The Goatstones

Nearest town:
Hexham (15km ESE)
OS reference:
NY829748
OS sheets:
86, 87
Latitude:
55° 4' 1.89 N
Longitude:
2° 16' 4.05 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of The Goatstones (Stone Circle) by costaexpress

The Goatstones are to the right of the crag, however, it is worth exploring both sides of the path that leads up to them. Numerous random stone assemblies and individual stones, may or may not have formed some greater complex at one time

costaexpress
costaexpress Sep 8, 2019
Image of The Goatstones (Stone Circle) by costaexpress

As its only a short walk up to the stones its worth taking time out to explore the crag

costaexpress
costaexpress Sep 8, 2019
Image of The Goatstones (Stone Circle) by GLADMAN

And to think Roman ‘civilisation’ stopped a little way short.......

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Mar 19, 2016
Image of The Goatstones (Stone Circle) by postman

For Carl should he return for round two.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman May 6, 2015
Image of The Goatstones (Stone Circle) by postman

The yellow stone track is ten yards behind me.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman May 5, 2015
Image of The Goatstones (Stone Circle) by rockandy

Goatstones k; cup-marked boulder on E side of Ravensheugh Hill.

Image credit: Rockandy
R
rockandy May 7, 2007
Image of The Goatstones (Stone Circle) by Hob

Taken from the south. The hill is Ravensheugh crags.

Image credit: IH
Hob
Hob Oct 3, 2003

Articles

The Goatstones

postman
postman May 6, 2015

Parking in the layby next to The Manor House, Ravensheugh crags are the small range of cliffs opposite. Follow the yellow stone track with whatever company your keeping at the time up to the top, looking for a left hand grassed over track and footpath, the tops of the stones are visible from the track.
I can only imagine how Carl failed to find this delightful little four poster, there are no ferns up on the hill, so he must’ve been in the wrong place, did he go past the left turn, or not go far enough?

There is a trig point on the highest crag, but it’s not on the map, seeing as i’m only here for the stones it has no impact upon my visit.
The sky is big, blue and peppered with fluffy white clouds, the stones are small, four in number and peppered with cup marks, well, one of them is. Handily the cup marked stone sits in it’s own little pond so wetting the stone so as to better appreciate the cups was not a problem.
The big sky is accompanied by distant horizons, it’s a beautiful day and the views are long. I sat down in the circle with my back to a stone, there’s a couple of walkers over on the crags, but they don’t seem to be walking anywhere, perhaps they were coming here and are waiting for me too push off.
I love four posters , they’re just so intimate, the five of us sitting round an imaginary campfire, swapping ghost stories and lieing about our female conquests, you can tell a four poster anything they never doubt you.
I couldn’t see “The Wall” from here, but it has an almost tangible presence, it’s just over there a couple of miles to the south, the end of one world and the beginning of another. I’m going over there next to try and find another stone circle , but it looks like were running out of time so only a preliminary snoop around in preparation for the next time.

The Goatstones

C
CARL Oct 5, 2010

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?

The Goatstones

Hob
Hob Oct 3, 2003

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

C
C33 Jan 13, 2001

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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