Swinside

In a gentle isolation a little way off the beaten track, Swinside, also known as. Sunkenkirk, stone circle is a lovely well-preserved circle with a charm of its own. Its alternative name is from a legend that the Devil caused the stones, intended for building a church, to sink at night into the ground. Many of the stones are still standing - curiously those that have fallen have all fallen inwards.

This has to be one of the finest stone circles in Europe, if not the world. The mountains of the Lake District provide a brilliant backdrop to its siting on artificially-levelled ground. The stones are large and closely-spaced at approximately 1.5m (5-foot) intervals. Fifty-five of an original sixty remain, with thirty-two still standing.

The tallest stone in the 28.5m (93-foot 8-inch) diameter ring is a slender 2.1m (7 feet 6 inches) high pillar located almost exactly at the north point of the circle, a feature common to other circles in the Cumbrian region. In addition, there is a recognisable 2.1m (7-foot) entrance at the SE consisting of a wide gap and two portal stones just outside the perimeter of the circle. This is another feature in common with circles of the region (e.g., Long Meg and Her Daughters). Standing at the centre of the circle and looking between the two portal stones in the SE is very close to looking at the midwinter sunrise.

Whatever secrets the stones hold, Swinside still charms the occasional visitors that come to partake of the peaceful atmosphere of this site, with its stones set in an almost perfect circle of 28.7 m diameter..

Original Swinside artwork by Matthew James