Gamelands Stone Circle — Attraction in Orton

A hidden gem. We found this circle on the Orton village map and decided to have a quick visit, and then finding another Circle in Shap at Oddendale, visited that one too. On a map these circles show an interesting route with other circles in the area. High Street and Blencathra Fells appear to have been markers to get from A to B in roman times, the fells showing routes to take, that appear on Google if you search stone circles/map in an almost straight line. Gamelands and Oddendale are worth doing in one day. There are many cairns around the circles too, leaning perhaps towards settlements, more than gathering places. Very interesting and a must do excursion for any stone circle lover. Similar to Gamelands and Oddenale is the Cockpit...

I walked past the stone circle on my way to an outcrop of rocks at the end of the lane called Knott Lane Quarry and Crags.The outcrop is of sedimentary rocks (limestone) deposited in the Carboniferous and has many different geological features eg fossils of coral, sponges and many different bracipods, gastropods and molluscs. There are a couple of old lime kilns on the lane as well. The entire area is worth a vist as it has stunning views and a relatively decent path to take a walk up the nearby hill. There are no services in the area as the site is quite far of the...

It's not the most impressive stone circle by any means, but we enjoyed speculating why it was built in that location specifically and it made a nice little stop on the way into Orton.

From the stone circle, even on a relatively clear day, you can see the Yorkshire dales to the east, the Howgill fells to the south and the Lake District to the west.

If you're in Orton (which has a chocolate shop and a love cafe), then the stone circle is a nice little addition to a short trip out as it's only a couple of minutes drive out of...