The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Showery Tor

Ring Cairn

Fieldnotes

I tried to come here one evening last summer whilst we were down in Cornwall, tried and failed, no map, no idea, no clue, failed.
I tucked it away into a mental back pocket, not always a good thing, it's taken a decade to get back to some places, but I really wanted to get up Showery Tor, I really really wanted to see what I have dubbed the king of ring cairns, It would be on the front cover of a book that would be called something like Ring cairns of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, probably written by a man with a beard, anyway he would choose this ring cairn to adorn his cherished accumulation of years of travelling, above all others, it is the king of ring cairns.
Waffle
From the car park the way is clear and obvious, you might want to follow the long silly cairn up the hill, try to pick out the spot where Phil Harding and Francis Prior stood excavating, selfie opportunity. (Shoot me)
I should probably mention that today is the spring equinox and that after a five hour drive under grey skies it was clear that the sun would not be recognising my dedication to duties, but would instead be ignoring my efforts utterly. As expected really.
Anyway, I am on site at the appointed hour, but I have to look at my compass to see which way the sun is coming from, I reckon a sunset would be better, the best vantage viewing points are on the east side.
So, there's no sun, but everything else is just superb, the ring cairn is massive, more like a henge in size, the rock stack in the middle works on me in more ways than one, on it's own it's an impressive little rock stack, made of pretty stones, the broken rock second from bottom....... was it broken when the ring cairn went up?
Why was it chosen for a cairn to go round it, is it just a cool place or did it have some deep meaning for them, bah, pesky mysteries.
Three ponies are sharing the hill top with me, but unlike most that ive come across they are totally unafraid of me, even pausing and posing for photos.
I've been here for a while now and it seems that nothing more can be gained from sitting in the wind, of which there is plenty, so after returning to the car for my lighter, I re climb the hill and sit out of the wind on little Rough Tor, a perfect point from which to zoom in a good picture of the south half of the ring cairn, until some dick on a motorbike screams round the hill top, there's no justice, if there were he would have exploded.
Climbing higher up the side of Rough Tor itself the ring cairn is perhaps now too far away to be seen, but Showery Tor is a Minninglow of Cornwall, an unmistakable shape on the horizon, not as unmistakable as Rough Tor or Brown Willy, but you hopefully get my drift.
But now I must get off for the long legs of my walk, three stone stone circles, a dozen cairns and a hundred round houses beckon me on.
postman Posted by postman
21st March 2016ce
Edited 21st March 2016ce

Comments (6)

Brill, this sounds like the route I took last summer, but without the tedious road miles to/from Camelford. I've missed your notes. thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
21st March 2016ce
Except for the Bridestones I havent been out since the winter solstice, a few more notes to come. postman Posted by postman
21st March 2016ce
Until the weekend before last I'd only been out twice this year. Too skint, but Spring is here now, so must try harder. Them mountains aren't climbing themselves. thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
21st March 2016ce
It's going round, the skint virus, ive had it twice this year. It'll get a bit better in May for me, whether that translates into stone hunting is another thing.
All these Marvel films wont watch themselves at the pictures in 3D
Except for a weird thing I once saw in Benidorm nothing climbs itself.
I'll try and send you some dates.
postman Posted by postman
21st March 2016ce
Please do. Make sure you send the ones with the stones taken out though. thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
21st March 2016ce
Heh good one. postman Posted by postman
21st March 2016ce
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