Drawing 345: Swinside Stone Circle
Direction of view: SE
Notes: The circle is at Grid Reference SD172882, and is accessible to view by bridleway from Cragg Hall. Very little has changed, apart from the appearance of a wind farm in the background. The circle is 90 feet in diameter and comprises 55 stones, approximately half of which are still standing.
Comments: I first visited this stone circle on 5th September 2015. Anne Setright and I were on our way to Eskdale, for a week in Lane End Cottage at Boot, and diverted slightly from our route to take it in. It was a lovely sunny late afternoon, and a very attractive scene. AW has two figures in his picture, so Anne posed for my photo (can you spot her?).
This scene also appears on page 128 of Memoirs of a Fellwanderer – the same sketch, though reduced in size.
The circle is a scheduled monument, and is also known by the more romantic-sounding name of Sunkenkirk. It is considered to be one of the three most important stone circles in Cumbria (the other two being Castlerigg and Long Meg and her Daughters).
