The Garden

Paganism · maps

Sacred places of Britain and Ireland

Twelve old places that modern Pagans visit: stone circles and tombs from the Neolithic, hills known from medieval Irish stories, and a Somerset hill with a long list of later associations. Each is sourced, and each says how sure we are of what it says.

11 min read · Updated 11 November 2026 · Last checked 11 November 2026

What these maps are, and are not #

These are places that people today treat as sacred, shown with what is known about them. They are not a map of ancient Pagan temples. Why many of them were built is not known, and the people who built them left no writing, so the word ‘pagan’ belongs to the modern visitors rather than to the builders.

The Irish sites need a second caution. The stories that make the Hill of Uisneach the navel of Ireland, or the cave at Rathcroghan a door to the Otherworld at Samhain, were written down in the Middle Ages.12 They show what medieval writers said about the older world. They do not prove what was done at those places, and each entry says which kind of claim it makes.

Each map has numbered markers. Select a marker, or an item in the list beneath it, and the details appear. The tick boxes show or hide a kind of place. Treat every position as ‘near here’: the coordinates come from published locations for each site, were not surveyed, and each entry says how sure it is. The coastlines are public-domain Natural Earth data. The full list under each map is there whatever your browser does with the script.

For the festivals these places are linked with, see the Wheel of the Year and where it came from. For living customs rather than places, see the festival customs of Britain and Ireland. For ancient Greek sanctuaries, see the map of Greek sacred places.

Britain #

Seven sites, from Somerset and Wiltshire to Orkney. Stonehenge and Maeshowe are known for their solstice alignments, and the circles at Avebury, Castlerigg, Callanish and Brodgar show how widely the tradition of stone circles spread. Glastonbury Tor is here because of its place in modern Pagan practice, not because of anything prehistoric.

Show
Map of Britain showing seven ancient sites that modern Pagans visit Numbered markers: Stonehenge, Avebury, Castlerigg, Callanish, Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe, Glastonbury Tor. 8°W 6°W 4°W 2°W 0° 2°E 50°N 52°N 54°N 56°N 58°N ENGLAND SCOTLAND WALES NORTH SEA ATLANTIC OCEAN IRISH SEA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Britain. Markers are numbered as in the list below, with a different shape for each kind of place. Every position is approximate. Where two sites are close together the markers are moved apart and a short line leads to the true position. The scale bar is true only at the middle of the map.

Select a marker to see its details here.

  1. Stonehenge

    Solar and lunar alignments · built in stages from about 3000 to 1520 BCE

    A circle of standing stones on Salisbury Plain whose Avenue, built between about 2470 and 2280 BCE, lines up with the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset. Why it was built is not known. Modern Druids and other Pagans gather there at the solstices. It is a World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1986.345

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 51.1789°N, 1.8261°W.

  2. Avebury

    Stone circles and henges · third millennium BCE

    A henge with three stone circles that surrounds part of the village of Avebury in Wiltshire. Its outer circle, about 330 metres across, is the largest stone circle in Britain. It was built over several hundred years, and it is a place of religious importance to some modern Pagans. It shares its 1986 World Heritage listing with Stonehenge.67

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 51.4286°N, 1.8542°W.

  3. Castlerigg

    Stone circles and henges · probably about 3000 BCE; not scientifically dated

    A circle of 38 surviving stones, once 42, about 30 metres across, on a hill above Keswick with the fells all round. A wide gap on the north side flanked by two tall stones is thought to be an entrance. No pottery has been found to date it, so the usual date is a comparison with other circles, and its purpose is not known.89

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 54.6028°N, 3.0984°W.

  4. Callanish Calanais

    Stone circles and henges · set up between 2900 and 2600 BCE

    A cross-shaped setting of standing stones around a central circle, on a low ridge above Loch Roag on the west coast of Lewis. The date of the circle comes from excavation. Some have argued that its lines mark the Moon at its extreme positions, the major lunar standstill that comes round about every 18.6 years, but that idea is debated.1011

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 58.1975°N, 6.7451°W.

  5. Ring of Brodgar

    Stone circles and henges · built about 2250 BCE; the dating is approximate

    A stone circle 104 metres across on a narrow strip of land between two lochs on Mainland, Orkney, set within a ditch cut into the rock. It is thought to have had about 60 stones, and fewer than half survive. It is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1999.1213

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 59.0015°N, 3.2297°W.

  6. Maeshowe

    Solar and lunar alignments · built about 5,000 years ago

    A large chambered cairn on Mainland, Orkney. For about three weeks either side of the midwinter solstice, the setting sun shines down its passage and lights the back of the chamber. Norse visitors broke in during the twelfth century and left runic graffiti, so what we see of it also records the Norse. It is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.141516

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 58.9966°N, 3.1882°W.

  7. Glastonbury Tor

    Later legend · a hill; the associations are medieval and later

    A hill in Somerset topped by the tower of St Michael’s Church. It is linked in Welsh tradition with Arthur and Avalon, and with Gwyn ap Nudd, ruler of the Welsh Otherworld, whom a saint’s life says was driven from the Tor with holy water. Many modern Pagans visit it, but the tradition behind the visits grew up in the Middle Ages and later, not in prehistory.1718

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 51.1444°N, 2.6986°W.

Ireland #

Five sites in the middle of Ireland. Newgrange and Loughcrew are Neolithic passage tombs with reported solar alignments. Tara, Uisneach and Rathcroghan are known above all from medieval stories that tie them to the Gaelic festivals of Bealtaine and Samhain.

Show
Map of the middle of Ireland showing five ancient sites that modern Pagans visit Numbered markers: Newgrange, Loughcrew, Hill of Tara, Hill of Uisneach, Rathcroghan. 10°W 9°W 8°W 7°W 6°W 53°N 54°N IRISH SEA ATLANTIC OCEAN 1 2 3 4 5
The middle of Ireland, from Galway Bay to the Irish Sea. Markers are numbered as in the list below, with a different shape for each kind of place. Every position is approximate. Where two sites are close together the markers are moved apart and a short line leads to the true position. The scale bar is true only at the middle of the map.

Select a marker to see its details here.

  1. Newgrange Sí an Bhrú

    Solar and lunar alignments · about 3200 BCE

    A great passage mound above the River Boyne in County Meath. Around the winter solstice the rising sun shines through a roof box above the entrance and lights the inner chamber. The alignment is no longer exact, because the tilt of the Earth’s axis has changed in 5,000 years. It is older than Stonehenge, and in 1993 it was inscribed with the rest of the Brú na Bóinne complex. Access is by guided tour only.19

    A known site, but the point is still approximate. 53.6947°N, 6.4756°W.

  2. Loughcrew Loch Craobh

    Solar and lunar alignments · fourth millennium BCE

    A group of more than twenty passage tombs on hilltops around Slieve na Calliagh in County Meath. In 1980 Martin Brennan reported that the sun at the spring and autumn equinoxes shines down the passage of Cairn T and lights the carvings on the backstone. The point shown is for the area, not for the cairn itself.20

    Approximate: the point stands for a hill, a complex or an area, not a single spot. 53.7447°N, 7.1125°W.

  3. Hill of Tara Teamhair

    Royal and festival sites of Ireland · Neolithic to Iron Age

    A hill in County Meath that tradition names as the seat and inauguration place of the High Kings of Ireland. The passage of the Mound of the Hostages is lined up with the sunrise around the times of Samhain and Imbolc, though the passage is short and the alignment is loose. Tradition also holds that a triennial assembly, the Feis Teamhrach, met here at Samhain.2122

    Approximate: the point stands for a hill, a complex or an area, not a single spot. 53.5775°N, 6.6119°W.

  4. Hill of Uisneach Uisneach

    Royal and festival sites of Ireland · ceremonial site; the stories are medieval

    A hill in County Westmeath that Irish tradition made the centre of Ireland, with the Ail na Míreann, the ‘stone of the divisions’, as its navel. The medieval Lebor Gabála Érenn says the first Bealtaine fire was lit here by the druid Mide, and that Tara answered it. That is a story written down long after the event. A Bealtaine fire festival has been held here again in recent years.2324

    Approximate: the point stands for a hill, a complex or an area, not a single spot. 53.4900°N, 7.5620°W.

  5. Rathcroghan Ráth Cruachan

    Royal and festival sites of Ireland · a large complex of earthworks; the stories are medieval

    A complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, identified with Cruachan, the traditional capital of Connacht. It includes the cave of Oweynagat, the ‘Cave of the Cats’. Medieval Irish tales say the Otherworld could be entered through it on the night of Samhain, which is why it is often called a birthplace of Halloween. That is a claim about the stories, not a proven account of what people did there.2526

    Approximate: the point stands for a hill, a complex or an area, not a single spot. 53.8019°N, 8.3039°W.

Visiting #

Several of these are protected monuments, and some are on private land, so check with the custodian before you travel. Access and opening times change. Newgrange can be entered only on a guided tour from the visitor centre.27 The cave of Oweynagat at Rathcroghan is on private farmland, and visits are arranged through the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre.28 The Calanais stones are free to visit and open all year.29

Wherever you go, stay on the paths, leave nothing behind that does not belong there, and avoid candles, wax or ribbons on stones, which can mark them. Take what the place gives and leave it as you found it.

The data #

The points are in one standard GeoJSON file that you can open in any mapping program: pagan_sacred_places_britain_ireland.geojson. Each point has a name, a local name where there is one, a category, a period, a description, the sources, how sure the position is, and the date it was last checked.

The file is our own compilation, and the descriptions are written in our own words from the sources cited on each entry. It is offered for reading and for your own use. Coordinates differ between sources, so check any you rely on.

Notes

  1. 'Hill of Uisneach', Wikipedia. ↩
  2. RTÉ Brainstorm, 'Ireland’s gate to hell: a Co Roscommon cave and the Otherworld', 20 October 2020. ↩
  3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'How Was Stonehenge Built'. ↩
  4. EBSCO Research Starters, 'Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites'. ↩
  5. 'Stonehenge', Wikipedia. ↩
  6. 'Avebury', Wikipedia. ↩
  7. EBSCO, Stonehenge and Avebury. ↩
  8. English Heritage, 'History of Castlerigg Stone Circle'. ↩
  9. 'Castlerigg stone circle', Wikipedia. ↩
  10. Historic Environment Scotland, 'Calanais Standing Stones: history'. ↩
  11. 'Callanish Stones', Wikipedia. ↩
  12. 'Ring of Brodgar', Wikipedia. ↩
  13. 'Heart of Neolithic Orkney', Wikipedia. ↩
  14. 'Maeshowe', Wikipedia, coordinates. ↩
  15. Historic Environment Scotland, 'Maeshowe Chambered Cairn: history'. ↩
  16. Wikipedia, Heart of Neolithic Orkney. ↩
  17. 'Glastonbury Tor', Wikipedia. ↩
  18. 'Gwyn ap Nudd', Wikipedia. ↩
  19. 'Newgrange', Wikipedia. ↩
  20. 'Loughcrew', Wikipedia. ↩
  21. 'Hill of Tara', Wikipedia. ↩
  22. 'Brehon', Wikipedia, History. ↩
  23. Wikipedia, Uisneach. ↩
  24. Uisneach, or the Center of Ireland (Routledge), publisher's abstract. ↩
  25. 'Rathcroghan', Wikipedia. ↩
  26. RTÉ Brainstorm, Oweynagat. ↩
  27. Wikipedia, Newgrange. ↩
  28. RTÉ Brainstorm, Oweynagat. ↩
  29. HES, Calanais. ↩

Modern works cited

Cite this page. The Garden, ‘Maps: sacred places of Britain and Ireland’, https://camelmaps.org/garden/pagan-maps.php, last updated 11 November 2026, last checked 11 November 2026. What has changed.

More on Paganism #

Where to begin

A gentle starting guide for newcomers: read first, start small, find people carefully.

Read more

Ethics and cautions

Common values, cultural borrowing, how to judge sources and claims, and finding communities safely.

Read more

Where the Wheel of the Year came from

Which parts of the eight-festival wheel are old, which are modern, who put it together, and why that need not matter.

Read more

The pagan revival: a timeline

From Romantic Druids and early scholars to Wicca, the Wheel of the Year and the Heathen, Hellenic and Kemetic movements, with a source for each date.

Read more

Wheel of the Year calendar

Add the eight festivals to your own calendar app, for either hemisphere, with the date rules explained.

Read more

Maps: festival customs of Britain and Ireland

Ten customs often called pagan survivals, on two maps, each with the earliest firm record we found.

Read more

Glossary

Plain-English meanings for the terms you will meet, from altar to Wheel of the Year.

Read more

Back to the Paganism overview