A Cambridge professor vanishes in 1843. Generations later, three teenagers find his coded notebook and a glowing crystal deep in England’s New Forest. Then the trail leads them to ancient stone circles. That is the setup of Circles – The Secrets of the Stones, the debut novel of David Horsup. It comes out on 27 October 2026.

Photo: Sumit Surai / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

So why does a travel blog care about a novel? First, the places in the story are real, and you can visit every one of them. Second, the author’s proceeds support a literacy charity that brings books to children in Mindanao.

This guide starts with what Circles – The Secrets of the Stones is about. After that, it walks through the five real places behind it: the New Forest, Stonehenge, Framlingham Castle, Brú na Bóinne in Ireland and the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney. For each one, you get what it is and how to reach it. You also get what a Philippine passport holder needs to sort out first, such as the UK visa fee in pesos.

A quick note: this feature is unpaid, and the book links are plain links. However, a few travel links further down are affiliate links. So we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Circles – The Secrets of the Stones at a glance

Cover: courtesy of David Horsup

• What it is: a young adult fantasy adventure and mystery, with crossover appeal for adult readers.
• The…

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