Comprising about 40 stones, some of them up to 10ft tall, Castlerigg Stone Circle is one of the oldest and best-preserved stone circles in Europe.
You can park beside the field containing the stones, but arriving at the site on foot gives you a chance to place the circle in the context of the surrounding landscape.
This walk from nearby Keswick takes you through woods, over fields and along quiet lanes, but always accompanied by magnificent fell views – Skiddaw, Blencathra, the Helvellyn range, some of England’s highest and most impressive mountains. In that sense at least, little has changed since the circle was constructed in 3000BC.
Return to Keswick – with its host of 21st-century walkers’ treats including cappuccino and real ale – via quiet lanes and a disused railway. On your way back, pop into Keswick Museum to see a Neolithic axe-head unearthed at Castlerigg in 1875.
Castlerigg Stone Circle walk
4.5 miles/7.3km | 2.5 hours | easy | 182m ascent
1. Start
From the Moot Hall, take the lane to the left of Greggs. Leaving the pedestrian area, keep straight ahead along St John’s Street, soon passing the Alhambra, one of the UK’s oldest cinemas.
2. Springs Farm
Nearing the edge of Keswick, watch for Springs Road on the right. Follow this until it ends near Springs Farm and then continue through the woods, the track covered with fallen leaves at this time of year. Just before a bridge spanning the noisy beck, turn sharp right, the path later tottering along the top of the steep-sided gorge.
3. Skiddaw and Blencathra views
Reaching a lane, turn left and, almost immediately, go through a gate on the right. With the northernmost summits of the Helvellyn range beckoning you on, cross two fields.
Turn left after a gate, the views now dominated by Skiddaw and Blencathra, possibly sporting the first snow of the season by now. Having hugged the left-hand edge of several fields, this right-of-way emerges on the A591.
4. Castlerigg Stone Circle
Cross over and take the lane opposite – a quiet road, so you won’t be bothered by much traffic. Go right at a T-junction and you’ll see a gate on the right providing access to Castlerigg Stone Circle.
5. Keswick Railway Path
Having visited the site, return to the road and turn left. On the edge of Keswick, turn left at the T-junction and then right along the pavement beside the A591.
A gate on the left in 110 yards provides access to a trail that drops to the Keswick Railway Path. This path, shared with cyclists, uses the bed of the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith line, built in 1865 to bring coke from Durham’s coal fields to the west coast’s blast furnaces.
Turning left, follow the disused railway to its conclusion at the platform of Keswick’s former station, now a hotel.
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6. Moot Hall
Beyond the platform, bear left around the side of the leisure centre. The path passes in front of the building to reach a road. Bear right here. Go straight over the crossroads – along Station Street. At a sharp left bend, turn right to return to the Moot Hall.
Castlerigg Stone Circle map
Castlerigg Stone Circle walking route and map
Useful information
Starting point
Keswick’s Tourist Information Centre at the Moot Hall (NY266234). A five-minute walk from the town’s main bus stands, with bus links to Penrith, Windermere, Kendal, Cockermouth, Workington and Carlisle.
Terrain
Pavement and quiet lanes; stony path on ascent through wood; some field paths; shared-use path along disused railway.
Map
OS Explorer OL4
Eat/drink
The Square Orange serves the best coffee and pizzas in town. Located on St John’s Street, it’s on the right just beyond the pedestrian area. 017687 73888
