Drizzlecombe Cairn 4. This is the most northerly of the three cairns at the head of rows 2 and 3, but this cairn does not have a row descending from it.

Drizzlecombe cairn 13

Trip No.134  Entry No.12  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Cist Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Drizzlecombe Cairn 13: Leaving the stone rows behind, we walked up slope and to the WNW. This is a beautiful example of a cairn with central cist. What is very noticeable about this cist is that the stones making up two of the sides projects outside the other two ends. Looking at the Butler diagram for these sites (Volume 3, page 135), cairn 13 is indeed in ine with cairns 2, 3 and 4, but about 150m further from the stone rows.

Drizzlecombe W row

Trip No.134  Entry No.13  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Drizzlecombe West Stone Row: Whilst Sandy G had our group here, he asked us all to help him have a look for this elusive stone row, and we were happy to help, which mentioned in Burl but not in Butler (I haven’t been able to find the mention in Burl, yet).

The others in the group had a far keener eye than me for spotting the lines of stones in the grass, so I wandered up slope and stood on a cairn, observing. Not having my GPS with me, I think this is Butler Drizzlecombe Cairn 15 at SX 5925 6721.

Sandy had the rest of the group stand on stones which they thought might be part of the row, to see how they lined up.

He plans a return visit in September 2019, so I’ll need to watch for an update.

Drizzlecombe Cairn 18

Trip No.134  Entry No.14  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Drizzlecombe Cairn 18: An enormous cairn, which rivals the Giant's Basin in size, so why there is so little information about it, I'm not sure. I managed to clamber up to the top of the cairn and have a look inside, where there is a hollow where it has been excavated. Built almost on top of one of the settlements at the south-eastern side of Drizzlecombe, it looks over the River Plym to the south.

Drizzlecombe Settlement

Trip No.134  Entry No.15  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Drizzlecombe Settlements: After the stone rows, we move up-slope to try and find row 4. Whilst the rest of the group helped Sandy G identify possible stones in this row, I wandered over to Butler's Cairn 18, photographing what looked like some hut circles embedded in the turf. Arriving at Cairn 18, I walked to the top of to look at the enclosed settlement to its south/south western side, which I found fascinating.

Dave Parks was also meandering around the cairn, so he and I wandered back towards the group, with me taking photos of the long, low banks running across the pasture.

Higher up the hill was yet another settlement(s) which I barely took in. This area is so complex and interesting, yet I confess to 'brain overload' by this time of the afternoon, especially as there was so much more yet to come!

I've since managed to get hold of a pdf copy of Jennifer Robertson's unpublished thesis "Archaeology of the Upper Plym Valley" (all 592 pages), which I'll dip into soon, to try and understand more about this area.

Drizzlecombe cist 22

Trip No.134  Entry No.17  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Cist Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Drizzlecombe Cist 22: This was an ‘added on extra’ as it was only an additional 100m, and if we took a short detour to cross the leat, was on our way anyway. Located in the valley, north of the river, this would have been a pleasant, peaceful spot, within sight of the stone rows.

Yellowmead

Trip No.134  Entry No.18  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Yellowmead Fourfold Stone Circle: This stone circle has long been on my wish-list, but I thought I’d never be able to see it, because access was described as being difficult.

Fortunately, Dave Parks and Sandy G had been here before and knew the pitfalls, selecting the right route for us. We were also extremely fortunate in coming here after a prolonged dry spell, so we encountered no boggy areas, apart from one by the stream on the way back to the car park.

By this time of the afternoon, I was hot and tired, and my feet ached really badly, but I was determined to see this stone circle. I should have swapped my walking boots for my wellies to make the walking a little softer on the soles of my feet, but stubbornly didn’t. Mistake. However, the walk to see this circle was well worth it, although I need to apologise to the rest of the group for being very grumpy on the way back. Also, by this time the sun had come out and everyone was getting sunburned, despite the continuous application of sun-screen.

It was really good to have the experts here to describe the monuments to us. Gordon and Dave Parks wandered off to see if they could find other stones in the stone row further to the WSW of the row, but the grass was knee high in this part of the meadow.

Andrew, on the way back to the pub after our epic trip, was saying that he didn’t think the stone circle was entirely genuine; his thinking was the Victorians had ‘beautified’ it for tourists, so I spent some time in the car pulling up the different websites. The stone circle is described as having been ‘faithfully restored’, but Andrew still has his doubts.

We all met up in the Prince of Wales in Princetown for a couple of ice cold pints, before dispersing for the evening. I confess to not recognising Sandy G in the bar, as he didn’t have his hat on – I’ve never seen him without it!

Yellowmead row

Trip No.134  Entry No.19  Date Added: 19th Jul 2019
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Yellomead Stone Row: Without Sandy G and Dave P I would not have known this stone row was here at all. Dave and Gordon F disappeared into the long grass towards the south/south west of the circle to see if they could find any more stones. I focussed on trying to understand what I was seeing nearer to the circle. Having Sandy's diagram, along with the information from Butler and other websites, has helped to clarify my understanding. To think that stone rows may have radiated from this fourfold stone circle. Absolutely fascinating!

Yellowmead cairn

Trip No.134  Entry No.20  Date Added: 19th Jul 2019
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Yellowmead Cairn: Whilst we started walking back to the car park, trying a different path mown through the grass, first running uphill then eastwards then south, we passed this cairn and stopped to take a closer look.

Whilst we were doing this, someone mentioned that the photo of the stone row on the Portal wasn’t the row we’d just looked at, but looked more like a line of stones running above, and parallel to the leat to the south west of the circle, and which we’d crossed to reach it. Some of the group split off to look at this more closely, and decided that the stones in the photo were of tin workings and an old track.

There was not much left of this cairn at all, although the slight mound did stand out nicely at the top of the slope.

The Round Pound

Trip No.135  Entry No.1  Date Added: 19th Jul 2019
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 15th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Round Pound Enclosure (part of the Kes Tor Settlement): For our first stop of the day, this was only a very short walk north-eastwards from the car park, and so visible from the single track road, I was left with open-mouthed and couldn’t wait to get over to this monument to take a closer look.

With Sandy knowing this site so well, we had an almost intimate walk-round this impressive part of the Kes Tor settlement. Little did I appreciate, until we walked over the road to the east, that so much more lay in store.

A superb area, and so easy to reach!

Merrivale settlement

Trip No.133  Entry No.1  Date Added: 22nd Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale Prehistoric Settlement: This was our first stop of the day as part of a three day guided tour by Sandy G, who certainly knew his way around this site, and all the others in this Bronze Age complex.

We parked in the small car park at SX 55311 75018 and, having introduced ourselves to the rest of Sandy's small Expeditionary Force, we walked the short distance onto the moor to start at this site. With the nearer stone rows within site just at the top of the hill, expectations for an exciting rest of the day rose rapidly.

The only downside was the absolutely howling wind that blew throughout the day, sometimes makingit difficult to stand upright. However, it was a cheap way of exfoliating!

I found out when copying photos from the memory card of my camera to my computer that the external GPS device on my camera had stopped working, so I was unable to identify the precise locations of the hut circles I photographed.

Merrivale North Row

Trip No.133  Entry No.2  Date Added: 3rd Jul 2019
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale North Row (Merrivale 1): Between the prehistoric settlement and the first of our stone rows for the day, Sandy G had stopped to point out some of the stones of the Great Western Reave.

Continuing on, these stones could be seen from down slope at the Prehistoric Settlement, and proved a tantalising glimpse of what was in store for the rest of the morning. Sandy was amazing at explaining all the different features along the row, including part of which had recently been restored.

But my goodness, the wind was blowing, and blowing hard. At some points, it was a little tricky to stand upright – thank heavens for my walking poles!

Merrivale Centre N

Trip No.133  Entry No.3  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale Centre Cairn with Cist: Half way down Merrivale North (Row A or Row 1), we hopped across to row 2 to take a look at the cairn in the middle of the row. Fascinating. Worried about the complexity of recording all these sites in my photo/walk journal, Angie Lake told me about the Butler "Atlas of Antiquities" series of 5 books, which has hugely increased my understanding of these sites. Thanks, Angie!

Merrivale Centre Row

Trip No.133  Entry No.4  Date Added: 5th Jul 2019
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale 2/Merrivale Centre Row: As we progressed further south over the moorland, and not far from Merrivale 1 (the northern-most row) at that, the stone rows kept getting better and better.

The row features a triangular blocking stone at the eastern end and twin blocking stones at the western end. It runs for 262.5m from SX 5530 7475 to SX 5556 7478 - see Pastscape 44056. The stones seem to vary in size quite a lot, and generally larger than those of the northern row/row 1/row A.

Merrivale Cists

Trip No.133  Entry No.5  Date Added: 6th Jul 2019
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale Cist: I've seen quite a few cists, largely in Northumberland, and none this large. Impressive. I tried to persuade Janet to get into the cist to model it, but she politely declined (it would have made a nice refuge for the wind).

At this point, Angie got her dowsing rods out and was meandering around the cist and the stones. Very interesting to watch.

Merrivale Centre S

Trip No.133  Entry No.6  Date Added: 7th Jul 2019
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale Centre S Cairn (cairn at the head of Merrivale 3/C stone row): Thank heavens for Sandy G's Stone Rows of Great Britain and Dave P's Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks websites to help sort out the photos for Merrivale 3and its cairn. This area certainly has a glut of stone rows and cairns, and the GPS device on my camera had failed. Whilst I carefully wrote down the numbers of the photographs and the sites they related to, and constantly asked Sandy G on the day which site I was looking at, there's nothing like being able to make a direct comparison almost two months later. Thanks, guys!

As the cairn has a separate site page, but I've recorded them both together, as per the Pastscape record (440357), I've given these two the same visit number.

Merrivale SW row 3

Trip No.133  Entry No.6  Date Added: 7th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale Row 3/C: Without Sandy G being there to tell us, I would have struggled to identify this as a stone row in its own right, but with Sandy pointing out where it joining up at an angle with Merrivale 2/B and with the cairn at its head, it became more obvious. The cairn is recorded as a separate site page here, so I'm adding the same visit report number, as I've recorded them both together, as the Pastscape record (440357).

Merrivale circle

Trip No.133  Entry No.7  Date Added: 7th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale Stone Circle: Will you forgive me for saying I wasn't hugely impressed by this stone circle. For some reason I was expecting the stones to be larger and for it to sit more dramatically in the landscape.

On walking to the circle from the western end of Row 2, we came across an impressively large, black coloured boulder buried in the grass, which does not appear to be marked by Butler. I estimated its grid reference to be SX 55304 74704, or just south of this.

The group walked round the circle and the menhir, looking at the pits in the ground, wondering if these could possibly be the remains of holes for other stones. Dave Parks said he had read somewhere that there was thought to have been a double stone circle here, but no proof had yet been found. He later came back to tell me that Butler has marked the pits on his diagrams of Merrivale, see pages 29-31 inclusive of Volume 3 of "Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities".

I do like Butler's description of the circle: "Their arrangement is markedly eccentric, perhaps deliberately so, with the majority of stones up to a metre off a true circle 19m across and with very variable intervals between" and his notes that the numbers of stones seem to vary across the ages: "several detailed nineteenth century accounts of the site show that the number of stones has actually increased, a most unusual phenomenon, from 9 in the early part of the century, 9 in 1828 (Smith), 10 (1827, Rowe, 1829 Kempe), and 9 (1859 Wilkinson), before reaching the present total of 11 in Worth’s 1895 plan. It seems at least 2 stones have been added, probably by some of the early investigators who were not always particular in recording their restorations, which in any case were often somewhat arbitrary".

Merrivale row 4

Trip No.133  Entry No.8  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale 4 stone row: Without Sandy G and Dave P’s guidance on this, I would probably have looked at these stones and not thought much about them, but in association with the other two short rows (5 and 6), the tall, impressive menhirs and the fallen stone and cairn nearby, it was a jumble to unpick, so I was very grateful for the explanations!

Merrivale 5

Trip No.133  Entry No.9  Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Merrivale 5 stone row: I was getting really 'dazed and confused' about the different stone rows here and what I was photographing, so I asked Sandy, Dave and Andrew to each place a foot on or near each stone of this row!