Looking West towards the hillfort and cairn ( on the horizon) across the watershed over the top of a possibly modified natural boulder which seems to give an aiming point when crossing the boggy area at the highest (dryest) point. Some of the large grooves are visible from here with naked eye.
More cup and groove marks that look snaky to me. The groove actually runs right down the slab.
The Adderstone ( aka the horseshoe stone) .
Two of the cup and channel marks on a slab covered in them. Interestingly water does not naturally follow these lines when allowed to overflow the cup mark.
05/05/2016 – The Channel Rock, just wonderful.
05/05/2016 – Lordenshaw and Simonside
I love that sign.
The ridges of Simonside in the background.
Had a visit at night to try to pick out some of the carvings on this unruly and gnarly lump of carvedness.
Lordenshaws 4d. More underwhelming cup marks, but when viewed in context, along the route from Whitton burn, up to Simonside, they acquire a lot more ‘oompf’.
October 2008
Lordenshaws 4f. (Underwhelming or wot?)
October 2008
East Lordenshaw 4e.
Cups, a couple of which have single rings, and some long channels.
Gnarly old lump of rock.
Lordenshaw panel 4 (d)
NE facing outcrop looking towards Garliegh Pike
a close up of the markings
are the markings on this rock ancient or modern?
Contrary to the impression given by the promotional leaflet for the ‘Northumberland Lights’ installation at Simonside, there were no fancy lights at the rock art. So we did our own.
Fine early-Autumn evening at Lordenshaw. The Horseshoe Rock (Beckensall 1d).
Lordenshaw main panel (Beckensall 2c). View W in evening sun towards the heather-covered Simonside Hills.
Detail of the main Cup and Ring marked rock
Detail of the main inscribed stone
Detail of the main bit of carved rock
Detail of the main panel
Beckensall calls this Birky Hill 1b, just to the south of the horseshoe rock, in amongst the reamins of a possible long cairn. It’s quite visible from the main panel, even when the bracken is up.
Detail of the horseshoe rock’s side
The horseshoe rock, showing it in relation to the main panel, which is visible as the lump on the skyline, next to the old MoW sign.
Lordenshaw-3q, lower part; the basin with surrounding cups.
Lordenshaw-3q, middle part with ‘normal’ and miniature cups
Lordenshaw-3q, upper part with cups and cup-and-ring
Lordenshaw, site 3q, November 2004.
The yellow square marks the rare horseshoe-like motif (2 cups connected by a curving groove). Similar motifs are found on top of Goatscrag Hill.
This sloping panel is located on the East-side of the Hill fort among other decorated outcrop rock. The panel is roughly divided into three area’s; the lower part with the basin, cups and a horseshoe-like motif, a middle section with a faint cup-and-ring and a mass of small cups and an upper part with a cup and ring and grouped cups.
Horseshoe stone
5-4-03.
The Simpson family braving the wind.
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5-4-03.
The horseshoe stone undergoing intimate investigations...
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5-4-3
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Taken 5-4-03. Turf freshly scalped.
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Lordenshaw, the Horse-shoe Rock, just W of the main rock on an embankment.
Pond near to the large carved stone (top left).
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smaller stone, towards the cairns. 15-2-2003.
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The large stone, with Simonside behind.
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Another of the cup & ring marked rocks at Lordenshaws, fainter and less decorated, but still nice on a crisp winters day 2/03
A ruined Cairn at Lordenshaws, views across to Rothbury in the rear
15/02/03
From The Journal online:
The damage was reported at 11am on Saturday, after names were carved into the historic rock art at Lordenshaw in Rothbury, Northumberland
A visit starting at the car park below the hillfort.
I started along the road westish until the rough grassy track that obviously leads to the top of Birky Hill. ( OL42 map) . Upon gaining the summit of this low hill there are stones that look placed and are possibly the remains of well robbed burial cairns. This place needs a LiDAR survey like chips need salt. Just Northish down the slope is a large “square” looking chunk of rock with cup and rings on top. A basin has formed and another cup made in this. The other half of this stone is next to it and the break is obvious. There is another cup marked stone, which someone had torn the grass back from, revealing several I’d not seen, there appear to be lines connecting some of the cups.
Keeping to the grassy ridge you will meet a track that takes you across a piled stone line which apparently was the boundary of a deer park at some point, anyway , the Adder Stone ( aka Horseshoe Stone) is just along the way. I got a treat with bright sunshine low in the sky casting fine shadows ( there are lots of pics on here, mine are the same) it really looked like a snake today.
From here follow the deer park boundary stone pile thing uphill on the well used track to the “Main Stone” (aka Channel Stone). This is the prize of the bunch and was “busy” but everyone had time enough to themselves. Nice shadows revealing the mydrid cups and rings.
North East the track leads to the hillfort up a gentle slope. A boulder beside the track has possible sharpening marks but I have no idea of the origin weather ancient or more recent, it’s a good grit stone that I use at home for various things. I like to walk round the ramparts and today was as good as it gets for vegetation, it gets swamped with bracken in summer and the heather hides lots. There are “hut circles” dotted about. I’ve tried laying down in one and can’t ( I’m 5’10” on a good day). Views to enjoy in every direction and today I got the best of them.
Take your time strolling round the banks and when you get to the North look along the ridge and you will see the remains of a cain burial. A track leads that way and it makes a nice silluette on the skyline as you get close. The biggest stone has grooves down it which may be natural or accented by man. On the East side there are cup marks in one of the associated stones on the edge of the cairn site. You are looking down onto a watershed between you and the next hill and a stream flanked by small birch, alder and thorn can be seen leading down towards Rothbury. If you look towards the hill, East, there are several cup and groove marked slabs among the heather, I got lucky and found all the ones shown on here, some are fantastic. I took water to reveal the grooves better. It’s a job to know what is natural, what is manmade and what is a bit of both.
I then headed across the watershed and had a nose about on the low slopes of the hill but am leaving it for another day. I was 5 hours ambling, chatting, photographing and pondering. I could have done it in two but I had no rush today.
Wear your boots and tough pants, watch out for burnt heather stalks from land management, some areas are being used for grouse rearing and sheep so dogs are not allowed everywhere, signs advice, and there is plenty of space for everyone and their pooch. This is the time of year to visit before the bracken and heather cover it all up. This was my best visit for rock art because I used this site to learn before I went, and I’ve been coming here 30 years!
05/05/2016 – We parked at the Lordenshaws car park really just to have a walk on the Simonside Hills. Once there we realised that maybe we were heading in the wrong direction! The 1:50000 OS map doesn’t give that much away but a quick glance at the 1:25000 revealed a hillside full of megalithic wonder. Luckily we had all day so we chose Simonside first, leaving the afternoon free to roam the tops on the other side of the road.
The hillside, topped with a great hillfort, is just full of rocks with markings on the them. First up to the big one. Great rock art and the location is fantastic. Close views of the Simonside Hills and The Cheviots looking fine in the distance. After that we spent the rest of the time there just wandering around looking at random stones and taking in the scenery.
So much to see but the one that will stay with me is the Channel Rock. On the far side of the hillfort is this most fantastic rock. It’s huge and has this channel in it that has to be seen. I can’t really explain why I loved it so much but I just found the groove and the smooth surface of the rock so pleasing to the eye.
Top site. If you go (and you should) make a day of it. So much to see.
Went on the eleventh of this month and loved it. The main panel and hillfort – superb. Think I saw some cairns and I have a photograph but I am not sure of what it is. It is not the ones I have posted.
Sometimes Rock art can be tricky to find. Not here though.
Straight up the path from the carpark, turn left, look for the big rock covered in carvings. Just in case the rock is feeling bashful, the main panel has a slightly quaint signit is virtually impossible to miss.
As ever, a copy of the relevant Stan Beckensall doesn’t go amiss.
A great place to start a jaunt up Simonside, which must surely be the focal landscape feature for this area’s rock art, though it does have a good vista over the nearby river valley (that of the Coquet), as is apparently desirable in a suitable site for cups and rings.
Back again today, finally found the horse-shoe rock, and it was SO obvious now I know where to look! Just follow the line of wall west, from the main rock.
Found a secret mission taking place which I would tell you all about, but would then have to kill you ;-)
UPDATE
The research has now been published, see link below for details.
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On a very bright clear February Saturday afternoon, lots of people had the same idea as me to come here (including moey! PS I was first :-) )
The car-park was very busy (approx 15 cars+), but surprisingly it still had a feeling of isolation, and the site is large enough to take lots of separate wanderers. If you come in the summer, come early or late, you’ll get parked and the light will be better!
There is definately more rock art than I found today, another great excuse for a return visit.
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Stunning views in all directions from the hill fort – try to visit during the Nortumbrian heather season (late summer), and I defy you not to be awed by this location!
As long as weather conditions are alright next week and the place is not under three feet of snow I am planning on going to see the whole Lordenshaw site. I have read about a car park, is it far from the site itself and is North Lordenshaw far away.
Cheers
Sat 2 – Sun 3 December 2006
Sat 9 – Sun 10 December 2006
As part of The North East Winter festival, artist Philip Supple has been commissioned to create an effects lighting installation piece focusing on the cup and ring marks at Lordenshaw. It has been described as ‘Subtle, yet mind-blowing‘.
The installation is to be an important feature of a series of guided walks from the nearby village of Rothbury, to the ‘sacred hill’ of Simonside, the walks highlight the archaeology of the area, and also include an emphasis on the folklore of the Duergar.
Contact Rothbury National Park Centre (Tel: 01669 620887)
or visit: the NE winter festival website .
Lordenshaw on BRAC Updated
Project undertaken by Dr Margarita Díaz-Andreu, Department of Archaeology, the University of Durham (U.K)
click on the link then look for the following:
research --> Northumberland --> 3D recording
