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Discovering Neolithic Wiltshire
I’m sure pretty much everyone has heard of Stonehenge. But how many of you have heard of Avebury? I hadn’t until we came to live in Wiltshire last year. We stumbled across it by accident: driving back late one night from a trip to the coast, we suddenly found ourselves on a country road with huge shapes looming surreally at us through the darkness. They turned out to be huge stones.
I did some investigating and found the stones were part of the ‘Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site’. This was a bit of a surprise as Stonehenge is 15 miles south of Avebury and so the site is massive. I also learned that the UK has a whopping 28 World Heritage Sites and that the stone circle at Avebury is the largest in Europe!
Of course, we visited Avebury as soon as possible and we’ve gone regularly ever since. The stones are all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes and arranged in a huge circle. The best thing about it is that – unlike Stonehenge – you can actually get among the stones and touch them. James loves it – he likes playing hide and seek among the stones. Another thing that’s great about Avebury is that it doesn’t get as busy as Stonehenge.
As well as wandering among the stones, we also enjoy visiting the huge beech trees on the outer bank. Their roots spread across the surface of the ground and are interwoven in incredible patterns. James likes rolling a small ball across them to see where it goes. It’s never gone the same way twice and he is fascinated by this!
There are lots of walks in the surrounding countryside and we’ve got our eye on walking across Neolithic Wiltshire to Stonehenge some time soon. I’ve also realised that I still have 14 World Heritage Sites to visit… although St Kilda and the three overseas ones might be a bit of a challenge!
About the Author
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Paul Frodsham
Cycling, North WestThe Frodshams are always on the lookout for new and different ways to go fast, so expect some adrenaline fuelled activities, along with their bike riding adventures, around the North West and beyond.
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Amy Bloodworth
Europe, South EastThis family spend their time living between the New Forest in Hampshire and Lake Maggiore in Italy, with an abundance of outdoor activities on their doorstep.
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Fiona Moore
Skiing, EuropeSkiing, sledging, trekking and campfires are everyday activities for Fiona and her family who live in Switzerland.
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Helen & Ian
Yorkshire, South WestThis family love to find places off the beaten track, walking 4 miles to get to their favourite beach. What other secret hideaways will they share?
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Joanne Watterson
WorldwideNew Zealand is renowned for experiencing four seasons in a day. This family enjoy fun in the sun and on the mountains.
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Kerry Teague
Northern IrelandAshley and Kerry live in Northern Ireland and love taking their family on caravanning adventures. Apparently they have dinosaur eggs in their back garden! We want to hear more!
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Elizabeth Vancura
South WalesJemima isn’t even 2 yet and she’s already been trekking in the jungle and ridden the South China Sea!
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Anita and Feargal Buckley
EuropeWouldn’t it be fantastic to live where there is snow 6 months of the year? Anita & Fergal our latest ambassadors are living the dream!
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Helena Carey
East Anglia and North WestWhitewater, flat water touring or sea kayaking - any excuse for Helena and Dominic to get their canoes out and James is already following in his mum and dad's paddling footsteps.
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Emma Lunn
Lake DistrictBiking, climbing, scooting, camping, bouldering, a picnic with friends - everything can be made into an adventure big or small, according to Emma and we couldn’t agree more.
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Jude Thomson
Scottish Highlands and IslandsLiving in the Scottish Highlands Jude’s favourite mode of transport is taking the family out on their bikes to explore the hills and beaches.
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Jay Greengrass
Mainland ScotlandThis family never need go on holiday, living near five beaches and regular sightings of the Northern Lights, what more could you wish for?
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Sarah Ward
East AngliaAged 5 Oliver has already done a bike ride of 16 miles and mum is a Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme instructor. They have lots of trips already planned this year including the Lake District, Wales, Cairngorms to name but a few.
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Sarah Wright
Mainland ScotlandBoating and scuba diving are the favourite pastimes for this family and little Ruby has already perfected the art of crabbing and fishing, in her funky green wellies.
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Ruth Lively-Masters
South WestRuth works at one of the fantastic Forest Schools, and living in Devon has a variety of beaches, moors and woodland to explore nature’s wonders.
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Gillian Thompson
YorkshireCamping and kid friendly festivals are favourite pastimes for this family along with a love of the Yorkshire and Cumbrian hills, fells and mountains.
Comments (2)
Great photos! We lived near Swindon 5 years ago and *loved* Avebury! Like you, we just stumbled across it. I like that in the late summer / autumn you get lots of crop circles in the fields behind it to lend a certain mystical air to the photos of the stones... ;o)
Last year we visited Orkney and saw the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar, which were equally magestic, but not so extensive a site(s) as magnificent Avebury!
We also loved the standing stones at Callanish/Calanais, but haven't made it out there since we had the boys. There's no disputing the grandeur of Stonehenge, but it is a bit 'industrialized' by all the tourists, whereas at Avebury we feel special!