Bremenium Roman tumulus

Trip No.122  Entry No.2  Date Added: 30th Mar 2019
Site Type: Artificial Mound Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 28th Mar 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Petty Knowes Roman Cemetery/Bremenium Roman Tumulus: We walked too far north along the track, past Lamb Crags, and had to double back. We should have turned immediately right through the gate at NY 83788 98236. However, being on top of the crags gave us a good viewpoint down to the tomb below, although the sun was by now directly in the camera lens.

As I was walking round the one remaining, circular tomb, the farmer came speeding up on this quad bike and came to a halt by the fence. At first, I thought we were trespassing, and asked him, but he said “no, you’re alright”. His farmhand had told him 8 people had walked up to have a look, so he’d come up to see us. “No, there’s only the two of us”, Andrew replied.

The farmer very kindly walked us round the base of the tomb and pointed out three carvings on the bottom (visible) layer – two diamonds and a bull. He showed us another layer which is now buried under the earth, but the top of its lip can be felt underfoot.

He also pointed out the 51 Roman graves by the quarry (“head for the beech tree”); he also told us about some interesting stones near the footbridge, and that the small extension at the old School House (next to the war memorial) was partly built out of Roman stones. He said he himself had moved some stones into his own garden.

Three Kings

Trip No.122  Entry No.1  Date Added: 30th Mar 2019
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 28th Mar 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Three Kings Stone Circle, Byrness: Driving up the A68 from Corbridge, passing through Rochester, we turned left off the A68 at NT 78013 01533 into the Border Forest Caravan Park. We thought we’d get to a car park where we could leave the park, but instead ended up at a Reception hut with a barrier closing off the road. There was no one in the hut, so I rang the buzzer. Rather than explain what I wanted, a man’s voice came through the speaker “I’ll be with you in a moment”, and rang off. Seconds later a man on a bike appeared. I asked him if there was anywhere we could park to go and see the Three Kings, and he said “as we’d asked, we could park here” (by the hut), and he gave very precise directions for reaching the stone circle. He also told us that the Forestry Commission hadn’t been maintaining the track to the stone circle very well, and some of it was very overgrown.

Stopping to almost scratch the pet pig’s nose (he was called Bubbles (sadly not more 'Squeak')), we set off south west through the static caravan area, crossing over the metal bridge, then turned north west along part of the Pennine Way, walking over a wider bridge where two rivers meet, then turned almost due west along a forest track, which turned a corner southwards and climbed steadily uphill.

We missed the first track up to the stone circle, as it really was very overgrown, but continued up the hill and came to reasonably well defined track, over a boggy area, then uphill along a moss covered track which eventually came to some wooden steps, which even had a handrail in parts. From the comparative dark of the forest, we came out into a sunlit clearing with the four poster to our right hand side.