New Way of the Rings Day 3 Sedburgh to Settle
New Way of the Rings Day 3 Sedburgh to SettleOpen this route in the Bikemap appOpen this route in Bikemap

New Way of the Rings Day 3 Sedburgh to Settle

A cycling route starting in Sedbergh, England, United Kingdom.

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Overview

About this route

1

  Way or the Rings – Castlerigg to Ilkley This 114 mile (180km) is the first part of the Way of the Rings, a 444mile ride from Castlerigg stone Circle in the Lakes, to Stonehenge.  It takes the quiet backroutes and National cycle routes.  Occasionally it takes tracks suitable for gravel bikes.  This route has been designed to link Neolithic stone circles, standing stones, caves and rock art.  This Neolithic route could have been the way in which ancient people travelled annually for the feasts and celebrations at Stonehenge.  Archaeological evidence indicates that cattle and pigs from the Lakes and Scotland were slaughtered at  Stonehenge to celebrate the Solstice. The route indicates points of historical and Neolithic interest .  They are not exact locations but representative.    Penrith or Keswick provide the ideal pre-route accommodation for the route, with good transport links with trains from London and the North and right on the M6. The route starts at Castlerigg Stone Circle - A stunningly beautiful place. It follows quiet back routes and National Cycleway 71 towards Penrith, turning south towards Shap, designed ot visit points of Neolithic interest en route.  At Shap –several standing stones, eratics and menhirs line the route, with part of the Stone Rows of Great Britain's entry for Shap Avenue, which includes a description of the Shap alignment, photographs, access information and a plan of the row.   Crosby Ravensworth Stone Row in between Shap and Crosby Ravensworth  The stones are quite prominent: the tallest is 4 feet. A low mound occupies the centre, on top of which are 3 stones.   East of Orton is Gamelands embanked stone circle. An oval enclosure of 40 large stones, all of which have fallen, and three smaller stones. All of the stones are Shap pink granite with the exception of one which is limestone and Rawthey Rock shelter Cave or Rock Shelter in Cumbria Cave used as a shelter in the Bronze age. South of Sedburgh is Yordas Cave rock shelter   The route follows the beautiful valleys of Malam passing Malham Tarn and Ewe Bank Stone circle before dropping down into Malham itself. Great café ‘The Naked Man’ at Settle and worth a stop and maybe a walk to Victoria Cave, a Neolithic stop over!  At Gargrave the route follows the picturesque canal towpath to Skipton. Skipton makes an excellent stop to break the route and has a castle and good pubs. Over 900 years old, Skipton Castle is one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England and is well worth a visit at any season of the year. Visitors can explore every corner of this impressive history-rich castle, which withstood a three-year siege during the Civil War. View the Banqueting Hall, the Kitchen, the Bedchamber and Privy. Climb from the depths of the Dungeon to the top storey of the Watch Tower.   Carlton in Cravon has two standing stones and some rock art. The route comes into Ilkley which is the end of this section.  A walk up onto Ilkley Moor uncovers a plethora of Neolithic sites!  

13 h 28 min
Duration
43.7 km
Distance
833 m
Ascent
754 m
Descent
3.2 km/h
Avg. speed
471 m
Avg. speed
Kathie Knell
Kathie Knell

created this 4 years ago

Route quality

Waytypes & surfaces along the route

Waytypes

  • Quiet road

    33.6 km

    (77 %)

  • Track

    3.9 km

    (9 %)

  • Road

    3.3 km

    (7 %)

Surfaces

Paved

8.1 km

(19 %)

Unpaved

2.9 km

(7 %)

  • Asphalt

    8.1 km

    (19 %)

  • Ground

    2.4 km

    (6 %)

  • Gravel

    0.4 km

    (<1 %)

Route highlights

Points of interest along the route

  1. Point of interest after 0.3 km

    Possible Stone Circle or denuded cairn in Cumbria

  2. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    Castlesteads Earthwork in Cumbria If visiting St. Michael's Church at Lowther to see the Anglo Saxon fragments and cross, it is worth the 220m walk south to these earthworks perched high above the River Lowther. It is a very strategic spot and the earthworks measure 30 x 24 yards.

  3. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    Dacre Church has Ancient Cross Shafts and Stones in St Andrew's Church, Dacre, Cumbria There are fragments from two cross shafts in the chancel which date from the 9th 10th centuries The smaller, which is believed to date from the 9th century, was found in 1900 close to the Church and deep in clay. It is considerably damaged but some detail of the carving is still quite sharp. The least damaged face of the shaft, where the top has been broken off, shows two pairs of human feet. Beneath is a lion-like winged creature, with a large face and sorrowful eyes, with the head and part of the body of a serpent. The larger stone was discovered amongst the rubble of the east wall may depict the ram sacrificed instead of Isaac. Immediately below is an antlered stag with a dog-like animal on its back. The "hart and hound" motif restoration work in 1875. It is believed to date from the 10th/11th century. At the top of the shaft are two human figures whose hands are joined over a retangular object with pellet-like legs. It is possible that the scene represents Abraham and Isaac. The strange looking four legged creature over their heads was often used, particularly by commentators of the bible such as the Venerable Bede, to symbolise the soul pursued by the forces of evil. The scene at the bottom of the shaft is thought to portray Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve is reaching up to pick from the tree. She is wearing a skirt whilst Adam appears to be unclothed.

  4. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    DunmallardHillfort in Cumbria Dunmallard hillfort sit at the end of Ullswater lake, guarding access to it, and to the mountain passes beyond. The people of this hillfort would effectively have control of the lake and the valley. Moor Divock cairns and Cockpit stone circle lie on the moorside to the south.

  5. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    Knipe Scar Tumuli submitted by MonumentMan Knipe Scar TumuliRound Cairn in Cumbria. A large Bronze Age Round Cairn found 150m East of Scarside Plantation on Knipe Scar common. A circular flat-topped turf covered mound of earth and stones, measuring 20m in diameter and up to 1.3m high, is surrounded by a ditch 2m wide and 0.1m deep. The top of the cairn has suffered shallow disturbance/excavation in three places and some component stones and boulders remain exposed forming hollows. About 120m to the northwest lies a smaller turf covered Round Cairn about 5.5m diameter by 0.5m high with a boulder on top (seen separately in photos).

  6. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    The Giant's Foot (Cumbria) Standing Stone in Cumbria This stone is a remainder of one of the stone avenues that once went through Shap The stone is also featured as part of the Stone Rows of Great Britain.

  7. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    Newbeggin Stone Row Standing Stone (Menhir) in Cumbria The stone sits within a privately owned paddock in front of Sycamore View. Please seek permission before taking a closer look. The stone measures 800mm tall by 800mm wide by 800m deep, with the top seemingly shaped to form a triangle/pyramid to one side.

  8. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    Shap Avenue submitted by AngieLake Shap AvenueStone Avenue and Stone Rows linked to the stone circle in Cumbria. Shap Stone Row is a collection of standing stones and rocks forming an arc which starts just south of Shap Village at Kemp Howe Stone Circle. The row forms a rough southeast to northwest arc which runs for almost 2.5 kilometres, heading across the road from Kemp Howe, up through the village itself, then over the fields, ending just north of High Buildings Farm, north west of the village. As most of the stones are within sight of each other, it is easy to see how the stones fit the alignment, particularly from the higher points along the route, although it is very difficult to make out the two possible avenues the row forms. The stones are mainly of local, pink, granite. The Thunder Stone, and probably the Googleby Stone, are erratics, left by the glaciers, but forming major features of the stone row. See our Nearby Sites list below for links to the other sites. Whilst there are 14 stones now recorded by English Heritage, over the years the stones from the row have been reused, and part of the fun in exploring this ancient monument is coming across standing stones in gardens, within stone walls, and occasionally lying in the fields and next to footpaths. The focal point of the Stone Row is purported to be 2 stone circles at the south of Shap. The first is Kemp Howe, sadly now partly destroyed by blasting for the railway; a second, at Carl Loft, which I believe to lie behind the Greyhound Hotel at the south end of the village, has been mostly destroyed and lies on private

  9. Point of interest after 0.8 km

    Great Mell Fell Tumulus is the site of a Bronze Age Round Cairn or Bowl Barrow on the landmark summit of Great Mell Fell (573m). A turf covered mound of stones 8.5-7m diameter and 0.8-0.4m high, which appears to have been previously excavated/disturbed. The site commands an excellent 360 degree panorama of the surrounding landscape. No doubt the purpose of its position was to command views/alignments to some of these existing natural features or other Bronze Age monuments, for the purpose of spiritual connection.

  10. Point of interest after 1 km

    Threlkeld Knott Ancient Settlement in Cumbria

  11. Point of interest after 1 km

    Castlerigg Stone Circle is of the best known and best preserved circles in Cumbria. A ring of 38 stones stands within a spectacular ring of mountains. Looking to the north you see Skiddaw and Blencathra, to the south High Rigg and Helvellyn, to the west the Derwent Fells and to the east through a gap, the Northern Pennines. Under the guardianship of the National Trust, Castlerigg is one of the UK’s earliest stone circles, dating to the Neolithic around 3000BC. Of the 38 stones, most of which are glacial erratics, 33 still stand, while a further 10 form a rectangular enclosure or sanctuary inside the ring, a feature unique to this site. Most of the stones are around 1m in height, but those closer to the entrances at the north and south are larger. The tallest stone is over 2m high, weighing around 15 tonnes. An outlying stone (not in its original position) is located 90m to the south-west close to a dry stone wall. One of the stones at the eastern side is said to be magnetic in nature, the whole site acting, perhaps, as a kind of power -point A number of leylines are said to pass through the circle.

  12. Point of interest after 2.3 km

    The rate at which you pay CGT following the sale of a buy-to-let property depends on your taxable income. If you’re a basic rate taxpayer with an income of £50,000 or less, the rate is 18%. Higher rate taxpayers with an income of £50,001 or more pay 28%.For example, if you bought a rental property ten years ago for £100,000 and sold it today for £150,000, your capital gain would be £50,000. Of this, £37,700 would be taxable (once your CGT allowance is deducted – see below). Assuming no other tax reliefs, your CGT bill on this transaction would be £6,786 (if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer) or £10,556 (if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer). The good news is that capital gains don’t count as income, so this £37,700 won’t push you into a higher tax bracket.

  13. Point of interest after 8.3 km

    Fell End Stone Circle Modern Stone Circle in Cumbria. A circle of 5 large (1-1.5m) limestone boulders are spaced regularly around a central limestone boulder (1.5-1.8m) The circle of stones is about 15m across but is raised on a platformed earth bank 20-25m across. The central boulder is again raised on a mound somewhat above the 5 surrounding stones. The source of the boulders is believed to be from the local area east of the site which has many large limestone boulders broken off the escarpment of Fell End Clouds below Wild Boar Fell.

  14. Point of interest after 8.3 km

    Cave or Rock Shelter in Cumbria Cave used as a shelter in the Bronze age.

  15. Point of interest after 8.3 km

    Marker Stone or Standing stone of unknown age. A 1.2m high and 0.2m deep narrow obelisk stone of Howgill Silurian Mudstone stands leaning at Black Moss and is found to be foreign on Limestone geology surrounded by shake holes. It is not thought to be a gate post, as no traces of wall or dyke surround it. The stone commands a moorland position underneath the slopes of Wild Boar Fell but is nearest to the road known as the Street which diverges to Uldale. Looking north the valley and Fell End Clouds Limestone escarpment is seen. Looking south the round profile of Bluecaster is visible.

  16. Point of interest after 17.7 km

    Apron Full of Stones This romantically named site is a large ring cairn of gritstone and sandstone boulders perched on the eastern edge of Kingsdale Beck. It was excavated in 1972 and a cremation burial was found with no grave goods. Two further possible grave pits proved to be empty. The structure of the cairn is simple and of a single period with a boulder kerb. The stones forming the body of the cairn are graded in size with the larger stones towards the base of the structure. The use of gritstone and sandstone is unusual since the site stands on limestone. Construction of the monument seems to represent clearance of glacial stone deposits scattered over a considerable area, perhaps as part of farming activity. A small collection of flints suggested an early Bronze Age date. The low-lying location has led at least one archaeologist to suggest that it is not a cairn at all, but a small henge. The revetment wall below the cairn was built by the National Park Authority to prevent further stream erosion.

  17. Point of interest after 18.3 km

    Yordas Cave in Yorkshire (North) Previously a Victorian Showcave in which evidence of early human habitation was found. A wonderful place to spend an afternoon exploring with a torch. The highlight being the underground waterfall chamber at the back of the cave.

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