The Goatstones
'Visited' 22.9.10
Failed to find this one I am afraid to report despite reading it is an easy site to visit.
Taking the minor road west out of Simonburn, I parked opposite 'The Manor House'. I walked up the track towards the Crags (I would not recommend driving up track unless you have a 4x4) but could not see the site.
I saw lots of clusters of stones but nothing which matched the description I had. I spent a lot of time walking around the fields (I know I was in the right area) but to no avail. I guess it didn't help that the ferns were still waist high despite turning autumnal brown. Did I actually see the site without realising it? I honestly don't know, but I don't think I did.
Perhaps I wasn't in the right place after all, or perhaps the stones were hidden from view by the ferns?
It is little, but well formed. The tallest of the stones (all of 0.8m) has fallen slightly. There are no visible signs of the alleged cist in the middle of the four-poster. The cup marks on the SE stone are very worn, and this and two others have definite grooves, how much of this is simply weathering, I couldn't say. There are many large stones lying nearby, which could be who knows what. Numerous hut circles about 50m to the south and north. The Crag is covered in them. Though some may be quarry remains, there's nothing to indicate this in any references I have found so far. The crag does look as if they have been quarried. Excellent views, even better from the nearby Ravensheugh Crag trig point.
Regarding access, The track is passable to vehicles and runs within 20m of the stones. Probably easily accessible to a bod walking with sticks, but would require a big rear wheelchair and someone to help navigate the uneven ground between the track and the circle. You'd need at least 15cm clearance on the wheels.
The Goatstones are are on a wild and rocky hillside called Ravensheugh crags just a few miles north of Hadrian's wall. We thought we were lost until the weird rocky face of the Crags appeared in the windscreen and we all went "Woh! This is it!".
The Goatstones are a tiny four-poster circle, so dinky it could fit in your living room. One of the stones is peppered with cup-marks. The whole of the escarpent of Ravensheugh Crags is another Mother's Jam of weird erratics and rock formations poking through the heather. Its hard to say if some of them are man made or not, but it makes an impression.
Aubrey Burl derives 'Goatstones" from the saxon 'Gyet stanes' meaning 'wayside stones', though in my opinion if any Saxons were making their way across this eerie landscape they were seriously lost.
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Posted by Chris Collyer
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