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Horncliffe Circle SE 1334 4353 Saturday 12 April 2014
I wanted to visit Horncliffe Stone Circle since I read about it on the TNA website. It looked intriguing and was probably little visited as it is out of the way.
I walked up to 'ROMS LAW' circle on a beautiful Saturday morning just after dawn broke. The circle is easy to find from ROMS - just head South for about a mile down the track at the back of the shooting hut. You will notice a Boundary Stone with the words 'Thos Pulleyn' on your left and a few yards past this is a stile over the fence. Cross the stile and 30 yards in front of you deep in the heather is the circle.
You don't see it until you are just a few feet from it...and I found it quite eerie. It reminds me a bit of ROMS circle - covered in heather, but a bit larger and deeper too. I know there is controversy as to whether it is a circle or a settlement, but it just LOOKS and FEELS like a circle. I sat for awhile and watched a Red Kit soaring in the sky. I found some cup and ring stones nearby but the carvings were very feint.
On the way back I spent some time walking around the moors West of Horncliffe Well and after an hour or so I discovered the remains of a path with what looked like a foot high wall on either side, which went North for a hundred yards or so. This eventually petered out but I soon picked it up again by which time it had turned North East and was heading towards ROMS circle. Then after a dozen yards or so I lost it. It was very pronounced, with stones on either side and about 8 or 9 ft wide. It looked very much like the one near the circle at ROMS and I think it could be a continuation.
Verdict: Well worth a visit, but a tad muddy on the path.
I wanted to visit Horncliffe Stone Circle since I read about it on the TNA website. It looked intriguing and was probably little visited as it is out of the way.
I walked up to 'ROMS LAW' circle on a beautiful Saturday morning just after dawn broke. The circle is easy to find from ROMS - just head South for about a mile down the track at the back of the shooting hut. You will notice a Boundary Stone with the words 'Thos Pulleyn' on your left and a few yards past this is a stile over the fence. Cross the stile and 30 yards in front of you deep in the heather is the circle.
You don't see it until you are just a few feet from it...and I found it quite eerie. It reminds me a bit of ROMS circle - covered in heather, but a bit larger and deeper too. I know there is controversy as to whether it is a circle or a settlement, but it just LOOKS and FEELS like a circle. I sat for awhile and watched a Red Kit soaring in the sky. I found some cup and ring stones nearby but the carvings were very feint.
On the way back I spent some time walking around the moors West of Horncliffe Well and after an hour or so I discovered the remains of a path with what looked like a foot high wall on either side, which went North for a hundred yards or so. This eventually petered out but I soon picked it up again by which time it had turned North East and was heading towards ROMS circle. Then after a dozen yards or so I lost it. It was very pronounced, with stones on either side and about 8 or 9 ft wide. It looked very much like the one near the circle at ROMS and I think it could be a continuation.
Verdict: Well worth a visit, but a tad muddy on the path.
Last edited by jamesmhe on Tue Apr 22, 2014 9:49 am; edited 1 time in total
Danny
