Withypool Circle [Withypool Hill Circle] Stone Circle : The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map:

<< Our Photo Pages >> Withypool Circle - Stone Circle in England in Somerset

Submitted by thecaptain on Friday, 17 November 2006 Page Views: 21477

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Withypool Circle Alternative Name: Withypool Hill Circle
Country: England County: Somerset Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Dulverton Nearest Village: Withypool
Map Ref: SS83833431 Landranger Map Number: 181
Latitude: 51.096293N Longitude: 3.660374W
Condition:

5	Perfect
4	Almost Perfect
3	Reasonable but with some damage
2	Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1	Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0	No data.
-1	Completely destroyed

3 Ambience:

5	Superb
4	Good
3	Ordinary
2	Not Good
1	Awful
0	No data.

4 Access:

5	Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4	Short walk on a footpath
3	Requiring a bit more of a walk
2	A long walk
1	In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0	No data.

4 Accuracy:

5	co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4	co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3	co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2	co-ordinates of the nearest village
1	co-ordinates of the nearest town
0	no data

5

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Starryways visited on 4th Aug 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 Its easy access if you drive south out of Withypool for a few minutes on Worth Lane- you will find a layby at 51.09909/ -3.6492. Cross the road onto the moor proceed due E on gentle slope to highest point which is a tumulus on OS map- a modern cairn on top. The circle is a couple of hundred yards south west of the cairn. Hard to see if you are not looking for it. Do not park in the village and access the moor via the edge of Withypool- it is a horrid walk up steep contours to to top through thick heather with good chance of turning or breaking an ankle or getting bitten by an adder, we saw two. The circle is full of the detritus of Exmoor conservation who have not removed their rubbish of various signposts. Its a lovely place with lovely views. We could only count 25 stones, through thick heather.

Starryways visited on 4th Aug 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 Its easy access if you drive south out of Withypool for a few minutes on Worth Lane- you will find a layby at 51.09909/ -3.6492. Cross the road onto the moor proceed due E on gentle slope to highest point which is a tumulus on OS map- a modern cairn on top. The circle is a couple of hundred yards south west of the cairn. Hard to see if you are not looking for it. Do not park in the village and access the moor via the edge of Withypool- it is a horrid walk up steep contours to to top through thick heather with good chance of turning or breaking an ankle or getting bitten by an adder, we saw two. The circle is full of the detritus of Exmoor conservation who have not removed their rubbish of various signposts. Its a lovely place with lovely views. We could only count 25 stones, through thick heather.

bishop_pam visited on 27th Apr 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3

BolshieBoris visited on 1st Jul 1997 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3

TheCaptain TimPrevett mdensham have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 4.5 Access: 3

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**Withypool Circle** submitted by thecaptain : Some of the many stones still in place in the northern arc of Withypool stone circle, seen here looking east. (Vote or comment on this photo)

This little known stone circle on Withypool Hill in Exmoor national park is a delight to find and visit, despite the stones being small and hard to find.

I counted 37 stones around the circumference, several of which were just loose on the surface, but the majority were still fast in the ground, and facing slab side inwards. Most of the stones are much less than a foot high, the biggest being less than half a metre, or 18 inches.

The spacing of the stones looks to have originally been about a metre apart from each other, and there are several sections with about 4 stones together with this spacing. I paced out the diameter of the circle to be just under 40 metres, so that would have meant over 100 stones originally.

The grass and heather here is thankfully fairly short, and it all looks beautiful in the low golden evening sunlight, but there was lots of water in the air making the views hazy when I visited.

Park by the cattle grid to the east of the hill and walk along the well used track for half a mile, and then the circle is a couple of hundred metres north towards the top of the hill.
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