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All the United Kingdom England Keswick Castlerigg Stone Circle
AO Edited

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Stonehenge has nothing on Castlerigg’s views.

Keswick, England

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thescousewife
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Stone Circle at Castlerigg with the mountain Blencathra in the background   Alex Southward
The views from the plateau are stunning   Stu Smith
This stone circle is older than most by about a thousand years   Ina Widegren
Standing stones 5   Alex Southward
The Stone Circle sanctuary, with a few sheep in the background   Stu Smith
The circle as it appeared in “The Wonders of the World in Nature, Art and Mind”   From Robert Sears, 1843 / National Archives
Bird’s eye view - the circle is actually a little bit oval, a few feet longer than it is wide   Simon Ledingham
Doesn’t it make you want to take up painting?   Ned Netherwood (Atlas Obscura User)
Castlerigg Stone Circle, The small square inside of the big circle   Hazel Blackbourn
model of the stone circle   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
  Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
  jedbutler1963 / Atlas Obscura User
  brandtalexj / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Castlerigg stone circle, near Keswick in the Lake District   Hazel Blackbourn
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About

There are over a thousand stone circles spread out over the British Isles and Brittany, one in particular capturing the imagination of everyone from neo-Druids to fake rock bands. And while Stonehenge may get the best press, Castlerigg, one of 10 stone circles in and around Lake District National Park, might just take the crown as England’s most dramatic.  

Stone circles were built thousands of years ago by hauling enormous boulders or stone monoliths into a clearing and arranging them in—you guessed it—a circle. Most date to the early Bronze Age, which was about 2000 B.C. to 800 B.C., but Castlerigg is much older, constructed around 3000 B.C. in the late Neolithic period. It’s not as well-known as other circles, not even as those in its own neighborhood (the most famous in the Lake District area has the evocative name of "Long Meg and Her Daughters"), but it is perhaps the most vividly situated of all the British stone circles, ringed by stunning views and the mountains of Blencartha, Helvellyn and Skiddaw.

As with other stone circles, what exactly it was used for takes a certain amount of conjecture. Theories range from it being an astronomical observatory (the tallest stones line up with certain celestial events) to it being used for the exchange of stone axes in a kind of ritualistic swap meet. Although Castlerigg hasn’t been excavated or studied to the extent of other stone circles, most archeologists think it was probably multi-purpose—used for marking events of the seasons, trade, festivals and tribal gatherings.

Castlerigg Stone Circle makes a brief appearance in the writings of Samuel Coleridge, who visited the site with his pal William Wordsworth in 1799. Maybe as a poet he knew the score better than the archeologists, seeing that the views alone justified putting 40 giant boulders in the middle of a field. Describing the view from the circle, Coleridge wrote: “The Mountains stand one behind the other, in orderly array as if evoked by & attentive to the assembly of white-vested Wizards.”

(Additional material contributed by Atlas Obscura user Ned Netherwood.)

Related Tags

Ancient Ancient Technology Prehistoric Rites And Rituals

Know Before You Go

The Stone Circle is about a mile and a half east of the village of Keswick in England's Lake District. Follow Penith Road east for about a mile and turn right onto Eleventrees. In half a mile turn right onto Castle Lane, and the site will be on your left. The road is narrow and parking is tight - so you might want to take the 30 minute stroll or short bike ride from Keswick, and ditch the car. Unlike Stonehenge you can wander among the stones. And the area is an active grazing field, so you might even get to see some sheep too.

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thescousewife

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MagnumPI, jedbutler1963, rbenn250, Gavin...

  • MagnumPI
  • jedbutler1963
  • rbenn250
  • Gavin
  • brandtalexj
  • True Freedom Seekers
  • sesme87

Published

June 9, 2016

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlerigg_stone_circle
  • http://www.stonepages.com/england/castlerigg.html
  • http://www.keswick.org/explore/not-to-miss/castlerigg-stone-circle/
  • http://www.visitcumbria.com/kes/castlerigg-stone-circle/
  • https://truefreedomseekers.com/castlerigg-stone-circle/
Castlerigg Stone Circle
Castle Lane
Keswick, England, CA12
United Kingdom
54.603069, -3.099282
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