St Andrew's Well (Ovington)

Trip No.163  Entry No.1  Date Added: 11th Jun 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 8th Jun 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: St Andrew's Well, Ovington: Parking in Ovington village by the old red phone box (now the Village Information Centre), it was a very pleasant walk along St Andrew's Lane to find this well, now no longer shown on the OS maps, but still very much there.

We carried on towards Whittle Dene, another glorious location, to find Dean Head Well and Eddybroth Well.

Eddybroth Well (Whittle Dene)

Trip No.163  Entry No.2  Date Added: 11th Jun 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 8th Jun 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Eddybroth Well and Dean Head Well, Whittle Dene: A lovely walk along St Andrew's Lane from Ovington, then down (and across) Whittle Burn, and along leafy, shady paths which follow the side of the Burn. A lovely managed woodland, complete with small wooden chalets that were being well used in this warm weather. Once passed these, we saw only one other person. A really pleasant afternoon, and so pleased to have found this well.

Poldean menhir

Trip No.164  Entry No.1  Date Added: 26th Jun 2021
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 25th Jun 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Poldean menhir: Re-visited this stone whilst in the Moffat area. Not much has changed, except the weeds have been allowed to grow high around the stone. The area around its base has been heavily trampled, and was difficult to walk across. Two VERY large, very handsome bulls in the field of pasture, but thankfully an electric fence between us and them.

Chapman's Stone

Trip No.164  Entry No.2  Date Added: 27th Jun 2021
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 25th Jun 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Chapman's Stone: Again, our second stop of the day, and I'd remembered wrongly there was a stile which allowed access to the field with this stone in. Rather, the stone acts as a stile, although the height of the fence and the barbed wire at the top stopped us from hopping over; neither could we find a gate on the side of the field nearest the road.

Such a shame this stone hasn't been set upright again. The views in either direction are very pretty.

Skip Knowe

Trip No.164  Entry No.3  Date Added: 27th Jun 2021
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 25th Jun 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Access 4

Log Text: Skip Knowe Standing Stone, Gateside: Our fourth stop of the day, after having investigated Hodge Wells and Springs at NY 10960 95700 [not recorded here, as this is neither a holy well or sacred springs]. I've said this is Access: 4, when you can actually park on the grass verge right by the stone, but the grass verge is very uneven and difficult (for me) to navigate. Couldn't find part of the fence low enough to hop over this time (must have been repaired since April 2019), nor could we find a gate off the side of the field nearest the road.

Not much has changed about this stone. We managed to identify the second stone mentioned by Canmore, some 18ft from the main standing stone, but it did look more like 'just a boulder', which had other stones around it.

Very pleasant countryside, and no workmen erecting telegraph poles this time round!

Crunzierton Wood Scooped Settlement

Trip No.164  Entry No.4  Date Added: 27th Jun 2021
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 25th Jun 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Access 4

Log Text: Crunzierton Wood Scooped Settlement: I found the 'scramble' up the steep, leaf covered slope to reach the settlement a little bit of a challenge, and rather than slide back down, we came back down on what had been a forestry track (now ruined by recent harvesting) on the north eastern side of the settlement.

What a pleasant part of the world, very rural, with what appeared to be mixed forestry rather than just pine.

Easier to see the outline of the settlement with the naked eye rather than try and capture it with the camera. Would love to come back when the undergrowth has died back.

Moffat Well

Trip No.164  Entry No.5  Date Added: 27th Jun 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 25th Jun 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Moffat Sulphur Well: I've described this location as 'good' because, as the well house itself is neglected and run down, the scenery around it is very pretty, and we enjoyed our visit.

Approaching the well from the small car park (having tripped over the low lying fence wire suspended 2 inches from the ground between the gate posts- beware!), we became aware of the strong smell of sulphur from about 10m away.

Taking a very deep breath of clean air, I ventured into the dark, dark, dank well house, and managed to take a few photos of the tunnel bringing water into the first of two troughs. No water flow was evident at the time of our visit, but there had been a prolonged dry period before hand.

Another spring appears to surface some metres to the south of the well, creating a boggy area with small ponds.

Looking down over the iron railing near the well house to the gorge below, we spotted a series of small waterfalls. Further north, there is a larger waterfall marked on the map, but by this time it was late evening, and we wanted to go home, so didn't venture further.

St John the Baptist and St Alkmund (Aymestrey)

Trip No.165  Entry No.1  Date Added: 21st Jul 2021
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Herefordshire)
Visited: Yes on 9th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 4 Access 4

Log Text: Churchyard Cross (Aymestrey): We were here for my son and DIL's wedding rehearsal, but I was also very keen to get out into the churchyard to photograph this cross before dusk fell. Whilst the cross is medieval, Beaker burials have been found nearby, and I'm doing further research on the church to find out if a wooden building might have pre-dated the 12th century church. A very pretty spot, although difficult to find the church car park (the small lane is just to the north of the northern wall of the churchyard), and we missed this, so parked in the village hall and walked back the 150-200m to the church along the (at that time of night) quiet A4110.

St Michael's Church (Kingsland)

Trip No.166  Entry No.1  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2021
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Herefordshire)
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Access 4

Log Text: St Michael's Churchyard Cross plus Motte and Bailey: This is the church my son and DIL should have been married in over a year ago, but thanks to Covid, then urgent roof replacement works, the wedding was moved to Aymestrey. Lovely church (from what we could see of it behind the scaffolding, almost Minster sized), but the cross took a little bit of spotting, as at first glance it looked just like a sundial (to be viewed from the back of a horse).

A gate from the near the entrance to the churchyard leads off onto a pleasant walk towards the motte and bailey site. As we enjoyed our walk, the rain started to pelt down, so we retreated back to the car. Nice site, and a lot to see.

Clyro Court

Trip No.167  Entry No.1  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2021
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 12th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Clyro Court Chambered Tomb: This tomb, marked on the OS map, lies on private ground behind a cottage. There was no one at home in the cottage, and the gates into the field had been padlocked with the largest padlocks and chains I've seen in a long time! We had to content ourselves with finding a vantage point by the barbed wire fence and photographing the cairn from there. Lumps and bumps vaguely visible. Would have loved to have climbed over for a closer look.

The Monk's Well

Trip No.167  Entry No.2  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Couldn't find on 12th Jul 2021

Log Text: Monk's Well, Clyro: Despite having the grid reference and the Coflein information, we were unable to find this well, which appears to be on private land.

St Maelog's Cross

Trip No.167  Entry No.3  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2021
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 12th Jul 2021

Log Text: St Maelog's Cross: Despite being told the church was open, and going armed with masks and hand sanitiser, the door was very firmly locked. We could see the back of the cross through the windows at the north western corner of the church, but it was impossible to photograph through the tiny, dirty panes. So disappointed. I did spot a sundial in the churchyard, built into a memorial stone, so had to be content with photographing that.

Ffynnon Gynydd

Trip No.167  Entry No.4  Date Added: 22nd Jul 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Ffynnon Gynydd/St Cynidr's Well: On the way to this well, we stopped at an earthwork/enclosure just south west of Llowes, on Bryn yr Hydd Common, at SO 17808 41972, but the vegetation, trees and bracken were so high, it was virtually impossible to make out any structures.

But, at last, a site we could access, walk into and appreciate! The well house may be modern-ish, but the water is clear and we could hear it running through the well basin.

The water/spring feeding the well emerges from the fields by the side of a barn at SO 16380 41266, just round the corner, running along a ditch which rounds the corner to the well, down a slight gradient.

Neuadd-Glan-Gwy

Trip No.167  Entry No.5  Date Added: 27th Jul 2021
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Neuadd Glan-Gwy Standing Stone: At first glance, this stone didn't seem very far off the footpath. We couldn't find anyone at the houses at the start of the footpath to ask permission from, so we thought as long as we kept to the very edge of the field of pasture, we would be OK.

The stone is almost at the brow of the hill, with a lively little stream running down in the River Wye below. We both thought we were pretty fit, but by the time we'd plodded up the hill, we were tired, as it was a lot further than it looked on the map, and the grass was calf deep, making it hard work. However, the views were well worth it.

A tall stone, very imposing. At some point it has been stood upright again, as the packed earth (and perhaps some concrete?) around its base testifies.

Twyn-Y-Beddau

Trip No.167  Entry No.6  Date Added: 27th Jul 2021
Site Type: Round Barrow(s) Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Twyn-y-Beddau: This round barrow is right next to the road, although with the twin tyre tracks leading up and over it, it could be mistaken for part of a 4 x 4 obstacle course, which some idiots presumably have been using it for, hence the stones placed on top.

A lovely evening, with paragliders attempting to set up their kites and take off from just to the south of the barrow, although there wasn't enough wind to enable them to take off.

Quite a few cars passed by, but no-one (apart from us), stopped to look at the barrow. A beautiful view to the west, as the land just drops down, with mountains (big hills, certainly) rising to the south and the east. Well worth a stop.

Pen Y Beacon

Trip No.167  Entry No.7  Date Added: 27th Jul 2021
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Blaenau Stone Circle (remains of): At first view, there was only one standing stone here, immediately adjacent to the car park park, where people were picnicking in their cars and rubbish all around. Rather than there being a footpath, it was a short walk across the grass to the standing stone.

I was very disappointed, but we got out to explore anyway, and found what appeared to be three other stones lying flat in the grass, and other lumps and bumps around that could have been stones lying under the turf.

We had the Coflein record up on our phones, so tried to trace the 29.8m diameter of the circle, and thought we spotted part of the outer arc of the circle away from the car park.

The one standing stone has a well-worn bench mark on its southern side, almost at ground level.

Old Radnor Church

Trip No.168  Entry No.1  Date Added: 29th Jul 2021
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Old Radnor Church: Whilst we went to have a look at the standing stone, we spent ages walking around the church, enjoying the peace and quiet and the carvings.

Whilst I was excited to see the standing stone, I was immediately disappointed by the memorial carving on it. This is very reminiscent of the 'standing stone' grave markers in Kensal Green Cemetery, which we researched and were found to be official grave markers, not ancient standing stones.

There was no guide book for sale, but an information leaflet marked 'Leave In the Church', so I photographed a few pages for later references.

There was a very interesting old font, said to be carved from on old standing stone - still to research this one.

Arthur's Stone

Trip No.168  Entry No.2  Date Added: 28th Jul 2021
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: England (Herefordshire)
Visited: Yes on 13th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Arthur's Stone: This was a really weird visit. No sooner had we parked in the small layby next to the stone's enclosure, and I'd started to take photographs, than a lady walked along the lane, right into the enclosure, sat down and started to have a picnic, so she was prominent in all the photographs. I was absolutely gobsmacked!

I plucked up the courage to ask her to move whilst I finished taking photographs, which she very kindly (but reluctantly) did, to the railing of the enclosure. Feeling somewhat guilty, I started talking to her, and it turned out she was an archaeologist who had come up to join a party of university students in a dig. A pleasant enough chat, but left me feeling uneasy that people would act that this (but then perhaps that's just me), and sort of ruined the visit for me.

Harpton Round Barrows

Trip No.168  Entry No.2  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2021
Site Type: Round Barrow(s) Country: Wales (Powys)
Visited: Yes on 14th Aug 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Access 4

Log Text: Harpton Round Barrows: Not the most exciting of stops, but interesting, never-the-less. Andrew did try and find the nearby Castle Nimble, but the only access seemed to be through private farmland, and as we didn’t want to trespass, gave up and went onto the more exciting four-poster stone circle.

Kilpeck church

Trip No.168  Entry No.3  Date Added: 28th Jul 2021
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: England (Herefordshire)
Visited: Yes on 13th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Kilpeck Church and Castle: Our second church of the day, and I was delighted to find this open. Again, there was a steady stream of visitors, many of whom had a quick look in the church then walked round the outside to look at the corbels and gargoyles.

I bought a book about the church, largely aimed at children, called "From Big Bang to Beasties and Beyond" by Diana Thomas, which is very informative, with lots of information.

After taking photographs inside and out (including all the corbels and most of the gargoyles), we wandered over to the motte and bailey site - much, much larger and more interesting than we thought, and spent a happy half hour enjoying the sunshine. Only one other couple wandered over to look at the castle whilst we were there.