Beaghmore Stone Circle E

Six Bronze Age stone circles sit silent on a windswept stretch of moorland between Cookstown and the Sperrin Mountains - and they're utterly absorbing once you know what you're looking at. The site comprises three pairs of circles, each a few metres apart, arranged in a neat east-west line across boggy ground. They're not massive - the stones themselves are modest, weathered things - but that's partly their appeal. There's no visitor centre, no interpretation boards, no queue of tour groups. Just you, the stones, and the sound of the wind.

The real draw is the sheer archaeological density of the place. Alongside the circles are cairns, alignments of standing stones, and what looks like an ancient avenue - all suggesting this was somewhere significant to Bronze Age communities around 1500 BC. Whether you're genuinely into prehistoric monumentology or just fancy a moody walk with some proper history underfoot, it works. Allow forty minutes to an hour to wander around and take it in properly.

It's free, accessible year-round, though winter visits when the heather's brown and the light's thin are admittedly more atmospheric than summer. If you're camping at Sperrinview Glamping just down the road, it's an easy morning outing before heading into Cookstown for lunch. Not a honeypot attraction - most visitors won't queue or wrestle for photos - which is precisely why it's worth the detour.