This and That

Twiddling my thumbs, as we are going up to the British Museum this morning in an hour or so, cannot spin or do any gardening..  The weather is warm, do not fancy the tube ride, but we will meet our friends for lunch and a tour of the Japanese Conservation studio in the museum. We shall also try and find the Rillaton Cup in the museum which is supposed to be in room 50.

We have eaten out the last three nights running and I am getting tired of restaurant food, and fancy a fish pie.

The other night as we opened the back gate a dark small creature scurried across the lawn, it was the hedgehog we had rescued last autumn, we had seen evidence of its occupancy but it was good to see the little fellow still around.

My mind is still in Cornwall, amongst the stone circles and that cold wind across the moors, the ponies must be hardy creatures, and I can remember that young pony who came trotting into the village of Minions neighing sadly for his family? don't know, but he surveyed the village green before trotting off again.

My daughter's house in Whitby seems to have been sold, so they are off looking for a house in Todmorden, on the west side of Yorkshire, not sure how the family will like this side of the world, but it could well be that in September when we go down they won't be there anymore. The cottage has quite a few bookings and we shall keep it for the time being, all that work that went into it and it has become part of the family but it will be sad without them there.
I see I was going to write about teabags, Asda our local supermarket does not keep loose tea on the shelves  anymore which is very annoying, what I mean about loose tea is proper tea leaves you spoon into teapots, instead of 'dust' teabags.  Apparently the outer covering is supposedly paper but some teabags coverings have plastic compounds in them.  It may all be a load of nonsense of course who knows but the fact is we should be able to have choice and not be pushed along by supermarkets who find it easier to offer only one type.

last thoughts on Cornwall

Looks a bit like a church but is a ruined engine house on the moors, in actual fact the Heritage Centre in  the village of Minions.

Leaving Cornwall behind was a wrench, not enough time to see things, but as these last thoughts filter through my brain, LS's cousin cottage leaves a pleasant memory, it was the garden with the little stream flowing around it, the hens and the vegetable garden already the currants were beginning to ripen. As I sat on a garden bench in the afternoon Sue presented me with a large colander full of broad bean pods and pea pods, "have a zen moment" she says.  Well I did snapping the broad bean pods in half, running my thumb down its velvety inside, popping the peas and I didn't quite do what I did as a child chewing the inside of the pea pods for their sweetness, or discover a white maggot which would sometimes lurk in the pod, but growing ones own will always be very satisfying and they tasted delicious at supper.

General impression of Cornwall, leaves a mixed picture, the towns were depressing, we got stuck in a horrific traffic jam in the small streets of St.Ives and so did not stop.  Whereas I would be quite happy to live in a small village like Minions on the edge of the moors, our friends lived in Ruan Lanihorne village, where you would be just as likely to meet an Alfae Romeo coming down the narrow lanes as a tractor. Cornwall is a place of rich holiday homes, and the prices of the houses reflect this.  

Two photos reflect the ever changing landscape views, the lush green tree lined valley and the open cold moor, the Heritage Centre was a find, taking a short walk in pretty asbysmal weather we sheltered from the wind below its stairs, and then we went up through curiosity found the door open and spent a pleasant half an hour reading about the industrial nature of the moors.

The river valley at Ruan Lanihorne, which flows into the estuary.

The Heritage Centre

Not quite got the top

Now we have visitors for three days and more stuff to unload into the studio, but maybe one day my love will work out how to sell all those silks, papers and brushes and get rid of the enormous workbench and then maybe, just maybe I can get my loom out once more ;).

Not forgetting the furry little cat who followed us whilst we were at the Centre.

One other memory flashes through, this was the sweet gesture of Roys' to make us up a large picnic plate each of  salady things, when we visited the Trippet circle, so there Sue and I sat in the freezing cold wind on the moors, drinking I think, Asti spumante, whilst the men sat in the cars eating theirs.  Surrounded by highland cattle, who seem a long way from home and a stone circle, what more can you want?

King Arthurs Hall - Ceremonial prehistoric monument?

This mind visit will be a pleasant memory of the moors plus friends and unexplained enigmatic stuff, no ghost stuff of course, just a rectangular megalithic enclosure that defies explanation sitting in a bowl of hills.

Where to start, we met at the Trippett stone circle and followed Roy in the car and we kept turning right, again and again through tiny Cornish lanes slowly circling the moor, until we came to a track way that reached up to a ridge.  The cars bumped up this disintegrating road, just below the ridge was a scatter of rocks, and here we later found Bronze Age cists, and apparently settlement sites according to the map.  Reaching the top of the ridge, we looked down to a small hamlet of three houses, crossing the small rocky beck that tumbled down, the cars were parked on a small green plateau, next to a land rover sporting the title Cornish Heritage and we were to meet the foreign tourists and their guide at the site later on.  Even the vast empty spaces of the moor have life and visitors.

Walking uphill past the inevitable cattle, sheep and ponies with foals, we could see the grassy outlines of KAH in the distant a short walk of about 15 minutes. Climbing the stile and the first feeling is enclosure, you are surrounded for three quarters of the way by the rise of hills, and over in the distance behind a thick swathe of dark green forestry firs is the Stripples stone circle/henge monument which we did not see but is the only henge monument to be found in Cornwall at this time. The large untidy bank that surrounds the stones, causes many of them to keel over, and the walking path below the bank is difficult with great tussocks of grass and hidden stones.  The theory is that this large enclosure was dug out maybe for water. (who knows) and the central area is boggy,  reeds outline the boggy area and cotton grass was in 'flower' blowing gently in the wind, and just at the centre of this area a darker green patch of vegetation which meant deeper ground and water, the dogs drank from here.

A few words from the rather scant Wiki; The monument consists of fifty-six stones arranged in a rectangle with a bank of earth around them and measures approximately 20m by 47m. The interior fills with water and a contemporary ground level has not been established. It has suffered damage by cattle in the past and is now protected by a gated fence. It can be reached by footpaths east of St Breward.

There is a report by an archaeologist that gives the theory that in actual fact this is a medieval pound for the cattle up on the moors, and that two manors whose boundaries met here would have problems with straying cattle and they would be impounded, of course one would ask would it not be difficult with boggy ground and water to keep cattle there.

Feeling tells you that this is a ceremonial prehistoric monument, surrounded by stone circles on Bodmin Moor, there is a certain timelessness, stones cluster at the corners, there is a similar rectangular enclosure in Brittany, and apparently also at Lough Gur in Ireland, but until archaeological excavation proves the point one way or the other we cannot say.

Interesting link from 2010

Square structure at Carnac

Trevethy Quoit

Forgotten all about this one, the grand daddy of all the quoits, astride its bank it defies interpretation though Roy has written a little book on it.  'Wendy' house to the children that live in the houses, and it is a very dangerous play house by the way, it sits just off the road, and there is even a little parking place.  A Wiki will fill in the detail of this 'Giant's House.  But it is spectacular..

A small entrance to the back chamber

just thought I would get a different angle

Chief always in the picture.

Trippett Stone Circle

This stone circle was visited on the last day, just off the A30 across a grid to St.Breward and then the first cross roads.  The day was miserable, the cold wind blew, beautiful highland cattle and their young, and us five.  We had a picnic here, Roy had sweetly brought plates of food, so Sue and I sat in the cold whilst the men sat in their cars and ate.  There are many stone circles on Bodmin Moor and this one probably reflects many of them.  They sit on flat ground usually below some rocky outcrop, the ground worn into deep pockets where cattle and sheep have rubbed against them.  We all pondered the stones as you can see, Geoff is a landscape architect and Sue works on historic gardens, so they were both interested in the next  enigmatic site called King Arthur's Hall, and when I eventually get my head around it will write about.  

The Stripple stone circle and henge is a long walk from here, and over private land, so we did not go, but it is the only henge monument in Cornwall

Lanyon Quoit

Lanyon quoit is so famous that perhaps it needs little in the way of explanation, though there is one here, we missed the layby and walked back up the road to visit it. one thing you will notice is the foxgloves, they graced the hedgerows everywhere, tips curling upwards towards the sky.  Cornish hedgerows are beautiful, unfortunately I had to get rid of all my 'wild flowers' photos because of space.  It is a heavily restored cromlech, and one of eight in Cornwall.  We had to drive for over an hour to get to this part of Cornwall, West Penwith is a treasure trove of prehistoric stuff.  But we intend to take a cottage next year so that we can explore this area, also missed the Zennor Quoit though we did make it to Zennor village and the pub, and it was sunny and warm.  LSs cousin also has suggested that we 'house sit' their cottage next year whilst they go away on holiday, hens, Lillie the dog and Kittie the cat!  Holidays are coming in quite thickly, our American friends have also asked to join them in France this morning for a prehistoric ramble but I am not too sure on three days in Paris.....

Duloe Stone Circle

It is a cosy little stone circle situated in a field in the small village of Duloe, sparkling white with the quartz that make up the stones, a small white crown in a field of green.  Maybe the stones were set around a burial mound, there is a mysterious lumpiness to the centre, but apparently up to the 18th century it had a field hedge going through which could also account for this.  A more detailed explanation is here.  

A friend told us the story of a lady dowser, who would not go into the circle because of the scary hooded figure of one of the stones, featured above, strangely shaped but felt no evil impulse there.......

  Attaching a video that pottered through my email  yesterday.  Sacred Land Video

The Hurler's stone circles

Hurler circles with Cheesewring in the  distance

We arrived in the village of Minions in cold, misty and very windy conditions.  The moors around sported farm animals and ponies, this part of the moor it was the banded white/black cows that were in evidence.  Small ponies everywhere, their foals at heel or fast asleep in a hollow of the land whilst their mothers grazed.

Great excitement on my part for eventually arriving in Cornwall, the pub/hotel was welcoming, room good and the food fairly good as well - pub fare.

How to describe this landscape, dystopia kept coming to mind, the land has been mined for tin and ruined engine houses dot the skyline.  Yet of course it is beautiful, the mine workings flow through the land as bumps, ditches and small pits filled with reeds and water, a green and pleasant land, the mist adding to the romantic industrial tone of the place.

The Hurlers Stone Circles, there are three, though one has almost disappeared, is about 5 minutes walk from the road just outside the village and they lie about half a mile from the Cheesewring, upon which of course they are focused.  What went through the minds of these stone age people as they looked on the weird shaping of the Cheesewring, honed by time and geology to a 'topple' of stones balanced precariously on top of one another.  Did they think their ancestors had built such stone gods? Giants placing each stone carefully, who knows?

On our first visit, the mist came and went so that sometimes the blurred outlines of the Cheesewring was there and then  would completely disappear, we had come in the time of the summer solstice, but the sun had decided not to make an appearance.  We met at the stone circle someone from the forums, Gwass and his friend, who were also there for the solstice.  

The two stone circles have a feeling of serenity and you can fall in love with them quite happily, they pull you in, they are not showy circles just part of the landscape and as you glance over to the two Piper Stones in the distance the question asked are they both part of the same equation, or are these two stones something different.

As we spent three days in Minions village, we visited several times, and also walked to the Cheesewring in blustery weather with Sanctuary and his dog Chief. The front half of this great outcrop of rock (sorry don't do north, south, east and west) has been heavily quarried right up to the strange assemblage of stones before it was finally stopped.  There is an early neolithic wall fronting this and several upright stones balanced precariously on the edge of the quarry, this is part of Stowes Pound Neolithic enclosures.
Silly people were doing the 'Titanic' act of standing on the Cheesewring with arms outstretched in a gale force wind, hopefully should they have been blown off there is a helicopter service in Cornwall.

One of the stones sitting in its own reed filled pond

Mistiness (and I need a new camera to get rid of the black spot!)

The two Piper stones

Misty visions

The Cheesewring is situated on the Stowe Pound Hill, which has Neolithic walling and upright stones that sit on the edge of the quarry,  consists of a larger and smaller Neolithic enclosures, used also at later dates.
Blue skies over Stowe Pound Hill and the Cheesewring.

Cheesewring

Neolithic walling

Upright stones at the edge of the quarry

similar

Notes...

"The Hurlers consist of three rings of stones, they stand on the open moor one and a half miles west of Upton Cross, just west of Minions. The stone circles are set on a line north east, south west and if we work north to south the dimensions are as follows diameter 110ft with 13 standing stones, 135 ft with 17 standing stones and 105 ft with 9 standing stones. The rings can be studied carefully and it can be seen that each ring would have had many more stones at one time, probably between twenty five and thirty five each. The group lies on a route way between the rivers Lyhner and Fowey and are aligned with a number of monuments close by, the cairns on Caradon and stone rows on one axis and long toms cross and Rillaton barrow on the opposite axis. It has been confirmed that the stones had been placed in pits with stones packed around them. They had been hammered smooth and the chippings strewn over the interior. Little was found in the stone circles. The central circle contained an upright stone placed off centre and the northern circle had been paved with granite blocks. Between the central and southern circle lay another patch of paving and a small pit. To the south west, 120 metres away are two more standing stones. known as The Pipers, possibly the remains of another circular monument or an alignment running down to the river Fowey. It is highly likely that the circles were built over a lengthy time span and a single site might retain its significance for centuries. Perhaps the central circle was at the nucleus of a monument collection of different dates.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/danielgumb.htm#myself   Daniel Gumb's Country Deborah Bennett

Christopher Tilley on Stowe Pound Hill;

Cornwall's Archaeology Heritage

Animals I met along the way

Chickens in the sweet corn patch

Chickens getting comfortable, Boris the cock is in there somewhere.

Little grey foal scratching himself on the gorse 

Fast asleep

mother of the grey foal

Miserable pony and foal crossing the road in the village

Sheep at the pub

Highland cattle

Chief at the Cheesewring

Lillie cross between collie/'spaniel ( and her owners)

Rillaton Barrow

View from the barrow entrance

Our short Cornish trip revealed some treasures, the Hurler stone circles certainly being one, but further on the Rillaton Barrow situated between the Cheesewring and the stone circles was  certainly a barrow not to be missed.

Description aside, this large, untidy, desecrated Bronze Age barrow shown by our good friend and guide Sanctuary, did make my heart miss a beat.  Reading up on it, and I find in was restored in 1900, and had some archaeological work done in 1995 to the entrance,  this may have detracted a bit, but still.

Reedy pond on top of the barrow 

Entrance to chamber where the Bronze Age skeleton was found

Firstly this enormous barrow is pitted with stone robber pits, a reed filled pond lies in its centre and the entrance pit has been raised up so as to stop school children going into the hole and damaging the inside stones and the fluorescent lichen, which gives a ghostly green glow inside the tomb. The rather neat internal stones have ferns growing against them, and our proud warrior with his gold cup and bronze age dagger lies buried between the Cheesewring and the stone circles,  also has a marvellous view to the front over the surrounding countryside.

Interesting information of the work done in 1995.

Rillaton Gold Cup

www.cornwall.gov.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=470eb27a-37f3-4d2d