This is the seventh in a series of events to highlight the twenty or so stone circles that are found within Derbyshire, with this one taking you to the largest stone circle in the county, unusually made using limestone.
Arbor Low is an impressive limestone stone circle, with a 6,000 year old neolithic burial mound nearby - Gib Hill. It is regarded by English Heritage as the most important prehsitoric site in the East Midlands & consists of around 50 limestone slabs, arranged in an oval shape. All but one of these are lying & may never have been upright but they surround a central cove, which indicates that this was a major sacred site. Archaeologists believe that there were around 41 - 43 stones originally, but some of these have been broken. The circle is surrounded by an earth bank 2m high & around 90m in diameter. There is also an internal ditch 2m deep & 7 - 10m wide, surrounding an area approximately 35m in diameter. There are two causeway entrances into the circle. The NW entrance is the larger of the two at 9m wide, whilst the SE entrance opposite is 6m wide. Arbor Low was one of the first ancient monuments to be given statutory protection on 18 August, 1882. Small stone markers engraved VR and GR (for Victoria Regina and Georgius Rex) still stand around the henge, demarcating the protected area.
This short event will give us an opportunity to meet up safely outside for some geochat & to swap trackables in hopefully peaceful & beautiful surroundings. Access to the site is along a rough track to a free car park, with room for around eight cars. I have added a parking waypoint for this. From there it is around a 10 minute walk through the working farmyard via a public footpath to the stone circle. Dogs are welcome, but please keep them on a short lead & be aware that you may pass livestock. Please note that there is a charge of £1 per adult to visit the site. This is payable at the gate to the farm, which is either manned or has an honesty box to collect payment. Children may enter for free. Although this is an English Heritage site, please note that there is no concession for members of English Heritage. Hopefully after visiting the site you will feel that the £1 charge was worth it.