Boroughbridge and the Devil's Arrows

On the western edge of Boroughbridge, beside an ordinary lane, stand three of the biggest prehistoric stones in Britain. The Devil's Arrows are the tallest standing stone row in the country: three pillars in a line about 200 yards long, the tallest 22ft 6in, taller than anything at Stonehenge. They date from around 2000 BC and each one weighs about 25 tonnes.

They also have a new story. In September 2026, researchers from the University of York and Curtin University published a study tracing the stone to Brimham Rocks, about 11 miles west, and showed that the builders chose that distant source over stone closer to hand. Almost every older guide, including the town council's own page, still says Plumpton Rocks. Seeing the stones now, with that answer settled, is a good reason to make the short drive.

From Tea Time Cafe on the Market Place, take the A168 south out of Thirsk and join the A1(M) southbound. Leave at the Boroughbridge junction; the town is about two minutes from the motorway. The whole trip is about 13 miles and 20 minutes.

Parking in Boroughbridge is free. The town centre car park has no time limit and asks for a donation in its honesty box; roadside spaces are limited to 15 or 90 minutes between 9am and 5pm, except on Sundays. There is no parking area at the stones, so leave the car in town and walk out to Roecliffe Lane on the western edge. We found no direct bus from Thirsk, and Boroughbridge has no railway station.

Walk out from the town to Roecliffe Lane. The tallest stone stands by the roadside among trees on the west side of the lane, and you can walk right up to it. Look up at the top, where weathering has cut deep vertical grooves into the stone. The other two stand across the road in a field, beside the lane that leads to the timber yard and Boroughbridge Marina, and you can see the line they make running roughly north-north-west to south-south-east.

Then take the story a mile further. The Battle Cross in Aldborough, which commemorates the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, turns out to be carved from a segment of one of the missing stones. The same village is where the Devil was supposedly aiming. In season, Aldborough Roman Site sits in the same village, though it is closed until spring.

For a longer outing, a published circular walk links Boroughbridge with Milby and Kirby Hill and takes in the stones. Back in town, Hall Square and the old Butter Market make a pleasant loop on the way back to the car.

Scale, first. Photographs never quite prepare you for standing next to a 25 tonne stone nearly seven metres tall, and the roadside stone lets you get close. Then the price and the hours: it costs nothing, needs no booking and is there whenever you are, which makes it an easy stop on the way to Knaresborough or Harrogate. And the legend gives children something to hold on to. The Devil, the story goes, threw the stones at Aldborough and fell short, and walking twelve times round them anticlockwise will raise him. The stones have gone by other names too: the Devil's Bolts, the Three Greyhounds and the Three Sisters.

The roadside stone sits right on Roecliffe Lane, so keep a hand on small children and dogs, because cars use the lane. The stones have no toilets or signs, so sort out any stops in town before you walk out. Allow half an hour for the stones on their own, or an hour and a half with a walk round Boroughbridge. Wear shoes that can cope with a wet verge. If you want to see where the stone came from, Brimham Rocks is about 40 minutes from Thirsk and makes a good pairing on the same day, and our planner page for it has the details. On a winter afternoon the light goes early, so go in the morning if you want photographs.