If you venture into the woods near Ilton, above Masham in Nidderdale, you're sure of a big surprise... a Stonehenge-like structure known as Druids Temple. It's a curious folly in a somewhat hidden location, much loved by children in search of an adventure.
The stones aren't as huge as those at Stonehenge but they are more accessible and intact. The 'main ring' has an impressive entrance which leads to a double circle of large stones, many over 8 feet tall, and at the back there's a dark gloomy 'tomb' with a long flat stone table. Druids Temple was built much more recently than Stonehenge - somewhere around 1820. The landowner, William Danby is said to have paid locals to build it as a work-creation project during a recession. There are also stories that he hired a hermit to live there, ‘speaking to no one and allowing his beard and hair to grow’.
Children love to play hide and seek in and around Druids Temple, with many attempting to walk right round the top of the structure but it is quite slippy. Pathways stretch off into the woods (great for dog walking when it's lambing season as there are no sheep here and dogs can run around in search of plentiful sticks) in different directions so you can easily enjoy a circular walk. Within the woods you'll also find random piles of stones and dens others have made. Follow the path downhill and you'll eventually come to a gate and open moorland where you can see plentiful pheasants and grouse, and look down on Leighton Reservoir.
After exploring Druids Temple, you might like to pop down the hill a little way to the quirky Bivouac cafe bistro. It's best to double check opening times of the cafe. Druids Temple can be found by following the signs around Masham to Bivouac.
The stones aren't as huge as those at Stonehenge but they are more accessible and intact. The 'main ring' has an impressive entrance which leads to a double circle of large stones, many over 8 feet tall, and at the back there's a dark gloomy 'tomb' with a long flat stone table. Druids Temple was built much more recently than Stonehenge - somewhere around 1820. The landowner, William Danby is said to have paid locals to build it as a work-creation project during a recession. There are also stories that he hired a hermit to live there, ‘speaking to no one and allowing his beard and hair to grow’.
Children love to play hide and seek in and around Druids Temple, with many attempting to walk right round the top of the structure but it is quite slippy. Pathways stretch off into the woods (great for dog walking when it's lambing season as there are no sheep here and dogs can run around in search of plentiful sticks) in different directions so you can easily enjoy a circular walk. Within the woods you'll also find random piles of stones and dens others have made. Follow the path downhill and you'll eventually come to a gate and open moorland where you can see plentiful pheasants and grouse, and look down on Leighton Reservoir.
After exploring Druids Temple, you might like to pop down the hill a little way to the quirky Bivouac cafe bistro. It's best to double check opening times of the cafe. Druids Temple can be found by following the signs around Masham to Bivouac.
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