Andy Burnham's Blog, page 239

Grannie Stane

The Grannie stane is either the only surviving part of a stone circle or a simple glacial erratic. It lies in the River Irvine below the Rivergate Centre in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The stone is clearly visible when the water is low. Other stones were removed by blasting in 1897 and 1899, after the Irvine weir was constructed in 1895, but popular protests saved this remaining stone.

Book Review: Blick Mead: Exploring the 'first place' in the Stonehenge landscape

Book Review: Blick Mead: Exploring the 'first place' in the Stonehenge landscape:
Archaeological excavations at Blick Mead, Amesbury, Wiltshire 2005-2016
Authors: David Jacques, Tom Phillips, Tom Lyons
Rob Ixer writes: Despite the regular, often quite incarnadine dispatches to the red top newspapers, this is the first substantial (and for the greater part, most welcome) account of Blick Mead and its finds.

Pentre Ifan

A collagraph print of Pentre Ifan, by Avril Macdonald, which is part of an exhibition running from the 13th to 30th March at the Barbican Centre Library in London. More details here. Also Sem has created a video guide to five easy to visit sites in Wales, which also features Pentre Ifan. You can watch the video in our forum.. One of the most spectacular and famous monuments of its type it consists of a tilted capstone perched on three uprights. A blocking stone obstructs the doorway and a semi-circular forecourt is found at the southern end.

Althau Menhirs

In the Althau forest east of Oberlunkhofen two formidable erratics of over 100 tonnes each form the central nodes of a complex network of over 70 stones, at least 30 of which are standing. Some of the menhirs have been re-erected in the last few years

Dyffryn Ardudwy

Dyffryn Ardudwy Burial Chambers are an attractive monument, easy to find and, for once, easy to get to. Two well preserved dolmens, 8.6 meters apart on a bed of white boulders, remain of a two stage structural sequence: A completely closed portal dolmen in its own round cairn was built first. Soon afterwards this was incorporated into a wedge shaped cairn with a larger chamber near the Eastern end fronted by a V-shaped forecourt.

Doigt de Gargantua (Côtes-D'Armor)

This 2.5 metre tall, thin menhir stands guard beside the footpath overlooking the splendid Forte de la Latte, at the headland of the same name to the east of Cap Fréhel. There is a tremendous panorama of all the sea and headlands around, and with the fort below from near here, and it is a lovely walk in a most splendidly scenic area.

Cliffe Castle Museum

Modern Stone Circle in the 'Garden of Life' in the grounds of Cliffe Castle, near Keighley, west Yorkshire. For rock-art afficianados, a couple of well-presented examples have found a home in this West Yorksire museum. There's a very good 'virtual tour' of the nearby Rombald's Moor, showing photographs of many of the cup-and-ring carvings, with their relative positions.

Castro de São Lourenço

Castro de São Lourenço is a Castro in the community of Vila Chã near the town of Esposende, District of Braga, North Portugal. There are several restored Celtic homes and a small museum. It is a beautiful site with a great view from the church which was obviously added later.

Avebury

A side of Avebury you don't often see - here's the 'z' feature in front of the chapel, in the snow. More new photos of Avebury from Humbucker on our page
. Stone Circle in Wiltshire. As well as the main ~500m diameter circle there are the remains of two inner circular features, one of which may have been a horseshoe. Two Avenues (one now destroyed) connected to the circle.

Andy B's next talk date: Mysterious Earth Conference nr Preston, Sunday 10th Mar

Andy B's next talk date is Sunday 10th March, Preston, Lancashire at the Mysterious Earth Conference. This is our only talk scheduled for the North of England at the moment, and we have a specially extended talk in two parts, created and delivered with Christine Clarke, who was one of the 'inner circle' volunteer team on our Old Stones book.