Unlike Castlerigg Stone Circle most of the 300 or so stone circles in Britain are Bronze Age burial sites containing cremations in central pits. Believed to have been constructed around 3000 BC it is Neolithic, making it potentially one of the earliest and most important stone circles in the country, by contrast these Neolithic stone circles do not contain formal burials. Few stone circles have such settings as that of Castlerigg, the plateau creates a natural raised amphitheatre overlooking the Thirlmere Valley with the surrounding fells and mountains of High Seat, Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Grasmoor and Blencathra as a backdrop.

Ref: IMG_18021 D80

Date: 27/07/2012

Location: Lake District National Park - Underskiddaw, Keswick

Photographer: Ann Goodall