Little Meg Cairn

Little Meg Cairn

Little Meg Cairn is the remains of a kerb cairn, sometimes (wrongly) called a stone circle. The cairn consists of 11 stones, most fallen, around a central raised area. An excavation in 1866 revealed a burial cist with an urn containing cremated remains.

The stones of the cist had cup and ring marks - one of these stones is now in Penrith Museum. The original cairn would have been covered with turf and ranged about 9.5 metres by 8 metres.

The kerb stones vary in height from 0.3 to 1.3 metres. Five of the stones are still upright, and the others have fallen. One of the kerb stones has two large carvings of spiral and concentric circles.

Visiting

Its a bit tricky to find Little Meg. It is located just northeast of Little Salkeld, two miles north of Langwathby, off the A686. The easiest access is from the nearby Long Meg and Her Daughters Standing Stones, located at NY571371. From the far end of the Long Meg site follow the bridleway, keeping the treed area to your right.

At the end of the first field turn right along the fence and follow this fence into the next field, where Little Meg can be seen halfway along, up against the fence. Please note that Little Meg is on private property.