Ring of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar went up around 2500 to 2000 BC, making it a contemporary of Stonehenge. It began as roughly 60 stones set in a near-perfect circle 104 metres across, of which 27 still stand. It forms part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

At 104 metres across, the Ring of Brodgar is the third largest stone circle in Britain. Its tallest surviving stone reaches about 4.5 metres. The henge, the ditch encircling the stones, was cut straight from bedrock and runs up to 3 metres deep and 9 metres wide in places.

The Ring is about 12 miles west of Kirkwall, around 20 minutes by car, on a narrow neck of land between Lochs Harray and Stenness. It groups naturally with the Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe, all within a few miles of each other.

The site is open all year, free, at any hour. Early morning and evening are the pick, especially in summer when the Orkney light is at its best and the crowds thin out. The Midsummer Solstice pulls a crowd, and around Midwinter the low sun throws long shadows between the stones.