Avebury circular walk

Avebury circular

Distance: 11 miles.
Time without long breaks: Apx 6-7 hours (but see below).
Terrain: Mostly flat, but a short climb up Windmill Hill.
How to get there and back: Catch a train to Swindon, then a No. 49 bus to Winterbourne Monkton from Swindon bus station (three minutes' walk). Return on same bus to Swindon and then train from there.
Pub breaks: There is only one pub on this walk – the Red Lion at Avebury, which you can visit twice (the walk ends there).
More information: The timing above is only very approximate as there is so much to see and explore on this route. At the time of writing, the last bus back to Swindon from the Red Lion is about 8.40pm (but check here), so you have plenty of time if doing the walk during the summer months providing you set off at a fairly reasonable hour.

Click on the image below to access
the full map on plotaroute

Although not strictly a circular walk, this route includes all the main features of the Avebury World Heritage Site. You start at Winterbourne Monkton and its medieval church and then ascend to the impressive Neolithic enclosure at Windmill Hill. From here, you walk down to the Adam and Eve stones near Beckhampton before arriving at Avebury itself, where you can explore the stones surrounding the village. The route then proceeds to the mysterious and striking Silbury Hill and the magnificent West Kennet long barrow. The final section takes you to the Sanctuary, once the site of a stone circle, the Six Barrows at Overton Hill, and then along the Stone Avenue back to Avebury and the Red Lion pub.

Alight the bus at Winterbourne Monkton, cross over and walk down the road that is inset from the main road, past the houses. Turn right into Church Lane. In 100m you come to a bridge over a small river. Turn right immediately after the bridge up a footpath. When it meets a tarmac path, turn left. and then take a left again when it meets the lane. The entrance to the church of St Mary Magdalene, which is worth a visit, is on your right. An unusual feature of the church's interior are the two tree trunks that are used to support the bell tower. The 12th century font has a strange carved figure, which has three horns or a crown and splayed legs and is possibly an example of a sheela na gig.

Go through the gate and take the path straight ahead. The hill's enclosure and ditches were constructed around 3,700 BC. It is speculated that it was once used as either a site for religious festivals or for an animal market. It was later used as a bronze age cemetery, which is when the large burial mounds you can see were constructed. It's an atmospheric place and there are great panoramic views, particularly from the top of the most prominent mound. From here, turn left at 90 degrees to the path you were on before, and walk down from the mound along a path, with a line of trees away to your right. You come out by a gate, where there is an info board about the history of the hill. Turn left down the track.

This is a lovely spot that many visitors to the area miss. Popularly known as the Adam and Eve stones, they are the only remaining remnants of the Beckhampton Avenue, an avenue of stones which led to Avebury and formed the 'tail' in William Stukeley's famous design depicting the Avebury Serpent. From the stones, return over the stile and turn left. The lane leads to the small village of Avebury Trusloe. Just after you pass the first house on the right, turn left past some metal railings up a path. You go past some houses and a green space on your right. The path comes out at a road junction. Cross straight over but rather than continue straight ahead to Manor Farm, take a right down an unmade road.

Don't miss the opportunity to visit this stunning church, which dates from around 1000 AD. Among its many features are its striking medieval rood screen (one of the few to survive – most were destroyed on the orders of Elizabeth I), its carved Saxon font, which intriguingly depicts writhing serpents, and the Norman carvings in the porch, some of which are thought to be 'witch marks'. Also look out for the tiny hidden staircase behind some iron railings. On leaving the church, rather than return to the lychgate, walk around the side and go through a gate to reach the Old Farmyard, which has a number of visitor attractions.

This returns you to Avebury High Street and comes out opposite some of the stones. Turn left to walk up to the Red Lion pub. You can access the stones, which surround the village by walking up from the side of the pub or crossing over here (you return to Avebury at the end of the walk, if you want to revisit the pub and explore the stones some more then). Believed to have been constructed over several hundreds years between 2800 and 2200 BC, the monument consists of a henge (a bank and a ditch), with a large outer stone circle (the largest in the world) and two separate smaller stone circles inside it. Many of the stones were destroyed by farmers in the Middle Ages, so you can only imagine how impressive it must have once been.

Cut across the car park, aiming for the far corner, where there is a cut through to the road. Cross over, turn right and then go through the gate on your left to join a track. Go through another gate and follow the path as it runs alongside the river with Silbury Hill ahead of you. In 700m, you come to a bridge on your right. If you cross the bridge, it is possible to get though a gap in the fence for a closer look at the hill (although climbing it is prohibited). Silbury is the largest prehistoric mound in Europe. Excavations of this enigmatic site have revealed very few clues regarding its purpose, although it dates from the same period as the Avebury stones. According to legend, the hill is the resting place of King Sil, who is buried inside sitting on a golden horse.

Turn right at the bottom, following the track. You come to a metal farm gate and beyond this you reach a lane. Cross over and go over the stile opposite next to a pair of double wooden gates. Follow the track which runs alongside a hedge to your right. The path bends right and leads to a small wooden gate. Follow the White Horse Trail as it enters a holloway between trees. When it meets a track, turn left (it can be muddy here). The track comes out at a road. Turn left to go over a bridge (there is an intriguing white marker post here). Then turn immediately right, following the river with trees to your right. When the path meets a track, take a left heading uphill. You pass a large tumulus on your right. Just before you reach the road, turn left into the Sanctuary.

Proceed up the Ridgeway (see panel on walk 9), with some more burial mounds to your right. After just under half a mile, follow the track round as it bends to the left rather than carrying on straight ahead along the Ridgeway. When you reach some trees, turn left through a wooden gate. There is a burial mound here, with beech trees on the top. Walk down the track to reach some more round barrows crowned by trees. This is Overton Hill Barrow Cemetery, otherwise known as Six Barrows. Carry on along the track, heading downhill. At the bottom, turn right through a gate and follow the permissive footpath. The path bears left to reach a gate. Go up the steps to the road, cross over and then go through the gate and turn right.

Leave the churchyard via the main gate and turn right down the lane. This will take you back to the bridge. Go through the metal gate on the right (opposite the path you turned up before) and follow the river. The path bears left, with a row of trees to your right (there was a 'beware of the bull' sign here when we did it, but we didn't see one). When you come out at a lane, cross over and take the gate opposite. Follow the path down through this field, which is used for pasturing goats. Go through the gate at the end and turn right to join the White Horse Trail. Carry on through a farm gate and proceed uphill along the path to reach one of the entrances to Windmill Hill, the oldest site in the Avebury landscape.

In about 600m you pass the site of Horslip long barrow on your right, but it's on private farmland. The chalk track becomes a lane. When it turns left, go straight ahead between the two large barn buildings and continue along the byway ahead. You will soon see two sarsen stones ahead of you, but carry on along the track passing the stones in the field to your left. When you reach the bottom of the track, take the gate opposite to reach the Longstones long barrow (this area is known as Longstone Cove). On leaving the barrow, go back through the gate and turn right down the track. Opposite to where a lane comes off to the right is a stile into the field containing the long stones themselves.

Passing some buildings on your right, you come to two gates at the end of the lane. Take the one on the left. When you reach the end of the field, take a right through a gate that joins a path. This leads to a bridge with white railings over the River Kennett. Cross the bridge. The path becomes Chuch Walk on the edge of Avebury village. When you reach a row of houses ahead, rather than carry on along the path, take a right to reach the High Street. Turn left, past some beautiful old cottages. You will soon come to the lychgate for the parish church of St James on your left.

On the left is 16th-century Avebury Manor and its gardens, a National Trust property open to the public (although you probably won’t have time to visit today). You will also pass the Stables Gallery, home to the Alexander Keiller Museum, which has a collection of prehistoric artefacts. From here, go past some gate posts into the courtyard, which contains an old Dovecote. You will come to the larger Barn Gallery, which tells the history of the World Heritage Site. Add extra time if you intend to visit the exhibitions (the admission fee covers both museums). Leave the farmyard by taking the lane that runs down from opposite the Barn Gallery entrance and past the cafe and National Trust shop.

The stone circles have entered folklore and were the subject of a 1970s children's TV series, Children of the Stones (see panel on walk 49). Their purpose remains unknown, but it seems likely they were used for ritualistic purposes and they are almost certainly linked to the other prehistoric monuments in the area, such as West Kennet long barrow and Silbury Hill, which you will visit next. Return to Avebury High Street and walk down to reach the section which runs past some of the stones. Alongside this, on your left, is a path, next to a wooden signpost. Turn down here. The path turns right, passing a cricket pitch on your left and reaches some information boards about the World Heritage Site.

Carry on along the path following the river via some gates, with the hill to your right. The path becomes a grassy track which emerges at a busy road by a wooden gate. Cross over the road, turn left and then take a right through the metal gate by a signpost. Proceed up the track past an information board and over a small bridge. When you come to another metal gate, go through it and follow the track as it turns left. In about 175m, you will come to a track on your right that heads uphill. Take this to reach West Kennet long barrow, one of the largest Neolithic chambered tombs in the country, Built around 3,650 BC, up to 50 burials were discovered here. You can enter the tomb and sit on top of it, from where there are views towards Silbury and of the surrounding landscape. Return the way you came, descending the hill..

This is the site of a former stone and wood circle, which dates from around 2,500 BC. Created in a complex design, the location of the standing stones are marked by blue blocks, and the wooden posts by red blocks. This intriguing site would have formed the 'head' of the Avebury serpent. Excavations have revealed that it was probably a place where people came to leave offerings. It was also later used as a burial site. It's a shame that the ambience here is somewhat spoiled by the presence of the busy road that runs past it. Exit the Sanctuary via the gate and take care crossing the road into the car park opposite.

Walk along the edge of the field, which runs parallel to the road. At the end of the field, go through a wooden gate to reach West Kennet Stone Avenue, a stunning half-mile stretch of neolithic sarsen stones which lead directly to Avebury. Remains from burials have been found at the foot of some of the megaliths. At the end of the avenue, go through the gate on the right and cross over the road, going through the gate opposite. Turn left and walk over the bank by the tree. Go straight ahead between the stones. You will see the village and the Red Lion immediately ahead of you. The bus stop for the return journey to Swindon is literally right outside the pub.

Panel

If A Trip Out had a list of set texts, The Modern Antiquarian would be the divine goddess. For the erstwhile Teardrop Explodes singer turned stone-loving theorist, archdrude and author Julian Cope is a feminist of megalithic proportions. He celebrates the feminine in the ancient landscape and on this walk you will see the mighty Silbury Hill – the Mother Hill that is central to the ancient ceremonial complex that is Avebury. Cope spent eight years writing the book, travelling around the UK going to ancient sites, using Janet and Colin Bord’s guides and researching each site meticulously to form his own theories of what the ancients were up to. The result is this epic and beautiful volume published in 1998 containing over 50 poems and a rainbow-coloured gazetteer. Essays on the motives of the ancients include sideswipes at the pesky Romans who loved to build a straight road through sacred landscapes to defuse its power. During this walk you will see an example in the road that swings alongside Silbury, cutting it off from West Kennett long barrow.

The best part of the book for walkers is the gazetteer and visiting these sites has become a way of life for many (see the Modern Antiquarian website). Each site has a page of research and field observations of Cope’s visit(s) – sheep encircle him at Duloe in Cornwall, a litter bug exasperates him at Coldrum in Kent, there are poems written in situ and hours spent staring at clouds, and always that deep love and thrill from the sacred sites, even the ones that are now overshadowed by industry or incorporated into suburban landscapes. On part of this walk you can see Silbury Hill ‘riding’ Waden Hill. Cope describes it vividly. The processional route along the Ridgeway into Avebury would have commanded awe from the ancients as the hill would have glistened white from its stripped back chalk. It would have seemed to hover above Waden, then dip from sight. Bear that in mind as you walk down from the Ridgeway to the avenue of stones that lead into the village. The Modern Antiquarian has not been reissued. There is a European partner – The Megalithic European – and both sell for quite a bit on eBay, but for the amount of joy they bring, they are worth every penny. BH

Full-day country walks in SE England and beyond

Avebury circular

Click on the image below to access the full map on plotaroute

Full-day country walks in
SE England and beyond

Click on the image below to access
the full map on plotaroute