Who needs a huge trip down to the likes of Stonehenge when we’ve got our own tucked away in the Yorkshire Dales? The Druid’s Temple at Masham stands as a whimsical creation from the Regency era, nestled within the serene woodland close to the village of Ilton in Yorkshire, near the charming locale of Masham. The folly was built in the woods in the 18th Century, and is an impressive place that has an air of magic about it, and unlike Stonehenge, it doesn’t cost anything to get in.
The beautiful woodland at Bivouac is home to the Druid’s Temple, which is steeped in history and intrigue just outside of Masham. Styled after the stone circles and popular stone monuments like Stonehenge, the Druid’s Temple was built to give farmers a way of earning an income during hard times.
It’s said that the Druid’s Temple was built in the 1700s by William Danby, a former Sheriff of Yorkshire and the owner of Swinton Park paid workers a wage of one shilling for a day of labour. After the Napoleonic Wars, he was inspired by the stone circle of Stonehenge.
The Druid’s Temple stones include stones up to 10 feet high and are arranged in arrangement 100 feet long. In the centre is a stone altar with a cave-style tomb at the back of the tomb.
It’s said that, as well as Dandy designing the temple, he also hired a ‘hermit’ to sit and live in the ‘tomb’ for seven years. The hermit was told to remain mute and grow his hair, and bear. The hermit, understandably, only lasted four years in the role, and it was said that the requirements drove him insane.
They’re hundreds of years old, and despite their less-than-mythical nature, there are still myths and legends surrounding these ancient rocks. The mystical connections are probably fairly insubstantial, but it is rumoured that a hermit lived there for many years.
Druid’s Temple is located near Leighton Reservoir, surrounded by moorland. Within the woodland, you’ll find numerous standing stones, which attract walkers, families and bird watchers.
There is a range of walking trails within the woodland that the Swinton Estate allows walkers to use. The Druid’s Temple is not far from the Bivouac’s reception, and easy to find with a public footpath that leads from the road to the main site of the folly.
Unlike Stonehenge, you can touch and climb up these rock formations, and it is a nice, quiet spot for a walk in the woods and a picnic surrounded by the wondrous nature of the Yorkshire Dales.
The Danby family also built Swinton Park, a luxury castle hotel, which has beautiful architecture with the earliest parts dating from 1695.
To get to the folly, you’ll head into the woodland near the end of Knowle Lane, found just north of the village of Ilton – just four miles from Masham – which is home to Theakston’s Brewery and Black Sheep Brewery.
From the parking area, a signposted trail leads into the woodland and the Druid’s Temple. There is an information panel near the parking area with a map of the site, but there is no information at the Temple itself.
The nearest postcode is HG4 4JZ. Parking area at the Swinton bivouac cafe and campsite.
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