4 Stone Circles More Hipster Than Stonehenge

4. Ring of Brodgar (Scotland)

Off of the mainland is the Scottish island of Orkney, and that’s where you can find the Ring of Brodgar. The stones form a striking, complete circle, approximately as big as Avebury—but without the pub. This circle is located on relatively flat land, with beautiful views of nearby water and distant mountains.

Shadowgate

Like many of the other standing stones, the Ring of Brodgar comes with a cluster of other Neolithic sites prime for exploration. In this case, the grouping is called the Heart of Neolithic: Orkney World Heritage Site. It includes Maeshowe (a chambered cairn, aka burial mound), Skara Brae (a Neolithic settlement that is surprisingly intact), and the Stones of Stenness (a considerably smaller grouping of standing stones, just down the road from the Ring of Brodgar).

Located at the tippy top of the United Kingdom, this is about as far as you can get from Stonehenge—in more ways than one. Here, you can enjoy almost complete solitude, wilderness, and quiet. You won’t be brushing elbows with other tourists or fighting your way to take the same pictures as twenty other people.

Rob Glover

Embrace your inner hipster, and go off the beaten track. You can even wear a bowtie while you do it. We won’t judge.