Cairnfield including a prehistoric enclosure, 5 stone circles, 10 funerary cairns, 6 stone banks, 2 stone walls, a lynchet and a

Cairnfield lies on the slopes of Boat How above Eskdale. Five stone circles stand across roughly a square mile of open fell, looked after by the National Trust. Brat’s Hill is the largest circle, 30 metres wide with 42 stones and five funerary cairns inside. Two smaller pairs, White Moss and Low Longrigg, sit 100 and 500 metres north-west of Brat’s Hill. Each pair contains two circles with diameters between 15 and 21 metres and their own cairns. Two stone walls, six stone banks and a lynchet mark old field boundaries around the circles. The circles date from about 4,000 years ago and form one of the densest clusters in Cumbria. Brat’s Hill holds an outlying stone 10 metres beyond its edge, while White Moss circles have 11 and 14 stones apiece. Low Longrigg’s north-east circle has 15 stones and two cairns, its south-west partner nine stones and one central cairn. These arrangements suggest the circles were organised for communal gatherings or ceremonies rather than single burials. Visitors walk grassy tracks between the circles and can see the stones set in open moorland. Brat’s Hill’s irregular ring and internal mounds are clearly visible, while White Moss circles sit close together on slightly higher ground. Low Longrigg circles lie farther along the slope, offering wide views across Eskdale. The surrounding banks and walls add to the sense of an organised prehistoric landscape.