5 more megalithic marvels that aren’t Stonehenge
1 AVEBURY HENGE, WILTSHIRE
Overshadowed by its worldfamous rival, Wiltshire’s original ‘super-henge’ at Avebury is so big it encircles a village. Part of a ceremonial landscape designated a World Heritage Site, 100 Neolithic megaliths make up the largest stone circle in Britain.
2 PENTRE IFAN, PEMBROKESHIRE
Wales’ western extremes are studded with prehistoric sites. The striking dolmen of Pentre Ifan in Pembrokeshire makes an excellent objective for a walk on the edge of the Preseli Hills, where the bluestone for Stonehenge’s inner circle originates from.
3 MERRIVALE, DARTMOOR
The moors of Devon and Cornwall are sparsely populated today, but it wasn’t always so. On western Dartmoor, signs of prehistoric settlement from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age survive among the scattered menhirs, stone rows and cist burials.
4 CASTLERIGG STONE CIRCLE, LAKE DISTRICT
One of the oldest Neolithic stone circles in Britain, Castlerigg also enjoys the best setting of any megalithic monument in Cumbria. The fells of Blencathra and Skiddaw form a spectacular backdrop to these slate megaliths.
5 RING OF BRODGAR, ORKNEY
Situated on a narrow strip of land dividing two lochs on Orkney’s mainland, this beguiling henge and stone circle lies a few miles from Skara Brae – Britain’s bestpreserved Neolithic village. A World Heritage Site, the area is dubbed the ‘Heart of Neolithic Orkney.’