Potts Chair and Other Rocks

A little further west from Anton's Letch, along the country lane and just inside West Hills Farm cross the field on the left to Potts Chair.

Local lore suggests that the carved stones might have belonged to a Saxon King and Queen but unfortunately they have been dated at around the 17th century and Dippie Dixon quotes it as being the work of a man named Potts.

Whatever the truth, it is an pleasant place with two "thrones"; King and Queen!

A peaceful spot,  and it does not take much imagination to imagine ancient warriors surveying their kingdom.

Today the view from the King's throne is somewhat spoilt by the massive sycamore tree directly in front. But the view past it to Simonside, the Sacred Mountain, is still magnificent.

A little further on and just before the camp at West Hills is another local oddity: a face carved in a stone on the hillside.  Although everyone (apart from the Northumberland Gazette) knows its location, very little else is known. Who carved it and when? And why?

Cup and Ring Marks again? Effigy of the King? After all it is only a hundred yards or so from the throne. Or just a carving to while away an idle afternoon.

It is best seen in the evening when the sun is low and the shadows pick out the features. 

Thompson's Rock on the lower slopes of the Beacon on Simonside is surely worth a visit.

Discovered(?) in 1987 by David Thompson, it has a ragged two to three inch diameter hole running through it of about one and a half metres in length. It is alleged that this hole is directly aligned with the midsummer sunset and in Paul Frodsham's excellent book "In the Valley of the Sacred Mountain" there is a picture of just this.

Whilst the hole is possibly natural, although this has not yet been proven, Crispian Oates who studied this area in great detail has suggested that a ritual centre linked with solar movements may have existed in this area. And why not?

Mr Oates states that : "The site consists of a rough circle of stones with the Central Holed Stone (CHS) in the middle. At the north side a stone appears to be missing but there is stone in the ground at the position of the gap."  

And he also identified "a trial stone" with two holes that line up but do not connect, indicating how the the CHS may have been made."

Obviously a great deal of work still remains and we look forward to further investigation.

 And of course there is Little Church Rock hidden in the trees below Simonside. A favourite spot to visit. And if you are into geocaching there is an interesting cache close by.

There is a small cavern inside capable of holding (according to Tomlinson) some six or eight persons. But they need to be very small.

The cavern holds what appears to be a seat for possibly one person and the wall is adorned with the inscription "GR 1876" and crossed bones.

If anyone can provide any further information on any of these topics please

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