Rollright Stones is a private site on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border
Credit: Copyright – Stephen Dorey/Stephen Dorey
Place to stay nearby: The Bull has doubles from £180. Plan a trip to the Cotswolds with our guide.
Ballynoe Stone Circle, near Downpatrick, County Down
More than 50 closely-spaced tall stones adorn this Northern Ireland beauty. During the Bronze Age, a burial mound was constructed within the main stone circle. Burl suggests that Ballynoe may have had trading or ritual connections with Swinside Stone Circle, across the Irish Sea in Cumbria.
Place to stay nearby: The Portaferry Hotel has doubles from £90.
Machrie Moor Standing Stones, Arran
Six stone circles stand proud at this popular site on the beautiful island of Arran, ideal for combining with an easy walk – with the pyramidal peak of Goat Fell in the distance. Fingal’s Cauldron Seat is named after the legendary warrior-giant Fingal.
Place to stay nearby: The Douglas Hotel has doubles from £219.
The Machrie Moor Standing Stones are easy to combine with a walk nearby
Credit: Joe Dunckley / Photocatalyst.uk/Joe Dunckley / 500px
Druid’s Circle, Penmaenmawr, North Wales
An hour’s steep climb out of the coastal town of Penmaenmawr leads to thirty stones, eleven of which are still standing. The circle lies close to a pre-historic trackway. Excavations in 1957 found the cremated remains of a child and a food vessel. The so-called Stone of Sacrifice has a ledge at the top – placing a child there is said to bring good luck.
Place to stay nearby: The Kinmel Arms has doubles from £94.
Trippet Stones, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
A moorland backdrop adds drama to any standing stones – and Bodmin Moor is magical under any light. Cattle roam freely around this 110-foot diameter circle and from a distance seem to be standing in for the fallen granite stones; they make use of the standing ones for a good scratch. Trippet is a folkloric reference to dancing, an activity associated with the names of many stone circles.
Place to stay nearby: The Bodmin Jail Hotel has doubles from £269. Plan a trip to Cornwall with our guide.
Nine Ladies, Stanton Moor, Derbyshire
English Heritage manage this early Bronze Age circle in the Peak District, said to depict nine ladies turned to stone as punishment for dancing on a Sunday. The site is part of a complex of ancient sandstone circles, standing stones and barrows (burial mounds) on Stanton Moor.
Place to stay nearby: Buxton Crescent Health Spa Hotel has doubles from £249. Plan a trip to the Peak District with our guide.
An early Bronze Age circle in the Peak District, Nine Ladies
Credit: Copyrighted to Dave Porter Photography
/Dave Porter Peterborough Uk.
Castlerigg Stone Circle, near Keswick, Cumbria
Perhaps the oldest remaining stone circle in England is at Castlerigg, with 38 large stones standing up to 10 feet high. It’s thought it was originally an important site for prehistoric astronomers or early pagan rituals, as the stones are laid out in a solar alignment. For setting alone, this site is special, as it sits on a plateau ringed by soaring fells, including Skiddaw, Blencathra and High Seat.
Place to stay nearby: Inn on the Square has doubles from £210. Plan a trip to the Lake District with our guide.
Avebury Henge, near Stonehenge, is just as impressive and offers a less crowded experience for visitors. Built between 2850 BC and 2200 BC, the surviving complex includes a circular bank and ditch, encircling an area that includes part of the village of Avebury. Inside the henge is the largest stone circle in Britain – originally containing 100 stones – with two smaller stone circles inside it.
Place to stay nearby: The Red Lion Freehouse has doubles from £160.
Avebury Henge is the quiet neighbour to Stonehenge
Credit: Credit: eye35 / Alamy Stock Photo/eye35 / Alamy Stock Photo
This article was first published in June 2020, and has been revised and updated.
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/locals-stone-circles-summer-solstice-instead-stone-henge/
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Publish date : 2024-06-19 11:00:00
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