May 2003 - Eternal Cadsonbury

Having suffered with the Saints the previous day, and spent a week or more under a blanket of mizzle and drizzle, this Tamar Dowser was looking for a lift.  Our visit to Cadsonbury proved to be just the ticket.

The outing started inauspiciously, staring out at the steady rain from the conservatory of the Rifle Volunteer.  But lunch was excellent, the company convivial and David assured me, in his usual matter of fact way, that he had asked for some decent weather.  So things were looking up.​

​

​Cadsonbury is a massive site of long-term occupation, overlooking the river Tamar from the Cornish side.  Although a hugely significant National Trust site, it is all but invisible from the approach road.  Yet once on top of the hill, there is a 360° view of the surrounding countryside.  It is shown on the OS map as an Iron Age Hill Fort, which it may well have been at some point.  But the length of the ‘defensive’ earth rampart would have required an army of hundreds, if not thousands, to protect.  

Where the sustenance for such a large force could have been found is difficult to comprehend, and the feeling is that this site was of major significance for other reasons well before the Iron Age - and for that matter well after the Roman era.  We dowsed that the maximum permanent occupation of the site was in the region of 70 people, which tended to reinforce the visual conclusions.

On the way up the steep bury, Ruth and I investigated some earth energy lines, trying to understand the relationship of an ‘invisible’ force to a measurable colour.  

Having spent some time last year in Australia, where earth energy has been

traditionally sensed by sound rather than colour, I find this issue of particular interest.  David noted that the line we were working on had negative energy present and organised an impromptu group energy-balancing operation.  It clearly worked, in the scientific sense, with Graham, in his role as the newest of the group, asked to verify the presence of negativity on the line before the procedure and its absence afterwards.  Although not a complicated procedure in itself, it was something of a first for the TDs to undertake this action as a co-operative. 

   

The summit of Cadsonbury is peppered with energy spirals, almost too close together in places to be distinct.  This is a site of great interest to the dowser.  We noted that most of them were downward spirals - although a couple flowed neither up nor down.  John was able to see the direction of these features and to sense their differing colours - a talent that was also a great help to us in finding and investigating other energy phenomena.    

     

We traced some of the ley lines that traverse the site.  I had sensed one of these on a previous visit to Castlewich Henge, about five miles distant, so it was interesting to pick it up again here.  Where two of the leys crossed there was a location which had been, at some stage, a sacrificial point, although did not dowse to having been a burial site.  This is particularly unusual, given the presence of such significant energy features.

It was reassuring to note, however, that on questioning the need to carry out healing at this location, the response was that it had already been undertaken.  Well done, somebody!  I felt a bit woozy after standing there for a little while, so we moved on. 

Derek and I  traced the outline of some significant buildings and located the site of a former well, while the others even found time to improvise a training session for an inquisitive, if bemused, Sunday walker.

The first occupation of Cadsonbury dowsed as having been very ancient indeed – many thousands of years BCE.  Derek explained the implications of such a long history of habitation, with reference to the last ice age.  David mentioned some of the myths and legends that surround such an ancient culture. Cadsonbury was, and still is, a highly important and energetic location, albeit currently one in a dormant mode.

The weather was indeed decent, and we even had a few warming breaks in the cloud.  Despite the strong wind, which made pendulum dowsing difficult, we didn’t get cold, and we only had to turn our backs on the drizzle once.  

On the way down, John and Ruth were discussing a potential trip to Maker, on the Rame Peninsula, to look for redundant man-made underground features, while Graham and Derek were hatching a plan to visit the site of Hergest’s great battle at Hingston Down, near Callington.  People had perked up a lot during the day - even me.

The Saints may have lost the cup final - but, hey, at least they were there.

Many thanks to Graham for organising this month’s excursion.

Nigel Twinn

Tamar Dowsers

May 2003