Yorkshire Dales National Park

Archaeological sites in Yorkshire Dales National Park

Ancient Ruins and Megaliths

This collection spans millennia of human history across the Yorkshire Dales and Mallerstang Dale. It features medieval strongholds like Middleham Castle, the childhood home of Richard III, and the legendary ruins of Pendragon Castle. Prehistoric sites include the Bronze Age Gamelands and Yockenthwaite stone circles, while Roman occupation is marked by the Low Borrowbridge fort. The list also highlights the region's industrial heritage through preserved 18th and 19th-century limekilns, lead mine workings, and the remnants of coal processing facilities.

Ancient Ruins and Megaliths — Map

JThomas / CC BY-SA 2.0

A

Middleham Castle

Middleham Castle is a ruined castle in Middleham in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, England.

Matthew Hatton / CC BY-SA 2.0

B

Pendragon Castle

Pendragon Castle is a ruin located in Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria, south of Kirkby Stephen, and close to the hamlet of Outhgill.

Details on Google Art Project / Public domain

C

Barden Tower

Barden Tower is a ruined building in the Parish of Barden, in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England.

Kevin / CC-BY-SA

D

Bolton Priory

The ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian priory. While the monastery was dissolved in 1539, the nave survived and continues to serve as the local parish church.

E

Gamelands Stone Circle

Gamelands stone circle is a stone circle at the foot of Knott Hill in Cumbria, England.

F

Yockenthwaite Stone Circle

A Bronze Age stone circle consisting of approximately 20 limestone blocks. The ring measures about 12 meters in diameter and is located near the River Wharfe.

Oldfaw / CC BY-SA 3.0

G

Hugh Seat

Hugh Seat is a mountain, or more accurately a fell, in Mallerstang on the eastern edge of Cumbria, England.

Eebahgum / CC BY-SA 4.0

H

Buckden Pike

Buckden Pike is a fell at the head of Wharfedale, a valley in the Yorkshire Dales, that stands above the village of Buckden, England.

I

Giant's Grave

A prehistoric earthwork and burial mound, or tumulus, situated on the slopes of Pen-y-ghent. It represents early funerary practices in the Ribblesdale area.

J

Low Borrowbridge Roman Fort

The site of a Roman auxiliary fort positioned to guard the strategic Lune Gorge. Visible earthworks define the ramparts and ditches of the square encampment.

K

coal washery

The structural remains of a 19th-century industrial facility used for cleaning and sorting coal extracted from the nearby fells.

L

limekiln

A traditional stone-built kiln used for heating limestone to produce quicklime for agricultural fertilizer and mortar.

M

limekiln

An abandoned limestone kiln, a common feature of the Dales landscape used historically to improve soil quality for local upland farming.

N

old limekiln

A historical stone structure used for the thermal decomposition of limestone, reflecting the region's 18th and 19th-century industrial farming techniques.

O

Nab House

The archaeological remains of a historical building, likely associated with the local lead mining industry or traditional upland farmsteads.

P

limekiln

A preserved lime-burning kiln used to process the abundant local limestone for construction and agricultural use.

Q

old mine workings?

Surface remains and spoil heaps from historical mining activity, indicative of the extensive lead and mineral extraction in the North Yorkshire moors.

R

old mine workings ?

Traces of past industrial excavation and shafts, marking the site of historical mineral extraction in the Wharfedale area.

Other Lists

Yorkshire Dales National Park: The Absolute Essentials England's Natural Wonders Historic Places of Worship Historic Structures