Monday 20 September 2021

Needing the eye of faith . (A jaunt on my hobby horse)


Just across the valley from where I live is a hill called (the) Helm . on the very summit there is what is believed to be a Roman signal station . Here you can see the rather stepped summit in the distance (looking South) this is formed by a double ditch dug to protect this side of the station , it being the most approachable - the ground falls steeply on the other three sides . I must ask the viewer to indulge my whimsy on this subject (a thoroughbred  'hobby horse' of mine) 


This year being  very dry the rampart walls  have become more visible as the grass has dried back . Rampart is probably a rather grand title as there is not much ground cover before you hit the bed rock . You can see the line of it running I think from 'A' to 'B' - looking NE- dog for scale .


The West rampart looking North - the ground falls steeply to the left . It runs from the bottom right in an arc to the top right . My guess was that it was only low post barrier as there cannot have been much foundations depths .


The North foundation looking East , there is the remnant of a modern fence crossing the site .


Looking South from the North edge , I think it runs from 'A' to 'B' on a slight arc - sadly no dog this time .


He obliges to return and pose for me on the top of the foundation which is quite prominent at this point.


A side view of the previous photo looking NW . The local Roman Fort is about a mile away in the valley floor near the river and the next nearest is at Lancaster on the river Lune , there is no direct line of sight between them , but from the summit both sites can be seen . Old maps describe it as 'the camp of the Brigantes' but it is to small a site for a native 'hill fort' and no near water supply (there are two rock cut cisterns on the site ) (which I must try and take a photo of ) . The fort in the valley (Watercrook) dates from about 100 AD - Lancaster's earlier as the main route more or less followed the route of the modern M6 motorway and Watercrook covered a side route that ran through the Lakes to Hardknot Fort and thence to the Cumbrian coast at Ravenglass. Somewhere I have a plan of the site which I must try and locate and blog . (I will now remove the saddle and water and groom my 'hobby horse') .













 

10 comments:

  1. To a boy who grew up on Rosemary Sutcliffe novels, it seems like a magical place to live.

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    1. Very 'Eagle of the Ninth' , not as much evidence on the ground as further South perhaps but still interesting .

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  2. A beautiful and breathtaking view Tony! What a wonderful and historically interesting place to live! Thank you for the excellent photos!

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    1. It's very hard photographing what are basically lumps in the ground and getting your impressions across .

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank you , a local obsession of mine - glad other people find it interesting as well .

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  4. Plenty of inspiration there for small actions! Lovely walk too!

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    1. Yes keep wondering about Romans and Ancient Britons .

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  5. What a splendid locale to ramble in. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. The weather helped , been up there when you could barely stand up due to the wind ,

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