tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73891292325607038002024-03-14T02:30:26.879+00:00Sites and StonesAncient and not-so-ancient places of interest that I have visited in the UK.Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-71369473354953270022009-05-21T19:44:00.010+01:002009-06-02T16:32:21.243+01:00Portchester Castle, Hampshire<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU87OCkDMI/AAAAAAAABLs/UcWoOlBbD64/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+004.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342743521023757506" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU87OCkDMI/AAAAAAAABLs/UcWoOlBbD64/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+004.JPG" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU87OwQ5DI/AAAAAAAABLk/PVfPhmB4C9E/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+007.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342743521215439922" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU87OwQ5DI/AAAAAAAABLk/PVfPhmB4C9E/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+007.JPG" /></a>Portchester Castle, which sits overlooking the eastern end of Portsmouth Harbour, is a medieval castle, palace and former Roman fort.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU861TEcfI/AAAAAAAABLc/02yzhTG45W0/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+009.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342743514382103026" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU861TEcfI/AAAAAAAABLc/02yzhTG45W0/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+009.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8sHbfTFI/AAAAAAAABLU/FTmGqY_6xi0/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+011.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342743261551217746" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8sHbfTFI/AAAAAAAABLU/FTmGqY_6xi0/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+011.JPG" /></a>It all seems so much bigger once you get inside the inner walls of the main castle.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8rwaPFLI/AAAAAAAABLM/xoPhI23wIiU/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+019.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342743255371945138" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8rwaPFLI/AAAAAAAABLM/xoPhI23wIiU/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+019.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8febJnOI/AAAAAAAABLE/VpyjIFCusHY/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342743044385512674" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8febJnOI/AAAAAAAABLE/VpyjIFCusHY/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+021.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8fETzsVI/AAAAAAAABK8/iVm9Jeg_gy4/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+023.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342743037375394130" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8fETzsVI/AAAAAAAABK8/iVm9Jeg_gy4/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+023.JPG" /></a>Pictured below is one of the castle's current residents.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8UDqItTI/AAAAAAAABK0/BL9Isf7b9bU/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+027.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342742848222049586" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8UDqItTI/AAAAAAAABK0/BL9Isf7b9bU/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+027.JPG" /></a>St Mary's Church (below), dating back to Norman times, sits in the south east corner of the complex within the outer castle walls.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8UAibNHI/AAAAAAAABKs/yvVUxToyr-E/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+039.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342742847384401010" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU8UAibNHI/AAAAAAAABKs/yvVUxToyr-E/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+039.JPG" /></a>Here is another photo looking down at the ruins from on top of the keep, which is a whole lot higher than it first appears to be!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU79KkNyII/AAAAAAAABKk/cUn-wCpJv_M/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+043.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342742454939273346" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU79KkNyII/AAAAAAAABKk/cUn-wCpJv_M/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+043.JPG" /></a>Proof that graffitti is no modern phenomenon.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU787zRQrI/AAAAAAAABKc/LgpHDHURX64/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+046.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342742450975883954" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU787zRQrI/AAAAAAAABKc/LgpHDHURX64/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+046.JPG" /></a>All in all, this is a very nicely kept site and is well worth the admission fee. Like Doctor Who's TARDIS, it's a lot bigger on the inside than you may at first think. Personally, I didn't care for the audio tour (which is included as part of your admission fee), finding the actors doing silly voices extremely tedious, and I also prefer to make my own way around at my own pace and not have the tour dictated by a piece of technology. However, it may appeal to you, especially if you want a potted history. The other alternative is to read up about the history separately.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU78q0w39I/AAAAAAAABKU/jkzc-yNuZUk/s1600-h/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+048.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342742446418747346" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiU78q0w39I/AAAAAAAABKU/jkzc-yNuZUk/s400/Porchester+Castle+and+Portsmouth+048.JPG" /></a><em>Date visited: 21 May 2009</em><br /><br />See also: <a class="external text" title="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConProperty.207" href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConProperty.207" rel="nofollow">Portchester Castle</a><br /><a class="external text" title="http://www.justhampshire.co.uk/daysoutinhampshire/porchestercastle.html" href="http://www.justhampshire.co.uk/daysoutinhampshire/porchestercastle.html" rel="nofollow">A Guide to Portchester Castle</a><br /><a class="external text" title="http://portchestercastle.co.uk/" href="http://portchestercastle.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">An Interactive Guide to Portchester Castle</a>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-87831872044955220252009-05-31T22:29:00.011+01:002009-06-02T14:19:58.304+01:00Gwal Y Filiast, Carmarthenshire<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL36r_IiYI/AAAAAAAABJs/6v7mUmf6JLE/s1600-h/Gwal+Y+Filiast+011.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342104695626828162" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL36r_IiYI/AAAAAAAABJs/6v7mUmf6JLE/s400/Gwal+Y+Filiast+011.JPG" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />The dolmem - or cromlech - of Gwal Y Filiast is quite well hidden away just outside of the small village of Llanglydwen in Carmarthenshire. To reach it you have to take a walk down a muddy track for about 10 minutes or so and take a turn into the woods.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL36UNFF7I/AAAAAAAABJk/6sXXX07IOgs/s1600-h/Gwal+Y+Filiast+019.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342104689242871730" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL36UNFF7I/AAAAAAAABJk/6sXXX07IOgs/s400/Gwal+Y+Filiast+019.JPG" /></a>It's very easy to get yourself lost whilst looking for this site. My father and I tried finding it one day during the Christmas holidays and ended up going too far and following the river and surrounding woodland for hours. We still managed to take a wrong turning today when we visited, although we knew the rough direction this time and soon got back on track.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL36LiMXKI/AAAAAAAABJc/tML2zYCCGSE/s1600-h/Gwal+Y+Filiast+046.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342104686915509410" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL36LiMXKI/AAAAAAAABJc/tML2zYCCGSE/s400/Gwal+Y+Filiast+046.JPG" /></a>Gwal Y Filiast - the name translates as <em>Lair of the She-Wolf</em> or <em>Lair of the Grey Hound Bitch</em> (not <em>greyhound</em> but <em>grey hound</em> - literally a hound that is grey - a wolf) - seems unusual for such a burial chamber being located in this setting beneath the trees.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL3R3fzvJI/AAAAAAAABJU/w4HkIzXhg6g/s1600-h/Gwal+Y+Filiast+054.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342103994342030482" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL3R3fzvJI/AAAAAAAABJU/w4HkIzXhg6g/s400/Gwal+Y+Filiast+054.JPG" /></a>The dolmen is at the epicentre of a ring a beech trees, while several other stones which may once have been part of the greater structure are scattered around the site. The dolmen itself consists of a huge capstone - easily 10 feet in length and 3 to 4 feet in thickness - balanced on four uprights, and there are a pair of smaller stones set in the ground at one end.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL3Rh47ARI/AAAAAAAABJM/Sro_qQKPihU/s1600-h/Gwal+Y+Filiast+055.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342103988541784338" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL3Rh47ARI/AAAAAAAABJM/Sro_qQKPihU/s400/Gwal+Y+Filiast+055.JPG" /></a>This is a really atmospheric site, which is in no doubt enhanced by its surroundings on the wooded slope above the river Taf. It is a little off the beaten track and is unlikely to be visited by casual tourists, who would be far more likely to head for somewhere better known in the general area such as <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/01/pentre-ifan-pembrokeshire.html">Pentre Ifan</a>. I think they are missing out! Remember to consult a map if you want to visit and wear walking boots or wellies!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL3RSLBUDI/AAAAAAAABJE/gHS_mG0FV7M/s1600-h/Gwal+Y+Filiast+061.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342103984322727986" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SiL3RSLBUDI/AAAAAAAABJE/gHS_mG0FV7M/s400/Gwal+Y+Filiast+061.JPG" /></a><em>Date visited: 31 May 2009.</em><br /><br />See also: <a href="http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=4348">Gwal Y Filiast on The Megalithic Portal</a><br /><a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/2316/gwalyfiliast.html">Gwal Y Filiast on The Modern Antiquarian</a>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-54340836190320336382009-04-11T16:31:00.008+01:002009-05-31T23:03:06.374+01:00The Church of St Brynach, Cym Yr Eglwys, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC56kdduAI/AAAAAAAAArM/h32vJ4CFpQs/s1600-h/St+Brynach+Church+Cwm+Yr+Eglws.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323459175422736386" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC56kdduAI/AAAAAAAAArM/h32vJ4CFpQs/s400/St+Brynach+Church+Cwm+Yr+Eglws.jpg" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />When I was a small child, we used to holiday at a farm near Dinas Head in Pembrokeshire, and as a family we would trek almost daily from the farm to the nearest beach at Cwm Yr Eglwys. We spent many happy hours playing there. It was a fantastic beach for bathing in the sea and for its many rock pools waiting to be explored. Set in a secluded bay, Cwm Y Eglwys is said to have its own micro-climate and is supposedly a few degrees warmer than elsewhere on the Pembrokeshire coast.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC561a7ZvI/AAAAAAAAArU/Kv-8--WAnic/s1600-h/St+Brynach+Church+Cwm+Yr+Eglws+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323459179975501554" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC561a7ZvI/AAAAAAAAArU/Kv-8--WAnic/s400/St+Brynach+Church+Cwm+Yr+Eglws+2.jpg" /></a>One of the main distinguishing features at Cwm Yr Eglwys beach is the ruins of the 12th Century church of St Brynach. Most of the church was destroyed in the almighty storm of 1859, and much of the ground that it was built upon and graveyard was also swept away.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC4noytaWI/AAAAAAAAArE/wnRr5AthToU/s1600-h/St+Brynach+Church+Cwm+Yr+Eglws+4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323457750656444770" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC4noytaWI/AAAAAAAAArE/wnRr5AthToU/s400/St+Brynach+Church+Cwm+Yr+Eglws+4.jpg" /></a>Above: The old parish church of Dinas, Pembrokeshire, prior to its destruction in the 1830s. Scan of a hand-coloured print dated 1830. Copyright expired: from "Wales Illustrated", Jones & Co, London, 1831. Painting by Henry Gastineau (1791-1876). Engraved by Edward Kennion.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC4nk4YxzI/AAAAAAAAAq8/lRxJwmrzKA0/s1600-h/The+Cwm+Trader.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323457749606516530" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SeC4nk4YxzI/AAAAAAAAAq8/lRxJwmrzKA0/s400/The+Cwm+Trader.jpg" /></a>By the entrance to the churchyard, we find this memorial - a model brig consructed in metal by James Eifion Thomas, Blacksmith, of Dinas Cross. The plaque reads: <blockquote><i>The Cwm Trader<br /><br />This is a scale model of a coastal trading brig, typical of those that plied the waters of Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire about the time when St Brynach's Church in Cwm-yr-Eglwys was destroyed in the Royal Charter storm of 1859. These vessels were of relatively shallow draft and largely flat bottomed, so allowing them to be sailed into bays at high water and then unloaded at low tide by horse and cart transport. Many of these vessels were lost in that fateful storm and this model is erected as a memorial to those sailors and their ships and to mark the occasion of The Millennium.</i></blockquote><em>Date visited: 10 April 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-51460494753133515502009-04-18T23:06:00.012+01:002009-05-31T23:02:19.219+01:00Fishguard Fort, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepTFz_BtCI/AAAAAAAAAvg/1Bu5bbK8ro4/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326160868638045218" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepTFz_BtCI/AAAAAAAAAvg/1Bu5bbK8ro4/s400/Fishguard+fort+01.jpg" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />From the information sign outside the fort:<br /><br />"<em>The fort was built following a raid on Fishguard in 1779; the privateer vessel Black Prince demanded £1,000 to return a captured local ship and as a ransom for the town. When this was refused it bombarded Fishguard, damaging St. Mary's Church and some houses.</em><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepTFgDbuLI/AAAAAAAAAvY/T6OlTkv1ejM/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326160863287818418" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepTFgDbuLI/AAAAAAAAAvY/T6OlTkv1ejM/s400/Fishguard+fort+02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepTFZ7i1rI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/WGcnRpey_Bk/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326160861644117682" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepTFZ7i1rI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/WGcnRpey_Bk/s400/Fishguard+fort+03.jpg" /></a>"<em>As Fishguard was a prosperous port, protection was vital. The fort was completed in 1781; armed with eight 9-pounder guns manned by three invalid gunners from Woolwich, it became the headquarters of the Fishguard Fencibles.</em><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepSEqev5fI/AAAAAAAAAvI/x8IKzLrkBgc/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326159749395244530" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepSEqev5fI/AAAAAAAAAvI/x8IKzLrkBgc/s400/Fishguard+fort+04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepSEgtiOHI/AAAAAAAAAvA/DjnD7AIBo9I/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326159746772908146" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepSEgtiOHI/AAAAAAAAAvA/DjnD7AIBo9I/s400/Fishguard+fort+05.jpg" /></a>"<em>On 22nd February 1797, an invading French force appeared off the coast. Alarm guns were fired from the fort, but the Fencibles were withdrawn from the building which played no further part in the invasion.</em><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepSEROYCPI/AAAAAAAAAu4/JfcKp7-9HU4/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+06.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326159742615685362" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepSEROYCPI/AAAAAAAAAu4/JfcKp7-9HU4/s400/Fishguard+fort+06.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepQz_srU6I/AAAAAAAAAuw/ueUR9pbCl_0/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+07.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326158363521405858" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepQz_srU6I/AAAAAAAAAuw/ueUR9pbCl_0/s400/Fishguard+fort+07.jpg" /></a>"<em>Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Fishguard Fort fell into disrepair. It is now owned and maintained by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.</em>"<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepQzzh_jKI/AAAAAAAAAuo/oDuVkITXWMA/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+08.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326158360255368354" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepQzzh_jKI/AAAAAAAAAuo/oDuVkITXWMA/s400/Fishguard+fort+08.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepQO-hrJmI/AAAAAAAAAug/LiUanm8UPpE/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+09.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326157727551661666" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepQO-hrJmI/AAAAAAAAAug/LiUanm8UPpE/s400/Fishguard+fort+09.jpg" /></a>Below is a view of the fort as seen from the other side of the harbour.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepP80oW99I/AAAAAAAAAuY/Xhs9-ZmDzo4/s1600-h/Fishguard+fort+10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326157415657699282" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepP80oW99I/AAAAAAAAAuY/Xhs9-ZmDzo4/s400/Fishguard+fort+10.jpg" /></a>Below is a view of what is now known as Lower Fishguard and the actual harbour that was being guarded. This is not to be confused with the much larger commercial harbour from which the ferries to Ireland depart.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepP8zEu6OI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/Hs0RCJUctFo/s1600-h/Fishguard.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326157415239837922" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SepP8zEu6OI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/Hs0RCJUctFo/s400/Fishguard.jpg" /></a><em>Date visited: 10 April 2009.</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-40744366914460670582009-02-21T20:21:00.023+00:002009-03-26T15:59:56.070+00:00The Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay, Glamorganshire<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SaBk6oa_fEI/AAAAAAAAAUo/iIcDYI8tzPI/s1600-h/cardiffnorwegianchurch01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SaBk6oa_fEI/AAAAAAAAAUo/iIcDYI8tzPI/s400/cardiffnorwegianchurch01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305351319488265282" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />When I composed the by-line for this blog - "<em>Ancient and not-so-ancient places of interest that I have visited in the UK</em>" - I freely admit that I kept it deliberately vague, for although I have a bias for neolithic sites, standing stones, dolmens, stone cirles, etc, I also wanted to feature some more modern places (relatively speaking) too. For instance, there are a number of fascinating churches all over the country.<br /><br />One of my very favourite churches - the white-painted wooden structure of the Norwegian Church in Cardiff - dates to the 19th Century which makes it very modern indeed when compared with the subjects I've featured thus far, but it is a building that I have a great fondness for. The Church is located by the waterside in Cardiff Bay, and is a near neighbour to the Welsh Assembly in an area of Cardiff that has featured in BBC Wales' science fiction show <em>Torchwood</em> as well as several episodes of <em>Doctor Who</em>. Look closely in some of the <em>Torchwood</em> episodes and you may even spot the Norwegian Church.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SaBoVQL6k0I/AAAAAAAAAUw/VCImJAM4JKw/s1600-h/cardiffnorwegianchurch02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SaBoVQL6k0I/AAAAAAAAAUw/VCImJAM4JKw/s400/cardiffnorwegianchurch02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305355075373929282" /></a>Today the Norwegian Church functions as an arts centre and has a very nice cafe downstairs - a great place to grab a coffee and a slice of cake. To give a little history, I'll quote from the church's website:<blockquote>"The Port of Cardiff was one of the first to have a Norwegian Sailor’s Church established to provide religious and social care to thousands of Norwegian sailors that were employed in the Norwegian merchant fleet. The Church was founded by Herman Lunde of Oslo and built in 1868 between the East and West Docks on land that was donated by the Marquis of Bute. It was consecrated in the December of that year. In the years that followed, the Church was extended a number of times when the reading rooms were enlarged. In 1885 the most significant alterations took place when a gallery and a bell tower were added."</blockquote>Read more at: <a href="http://www.norwegianchurchcardiff.co.uk/content.asp?nav=113&parent_directory_id=2">www.norwegianchurchcardiff.co.uk</a><br /><br />The author Roald Dahl, who was born in Cardiff to Norwegian parents, was christened at the Norwegian Church (as were his sisters). Shortly before his death in 1990 he became the president of the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust, an organisation that sought to restore the church after it had fallen into dereliction.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SaBvFOQJe_I/AAAAAAAAAU4/qvJAr9E3HiE/s1600-h/captainscott.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SaBvFOQJe_I/AAAAAAAAAU4/qvJAr9E3HiE/s400/captainscott.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305362496558300146" /></a>Curiously juxtaposed within a few metres of the Norwegian Church is a memorial statue to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Falcon_Scott">Captain Scott</a>. Scott and his party, of course, were beaten to the South Pole in January 1912 by a Norwegian party led by Roald Amundsen. It was on their return journey from this expedition that Scott and his comrades perished.<br /><br />UPDATE: With referernce to the Captain Scott memorial , my father adds that: "<em>The reason for its location is, of course, that is where they set out from for the Antarctic. The curious coincidence is that they were beaten to the South Pole by a Norwegian. There is another memorial to Capt Scott in Cardiff – the 'lighthouse' in Roath Park lake on top of which sits a model of the Terra Nova</em>."<br /><br />(Pictures of the Captain Scott 'Lighthouse' memorial in Roath Park Lake can be seen <a href="http://www.pbase.com/richard_williams/image/25607368"><strong>here</strong></a>).<br /><br /><em>Date visited: 19 June 2008</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-6600910810154581302009-03-17T21:33:00.018+00:002009-03-18T11:36:18.135+00:00St Andrews Church, Church Ope Cove, Portland<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZYVV0hvI/AAAAAAAAAjE/jy79YE7xPN8/s1600-h/opechurch02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314275466133407474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZYVV0hvI/AAAAAAAAAjE/jy79YE7xPN8/s400/opechurch02.jpg" border="0" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />The ruins of St Andrews Church are situated halfway up the cliffside above Church Ope Cove on the eastern coast of the Isle of Portland in Dorset.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZtjKZSmI/AAAAAAAAAjM/-oYbwAVSchU/s1600-h/opechurch01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314275830620834402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZtjKZSmI/AAAAAAAAAjM/-oYbwAVSchU/s400/opechurch01.jpg" border="0" /></a>Overlooked by Rufus Castle, St Andrews was originally built between 1150 and 1470 and served as the parish church of Portland until the mid 1700s.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZBriipvI/AAAAAAAAAi8/l4Y1tsG3oRk/s1600-h/opechurch04.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314275076955350770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZBriipvI/AAAAAAAAAi8/l4Y1tsG3oRk/s400/opechurch04.jpg" border="0" /></a>The church was damaged following a landslip in 1675, but it wasn't until 1756 that the church was finally closed, and when stones were taken away to help build St George's Church at Reforne.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZBF-4uAI/AAAAAAAAAi0/mRsixMxqFkQ/s1600-h/opechurch03.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314275066873690114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAZBF-4uAI/AAAAAAAAAi0/mRsixMxqFkQ/s400/opechurch03.jpg" border="0" /></a>According to local legend the graves include those of several pirates, although we were unable to make out any of the lettering on the tombstones due to weathering and so couldn't pinpoint quite where their resting places might be. Another story I have heard is that it was French pirates who, along with the landslips, helped destroy the church.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAYgRkyK3I/AAAAAAAAAis/0k7MO9VE5a0/s1600-h/opechurch05.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314274503049751410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAYgRkyK3I/AAAAAAAAAis/0k7MO9VE5a0/s400/opechurch05.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p>Below we see another picture of Rufus Castle, looking across Church Ope Cove. The cove is now a popular site for fishermen and is home to many beach huts, although it was quite empty when we visited. The beach, which is absolutely strewn with pleasingly round stones and boulders of the grey Portland stone, seems to be quite a tranquil place and it must be a far cry from the days of attacking pirates and the smugglers for which the beach is famous.</p><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAYfuhcSjI/AAAAAAAAAik/Luql6SXNjsE/s1600-h/rufuscastle.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314274493640493618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/ScAYfuhcSjI/AAAAAAAAAik/Luql6SXNjsE/s400/rufuscastle.jpg" border="0" /></a><em>Date visited: 9 March 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-22421252742131566282009-03-11T18:49:00.017+00:002009-03-13T10:42:59.602+00:00Lighthouse, Pulpit Rock & Sea Caves, Portland Bill, Dorset<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxrB3PaI/AAAAAAAAAfY/qWaFStRJMTU/s1600-h/Porland+Bill+Lighthouse+01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxrB3PaI/AAAAAAAAAfY/qWaFStRJMTU/s400/Porland+Bill+Lighthouse+01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312005409940651426" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />Portland Bill lighthouse was built in 1906 and is 35 metres (115 ft) tall. There are two earlier lighthouses relatively nearby, one of which is now a bird observatory.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxn75VFI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/nXm3bHn82YA/s1600-h/Porland+Bill+Lighthouse+02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxn75VFI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/nXm3bHn82YA/s400/Porland+Bill+Lighthouse+02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312005409110316114" /></a>Portland Bill itself is the promontory of (the eponymously named) Portland stone at the southern tip of the Isle of Portland, off the coast of Dorset in South England. Portland isn't quite a true island in that it is connected to the mainland by the sandbank formed by the eastern end of Chesil Beach (which is itself 18 miles long).<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxVZv1UI/AAAAAAAAAfI/sPZ3FcDiSIo/s1600-h/Portland+Pulpit+Rock.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxVZv1UI/AAAAAAAAAfI/sPZ3FcDiSIo/s400/Portland+Pulpit+Rock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312005404135249218" /></a>Everywhere there is evidence of the isle's history of quarrying. There are piles of Portland stone at regular intervals, and as you follow the coastline around you encounter various abandoned quarries. Near to the lighthouse is an enormous structure jutting out into the sea, known as the Pulpit Rock (pictured above). This is in fact a man-made structure formed by the quarrying process.<br /><br />It's hard to tell in some parts whether the jagged coastline of Portland has been cut away by men and machines or if it has been naturally eroded. To the east of the lighthouse and approximately half a mile away there are some huge sea caverns that have, presumably, been eroded out underneath the land above by the sea.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxFLe47I/AAAAAAAAAfA/z1CAyXuelpw/s1600-h/Portland+Sea+Caves.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbgIxFLe47I/AAAAAAAAAfA/z1CAyXuelpw/s400/Portland+Sea+Caves.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312005399780451250" /></a>My guess is that they were formed by a natural process, as it looks to be a very peculiar way in which to quarry stone - but if you know differently, please let me know! One of the sea caves is viewable from above through a hole in its "roof" which has a grill laid across it formed from sections of railway line.<br /><br /><em>Date visited: 9 March 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-6720107531504671772009-03-10T12:50:00.004+00:002009-03-11T22:05:13.314+00:00Durdle Dor, Dorset<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbaCPXkGk6I/AAAAAAAAAeI/n2JsvB-_rbA/s1600-h/durldledor01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbaCPXkGk6I/AAAAAAAAAeI/n2JsvB-_rbA/s400/durldledor01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311576011065168802" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />Durdle Dor - or Durdle <em>Door</em> which might seem to be the more logical spelling - is a natural limestone arch on Dorset's Jurassic coast located between Lulworth to the east and Weymouth to the west.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbaCOlkB8gI/AAAAAAAAAd4/NieggPiGRdo/s1600-h/durldledor03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbaCOlkB8gI/AAAAAAAAAd4/NieggPiGRdo/s400/durldledor03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311575997643092482" /></a>The photo below is taken from the east and shows the Man O'War beach on the other side from the limestone arch, and you can also see quite nicely how the bands of rock continue straight through the main structure.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbaCOzwlNQI/AAAAAAAAAeA/ZWswZ1mjl4w/s1600-h/durldledor02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SbaCOzwlNQI/AAAAAAAAAeA/ZWswZ1mjl4w/s400/durldledor02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311576001453831426" /></a>Note <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/03/lighthouse-pulpit-rock-and-sea-caves.html"><strong>Portland</strong></a> on the horizon in this and the first picture.<br /><br />See also: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durdle_Door"><strong>Durdle Door on Wikipedia</strong></a><br /><br /><em>Visited: 9 March 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-50002971589234633202009-03-04T20:36:00.008+00:002009-03-04T21:00:21.117+00:00Oxford Castle and Castle Mound<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/Sa7m_pLULbI/AAAAAAAAAcA/7-bnNLsYBsE/s1600-h/OxfordCastleMoody.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/Sa7m_pLULbI/AAAAAAAAAcA/7-bnNLsYBsE/s400/OxfordCastleMoody.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309434991775854002" /></a><small>(Click photo to enlarge).</small><br /><br />On the way home from the <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/03/oxford-university-museum-of-natural.html"><strong>Oxford University Museum of Natural History</strong></a> last Sunday, I took this very moody photograph of Oxford Castle and the the Castle Mound as I walked past. Oxford Castle was built back in 1071 for William the Conqueror, has since spent half of its life as a prison, and these days is part of a tourist attraction which also comprises restaurants, bars, and a hotel.<br /><br />Last year I spent a night with a group of ghost-hunters in the supposedly haunted castle. It was an interesting night and it was quite fun finding our way around by only the lights of our torches, but I can't say I found it particularly spooky or believed there was any supernatural presence there. I could quite easily have settled down in the castle vaults in a sleeping bag and had a good night's sleep. But the important thing was that we were sponsored and raised a lot of money for Cystic Fibrosis.<br /><br />See also: <a href="http://www.oxfordcastle.com/"><strong>Oxford Castle</strong></a><br /><br /><em>Date visited: 1 March 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-16652248086517265572009-03-01T22:02:00.037+00:002009-03-02T19:13:26.499+00:00Oxford University Museum of Natural History<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasLY15RIEI/AAAAAAAAAa4/GLbSwbUItdQ/s1600-h/OUMuseum01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasLY15RIEI/AAAAAAAAAa4/GLbSwbUItdQ/s400/OUMuseum01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308349107198304322" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />I'm slightly ashamed to say that although I have worked in Oxford for over 20 years, I very rarely get out and about and visit its various places of interest. I think, like many others in Oxford, I tend to leave that to the tourists and end up missing out on what's there on my own doorstep. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJOo4uLBI/AAAAAAAAAZw/MxGGcax4mZU/s1600-h/OUMuseum10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJOo4uLBI/AAAAAAAAAZw/MxGGcax4mZU/s400/OUMuseum10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308346732884405266" /></a>I only visited the Oxford University Museum of Natural History for the first time last November, but I instantly fell in love with the place and wondered why on earth I'd never been before. I'm not going to give its whole history here, but to say that the museum came into being following a competition in 1854, when Deane and Woodward's design for the museum was selected, and then in 1860 the building was opened despite being unfinished in parts. (The museum sells a booklet entitled <em>Oxford University Museum: Its architecture and art</em> for £2.50, and which will fill in all the historical details should you want them).<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKzb2cVtI/AAAAAAAAAao/j1cwUZhJcCI/s1600-h/OUMuseum03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKzb2cVtI/AAAAAAAAAao/j1cwUZhJcCI/s400/OUMuseum03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308348464551974610" /></a>The architecture of this place is incredible. Upon entering the main court, one of the very first things you notice is how very light it is. Intriguingly the main court has a glass roof which is held aloft by a system of cast and wrought ironwork. The ironwork is decorated with various botanical ornamenation, so that you almost get the impression of being inside an iron jungle.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasIvypszOI/AAAAAAAAAZo/FQFXm2qovCo/s1600-h/OUMuseum11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasIvypszOI/AAAAAAAAAZo/FQFXm2qovCo/s400/OUMuseum11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308346202929810658" /></a>The stonework in the museum is pretty impressive too. Each of these pillars surrounding the court (pictured above) - which are to be found both around the court on the ground floor and on the first floor galleries - is made from a different British decorative rock whilst their capitals and corbels (the stonework immediately above and below each pillar) are each intricately carved with various flora and fauna.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasLYd4EEVI/AAAAAAAAAaw/aUBurMNuH_Y/s1600-h/OUMuseum02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasLYd4EEVI/AAAAAAAAAaw/aUBurMNuH_Y/s400/OUMuseum02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308349100750803282" /></a>Those who find taxidermy repellent might want to stay away as there are various stuffed animal exhibits here. Unlike the museums I remember from my childhood, visitors are actively encouraged to touch some of these stuffed animals. Small children in particular seem to love these exhibits. Where else could they get up close to a cheetah, or a badger or fox, and get to stroke its fur and see what it feels like to the touch? Several of these exhibits that we are invited to touch have labels in braille, so the museum should be commended for taking its blind visitors into consideration.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJwoxDlCI/AAAAAAAAAaI/dit9e8XA2d8/s1600-h/OUMuseum07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJwoxDlCI/AAAAAAAAAaI/dit9e8XA2d8/s400/OUMuseum07.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308347316967805986" /></a>One of the more macabre exhibits features this pair of carrion crows feeding their young with a little fluffy yellow chick. But such is nature!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKy_S2IBI/AAAAAAAAAag/FXHQCu47pz0/s1600-h/OUMuseum04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKy_S2IBI/AAAAAAAAAag/FXHQCu47pz0/s400/OUMuseum04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308348456886476818" /></a>Another much more legendary bird, of which the museum is very proud, is the dodo. This particular example is usually referred to as the Oxford Dodo and famously appeared in Lewis Carrol's <em>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</em>. Supposedly, the head and foot of the dodo displayed here are the most complete remains of a single dodo anywhere in the world. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKNsF7JWI/AAAAAAAAAaY/8MDxCyrp9Xk/s1600-h/OUMuseum05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKNsF7JWI/AAAAAAAAAaY/8MDxCyrp9Xk/s400/OUMuseum05.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308347816076846434" /></a>Here (above) we see the dodo again, but in a "slimline" version after research has suggested it wasn't as fat and clumsy as it has been previously portrayed.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKNFoS7xI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/NYnTcGwwjcE/s1600-h/OUMuseum06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasKNFoS7xI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/NYnTcGwwjcE/s400/OUMuseum06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308347805752028946" /></a>This huge slab of sandstone caught my eye. It contains fossils of three different genera of trilobites, as well as several brittle stars. To give an idea of scale some of the larger trilobites here are each roughly the size of one of my hands (and I have reasonably large hands).<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJwO3A_ZI/AAAAAAAAAaA/LiAavAUo0ps/s1600-h/OUMuseum08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJwO3A_ZI/AAAAAAAAAaA/LiAavAUo0ps/s400/OUMuseum08.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308347310013480338" /></a>And of course there are dinosaurs in the museum. Plenty of them. As one of my favourite authors, Robert Rankin, would say: I think it's a tradition or an old charter or something.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJPG4fTwI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/BuQhUVwbo2k/s1600-h/OUMuseum09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasJPG4fTwI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/BuQhUVwbo2k/s400/OUMuseum09.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308346740936494850" /></a>This chap, a certain Mr Charles Darwin, is also present albeit in statue form as are a whole host of other famous scientists. Darwin's collection of crustacea, amassed from his expeditions on <em>The Beagle</em>, is owned by the museum, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860_Oxford_evolution_debate">1860 evolution debate</a> which discussed Darwin's <em>On The Origin of Species</em> took place here.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasHga54hVI/AAAAAAAAAZY/6MGrwpsWkCs/s1600-h/OUMuseum12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasHga54hVI/AAAAAAAAAZY/6MGrwpsWkCs/s400/OUMuseum12.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308344839345571154" /></a>As if you haven't gathered by now, I think this museum is absolutely fantastic, and I've not even mentioned the displays of fossils, minerals, the insects and arachnids (including a live tarantula) and very probably a whole lot more that I simply can't think of right now. The museum is very child-friendly, and it was great to see so many families out together for a visit. It doesn't cost anything to get in (although donations are welcome), so all in all I'd say the Oxford University Museum of Natural History is well worth a visit and brings together a wealth of natural history, art and architecture all under one roof.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasHf0QTB2I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IdmMx9ARHqw/s1600-h/OUMuseum13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SasHf0QTB2I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IdmMx9ARHqw/s400/OUMuseum13.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308344828970600290" /></a>(Casts of the footprints of the bipedal carnivorous dinosaure <em>Megalosaurus</em> from 168 million year-old middle Jurassic limestones of Oxfordshire - on the museum's front lawn.)<br /><br />See: <a href="http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/visiting/exhibit.htm"><strong>Oxford University Museum of Natural History</strong></a><br /><br /><em>Date visited: 1 March 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-30862368467723759822009-02-18T22:14:00.012+00:002009-02-22T13:11:56.300+00:00The Pilgrims' Cross, Nevern, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyPonJsiHI/AAAAAAAAASA/ecMy_uolVi0/s1600-h/pilgrimscross01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyPonJsiHI/AAAAAAAAASA/ecMy_uolVi0/s400/pilgrimscross01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304272389002791026" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />On the outskirts of the village and just a short walk uphill from <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/02/church-of-st-brynach-nevern.html">St Brynach's Church</a> is Nevern Castle, the site of a pre-Norman native Welsh stronghold. The path to the top is known as the Pilgrims' route, and passes a cross - also believed to be at least "pre-Norman" (if not dating from a whole lot earlier) - carved into the rock face of the hillside.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyPTbcO8-I/AAAAAAAAAR4/SG6eaeWR4Uo/s1600-h/pilgrimscross02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyPTbcO8-I/AAAAAAAAAR4/SG6eaeWR4Uo/s400/pilgrimscross02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304272025082065890" /></a>One theory has it that the cross is not carved into the rockface, as such, but into the stone of a bricked-up entrance to a cave. What is inside the cave? Well, that's a matter of some speculation...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyPCKcOt-I/AAAAAAAAARw/BE1nt7cbLEY/s1600-h/pilgrimscross03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyPCKcOt-I/AAAAAAAAARw/BE1nt7cbLEY/s400/pilgrimscross03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304271728460871650" /></a>In the next photo I asked my father to point out the cross, mainly to give an idea of scale.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyOqD-XWAI/AAAAAAAAARo/JccLTgZwrOQ/s1600-h/pilgrimscross04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyOqD-XWAI/AAAAAAAAARo/JccLTgZwrOQ/s400/pilgrimscross04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304271314408134658" /></a>Here is a close-up of the cross carving:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyOp-ZbrtI/AAAAAAAAARg/M-rhTpjA188/s1600-h/pilgrimscross05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyOp-ZbrtI/AAAAAAAAARg/M-rhTpjA188/s400/pilgrimscross05.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304271312911052498" /></a>And closer still (below) we see that visitors have been pressing coins into the spaces in the rock face. This practice is quite worrying as it could damage the carving. But if you're short of a few pence with which to buy a packet of nuts in the local pub, then you know where to come.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyOKjprweI/AAAAAAAAARY/CFnknIyIFBg/s1600-h/pilgrimscross06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZyOKjprweI/AAAAAAAAARY/CFnknIyIFBg/s400/pilgrimscross06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304270773155512802" /></a><br /><br /><em>Date visited: 13 February 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-41723699852509016342009-02-15T20:36:00.022+00:002009-02-18T23:00:43.486+00:00The Church of St Brynach, Nevern, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh_VmdAjSI/AAAAAAAAAMc/k9DLdbsvlnQ/s1600-h/stbrynach01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh_VmdAjSI/AAAAAAAAAMc/k9DLdbsvlnQ/s400/stbrynach01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303128570304957730" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />The small village of Nevern lies just a few miles east of Newport in Pembrokeshire, and is well worth a visit for a number of reasons. Its church has some very interesting features, whilst a short walk away from the church is the <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/02/pilgrims-cross-nevern-pembrokeshire.html">Pilgrims' Cross</a> (which I shall feature in a separate post).<br /><br />The church of St Brynach is said to date back to the 6th Century. That is not to say that all of the building we see today is from that era. The tower in the first photo is a Norman addition.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh_VISinWI/AAAAAAAAAMU/cJewVX4GQv0/s1600-h/stbrynach02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh_VISinWI/AAAAAAAAAMU/cJewVX4GQv0/s400/stbrynach02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303128562207989090" /></a><br />To the east of the porch stands the Vitalianus Stone. Believed to date back to the 5th Century the stone features both Ogham and Latin inscriptions (VITALIANI EMERETO in Latin, and VITALIANI in Ogham).<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh_VA3nC-I/AAAAAAAAAMM/doc1zQ3KTt0/s1600-h/stbrynach03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh_VA3nC-I/AAAAAAAAAMM/doc1zQ3KTt0/s400/stbrynach03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303128560215985122" /></a><br />A short distance further to the east stands a magnificient "Celtic" cross known simply as the Great Cross. This is thought to date to the 10th or 11th Centuries. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh-nozZCOI/AAAAAAAAAME/vmAh37c1zDA/s1600-h/stbrynach04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh-nozZCOI/AAAAAAAAAME/vmAh37c1zDA/s400/stbrynach04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303127780661725410" /></a><br />Standing at 13 feet in height the Great Cross is believed to be one of the most perfect specimens of its kind.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh-nQtXW5I/AAAAAAAAAL8/MR6mT44lPcw/s1600-h/stbrynach05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh-nQtXW5I/AAAAAAAAAL8/MR6mT44lPcw/s400/stbrynach05.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303127774193998738" /></a><br />Inside the church in the nave there are a pair of stones embedded into the window sills.<br /><br />The first is known as the Maglocunus Stone and again we see more Ogham and (fainter at the top) Latin inscriptions. The translation reads "(THE MONUMENT) OF MAGLOCUNUS (MAELGWN) SON OF CLUTORIUS".<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZnLxfO0kfI/AAAAAAAAAM8/lSn8lJwMBxc/s1600-h/stbrynach06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZnLxfO0kfI/AAAAAAAAAM8/lSn8lJwMBxc/s400/stbrynach06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303494087263162866" /></a><br />In the adjacent window sill there is embedded the Cross Stone. This shows a form of "Celtic" cross made of intertwining cords, and resembling a prone human figure.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZnLxkB1x8I/AAAAAAAAANE/FcQokroudKU/s1600-h/stbrynach07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZnLxkB1x8I/AAAAAAAAANE/FcQokroudKU/s400/stbrynach07.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303494088550893506" /></a><br />Outside again and on the north wall of the church on the sill of the second chancel window, we find the so-called "Imperfect Incised Stone". You can just make out a few letters from a vertical Latin inscription that has been turned through 90 degrees and is most likely an example of a stone being re-cut and re-used.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh9wRdLQYI/AAAAAAAAALk/5oJ0-qAXO7w/s1600-h/stbrynach08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh9wRdLQYI/AAAAAAAAALk/5oJ0-qAXO7w/s400/stbrynach08.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303126829501727106" /></a><br />Finally, in the avenue of yew trees leading from the gate to the porch, there is one particular yew tree that has a legend all of its own. Known as the Bleeding Yew, this tree has been "bleeding" its red sticky sap from a lower limb for as long as everyone can remember. The legend apparently is that the tree will bleed "until a Welshman is once again Lord of the castle on the hill". As a small child I remember visiting this tree and the story I heard at the time was that the blood was supposed to be (or represent) the blood of Christ. I cannot back up this alternate "legend" as it was only hearsay or perhaps being only six or seven years old at the time I got the wrong end of the stick.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh9wNWPVTI/AAAAAAAAALc/dVcj6jV-nPs/s1600-h/stbrynach09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SZh9wNWPVTI/AAAAAAAAALc/dVcj6jV-nPs/s400/stbrynach09.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303126828398892338" /></a><br />However, I was somewhat alarmed to discover on this visit that the branch in question has been removed, but as can clearly be seen in my photo above there are two openings in the stump of the missing branch through which the sap has been flowing.<br /><br /><em>Date visited: 13 February 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-5045653948446884592009-01-23T18:19:00.015+00:002009-01-26T11:48:26.595+00:00The Dashwood Mausoleum, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoL-YrQ2EI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/M7YoC49m-GU/s1600-h/ww01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoL-YrQ2EI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/M7YoC49m-GU/s400/ww01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294557478331144258" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br /><strong>The Dashwood Mausoleum</strong>, built in 1765, is a vast monument constructed of Portland stone and flint. Sitting at the summit of West Wycombe Hill in Buckinghamshire (which is also the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort), the mausoleum houses the urns containing the ashes of the Dashwood family, the most notorious of which was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Francis_Dashwood">Sir Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer</a> (1708-1782). <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoNLdwrnPI/AAAAAAAAAKA/jL-DNcvIRss/s1600-h/ww02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoNLdwrnPI/AAAAAAAAAKA/jL-DNcvIRss/s400/ww02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294558802545974514" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoNMKWbmSI/AAAAAAAAAKI/QpSEbQZooE4/s1600-h/ww03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoNMKWbmSI/AAAAAAAAAKI/QpSEbQZooE4/s400/ww03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294558814515468578" /></a><br />Behind the imposing hexagonal structure of the mausoleum sits <strong>St Lawrence Church</strong> (below). The church tower is very oddly topped off by a golden sphere, which apparently is big enough to hold up to eight people, and is said to have been formerly used for secret meetings.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoNfpLcTnI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/dPeMo7E-g0M/s1600-h/ww04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXoNfpLcTnI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/dPeMo7E-g0M/s400/ww04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294559149208391282" /></a><br />Of course, beneath all this and inside West Wycombe Hill itself are <a href="http://www.hellfirecaves.co.uk/">The Hellfire Caves</a> which are possibly worthy of their own blog entry.<br /><br />The following is a short music video that I made using stills and footage captured during this visit:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hvbOm8kCUmo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hvbOm8kCUmo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><em>Date visited: 16 August 2008</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-86745259973224999192009-01-04T14:11:00.009+00:002009-01-23T19:05:32.677+00:00Meini Gwyr, Glandy Cross, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDFUWSJZjI/AAAAAAAAACw/biKZdEnfZGg/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDFUWSJZjI/AAAAAAAAACw/biKZdEnfZGg/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287442915902711346" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge)</small><br /><br />Glandy Cross is a small relatively-modern village straddling the crossroads with the main through road being part way between the towns of Clunderwen and Crymych. The local garage/convenience store ensures that it quite a busy little place. But Glandy Cross has a much older history with numerous standing stones and barrows in the immediate vicinity. The most accessible of these is what remains of the stone circle known as Meini Gwyr sitting in a plot of land behind one of the bungalows opposite the garage. Sadly, there are only two of the original stones remaining in the circle, but the raised ring of the bank on which the stones of the circle once stood can be clearly seen on the ground.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDFUOJyowI/AAAAAAAAACo/ErgAq1KVn3A/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+105.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDFUOJyowI/AAAAAAAAACo/ErgAq1KVn3A/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+105.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287442913720181506" /></a><br />The text on the information sign pictured above (supplied by the Dyfed Archaelogical Trust Ltd) reads as follows:<br /><br /><em>Meini Gwyr, also known as Buarth Arthur, is an embanked stone circle probably dating to the transition between the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age periods (c.2000BC). The site is likely to have been used for religious rituals.<br /><br />According to a late 17thC account by Edward Lhuyd, there were then fifteen stones in the cirlce ranging in height from three to six feet, but a further seven or eight were thought to have been 'carried off'. Apparently, there was also an entrance lined by smaller slabs.<br /><br />The site was partially excavated in 1938 by Professor W.F. Grimes. Unfortunately most of the records were destroyed in a bombing raid on Southampton in 1940. The plan is based partly on ground and air photographs of the excavation. Grimes established that the circle, some 60 feet in diameter, originally consisted of 17 stones which, like the two surviving ones, were set at an angle into the inner slope of the bank about 3 feet hight and 120 feet in the external diameter, with no trace of a ditch. The excavations confirmed that the entrance through the earthwork was formerly flanked by upright stones, set in a trench. The bank was set with stone curb extending for some 30 feet on either side of the entrance, in front of which was a clay-filled pit containing a large quantity of charcoal. There were no features or finds recorded from the interior, though this was only partly examined. Some fragments of early Bronze Age pottery came from a hearth set in a deep depression on the southeast bank.<br /><br />Meini Gwyr stands at the centre of 'West Wales' most important complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual and funerary monuments, lying on a ridge-way linking the wester end of the Preselis to the eastern Cleddau river and Milford Haven. This was a route by which the bluestones for Stonehenge may have been transported. Included in the complex are several Bronze Age burial mounds and cairns or various forms, and a 'henge' monument (akin to early elements at Stonehenge). Also, there is the site of 'Yr Allor' ('The Altar') comprising two, formerly three standing stones some 200 yards west of Meini Gwyr and apparently known by the 17thC. These stones may be the remains of a chambered tomb.<br /><br />Carn Meini, a source of the bluestones lies only 3 miles to the north. The site's name - 'Meini' ('large stone') and 'Gwyr' ('crooked') may refer to the varying size, shape or angle of the stones set in the circle. These were not 'bluestones' but another form of volcanic rock. Many such boulders are found locally and were originally depostited by glacial action. The alternative name 'Buarth Arthur' ('Arthur's Yard') is an example of a common legendary association of this figure with prehistoric stone monuments and is not regarded as significant.</em><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDO9dnaLXI/AAAAAAAAADA/lsNSHwiVyK4/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+111.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDO9dnaLXI/AAAAAAAAADA/lsNSHwiVyK4/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+111.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287453517850226034" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDO8zNzHeI/AAAAAAAAAC4/Udf1yPj9vh4/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+108.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDO8zNzHeI/AAAAAAAAAC4/Udf1yPj9vh4/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+108.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287453506468519394" /></a><br /><em>Date visited: 27 December 2008</em><br /><br />See also: <a href="http://themodernantiquarian.com/site/504/meini_gwyr.html">Meini Gwyr on The Modern Antiquarian</a>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-11016985047321952512009-01-12T15:09:00.016+00:002009-01-23T19:02:33.380+00:00Carreg Coetan Arthur, Newport, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWtd5Zgu5GI/AAAAAAAAAFc/mB2xb-9NBDQ/s1600-h/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWtd5Zgu5GI/AAAAAAAAAFc/mB2xb-9NBDQ/s400/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290425427958883426" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge)</small><br /><br />Here's another site in Pembrokeshire that I visited on one of the few days in July 2008 on which it didn't pour down with rain. Carreg Coetan Arthur is a Neolithic dolmen and is situated where you'd least expect it - next door to a couple of bungalows in a residential close in the small coastal town of Newport, North Pembrokeshire. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWtd5d6ppiI/AAAAAAAAAFk/6NBaRqyHFsk/s1600-h/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWtd5d6ppiI/AAAAAAAAAFk/6NBaRqyHFsk/s400/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290425429141333538" /></a><br />The juxtaposition of this ancient dolmen sitting amidst the 20th Century bungalows somehow seems to make it all the more magical. It's quite literally a little piece of our ancient history in someone's back yard!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWthb7rZpqI/AAAAAAAAAFs/MM41JJ3-B-M/s1600-h/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWthb7rZpqI/AAAAAAAAAFs/MM41JJ3-B-M/s400/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290429319780869794" /></a><br />To give you an idea of scale, in the next photo are my niece and nephew.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWtiIBtDyKI/AAAAAAAAAF0/4jXlhsZuh0c/s1600-h/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWtiIBtDyKI/AAAAAAAAAF0/4jXlhsZuh0c/s400/Carreg+Coetan+Arthur+4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290430077312682146" /></a><br />As you can see, it's nowhere as huge as <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/01/pentre-ifan-pembrokeshire.html">Pentre Ifan</a>, but it's still an impressive site and like that other dolmen its massive capstone seems to defy gravity, almost hanging in the air over the four upright stones.<br /><br /><em>Date visited: August 2008</em><br /><br />See also: <a href="http://themodernantiquarian.com/site/112/carreg_coetan_arthur.html">Carreg Coetan Arthur on The Modern Antiquarian</a>.Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-83081530179452299672009-01-04T15:44:00.017+00:002009-01-23T19:00:18.175+00:00Gors Fawr Stone Circle, Mynachlogddu, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDap5GjYEI/AAAAAAAAADI/Tk0VHJguHTE/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+116.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDap5GjYEI/AAAAAAAAADI/Tk0VHJguHTE/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+116.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287466375770759234" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge)</small><br /><br />To the South West of Mynachlogddu in the foothills of the Preseli mountains lies the fantastic little stone circle of Gors Fawr. Looking at the spectacular scenery in the photo above you'd be forgiven for not noticing the stone circle (despite the sign saying its there) because most of the 16 stones making up the 22 metre diameter circle are under two feet in height and so the circle might not be immediately apparent.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDdPU-OVrI/AAAAAAAAADQ/OyYezWtQdQU/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+119.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDdPU-OVrI/AAAAAAAAADQ/OyYezWtQdQU/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287469217930434226" /></a><br />If you are planning a visit to Gors Fawr it is worth bearing in mind that the land around the stone circle is quite marshy, so depending on time of year, you might want to wear the appropriate footwear (eg, Wellington boots). We visited on 27 December 2008 which was a glorious but very cold day. The ground was quite hard and frosty which made the terrain much easier to negotiate than perhaps it is at other times of the year.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDdP5PXH7I/AAAAAAAAADY/k0mxSQI573I/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+121.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDdP5PXH7I/AAAAAAAAADY/k0mxSQI573I/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+121.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287469227665989554" /></a><br />To the north east of the circle lie two additional stones (pictured below) aligned to the Solstice, and one of these is known as the Dreaming Stone and allegedly has magnetic properties. I personally didn't experience any magnetic effects and my camera behaved itself (unlike the time I tried taking photos of the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire and found that a good number were almost completely whited out).<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDgd5PInII/AAAAAAAAADg/AEA7bcFdBC4/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDgd5PInII/AAAAAAAAADg/AEA7bcFdBC4/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+126.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287472766718090370" /></a><br />Animal lovers will be interested to note that this is a good place to see some of the wild ponies that roam the Preseli mountains. I snuck up behind a tree and managed to get a lovely shot of this fellow in the photo below.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDhkFKoqRI/AAAAAAAAADo/8M8tZpppGQU/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+139.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDhkFKoqRI/AAAAAAAAADo/8M8tZpppGQU/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+139.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287473972511287570" /></a><br />All in all I'd say that Gors Fawr was well worth a visit and is probably my favourite ancient site out of those we visited in Pembrokeshire over the last week.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDjAXtKnaI/AAAAAAAAADw/uvNTRTUFfQc/s1600-h/Autumn-Winter+2008+124.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWDjAXtKnaI/AAAAAAAAADw/uvNTRTUFfQc/s400/Autumn-Winter+2008+124.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287475558035922338" /></a><br /><em>Date visited: 27 December 2008</em><br /><br />See also: <a href="http://themodernantiquarian.com/site/114/gors_fawr.html">Gors Fawr on The Modern Antiquarian</a>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-70608565534804424392009-01-07T18:56:00.016+00:002009-01-23T18:59:42.042+00:00"Celtic" Cross, St. Cledwyn’s Church, Llanglydwen, Carmarthenshire<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWT8Riu86kI/AAAAAAAAAEs/FR8WUp7n36M/s1600-h/Llanglydwencross.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWT8Riu86kI/AAAAAAAAAEs/FR8WUp7n36M/s400/Llanglydwencross.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288629240751516226" /></a><small>(Click photo to enlarge)</small><br /><br />Here's another stone in a churchyard. This rough "Celtic" cross is to be found just inside the entrance of Llanglydwen Church in Carmarthenshire and - according to the <a href="http://crymychgroupofchurches.co.uk/chrymychgroupofchurches.aspx">Crymych Group of Churches website</a> - it is believed to date from between the 7th and 9th Centuries. (St. Cledwyn's Church itself dates back to the 13th Century). Note the carving on the front of the stone.<!-- By the way, I say "Celtic" (in quotes) because I am aware that there are several schools of thought which insist that, contrary to popular belief, there is no Celtic history in Wales and that the Welsh people are not and never were Celts. --><br /><br /><em>Date visited: 27 December 2008</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-5435100070101944192009-01-03T22:26:00.004+00:002009-01-23T18:59:12.375+00:00Pentre Ifan, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SV_oWLS-iaI/AAAAAAAAACI/oUN3bSlQ5k0/s1600-h/IMG_0294.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SV_oWLS-iaI/AAAAAAAAACI/oUN3bSlQ5k0/s400/IMG_0294.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287199955243403682" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge)</small><br /><br />I'll start with what is perhaps the best known ancient site in the area of South West Wales, the dolmen known as Pentre Ifan which is to be found in the lower Preseli Mountains a few miles south west of Newport. (Note Carningli in the background of the above photo).<br /><br />This is a popular site and is the one that <em>everyone</em> seems to know about despite there being a wealth of other fantastic sites seemingly peppered all across the county and most of which go practically unvisited. When we visited on New Year's Eve there were already three car-loads of people there plus some hikers. There were guys laden with the most expensive looking photographic equipment trying to take photographs whilst squadrons of small children bombed about the place, running in and out between the upright stones. Thankfully once the kids had left I was able to rattle off a few photographs of my own.<br /><br />One of the reasons that Pentre Ifan is so popular with the tourist crowd is that it really is quite impressive. It is the tallest such monument in the region and the capstone almost seems to defy gravity as it seemingly balances on knife-edge points on three of the uprights.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SV_rBKtfSHI/AAAAAAAAACQ/A96F7llgJKg/s1600-h/IMG_0296.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SV_rBKtfSHI/AAAAAAAAACQ/A96F7llgJKg/s400/IMG_0296.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287202892843796594" /></a><br />Supposedly most of this structure was once covered over with soil with only the side in the above photo open to the elements. Some other stones are no longer in their original positions and can be seen scattered around the site.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SV_so1L5hUI/AAAAAAAAACY/fxmw_-XoM8w/s1600-h/pentre+ifans.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 392px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SV_so1L5hUI/AAAAAAAAACY/fxmw_-XoM8w/s400/pentre+ifans.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287204673772160322" /></a><br />The above photo was taken circa 1970/71 and shows that I too was once a small child who liked playing amongst the stones of Pentre Ifan whilst my Nana and sister pose nicely for the camera.<br /><br /><em>Date visited: 31 December 2008</em><br /><br />See also: <a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/117">Pentre Ifan on The Modern Antiquarian</a>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-77681884850422020632009-01-05T20:05:00.011+00:002009-01-23T18:58:44.852+00:00The Ogham Stone, Glandwr Chapel, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWJo8SC4DDI/AAAAAAAAAD4/a6BN2lohoJQ/s1600-h/IMG_0241.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWJo8SC4DDI/AAAAAAAAAD4/a6BN2lohoJQ/s400/IMG_0241.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287904297331723314" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge)</small><br /><br />In the last couple of weeks I've visited various standing stones and sites around Pembrokeshire in Wales, but the one which I'm featuring in today's post was the easiest to visit for me personally seeing as my parents live in this very village.<br /><br />The Ogham Stone is to be found in the grounds of the chapel in a village called Glandwr, situated at the foot of the Preseli mountains, and with the nearest town being Crymych.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWJqfIxZUZI/AAAAAAAAAEA/t8BReUGCZ38/s1600-h/IMG_0320.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWJqfIxZUZI/AAAAAAAAAEA/t8BReUGCZ38/s400/IMG_0320.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287905995649536402" /></a>As can be seen in the above picture on the left hand edge of the stone when looked at from this angle there are a series of Ogham markings cut into the stone. Unfortunately I can't translate these for you. One theory I have heard is that Ogham is actually a musical notation.<br /><br />Just behind the Ogham Stone is another little curiosity that the visitor might like to take a look at, although this time it's hardly ancient. <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWJsGYjHxFI/AAAAAAAAAEI/IPMy3oIRZGQ/s1600-h/IMG_0246.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWJsGYjHxFI/AAAAAAAAAEI/IPMy3oIRZGQ/s400/IMG_0246.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287907769411159122" /></a>The gravestone of Lewis Phillips states - in Welsh - that he died on June 31, 1900. Now how does that rhyme go again?... <em>Thirty days have September, April, June and November...</em><br /><br /><em>Date visited: 31 December 2008</em><br /><br />See also: <a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/6684/">Glandwr Churchyard on The Modern Antiquarian</a>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-7022635880304346872009-01-10T21:42:00.020+00:002009-01-23T18:57:32.773+00:00Carnedd Meibion Owen, Ty Canol, Brynberian, Pembrokeshire<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkab9eVcwI/AAAAAAAAAE0/LsQnehdxZtI/s1600-h/cairn001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkab9eVcwI/AAAAAAAAAE0/LsQnehdxZtI/s400/cairn001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289788304983945986" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge)</small><br /><br />Returning to the Preseli mountains again, just south of the Ty Canol woods and a couple of miles south west from <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/01/pentre-ifan-pembrokeshire.html">Pentre Ifan</a>, on a bleak hillside arranged in a line running roughly north to south are four cairns known as <strong>Carnedd Meibion Owen</strong>.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=f2iexUinKeUC&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=Carnedd+Meibion+Owen&source=web&ots=U-vUyt5L-e&sig=hjnOwn6mWW_TPxE9Z9KbC9t_b_o&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA98,M1"><em><strong>Best Walks In Southern Wales</strong></em></a> by Richard Sale, the site "<em>is named for the three sons of Owen who decided to fight for their father's land, even before he had died rather than divide it between them.</em> [...] <em>They made wooden clubs and fought all day on the hill, but as night fell no one had won. Eventually the father chose one son, sending the others to be the kings of England and Scotland</em>."<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWka6QUJSDI/AAAAAAAAAE8/1Pydj4V0xpM/s1600-h/cairn002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWka6QUJSDI/AAAAAAAAAE8/1Pydj4V0xpM/s400/cairn002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289788825437554738" /></a><br />From a distance it's difficult to judge the scale of what looks to be a few rocky outcrops. It's only when you get up close and take a walk around them that you realise how truly monolithic these cairns are.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkb9QN83PI/AAAAAAAAAFE/j5GkNwBYXIA/s1600-h/cairn003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkb9QN83PI/AAAAAAAAAFE/j5GkNwBYXIA/s400/cairn003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289789976462810354" /></a><br />But what are they? Are they geological features, are they man-made, or are they a combination of the two? They certainly resemble some of the rock formations found in Snowdonia in North Wales where glacial action has shattered and splintered the rocks.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkc0eCS8NI/AAAAAAAAAFM/C2IFfj7WXZ4/s1600-h/cairn004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkc0eCS8NI/AAAAAAAAAFM/C2IFfj7WXZ4/s400/cairn004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289790925064827090" /></a><br />I've read <a href="http://www.cambria.org.uk/HLC/Preseli/area/area278.htm">elsewhere</a> that "<em>Recorded archaeology comprises two possible neolithic chambered tombs</em>", although this does little to explain why there are four cairns.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkdrF7tWNI/AAAAAAAAAFU/xiWhru5UvLM/s1600-h/cairn005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SWkdrF7tWNI/AAAAAAAAAFU/xiWhru5UvLM/s400/cairn005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289791863487551698" /></a><br />This is a stange and quite breathtaking site where you really do feel that you are encountering the unknown. It's well worth a visit and just a short distance away from Pentre Ifan on the more popular tourist trail. Unlike Pentre Ifan this site is unlikely to be swarming with tourists and hoardes of kids. It very likely will be just you and the wild ponies.<br /><br /><em>Date visited: 31 December 2008</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-27256801221484673012009-01-18T10:46:00.022+00:002009-01-23T18:52:40.802+00:00The Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMTk0AKUII/AAAAAAAAAGA/QhioJFU-dAw/s1600-h/rollrights01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMTk0AKUII/AAAAAAAAAGA/QhioJFU-dAw/s400/rollrights01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292595510246002818" /></a><small>(click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />Yesterday I visited The Rollright Stones in North Oxfordshire near to the village of <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/01/long-compton-church-warwickshire.html">Long Compton</a>. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMUYkf1cvI/AAAAAAAAAGI/5t7NFHMoXzQ/s1600-h/rollrights02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMUYkf1cvI/AAAAAAAAAGI/5t7NFHMoXzQ/s400/rollrights02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292596399437083378" /></a><br />The stones are actually split over three separate sites: <br /><br />The stone circle is popularly known as <em>The King's Men</em> and is thought to date back to late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. It is 33 metres in diameter and consists of about 70 stones. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMVQXcwd4I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/9OJl38Gg4AU/s1600-h/rollrights03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMVQXcwd4I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/9OJl38Gg4AU/s400/rollrights03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292597358007187330" /></a><br />It is said that you cannot accurately count the stones that make up <em>The King's Men</em>, as the total will be different each time. We tried this on a previous visit and indeed we had trouble deciding on a total - but part of the problem is deciding what constitutes a single stone where perhaps a stone has cracked or been broken, or else where what appears to be two stones might just be the same stone beneath the surface.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMXJWGbIJI/AAAAAAAAAGg/_LHpasHo19A/s1600-h/rollrights05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMXJWGbIJI/AAAAAAAAAGg/_LHpasHo19A/s400/rollrights05.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292599436409249938" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMYO3y3ffI/AAAAAAAAAGo/oVpCBx9GaPc/s1600-h/rollrights06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMYO3y3ffI/AAAAAAAAAGo/oVpCBx9GaPc/s400/rollrights06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292600630865001970" /></a><br /><em>The Whipsering Knights</em> (above) appear to be a small grouping of standing stones huddled together as if holding a private conversation; it is believed that this formation is the remains of a collapsed burial chamber. There are four uprights and a large recumbent stone which was probably the capstone. These are situated to the east of <em>The King's Men</em> and just a short walk away.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMZfI9LDVI/AAAAAAAAAG4/Bljlqy0oy8Y/s1600-h/rollrights08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMZfI9LDVI/AAAAAAAAAG4/Bljlqy0oy8Y/s400/rollrights08.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292602009861164370" /></a><br />Finally, just over the road from <em>The King's Men</em> and over the county border too and into Warwickshire, is a lone standing stone called <em>The King's Stone</em> (above). It is a very peculiar shape, although this is partly because in the days before it had a fence erected around it vistors would chisel off chunks of it to keep as souvenirs!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMZexhpO7I/AAAAAAAAAGw/s3b3lbgDb_8/s1600-h/rollrights07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMZexhpO7I/AAAAAAAAAGw/s3b3lbgDb_8/s400/rollrights07.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292602003571686322" /></a><br />In the past The Rollright Stones were one of the few ancient monuments that I have visited where you have to pay a (small) entry fee. I have absolutely no problem with this. The fee, of course, went to the upkeep of the site. There used to be a hut at the entrance where an affable old gentleman would take your entrance fee and would tell you about the stones should you have any questions. He would even lend you a pair of divining rods if your interests and beliefs lay in that direction.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMbLTgJrLI/AAAAAAAAAHA/_XD7OEdC7NA/s1600-h/rollrights09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMbLTgJrLI/AAAAAAAAAHA/_XD7OEdC7NA/s400/rollrights09.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292603868118101170" /></a><br />But unfortunately we live in sorry times. The old man and the hut have gone. The old man has sadly died and the hut was burnt down by vandals. Vandals have attacked the stones on various occasions, covering them in yellow paint on one occasion, and burning them on others. Obviously, these acts of mindless destruction mean expensive and painstaking clean-up work. What I find most alarming is that these are not random acts of vandalism but that they must have been pre-meditated. Someone has specifically made the journey with the express intention of attacking the stones.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMWZhKOPII/AAAAAAAAAGY/bK1ueW83g0E/s1600-h/rollrights04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXMWZhKOPII/AAAAAAAAAGY/bK1ueW83g0E/s400/rollrights04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292598614744251522" /></a><br />On this visit there was no-one collecting entry fees. I didn't even see a box for donations.I am hoping that the Rollright Trust and/or the Friends of The Rollright Stones have not thrown in the towel and given up. I thought they had been doing an excellent job. What other group of stones has its own <a href="http://www.rollrightstones.co.uk/index.php/site/contact/"><strong>website</strong></a>? I like that you can download an audio tour and play it on you iPod as you walk around the stones. <br /><br />To sum up, this is a lovely site which needs your support.<br /><br /><em>Date visted: 17 January 2009</em><br /><br />See also:<ul><li><a href="http://www.rollrightstones.co.uk/">The Rollright Stones Official Site</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/65">The Rollright Stones: The King's Men on The Modern Anitquarian</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/464/whispering_knights.html">The Rollright Stones: The Whispering Knights on The Modern Anitquarian</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/462/king_stone.html">The Rollright Stones: The King's Stone on The Modern Anitquarian</a><br /><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollright_Stones">The Rollright Stones on Wikipedia</a><br /><li><a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6tEh0V594Iw">"Summer Solstice at the Rollright Stones" on YouTube - Arthur "I am the god of hellfire" Brown investigates!</a></ul>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-65199976705420289772009-01-18T21:13:00.021+00:002009-01-23T18:52:16.768+00:00Long Compton Church, WarwickshireOn our way to the <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/01/rollright-stones-oxfordshirewarwickshir.html">Rollright Stones</a> we stopped in the nearby village of Long Compton. The church there has one of the most unusual-looking lych gates that I have ever seen, as it appears to have a small house over it.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXOdLjekMhI/AAAAAAAAAHg/uZVVrja-1FU/s1600-h/longcompton01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXOdLjekMhI/AAAAAAAAAHg/uZVVrja-1FU/s400/longcompton01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292746808918028818" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />According to a sign posted on the notice board beneath the lych gate:<br /><br />"<em>The parish lych gate dates from about 1600, when it was the end of a row of cottages. Most of these were demolished in the 1920s. The lych gate became first a cobblers and later an antiques shop in the middle of the last century.<br /><br />It was re-roofed and restored by a past resident, Mr George Latham, and given to the Church as a memorial to him by his wife, Marion, on 12th November 1964. The room above the gate is loaned to the Compton District History Society.</em>"<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXOcBKd1qxI/AAAAAAAAAHI/PZUQ-1llZ2A/s1600-h/longcompton02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXOcBKd1qxI/AAAAAAAAAHI/PZUQ-1llZ2A/s400/longcompton02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292745530893773586" /></a><br />In the porch to church itself we find this stone figure (pictured below) of a rather peculiar-looking woman. Her almost featureless face with its wide apart blank eyes puts me in mind of the modern-day popular image of an alien "grey".<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXOcg5lZo6I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/SuO89psFAhs/s1600-h/longcompton03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXOcg5lZo6I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/SuO89psFAhs/s400/longcompton03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292746076117902242" /></a><br />Another posting on a notice board tells us:<br /><br />"<em>Beside the door into the Church there is a stone effigy of a woman. It dates from the 15th century. She is wearing an ornate headdress and you can just make out a small dog resting at her feet. The effigy was probably the cover of a tomb, and originally located in the north aisle.</em>"<br /><br />Another theory that the church avoids mentioning is that the figure is that of a witch. It has been suggested that the animal at the figure's feet may be the witch's familiar: a cat or a fox.<br /><br />Interestingly, Long Compton seems to have a history of witchcraft as a quick Google search will show. For example, local legend tells that the <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/01/rollright-stones-oxfordshirewarwickshir.html">Rollright Stones</a> are the remains of a King and his army who set out to conquer England but the King was hailed by a witch who told him to take seven strides and then:<blockquote><em>If Long Compton thou canst see <br />King of England thou shalt be</em></blockquote>The King took seven strides but instead of seeing Long Compton he saw a spur of land obstructing the view. The witch said:<blockquote><em>As Long Compton thou canst not see <br />King of England thou shalt not be. <br />Rise up stick, and stand still, stone <br />For King of England thou shalt be none. <br />Thou and they men hoar stones shalt be, <br />And I myself an eldern tree</em></blockquote><em>Date visted: 17 January 2009</em>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-11960811834116756262009-01-21T12:49:00.019+00:002009-01-23T18:51:44.169+00:00Belas Knap, Cleeve Hill, GloucestershireFrom the <a href="http://sitesandstones.blogspot.com/2009/01/rollright-stones-oxfordshirewarwickshir.html">Rollright Stones</a> we decided to visit <strong>Belas Knap</strong>, a long barrow on Cleeve Hill near Cheltenham, as it was - supposedly - only half a hour's drive away. However, we encountered a hunt (a drag hunt, I sincerely hope) and the journey was extended another half hour.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXccaoMH1xI/AAAAAAAAAIo/D22XXeO9eAA/s1600-h/belasknap02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXccaoMH1xI/AAAAAAAAAIo/D22XXeO9eAA/s400/belasknap02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293731130787747602" /></a><small>(Click photos to enlarge).</small><br /><br />From the parking space down on the road, it was quite a slog walking half a mile uphill to the site of Belas Knap.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcbCZ_PHvI/AAAAAAAAAIg/ZK99kA_no_0/s1600-h/belasknap01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcbCZ_PHvI/AAAAAAAAAIg/ZK99kA_no_0/s400/belasknap01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293729615147114226" /></a><br />From the sign pictured above:<blockquote>"<em>Belas Knap is a shrine built around 2500 BC. It was used for successive burials, possibly over a period of several centuries, until eventually the burial chambers were deliberately blocked. The chambers contained the remains of 38 human skeletons, together with animal bones, flint implements and pottery.<br /><br />At one end is a false entrance which although impressive leads nowhere. It may have been intended to deter robbers or evil spirits or to have some symbolic significance. The space in front of this was probably used for rituals and ceremonies.</em>"</blockquote>The false entrance at the north of the barrow is pictured below:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXceBWyBTjI/AAAAAAAAAIw/1yMluqDRhEo/s1600-h/belasknap03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXceBWyBTjI/AAAAAAAAAIw/1yMluqDRhEo/s400/belasknap03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293732895641390642" /></a><br />The entrance to the North West chamber:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcfLX9aXEI/AAAAAAAAAI4/JSdRUwa8uuk/s1600-h/belasknap04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcfLX9aXEI/AAAAAAAAAI4/JSdRUwa8uuk/s400/belasknap04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293734167267925058" /></a><br />Inside the North West chamber, looking out:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcgDKpuORI/AAAAAAAAAJA/uIK5IQt99Mc/s1600-h/belasknap05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcgDKpuORI/AAAAAAAAAJA/uIK5IQt99Mc/s400/belasknap05.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293735125768354066" /></a><br />The entrance to the sealed South chamber:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXchaQnbafI/AAAAAAAAAJI/lFUv3M7ybFg/s1600-h/belasknap06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXchaQnbafI/AAAAAAAAAJI/lFUv3M7ybFg/s400/belasknap06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293736622017964530" /></a><br />The South East chamber (below). I didn't fancy going inside this one...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcjm-EcDVI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/m00H_YDNbyw/s1600-h/belasknap07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcjm-EcDVI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/m00H_YDNbyw/s400/belasknap07.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293739039400922450" /></a><br />...because as you can see, there's not exactly a lot of headroom:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXckm3HCbCI/AAAAAAAAAJY/AyNWLwnt7Zc/s1600-h/belasknap08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXckm3HCbCI/AAAAAAAAAJY/AyNWLwnt7Zc/s400/belasknap08.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293740137044405282" /></a><br />The North East chamber contains several standing stones:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcl1NTY2DI/AAAAAAAAAJg/rOUQiaPF2L0/s1600-h/belasknap09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcl1NTY2DI/AAAAAAAAAJg/rOUQiaPF2L0/s400/belasknap09.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293741483031582770" /></a><br />Inside the North East chamber, looking out:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcnK3bD_nI/AAAAAAAAAJo/Re4Kg4cLgHA/s1600-h/belasknap10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eyBbcdYh1Ow/SXcnK3bD_nI/AAAAAAAAAJo/Re4Kg4cLgHA/s400/belasknap10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293742954626940530" /></a><br />I have to say, that in parts - especially around the north "false" entrance this site looks quite modern, although I understand it has been restored, and in the chambers that I entered there was evidence of concrete in the ceilings. It makes me wonder what condition Belas Knap was in before restoration. Nevertheless, it's a great site to visit, but be prepared to exert yourself getting there!<br /><br /><em>Date visted: 17 January 2009</em><br /><br />See also: <a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/54/belas_knap.html">Belas Knap on The Modern Antiquarian</a>Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389129232560703800.post-62785487401825633232009-01-03T21:17:00.000+00:002009-01-03T21:31:45.700+00:00Is this thing on yet?Welcome to Sites and Stones. This blog will cover places of interest that I personally have visited in the UK. In the recent Christmas and New Year holidays I have visited a number of fantastic locations in and around Pembrokeshire in South West Wales, and I intend featuring photos and write-ups from these visits over the next few days.<br /><br />I realise that there are already some excellent resources on the web for those making field trips to ancient sites, e.g. Julian Cope's <a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com">The Modern Antiquarian</a>, <a href="http://www.stonepages.com">stonepages.com</a> and <a href="http://www.megalthic.co.uk">megalithic.co.uk</a>. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel and will in all probability be using the facilities that these other sites offer, but having this blog will allow me to keep easy track of places I have visited and I'd like to feature places of interest that are not necessarily quite so ancient as those covered on The Modern Antiquarian <em>et al</em>.Gavin Lloyd Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10937598384359522498noreply@blogger.com1