Castlerigg Stone Circle and Possible Burial Mounds

Castlerigg stands above Keswick within a mountain landscape. Its surviving circle contains thirty-eight stones, mostly local glacial boulders, around an area approximately thirty to thirty-three metres across. The tallest stone reaches about 2.3 metres, and a gap on the northern side forms an entrance. English Heritage now favours a late Neolithic date, around four and a half thousand years ago, while stressing the limited evidence: no excavation has taken place since 1882. Two low mounds inside the northern entrance are each approximately 3.6 metres in diameter. Their form resembles early Bronze Age burial mounds, but neither has been excavated and neither can be treated as a proven grave. Survey has also suggested possible earlier earthwork features. Castlerigg therefore preserves a ceremonial setting whose sequence and possible funerary elements remain incompletely understood. Period: Probably Late Neolithic; possible later burial activity Grid reference: NY 29065 23599, NY 29142 23625 Protection: Scheduled monument Source: Historic England, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1011362 (Open Government Licence). © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.