British Isles

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Nowhere on Earth are there more ancient sacred megaliths, henges, barrows, stone circles, mounds, holy wells, dolmens, chalk figures and fogous concentrated in such a small area as in the southwest of England. Although Stonehenge is the most famous sacred site in the English-speaking world, the larger complex at Avebury has been compared to Stonehenge as one would compare a cathedral to a country church. Unfortunately, many stones at Avebury (and many other ancient sacred sites) were destroyed by Christian fundamentalists who confused the old, pre-Christian religion with devil worship. 

Glastonbury is associated with Jesus, King Arthur and UFOs. Recent discoveries at West Kennet Long Barrow relate it and nearby sites (including Stonehenge) to worship of the Great Goddess. Although the area boasts hundreds of sacred places, some of the best known and most accessible are the Boscawen-un, Rollright Stones, Hurlers, Cheesewring and Duloe stone circles, Lanyon Quoit and Trethevy Quoit dolmens, and the holy well, Madron Well. 

In the north of England, notable sites include Long Meg and Her Daughters and Castlerigg Circle in Cumbria. Many pilgrims make Clava Cairns a must-see stop on the Scottish mainland, while the islands of Scotland are even richer in sacred places, including: the Stones of Stenness, Maes Howe and the Ring of Brodgar in the far Orkneys, Callanish on the isle of Lewis (left) , and the holy island of Iona.  Near Edinburgh, Scotland is Rosslyn Chapel, linked to the DaVinci Code, the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail.

Newgrange and nearby Knowth, Tara and Loughcrew in County Meath, Ireland, may be the greatest concentration of megalithic art in Europe. Newgrange is aligned to the Winter Solstice sunrise, when sunlight dramatically illuminates ornate Goddess spirals and lozenges carved inside this ancient sanctuary. Other notable ancient Irish sites are at Lough Gur, county Limerick, Dun Aengus, county Galway, and Carrowmore and Carrowkeel in County Sligo. Remarkable early Christian sacred places are Skellig Michael and the numerous beehive huts and Celtic crosses near Dingle, county Kerry.