Focus on Cumbrian Circles: Druid’s Circle, Birkrigg

We begin our look at the Cumbrian circles with one just across the border in Lancashire, that holds sad memories for me personally. 

Some 5km south of Ulverston, and just 0.5km from the coast, on the SE side of Birkrigg Common lies the Druid’s Circle. There are fine views from within the circle across Morecombe Bay.

The ‘circle’ is unusual in that it consists of two roughly concentric stone rings. The inner ring is some 8.5m across, and is made up of 12 stones. None of the stones are higher than 1m above ground level. The outer circle with a diameter of around 24m is much less distinct, composed of around 20 much smaller stones.

Excavations in 1911 identified that the area within the outer circle was paved with cobbles. Within the inner circle was a  second paved area, buried below the first.

Druid’s Circle plan, after Burl.

I visited this circle twice in 2005. The monument is easily accessible from the road, a fact which spoiled my first visit, around Midsummer. A family had set up camp, within the circle. Their van was parked within the outer circle along with their tent, and their family belongings were spread across the inner circle. Needless to say I didn’t stay, and in my naïveté failed to inform the authorities of the desecration. On my second visit in the October, the circle was clear, but there was a large bare patch in the centre with evidence of fire damage. Needless to say, the activities witnessed on both these occasions are highly irresponsible, and as the area is a scheduled monument, almost certainly illegal.