Images

Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

The possible stone circle spotted by moggymiaow. Looks pretty good to me, though I reckon the whole site could be a ruined cairn cemetery. Still, stone circle, cairn circle – I’ll take either thanks!

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

The ‘moggymiaow’ concentric circles. I’m not quite convinced by the outer one

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

The pretty definite standing stone spotted by moggymiaow

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

Another shot of moggymiaow’s definite standing stone

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

Another possible?
The far side of a possible circle is pretty clear in this pic when you know that my rucksack (left) and just round from it, my sweatshirt and waterbottle are standing on other stones! And if you look carefully you can see a stone-stump in the near foreground, which would be part of ‘this side’ of the circle. (Slightly left, nearly lost in the heather.) Or maybe I’m just bonkers.

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

Another view
Ignoring the outlying(?!) stone in the foreground, and taking into account that my rucksack in the distance is standing on a stone....

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

This part of Howl Moor is just littered with stones, many of which appear significantly to have been set on edge or on end

Image credit: Tim Clark
Image of Howl Moor (Stone Circle) by Moth

Another 2 of the numerous stones that certainly seem to have been ‘set‘

Image credit: Tim Clark

Articles

Howl Moor

Access a bit of a walk involving a climb some would certainly find strenuous. Starts on a metalled lane and continues on pretty good paths, but going can be a little rough. No stiles gates etc but the bit where you crest the crags onto the moor could be difficult for some people. Moor could be boggy pretty easily.

Saturday 23 August 2003
Heading west from Goathland, a modern standing stone marks the left turn to Hunt House. I parked at the point where a small lane ‘dog-leg’s back to the right, downhill towards the remains of the R*man road. This is also the point where the road proclaims itself private.

The lane leads down to Hunt House farm itself, then crossing a stream it bears right, uphill. Just as the track starts to level out to head for Wheeldale Lodge there is a fairly visible left fork that heads obliquely up the hill through the bracken and past some of the lower outcrops.

As it reaches the crags, there is a path to the left up onto the moor. Once onto the moor, from this path the plethora of fascinating stones are to the left, but they’ll be pretty obvious from just about anywhere on Howl Moor itself! There are loads of ‘em.

The bit that moggymiaow singled out on this website is certainly the clearest ‘something’ that I could see. And it certainly includes the most distinctly ‘standing’ stone.

Not absolutely sure it’s a stone circle though myself. Don’t get me wrong – it could be, though as 2 concentric circles I’m even less sure! What it is though is absolutely and definitely something!!!!

One of the reasons I’m a little sceptical about the circle is the sheer number of stones on the moor that look as if they’ve been ‘set’ by man (on edge, or on end) rather than just being erratics or outcrops or quarry spoil or whatever.

I didn’t count em but I reckon there must have been at least 20 – all scattered over this part of the moor – far too many for chance to have left standing on edge or on end.

And several of these ‘set’ stones can be traced into circular patterns with other stones, and there are often vague hints of slight embankment. And though I know a lot of stone circles are embanked, this could be a real ‘giveaway’ considering the proliferation of cairns in the area. (Both Simon Howe and Two Howes can be seen on the horizon.)

So I reckon it’s the remnants of a decent sized and very cool cairn cemetery. But what do I know? Go and see what you think! It’s a nice walk if nowt else!

Howl Moor

A circle that is easy to find from the map reference, but because of the numerous stones that are there naturally, it is diffiuclt to tell which are actually within the cirle. There are several that are obviously errected, but others that may be there naturally

Sites within 20km of Howl Moor