Arbor Low

Location: Parsley Hay
Other names: Eordburg Hlaw
Nearest Town: Bakewell, 7km NE
OS Explorer Map: OL24
OS Grid: SK16076355
GPS: 53° 10’ 07.6” N • 01° 45’ 39.7” W
Altitude: 370m
Difficulty: Easy

Arbor Low, Henge with Collapsed Stone Circle

Arbor Low is the showcase site of The Peak District, hence it being known as the Stonehenge of the North. From every angle it is impressive. The henge itself is almost 80m in diameter and although now flat, it is known that all of the stones once stood upright. The bank still stands to 2m in height and the whole experience of this site is designed so that from the outside you cannot see what is going on in the middle, an effect that was no doubt enhanced when the stones were upright and helped maintain the mystery of the place to all the pilgrims who approached it during times of ceremony and celebration.

There are two entrances roughly northwest and southeast, with the southern sector having a Bronze Age barrow imposed into it. To the west of this site is the also impressive Gib Hill, which started as a Neolithic long barrow before being built upon in the Bronze Age to create the Silbury shaped hill we see today. Just to the west of Gib Hill, you can also make out a small arcing ditch known as Arbor Low II, although the origins of this ditch are debatable.

Whist here you should also visit nearby Gib Hill, a Neolithic burial mound that was redeveloped during the Bronze Age. To visit it simply walk in a straight line across from Arbor Low’s southeast entrance towards a gate and information sign at the corner of the drystone wall. From there it is a short walk to the fenced Gib Hill.

Arbor Low