Hen Caerwys: Archaeology Dig Last Day

The archaeology digs at Hen Caerwys Woods today finished and as both sites were covered up I felt a little sad to see all of what we uncovered closed up like a book to be opened to read again some other day.

The first site which comprised of a huge embankment of loose limestone, possibly once face with dressed blocks in places, enclosed a large rectangular clearing in the woods. Not a lot was found except for a possible shin bone of an animal discovered in some fallen inner wall and a early (likely)  medieval horseshoe. The archaeologists on site though it to be from the 1200s or thereabouts. Also in the box of finds was a flint and a whet stone found by the landowner a few years ago. The limestone pavement that the embankment sits on is beautiful and has smooth curvy hollows and pits carved out by weathering and reminds me of the Burren in Ireland. The experts on site thought it quite a positive thing that not many finds turned up as it suggests the site is indeed very old and makes it likely to be early medieval or older...who knows..it's nice just to wonder about it.

The second site where I spent most of my time was on the site of a long disappeared late medieval house which is though to be one of four close by each other sitting on a limestone bank overlooking pastureland with a stream on the lowest part of the landscape. We kept digging down in waterlogged root infested soil trying to find floor but just came across layer on layer of fallen stone and it was hard to make sense of why the stone wall had fallen in every direction. Subsidence was one theory, an earlier botched dig by amateurs in the 60s was another ( apparently the two men involved did not get on and were thought to have hidden finds from each other..indeed the one big collection of pot and domestic bits and pieces found around that time  has been 'missing' for many years..intriguing stuff!
While we were digging we chatted and pondered over how these people lived. We thought them to be poor families, the kind that work hard for not a lot and prop the richer layers of society up. We wondered if the stream which is quite a walk down and up a hill was there only water supply or whether it came from a limestone spring , one of the many that come and go without warning leaving people without a water supply. Someone suggested that these people were not farmers but were a small mining community possibly mining limestone for an unknown nearby kiln......we were left with more questions than answers but then again that is what makes the past so magnetic as it appeals to our instinctive curious nature.

Butterfly Orchid I found at Hen Caerwys a couple of years ago

Needless to say I am achy this evening from digging, trowelling, carrying bucket after bucket of soil and stones to waste heaps. Everything I wore is caked in muck. On day two I have never seen so much rain fall in one place while people carried on happily working away. No one seemed to mind the horrible weather but buzzed all day about what an amazing place Hen Caerwys is. The devotion and determination of the family who own the land to discovering more about the history of the place and their generosity to making the space available to the community is remarkable.

Archaeological Dig at Caerwys

This weekend I have volunteered to help out with a dig organised by the landowner and Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust to explore some extensive earthworks, lumps, bumps and mysterious embankments in woodland around Caerwys  where I live. I walk through these woods a lot and love to wonder about the strange unnatural shapes that I walk over and who built them and how they lived.

The woods are simply beautiful and the man who owns them has spent years clearing out much of the trees and overgrowth to uncover the archaeology and after years managed to persuade the archaeologists to pay attention to what is there to discover.

The clearing has  allowed light to get to the wood floor and all sorts of wild flowers have grabbed the chance to do their thing and fill the place with colour.

we removed top layer of vegetation using mattocks ( a heavy pic), shovels and hands-hard work!

 This is thought to be a medieval house and there are 3 or 4 houses in a row overlooking fields

section of trench with limestone rain sculpted paving (though to be natural surface) Cleared this using trowels and brushes

higher manmade huge embankment made of limestone enclosing a massive rectangular area- may be roman or iron age

 Nothing has been found on this dig apart from a piece of flint and a bit of red brick or pot but the uncovering is amazing to be part of and it's fascinating to listen to all these experts surmise about what is the story of  this huge area of human habitation.

I'm back for a full day of digging tomorrow and day after...I'll have muscles on my muscles after!

a refreshing run in the rain

I found myself caught out in a downpour at the bottom of Maes Mynan Woods this morning. I had run down to the bottom of the gorge  and was throwing Pippin's ball in the river for him. Before it really got going it had been spitting away and the river that had felt stagnant and dead a few days ago was coming alive and the smell of earth and sweet pine sap and garlic was becoming intense. The air was full of sound with birdsong and tingly rain on leaves.
The water showed no mercy and as I ran up again I could hardly see but it felt so good as all the smells became liquid in the air..passing the meadow full of clover was just delicious. All sound was drowned out by the deafening rain. The path became more liquid too and I slithered along and envied Pippin's in built paw grips. The 'dado rail' path at the top was lethal as it is criss crossed with roots. I have learnt a knack to run down here- use jig like steps-small, fast with pointed toes.
What a way to start the day..aromatherapy and a shower in rain infused with pine sap essence.

Seil Island Scotland June 11

The rain stopped and Monday brought sunshine...yes!

Liz and me headed off to the Bridge over the Atlantic aka Clachan Bridge to enjoy scenes like this all day...

Some days in my kayak feel unreal..I have to pinch myself to make it feel real as the sea can be so heavenly beautiful. There are days when the sea is a challenge and it puts me right in the moment but when the sea has an ethereal feel it makes me melt away to dreamtime.

map check to find Cuan sound

scontastic-Oyster Bar/Easdale

experimenting with portage technique on slippy seaweeed

another fine mess you've got me into

Easdale pier-world skimming stone championships held here

experimental paddling technique with too much slippy weed and not enough water

leaning and pulling on 2 boats works well if you can stop laughing

view of Kerrara from Oban campsite

We missed trying oysters for lunch as Easdale Oyster Bar as we spent too much time floating about in Cuan sound waiting for it to get lively....(we did go back next day to console ourselves with another downpour day to have oysters and I had a scallop/mussel/fish chowder-yum)
After a day of sun and silly shenanagins we set up camp and our midgenets helped stopped being eaten as we ate.
We did plan to kareer in kayaks round Kerarra next day but did it rain..where and how does all that water come from...................we bailed and drove home!

All photos by Liz Jordan..I'm still saving up for a new camera.

Gigha June 11

Myself and my paddling pal Liz who has taken these photos took the high road to Argyll in the hope of island hopping in a sunny Caribbean like Scotland...many of the photos I have seen of paddling around Scottish islands seem to be of blue sky, white sandy beaches and azure seas. Now I know that photoshop has a lot to answer for.

loaded up to catch ferry as sea too wild-wide stance is to stop being blown away

Once we got to the island we put tents up in high wind and faceburn rain on a tiny campsite at boathouse cafe..and along came a platebearing Scot with an offering of scallops wrapped in Italian smoked ham...no I was not hallucinating this actually happened. However, our constant 'I think it's brightening up' phrase was a bit delusional.
The scallops were in fact a peace offering (we didn't know that at the time) as a large gang of Dads and lads from Glasgow were having a 'bonding w/e' and food/drink/football fest right beside our tents...but who can complain after scallops?

...and yahoo the wind had dropped by the next day and rain moved on so we set off to glide over glassy seas around the beautiful isle of Gigha.

 The sea around the island is shallow and alive with all sorts of seaweed, scuttling and shimming creatures, seabirds including mergansers, scoters ( I think) and we saw 3 otters that day.  Our pace was meandering as we did not want to miss anything..it isn't how far or fast I go it's what I see makes my day.

Still, 26k later we hauled out back at the beach of the campsite and just in time...it started to rain so it was back into the tents to make tea.

As you can see the Dads and lads inticed us over to their cave with an offer of a warm fire and as they were a loud lot we did as it was either sit in our tiny tents with rain pounding on us or ..if u can't beat 'em join 'em...and they were good craic too...and helped us dry (burn really)  our socks.

The next morning we headed out to explore the island on foot along wildflower lined lanes and visited the community run gardens. Many of the lovely plants were damaged by 100mph winds that hit a couple of weeks ago..even some trees looked autumal due to salt burn.
The garden was full of intoxicating blooms and after sniffing our way around it this weird sign with a list of rules told us not to smell the plants....whaaat?

Liz got an asbo for this criminal act

After stopping of at the community run hotel for yummy scones boats were packed and  we headed off again to visit Cara island and surfed back to mainland .

tucked into fudge bought at a  housegate honesty box on Gigha while waiting for ferry to get out of the way before landing.

been busy outside

...soz bloz but will get around to writing up some fantasticola paddling ont' sea when I get around to it

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Skerries- North Wales ( when on incident management sea kayak course with Olly Sanders of Rock and Sea adventures-learnt loads ) , Gigha, Cara, Seil- Scotland and hopefully NW Anglesey this w/e

. I met 2 otters up close and watched a parent and baby from a distance..seals, merganser, eider, wild goats, amazing wild flowers.and the tortured balast rock scuptures were jaw dropping..I'm full to the top with wonder.

THIS IS ME!

Wild Garden

No paddling again this weekend due to wild wind so I spent a delicious day in my garden growing weeds. It's taken me years to get a balance of shape and accidental looking design - planting 'civilised plants' along side nettles, thistle, teasel,  cow parsely, cowslip, burdock, dockleaf, red clover etc.
During the day the usual crew pop in for a song and a bite to eat and some have a quick splash in the bath. My favourite at the moment are Mr and Mrs Blackbird along with a very freckely baby that they can't seem to fill.
I potted up 2 blueberry bushes, set 2 planters with 'stripes' of basil, rocket, parsely, coriander. I also set my second batch of radish and beetroot- the first radishes are hot and spicy and shared with a creature that mines brown tunnels into them...but there enough for both of us. i can't wait to try roasting my first beetroot with rosemary and olive oil.
I replanted white and blackthorn to fill a wide gap in my hedgegrow alongside a well establish hazel, laurel, holly, beech, honeysuckle and dogrose...some dormice feasted on the hazel nuts last year and I was delighted to have them and hope they stay a while.
I sprinkled scaboius, greater birdfoot trefoil, aubreitia, red champion, burdock, wild garlic mustard and a variety of seeds collected during walks so I hope my little garden will have space for more and bugs, bees, bats, butterflies, anything that crawls or creep moves in.
...hope the wind drops soon..much as I love my garden I am overdue a wide open sea.