posted 17 June 2005 07:38               

"Within this parish, on the summit of the mountain that overlooks the villages of Kirkby and Broughton, there is a singular monument, called by the neighbouring people, the Wain-Stones: which, according to the most pobable etymology of the word may denote the stones of lamentation, and are probably Danish, erected in memory of some Danish cheiftain slain here. It consists of a rude collection of stones some of the of an immense size, and all apparently in their natural position, except one which stands erect and appears to have formed a part of some ancient cromlech."
The Hstory & Antiquities of Cleveland
Rev. John Graves
Pub. 1808

Source: as writ: http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/1907<---And on the same page check out the last image of early 18th century graffiti on the ancient cromlechs as well as the interpretation written further down the page.

posted 17 June 2005 20:41               

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Originally posted by leki rulz:
Croglam Castle--now a mere bump of earth on the map just south of Kirby Stephen--was, in its heyday, a small iron-age fort, with earthen ramparts protecting thatched, round, fort-house dwellings, vital granaries, druid priests and warriors with iron swords who, ofttimes, cut the heads from their vanquished enemies, marinated them in oils, and spiked and displayed them victoriously after battle.

Croglam Castle might have looked something like this around the 5th/4th century BC to 1st century AD when the Romans rode in and wrecked all their fun.

http://www.gallica.co.uk/celts/ditch.htm

Croglam Castle inhabitants--the 'upper class' iron age warriors and their 'lower class' lime-washed hairy henchman--likely looked something like this:

http://www.gallica.co.uk/celts/war2.htm

Not terribly sexy, poor lads.

Try to take time to click on bits of their costumes for more detailed explanations. Good stuff.

That 'angry animal' hairdo of the henchman is right back in high fashion, here, now -- along with the full body tattoos.

Reincarnation, mayhaps?

[This message has been edited by leki rulz (edited 02 April 2005).]

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posted 26 October 2005 05:56               

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Fleswick (Flez'-ik) Beach...
Now, as well as being quite a rare piece of England's Heritage Coast, it is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) --not only because it is home to a large variety of shellfish, mussels and crabs, but also because Sabellaria worms live there, and have built complex honeycomb-like tubular colonies of sand that cling to rock and to each other, looking somewhat like interesting chunks of coral reef.

Clever little worms stick their heads out of their tubular entrance at low tide, blocking water inside their tubes so they don't dry out. Then, as the tide comes back in they use their bristles and tentacles to catch themselves a little well-earned tucker.

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Some follow-up on the sabbelaria worms.

At Fleswick Beach I had everyone hunting out these little blighters and after a long spell of no success (all the while I was being subjected to heaps of ribbing about such things existing only in my mind) I chatted up a woman wandering along the rocky strand who seemed very involved in picking up lovely stones. I asked her if she'd ever heard of these little worms.

Turned out she did. Turned out she was a bit of an authority on them, but we didn't know that until days later, at a B & B, we saw a scientific article she'd written in a journal, with her name and photograph on it. But she kindly offered us her time, enthusiasm and great explanations which were hugely appreciated.

These little things are quite hard to find. You have to walk on the red (somewhat slippery) rocks that make up the 'beach' surface close to the water at low tide and look for reddish-greyish 'concrete-looking' clumps which include tubelike nests, somewhat like wasp nests, clinging under wee rock shelves.

I was wrapped when we finally found them.

She also pointed out lots of tiny sea creatures in pools: welks, sea anenomes, limpits, barnacles, etc. I would have loved to have had the time to spend the afternoon with her, just to listen to her enthusiasm. [That is the biggest problem with the C2C walk: once booked in it's difficult to change plans if something really interesting like this comes up!]

She also told us about ancient graffiti on the red cliffs facing the beach some that dates back to the mid-1700s.

Seems coal miners back then had enough time off from the pits to catch a few rays and scratch their names and dates into the rocks.

The oldest grafitti we saw was dated the 1820s. Fascinating to wonder who they were and what they did.

posted 31 October 2005 01:06               

* Along St Bee's main street it is fascinating to see how the early village was laid out as "crofts" with each house directly joined to its barn (like a row of terraces) all along the street. Many, particularly on the west side of the street, still have the date of construction over the lintels. Rectangular farming plots of lands called "dales" stretched out behind them.

* One of the last working farms still operates at the top of the main street and its ancient farm tractor rolls up and down the street, off and on, all day.

*From there, up the side street where Outrigg House B & B is, and head kitty corner across the street from the garage is an old "pinfold": a large drystone walled enclosure where stray animals were once held until owners paid the fine to retrieve them.

*Down another side street, on a corner as you turn downhill to the station is a house that once was a 19th century pickle factory: Edward Walker & Sons owned it. There, they also used to produce their own scone flour as well as run a grocer's and draper's store.

*Rowan Atkinson once lived and went to school in St Bees.

*Remnants of St Bees man: parts of the shroud, hair, etc, are exhibited under glass in The Priory and while gory are just in-your-face fascinating, and come with heaps of explanation and diagrams. If you're still there when the assistant organist finishes his practise he might take you where not many tourists have gone before: into the bowels of the building where the stone floor of the medieval chancel still survives. He also might show you the hideaway where they dug up, then buried again, St Bees man.

*There is an old grave in The Priory cemetery of a Vicar who, at 82 years of age -- get this! -- fell to his death while climbing Pillar for the third time. Amazing old codger to even attempt it.

St Bees deserves heaps of time to explore so don't hesitate to get there a day or two in advance (and I am only touching on a few highlights for me, here). Really, it was one of the more interesting historical villages enroute.