Standing stones and a large white horse.

As we have an interest in ancient history, in September we took a long weekend break in the North of Wiltshire to see some of the famous historical sites there. That area of Southern Britain (near to Salisbury Plain) is well known for such places, so there were plenty to choose from to visit.

First on the list was a stop over in Cirencester (see picture to left), a town dating from Roman times and located on the edge of the picturesque Gloucestershire Cotswolds region. As we went down on a Saturday, we found it to be a bustling centre, with a small but busy farmer's market, a large medieval parish church, and lots of old grand buildings. We had a wander around, doing some of the advertised town walk which included the large park by the river Churn - very pleasant to wander through in the sunny weather. We also got a chance to visit the excellent Corinium Museum that has many Roman and other ancient artifacts.

After that, it was onto a brief walk around the very pretty town of Marlborough, and then onto our accommodation (a room above the pub) in the small village of Winterbourne Monkton, just North of Avebury. The evening was very pleasant, with clear blue skies, so we attempted to walk through the countryside to see the famous stones, but we turned back after seeing our path blocked by a huge herd of cows! The next day, we spent the majority of our time touring the stones (we even went on a guided tour) and some of the sites in the surrounding area, such as the West Kennet Long Barrow, and a walk past the amazing man-made Silbury Hill - what was it built for!?! These few hours were the highlight of the trip. Visiting the stones, and the other sites nearby was a brilliant and moving experience, something I've been waiting to do for many years. The site of the Avebury stone ring is extensive (it puts the more famous nearby Stonehenge to shame) and worth a visit anytime. I was particularly impressed with 'The Avenue', a line of parallel stones leading away to the S.E. of the circle. In the tourist information shop (sadly closing for the last time just a few days after our visit) we bought a nice artist impression of the stone ring. Amazing to think that nobody has any real idea about why the stones are here. Maybe it functioned as a pre-historic shopping centre!? (Incidentally, there is an excellent and very atmospheric children's TV series dating from the mid 1970's which was made in Avebury, called "Children of the Stones". Worth a watch!)

A view of the N.W. corner of the outer stone circle.

Me standing next to one of the amazing stones!

The entrance end of the West Kennet Long Barrow.

In the evening it was off to Devizes for a indian meal, a walk around the town (and a quick visit to the canal/docks in the wonderful twilight), and an impromptu tour of the old Palace cinema, which was a very nice surprise!

Devices town centre, near the church.

The Angel Cinema, a wonderful building both inside and out!

On the next day we drove home via the pretty Oxfordshire town of Farringdon (we were very impressed with the tower in the park!) and had a visit to the nearby (and I have to say spectacular) White Horse of Uffington, an ancient totum carved into the chalk escarpment next to the Iron Age camp. Stunning! The countryside in that area is lovely, a joy to behold, and the weather was beautiful that morning as well.

Me standing next to the famous White Horse!

Carla at the top of the hill above the White Horse.
The site of the huge Iron Age Fort- Uffington Castle- is to the right in the background.

We attempted to visit the Roman villa at Chedworth on the way back, but unfortunately it was closed. Oh well, another time! Still, we managed to fit in a quick visit to the Rollright Stones (the same place we went to last Hallowe'en) before heading home. A brilliant three days!

This was the first big drive in our new car, a 2007 Silver Ford Fiesta Ghia.