Gamelands
Circle
Bronze Age Stone Circle
East of Orton, Cumbria OS Map Ref NY640082
OS Maps - Landranger 91 (Appleby-in-Westmorland), Explorer OL19 (Howgill Fells
& Upper Eden Valley)
![]() Looking south to the circle with Langdale Fell, West Fell and Ravenstonedale beyond. |
|
Next to a trackway
about halfway between Orton and Raisbeck, Gamelands circle
stands on a plateau of land in the shadow of Knott Hill and Great Asby Scar and
dates from the late Neolithic
or early Bronze
Age. Consisting of 43 boulders, all but one being of a local pink granite
with the exception being of limestone, this flattened circle measures 42 metres
by 35 metres and was contained within an earthen bank. It is possible that there
was also a central burial cist.
The stones themselves were pulled to the ground during the 1860's when the whole site was ploughed, and many of the stones in the southern arc are now missing. Despite this, Gamelands is still a beautiful circle in a dramatic setting. |
![]() Looking northeast to Knott Hill and Asby Scar |