On the slopes of the Lake District’s Black Combe, near Broughton-in-Furness, this extraordinarily well-preserved Neolithic stone circle is barely visited, perhaps because it’s a mile’s walk to the nearest road. Its spooky story is that the stones appeared in the dead of night, after the Devil stole them from a nearby church, hence its moniker Sunkenkirk.
There are 55 stones — slate from nearby fells — at least half still standing, in a ring with a 94ft diameter and an entrance that aligns with the midwinter sunrise. It’s on private land, but can be seen from the track between Crag Hall and Swinside Farm.
See more of Secret Britain
Heath Chapel, Brown Clee, Shropshire: 'You’re transported back to the 12th century'
A remote medieval church in Shropshire is today's Secret Britain find.
Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire: 'Rare chalk grassland humming with butterflies, wildflowers and grazing cattle'
The view from Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire, is Friday's Secret Britain selection.
Seahenge, Norfolk: The ancient Bronze Age circle that lay hidden for 4,000 years
Seahenge lay beneath the shifting sands of the north Norfolk coast almost until the dawn of the 21st century.
-
St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, Heysham: The mythical Lancashire ruins with a heavenly viewAnnunciata Elwes takes a look at St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, a Morecambe Bay landmark.
-
Suisnish, Isle of Skye: The atmospheric ruins of a Clearance villageBeauty now reigns in a tragic spot where hundreds of villagers suffered during the Clearance
-
Covehithe beach, Suffolk, where the cliffs crumble like cakeThe most eroded beach in Britain has a post-apocalyptic feel.
-
Clydach Ironworks, Monmouthshire: Ruins in the gorge that inspired ShakespeareAn oasis of quiet now stands where the steam hammers thudded at this Welsh ironworks, in a river valley that may have moved Shakespeare to write A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
-
Royston Cave, Hertfordshire: A mysterious site full of sacred energyOur Secret Britain series continues with a Hertofrdshire cave whose true nature remains unknown.
-
John Bunting War Memorial Chapel, Scotch Corner: The painstaking transformation of rubble to War MemorialAnnunciata Elwes celebrates the effort that turned a derelict house into a memorial.
-
The Garden of Cosmic Speculation: The surreal space where Lewis Carroll and Willy Wonka meet Capability BrownSurrealism, philosophy, nature and gardening come together at the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, as Annunciata Elwes explains.
-
The Airman’s Grave, Ashdown Forest: A touching and little-known memorial to victims of war and fateA wartime tragedy in East Sussex's Ashdown Forest is among our Secret Britain picks, as chosen by Annunciata Elwes.
