Avebury Stone Circle – Wiltshire

I have said it before, and I will say it again. If you wait for a sunny day here to do anything, you never will do it. So Saturday morning saw us getting all rugged up, wet weather gear on and off to find the Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire.

Having not had breakfast before we left Steve spotted a fab looking pub called the Waggon and Horses. No I have not spelt it incorrectly, this is “ye olde English” spelling. Thank goodness Steve spotted this place. Thatch roofed with fires blazing we had a hearty meal before heading out into the horrid weather again.

If you are into going to Stonehenge then I would suggest a trip to Avebury as well. In all honesty I actually prefer Avebury as here you get complete access to the stones directly in the fields that they stand. They are free to explore and there are a lot more of the stones that what you get at Stonehenge. I would still recommend seeing Stonehenge though.

The area covers 28 acres of which there is a large, deep ditch that circles the monument site. Then there is a stone circle inside the ditch area which encloses two more stone circles. The stones are said to date from 2850 to 2200 BC. Not all the stones are still intact as they have been demolished, rebuilt, taken to help build the local town of Avebury etc over the years.

The weather was tragic with high winds and driving rain. This did give me an opportunity to test my new down jacket. It is a RAB Neutrino made for high altitude mountaineering conditions and does this jacket work or what. This winter I am NOT NOT NOT going to freeze! It worked like a charm. We are heading to Finland in January for a holiday with some mates where it can get down to -30 Celsius so by the time we head off there I should be well convinced of its suitability. So far, I love it.

The Waggon and Horses pub

Ditch surrounding the concentric stone circles
Remaining stones on the outer circle
National Trust do a good job
You can see the groups of circles a bit better