SECRETS SET IN STONE
Britain has hundreds of ancient circles — and all these are free to explore
THEY’RE the envy of the world and many of them are aligned with mind-boggling precision to the movements of the sun and moon. What’s more, there are more than 1,000 of these circles up and down the country, each shrouded in mystery.
By far the most famous, obviously, is world-renowned Stonehenge. Others are barely recognisable ruins, marked on maps simply as ‘Stone Circle’. Here we suggest some of the most captivating of Britain’s stone circles which you can visit freely.
SCOTLAND
Callanish, Isle of Lewis
DESPITE its remote location in the Outer Hebrides, this astounding cluster of standing stones attracts tens of thousands of tourists a year. A visitor centre has an interactive exhibition of the 5,000-year-old Callanish.
As well as shaping a tight circle, the stones form an avenue aligned with the movements of the moon.
GETTING THERE: Around 13 miles from Stornoway, off the A858. Free access. n visitscotland.com
Ring of Brodgar, Orkney
THE Orkney Islands are peppered with prehistoric remains, of which the most impressive and atmospheric are at Brodgar.
The ring of tall slabs encircled by a henge is on an isthmus cutting through the dreamily beautiful lochs of Harray and Stenness. Little has been discovered about the origins of Brodgar, though the stones were probably erected about 2700BC and have some sort of lunar alignment.
GETTING THERE: On the B9055 miles from Kirkwall. Free access. n orkney.com
ENGLAND
Castlerigg, Cumbria
THE circle of glacial boulders appear like a ring of wraiths enacting a solemn ritual amid the bare, Lakeland fells.
There are 40 of them — some dwarfs, others 10ft giants — at this magic-tinged spot which is surrounded by a 360-degree panorama of green fields and the purple humps of Helvellyn and High Seat.
To archaeologists, this is one of the oldest and most intriguing sites in Britain; for romantics, the atmosphere is peerless.
GETTING THERE: A mile-and-a-half from Keswick, signposted from the A66 and B591. About 100 yards from a road. Free access. n keswick.org
Arbor Low, Derbyshire
AN ODD stone circle, in that the 50 white limestone slabs have all been toppled over and lie flat on their backs. Nobody knows what they did to deserve such treatment or when it happened.
The stones are surrounded by a henge and were probably raised about 3,000 BC.
GETTING THERE: Six miles from Bakewell, from a car park off the A515. Free entry. Access through private land for which the owner asks for £1 per person. n english-heritage.org.uk
The Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire
A RING of limestone megaliths, which legend says is a king and his army, turned to stone by a witch.
The circle is thought to have been built in the early Bronze Age, about 1900BC. A pair of stones at the entrance has been identified as an astronomical ‘sightline’ aligned with the rising moon at midsummer.
GETTING THERE: Off a lane between the A44 and the A3400, four miles from Chipping Norton. Put £1 entrance fee in an honesty box. n rollrightstones.co.uk
Avebury, Wiltshire
THE sandstone boulders that make up Britain’s widest stone circle are within a massive earthwork rampart enclosing 28 acres.
The stones also enclose a section of Avebury village and are part of one of the most extensive prehistoric sites in Britain. A mile away is Silbury Hill, the 150 ft man-made mound sitting like a Christmas pudding in a field next to the A4. On the other side of the road, a track leads to West Kennet Long Barrow, one of the largest burial chambers in Britain.
GETTING THERE: Seven miles from Marlborough, just off the A4. Free access. n english-heritage.org.uk
Merry Maidens, Cornwall
THERE is much myth, though precious little fact known, about this spectacular ring of 19 stones standing in a field in full view of the road.
A perfect circle, it is the most rewarding of several Neolithic sites in Cornwall.
The circle’s dates and astronomical significance remain unresolved, but legend has it that the Maidens are girls turned to stone for daring to dance on the Sabbath.
GETTING THERE: On the B3315 four miles from Penzance. Free access. n cornwalls.co.uk
WALES
Druids Circle, Gwynedd
THIS is one to walk to, half an hour or so along a track from the nearest car access.
The circle, flattened almost to an oval, stands next to the track and is made up of 30 boulders and slabs of granite, unevenly spaced because many others have been removed.
The site is thought to be Neolithic and nothing to do with the Druids, the name notwithstanding.
GETTING THERE: Four miles from Conwy, about a mile uphill from a signpost on the A55. Free access. n walesonline.co.uk