Buried in a forest at the farthest end of the land which belongs to the British Queen as part of her Windsor estates, there lies a secret fortress.
It is hidden from the roads which have sprung up since the advent of the motor car, and thus from the eyes of tourists. People know vaguely that it is there, but it is only hardened cyclists and walkers, and the local dog walking population, who see it in every season.
It is a hill fort of considerable proportions, built into a great heathy outcrop. On three sides great double ramparts surround it, the ground plummeting away from a tabletop of Tolkenian proportions, big enough to hold a small village.
It is here that they found, some time in the 19th century, a coin stamped with the credentials of Cymbeline. Shakespeare’s king of the Britons was known as Cunobeline in the world apart from the stage. The remains of a roman village lie not half a mile away.
From the air the fort looks like a vast oak leaf in the midst of the forest. To the north lie the remains of seven barrows, ancient mounds, which show that even before these earthworks – said to date from 700 BC – man was using this place for his own ends.
The remains of a roman village lie not half a mile away.
There are the last vestiges of a well, with an ancient lining, and the last bricks of a house which belonged, in the near past, to two old ladies who swore they could hear the ghostly feet of passing legions at night.
Most days, Macaulay the shaggy terrier and I beat the bounds of this most ancient of places. We take the muddy route which skirts the base, a fairy path lined with emerald moss and great tall trees which belong in story books. And after about three minutes of walking, we come to a momentous place.
It is the East Entrance.
This is where those who sought shelter and peaceful trade would have brought their carts laden with supplies. The gradient is much gentler than elsewhere. The land forms a sort of funnel, collecting visitors and channelling them to a small heavily fortified entrance up there on the hill. Along the earthworks great logs would have been upended to block any other approach.
And so they would come, in times of peace and unrest, swarming up the entrance and into this place, checked by those who guarded the flat-topped settlement.
I always stop there.
Because something hangs in the air. An intangible something, maybe an echo of past momentum sending waves across time; maybe those same waves lap gently there at the foot of the hill.
This was the East Entrance, you see. When iron age man made his home his door invariably faced the east for one overriding reason: this was where the sun first showed its face after a night of unsettling absence. This was the place from which light returned. Eight long hours before, sometimes more, it would have departed over the West entrance, mourned until its return.
For me, it’s a fulcrum. A place which stays the same, while my world swings wildly about. It’s been this way since 700BC. It’s not about to change now.
The dog busies himself .
And I have no way of knowing whether he feels this is Somewhere, too.
Written in response to Side View’s weekend theme: A Grand Entrance, which you can find here
Kate Shrewsday 
What a wonderful lyrical piece. I too would have enjoyed it, but alas my ancestors would have been more likely to land, and see what they could grab ;-(
Although evidence is beginning to show we have given your ancestors rather a poor press, Sidey…
i know *sob*
misunderstood, kindly souls
I could certainly do with the return of the sun. The east entrance is pretty dull this morning:)
I know. I read about a spell in the Iron Age when about 11 or 12 years passed without much sun.
Thinking about emigrating.
There is nothing like being in a place where you know history has happened. Of course, history has happened everywhere, always; but some places have that air about them.
They do: this place does. Men have been living there so long. And while it doesn’t have the visible signs of somewhere like the Tower of London it still resonates.
PS Do you know you’ve shrunk?
Sorted 😀
Wow! very nicely written Kate and I loved the pic too.
Thanks Jas. It was taken during the snow…we still have no summer to chase the cold and damp away…
And Macaulay reigns supreme as the sun rises. He is Master of all who tow him to his sacred grounds…all hail Macaulay.
Pagan deity of all things smelly and disreputable….
Such an atmospheric post, Kate. Churches and graves and doorways, even bed of time have more often than not faced the east, haven’t they? I am sure I would be drawn to this ancient place and I thank you for taking me there.
You’re welcome, Penny. I wish more people could see it.
I always get all tingly in places like this one, trying to imagine the layers of time. A magical place.
Love the new theme, BTW.
Thanks!
It really is, Andra. The grandeur of the entrance is still there today 🙂
As it happens, my front door faces east. I’ll try to more appreciative from now on.
P.S. Love what you’ve done with the place!
Cheers, PT. Fling the door wide open and greet the day, ancient Briton-style 😀
As lalways, beautifully written. I could feel myself in the place you describe. someday. . .
Thanks, Kathy, I’m glad it took you there. One day I should run a tour…
I love the North entrance best, Kate. I always thought of it as the best defended entrance of the fort. But you shed new light on the East and West entrances.
Love Dad
The North is a lovely entrance but research shows it was not part of the original fort, Dad: only East and West entrances are 3000 years old, according to the archaeology. I’ll send you a link.
Beautifully crafted as always Kate!
Cheers, Madhu 🙂
Me and mine would be right behind you, just our kind of venue for poking around – most spectacular photo as well! Very in favour of the new theme – classic and elegant 🙂
It’s simpler: think I might have been losing casual stoppers-by with a too-busy theme, Linda. We’ll see if this helps.
I wish I could go there! 🙂
It’s a wonderful place, Nicki: thanks for commenting today!
A new theme again? Well I just hope you don’t celebrate ‘Somewhere’ in quite the same manner as Macaulay! I love hill forts too. 🙂
Nope, I am a very measured Somewhere celebrator, IE 😀 I just stand and gawp. Yup: old theme too fussy, was frightening casual passers-by away. New one very simple.
Things would have been much better if we Romans were not driven out.
You think? 😀
Oh I love this! Just love.
The idea that we place a door facing the sun to ward off the dark.
And now the tourist industry has latched on to the whole business, Cameron: http://www.bodriftyfarm.co.uk/the-roundhouse/images.html
I really feel the mystery of such a place come through in your telling, Kate. I believe places do have a mysterious memory about them. I would believe your soul would be invigorated with such an ethereal energy. It’s really quite mind boggling to consider those who lived there, isn’t it? Debra
My opinion, Macaulay in all likelihood sensed and appreciated the significance of place long before you did. But as you say, unless one speaks the language one never knows for certain.
Wish I’d had you as a history teacher at school, Kate. You bring the subject alive. I wonder if Macaulay can still smell the original inhabitants – it must be bizarre to have such a strong sense of smell.
This is wonderful Kate. I so want to share a walk with you some day. Our minds seem to wander similarly. In “the south” you will often see a square of daffodils bloom in spring in what appears to be a vacant field but they tell of a time gone by when a home steader used to live there. I wonder what happened to them; were they happy; how many Christmases were celebrated here? Only the daffodils know for sure!