Educational Resources

Hillfort at Little Doward (near Momouth) Teachers’ notes Purpose: This information pack can be used as a resource for students to find out about Little Doward, an Iron Age hillfort, and how the landscape has changed over time to what we see here today.

Things to do...

Walk up Little Doward, an Iron Age hillfort, and include a visit to King Arthur’s cave to see visible geology.

Little Spot the photo shot!! Mark Doward on your own Little Doward map where each photo was taken.

A day in the life of ... an Iron Age person: how might this person have lived? Create a newspaper article about this person.

Take photos and use old images: create a story board focusing on how the landscape was used during the Iron Age compared to how it is used now.

Sketch towering ancient beech trees focusing on unique and quirky shapes.

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The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Little Doward walk - overview Teachers’ notes

Features of interest that you will see along this two-way linear walk starting at Little Doward entrance, , include:

• drystone wall and follies*: in the 19th century Blakemore created a ‘parkland’ enclosed by a deer park wall; here several follies and paths were constructed. One of these follies is the hermit’s hut (* a structure, generally non- functional to add to a romantic landscape)

• from the top of the Iron Age hillfort, you will see a rounded area and a rectangular area (annex), a legacy of the Iron Age

• explosive holes on cliff faces; blasted a route through solid rock to create a carriageway

• King Arthur’s cave; visible geology dating back to the last Ice Age and lots of prehistoric archaeology

Other places to visit: Longer walk to Rock

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Little Doward - did you know...?

1. Little Doward is a landmark with diverse species, great views and archaeological and geological interest. It has a varied mix of habitats, possibly unique to this site. It is within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Why do you think that areas like the Wye Valley are given the official name ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’?

Why do you think the Wye Valley AONB needs to be both protected and improved?

© Linda Wright

2. Little Doward has accessible geology dating back to the Ice Age

On the Little Doward high above the there is evidence that river once flowed here and eroded the rock. The base of the limestone cliffs has been smoothed by running water and there are a series of caves cut into the rock.

The largest cave, known as King Arthur’s cave, was a shelter for animals during the Ice Age. Bones of hyena, mammoth, woolly rhino, cave lion, reindeer and lemming have been found.

(Separate geology resource pack available - see King Arthur’s cave, Little Doward geology pack) Early diggers at King Arthur’s Cave (© Museum)

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Little Doward - did you know...?

3. Little Doward is a large Iron Age Most iron age people lived in small hillfort. farmsteads. They also built hillforts which overlooked the river and were visible from the surrounding countryside. The encircling Towering 724 feet above the river Wye, banks and ditches conjure up images of with steep cliffs on three sides and warrior defenders and places of safety extensive views across the surrounding during tribal unrest. area, the Little Doward provided the ideal site for a large Iron Age hillfort. It was improved only by the construction Sketch what you think an Iron of a single massive rampart around the Age person would have eaten. enclosure. The hillfort has two parts: an How does this food compare to the food we upper and a lower enclosure. eat today?

What do you think the tools that they used would have looked like? How do these tools compare to tools we use today?

Sketch your own hillfort and Recent archaeological excavation (a dig) label it with features that you has provided evidence that people here think it should have. lived in circular platform houses. They Explain why you have included these worked animal bones, making items like features. toggles and dice, which were found in a dig here in 2009. Glossary Hillfort - earthworks used as a settlement, at a high point for defensive advantage Rampart - mound of earth with ditch for defensive purposes Archaeological excavation (dig)- exposure, recording, and recovery of buried remains

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Little Doward - did you know...?

4. Richard Blakemore : Victorian vandal? Richard Blakemore’s Victorian ‘improvements’ to this ancient landscape may seem more like vandalism today. A wealthy ironmaster, in 1820 Blakemore moved to (the large house overlooking the river you can see from the A40). He built the house but also wanted to create a new picturesque landscape, and, to this end, demolished many of the cottages which dotted . Many people were made to move house! © Linda Wright

His landscape walks and carriage drives cut through the ramparts of the ancient hillfort. He even blasted through cliffs to form a picturesque cutting. (Look opposite and you will see the shot holes in the rock face!)

Blakemore’s Folly As with earlier inhabitants of the Doward, © Linda Wright Blakemore was obsessed with the view. He built a 70 foot iron tower. On Sunday evenings, visitors were allowed to climb the steps running up through the middle. Someone realised it might attract lightning, It was dismantled around 1920. How would you manage the Little Doward? What would you protect this landscape from?

What would you wish to Blakemore’s folly (© Monmouth Museum) improve here?

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Little Doward - did you know? 5. Ancient woodland and species Sketch towering ancient • Little Doward has many ancient trees trees focusing on unique and and woodland of European significance. quirky shapes. Known as Old Growth Woods they are special places full of rare species.

• Here the coppiced trees and charcoal platforms reveal the past importance of this woodland to local trade and industry as well as its role as wood pasture for grazing livestock.

• Ancient trees are an important habitat in their own right, providing a home for Glossary more species than any other single living thing. Coppice - a woodland management method in which the trees or shrubs are cut back to ground level from time to time to stimulate • Greater and lesser horseshoe bats roost growth and to provide firewood or timber in Little Doward’s limestone caves. Bats are protected by law. Charcoal - a type of fuel made from ‘cooking’ wood to convert it to pure carbon

Look for ancient trees (big, old and gnarled).

Here is one way to find out if a tree is ancient - the hug test! Oak – 3 adult hugs Beech – 2 adult hugs Rowan – one adult hug Ash - 2 adult hugs

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Spot the photo shot! Student activity

Explore Little Doward and see how many photo shot locations you can find. Then mark these locations accurately on your Little Doward map (use the photo number).

To help you, these photos are in the order of the walk.

1 Did you know...? Little Doward is a woodland within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

2 Did you know...? A lucky herd of 6 Welsh White cattle (chosen as they are gentle in their nature) graze here during the summer.

3 Did you know...? On Little Doward, there are long distance views for many miles.

4 Did you know...? Here, there is a hermit’s hut (or rustic shepherd’s hut).

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Spot the photo shot! Student activity 5 Did you know...? There is triangulation point (or trig point) here. This is a concrete pillar put on top of a prominent hill to help people with geographical reference points (used before GPS and sat nav).

6 Did you know...? At the top of Little Doward, you are standing on top of an Iron Age hillfort.

7 Did you know...? The Woodland Trust looks after the Little Doward.

8 Did you know...? There are explosive holes markings from when Blakemore in the Victorian times created a ‘path’ through the rocks.

9 Did you know...? King Arthur’s cave is here. The geology that can be seen here dates back to the Ice Age!

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape Little Doward Map

Crown Copyright Council License No. 100024168 (2012)

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Discover the heritage of the Wye Valley through four themes

The brooding presence of massive hillforts built by Iron Age tribes, commanding wide vistas high above the Wye, reinforces the feeling that this area has been border country for millenia.

With fiery furnaces belching out fumes and smoke the Wye Valley was one of the earliest places in the UK to industrialise. Today the woodland and water which powered this industry provide a picturesque backdrop for this hidden industrial heritage.

Think of the Wye as a watery highway linking the riverside villages with the wider world and you’ll begin to understand its importance in earlier times when boatmen navigated trows laden with cargo between the Wyeside wharves.

Tourists discovered the beauty of the Wye in the 18th century when it became fashionable to take the Wye Tour and find inspiration in the Picturesque viewpoints. The views have changed as the land is managed differently today, but you’ll still find inspiration here!

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Further resources and background reading

Other packs in the series: River Connections at Llandogo (between Monmouth and Chepstow) Angidy Valley, Tintern - discover hidden industry Devil’s Pulpit Viewpoint above Tintern Picturesque Piercefield Viewpoints near Chepstow Ross-on-Wye - visible geology Symonds Yat Rock - visible geology King Arthur’s Cave, near Monmouth - visible geology Eagle’s Nest, near Chepstow - visible geology

Overlooking the Wye website....

Overlooking the Wye Powerpoint presentation

Wye Valley film clips: Angidy Valley Devil’s Pulpit Piercefield Brockweir quay Symonds Yat Whitecliff furnace

BBC Wye Valley DVD: BBC Great British Journeys: William Gilpin’s Observations on the River Wye Publications: George Peterken, Wye Valley, Collins 2008 William Dreghorn, Geology Explained in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley, Fineleaf, 1968 Bellows, A Week’s History in the Dean, 1880

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape

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Acknowledgements

This education pack has been produced as a series of Wye Valley focused packs by the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) unit as part of the Overlooking the Wye scheme. Funding has kindly been provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Wye Valley AONB Sustainable Development Fund and the Countryside Council for .

We are grateful to the following for working in partnership with us to facilitate content, design and evaluation of the packs: Chepstow School Monmouth Comprehensive School Nic Howes

Images and detail from images have been reproduced with kind permission of: Chepstow Museum Colin Green Dean Heritage Museum Trust Archives Gwent Archives Herefordshire Archive Service J. Saunders Linda Wright Monmouth Museum National Library Wales National Portrait Gallery Neil Parkhouse collection Newport Museum and Art Gallery (private collection on loan) Roger Brown Stadtbibliothek Nurnberg The British Library/Heritage-Images/Imagestate

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The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape