Picking a top 10 from our wealth of prehistoric monuments is a little like choosing your favourite records of all time: almost impossible - it depends on your mood.

Some sites are overwhelming in their complexity, others are peaceful and
solitary. Some by the road, others a two-hour walk away, but whatever your preference, there are more than enough to keep any megalith fan happy for years.

So, donning my many-mooded hat, I have chosen the following for their extraordinary diversity of megalithic magic.

1. Callanish, Isle of Lewis, The Hebrides

Perhaps the most intricate of all, Callanish is testament to our ancestors' vast knowledge of astronomy. Standing on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, overlooking the chill waters of Loch Roag, the cruciform arrangement of megaliths has a stone circle at its axis, all aligned to view the heavens. Most notably, the full lunar cycle of 18.61 years. Once in each cycle, the moon is low enough in the sky to skim the horizon before it sets. Callanish was built with such precision that after appearing and disappearing between the stones, the moon finally seems to set within the circle itself. It begs the question: how many generations of observation were necessary to plot the alignments before erecting so many stones with such accuracy.

2. Skara Brae , Mainland, Orkney

The majority of ancient sites are mysterious because we're never exactly sure how they were used, or by how many individuals. But on Mainland, Orkney, at the prehistoric village of Skara Brae, the people are almost tangible and for once, everything seems so familiar. The houses seem impossibly modern. Five thousand years old but with recessed shelving, dressers and, most extraordinary of all, a drainage system. The village is also not far from the island's other "show sites": the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar, the latter being the third largest Henge in the whole of Britain.

3. Assycombe, Dartmoor, Devon

I love this place. Hidden in the southern part of the plantation forest which skirts Fernworthy Reservoir on Dartmoor, the stone row at Assycombe has an almost Lord of the Rings feel to it. A long way from any road, the place is still, silent and rarely visited. I have been here on a number of occasions and never seen anyone nearby. The secluded forest setting probably gives a false impression. This place must have been very busy in those far-off times. Other rows and stone circles abound on Dartmoor and without its covering of trees, this area would seem more like one busy, sprawling settlement. However, for a modern-day walker in search of peaceful solitude, Assycombe is as good as it gets.

4. Knowth, Boyne Valley, Co Meath, Ireland

If you like rock art, this place is a must-see. Astonishingly, the remarkable group of mounds and passage tombs at Knowth are home to over a quarter of all the rock art in Europe. From simple spirals to carvings which look like diagrams, this is a remarkable place to visit. The site is one of a group in the Boyne Valley which includes the renowned passage tomb of Newgrange, also adorned with plenty of beautiful engravings.

5. Formby Point, Liverpool

Take a day at the seaside with a little prehistoric magic thrown in. Formby Point is another of those rare places where individual people, rather than societies have left their mark. Six thousand years ago these sands were baked hard in the sun, capturing a wealth of footprints and animal tracks. It's an amazing feeling to actually walk in the same footsteps as one of our distant ancestors, following their path towards the sea and back. The waves are gradually wearing them away but the same waves sometimes expose new prints too, so it can be an exciting day out, searching the sands for an ancient snapshot in time.

6. Moel ty Uchaf, Gwynedd, North Wales

High on a hill near Llandrillo, the cairn-circle of Moel ty Uchaf is the perfect place to relax and watch the sun set behind the distant hills. There are a number of burial sites in the surrounding fields so a few thousand years ago the site was probably a little busier than it is today. Take a look at the field walls on your way up the hill. They are full of bigger stones which have clearly been taken from other nearby ancient sites long since disappeared. All too often these farm walls are the only remaining clues to structures and settlements that once brought life to the now-quiet landscape.

7. Castlerigg, Cumbria

To me, the most majestic of all our stones circles, Castlerigg is also one of the oldest, built over 5,000 years ago. It is spectacularly placed. Surrounded by mountains, the feeling is that the entire landscape is part of the site, like a huge natural cathedral. It is likely that this was once a centre for axe-trading, a sort of prehistoric market place. Inside the eastern edge of the ring is a large rectangular arrangement of stones where excavations revealed a charcoal pit, but no sign of burials. I call it the barbecue area.

8. Trethevy Quoit, Cornwall

Trethevy Quoit is a monster. This huge dolmen stands by the road close to modern houses and shows an aspect of prehistory that is often overlooked: we still live in the settlements chosen by our ancestors. Finding sites within modern towns and villages sometimes seems incongruous, but they just show us that these places have been inhabited for thousands of years. Who knows what lies beneath those houses? The sheer size of Trethevy, especially the precarious-looking capstone, can only make us marvel at the ingenuity and skill of the builders: Just how did they do it?

9. Barclodiad y Gawres, Anglesey

This enchanting and mysterious site overlooking Caenarfon Bay looks like a second world War bunker from the outside, but that makes it all the more surprising to find what lies beneath. Bold, abstract carvings adorn the imposing stone which stands like a guardian inside the entrance. Other spiral markings have been carved into other stones within the burial chambers themselves. The most remarkable thing about this site, however, is that archaeologists discovered the central area to have held a ritual fire which had burned for a long, long time. Analysis revealed the ingredients to have been a witches' brew containing eel, wrasse, whiting, rabbit, shrew, mouse, snake, frog and toad. All these creatures must have held some magical significance to our ancestors, other that, or it's the curious remains of a long forgotten dinner recipe.

10. Arbor Low, Derbyshire

Arbor Low is situated amid rolling farmlands and is not among the largest of British henges. But its smaller size somehow makes its form easier to appreciate. The deep inner ditch; the high, steep banks; and the raised central platform, all point towards a place of spectacle. What makes this place so exciting is that as you approach, you can only see the steep slope of the bank. Climb to the top and the sudden appearance of its great arena takes your breath away ... Spectacular!

• Standing with Stones: A Photographic Journey Through Megalithic Britain and Ireland by Rupert Soskin is published by Thames and Hudson