Avebury - West Kennet - Silbury Hill - Avebury

David and Chris Stewart

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Avebury - The Sanctuary - West Kennet - Silbury Hill - Avebury

Starting at the Avebury stone circle, the walk takes you along the stone avenue and up to the Ridgeway, with spectacular Wiltshire views of 'hedgehogs' and curious burial mounds.

The route then takes you to visit The Sanctuary, yet another ancient site, then through lush farmland to see the famous West Kennet Long Barrow. You then return to Avebury via the amazing man-made Silbury Hill (carbon dating suggests that Silbury Hill was built around 2,500BC, making it an extraordinary feat for its time).

This walk features in the 'Pathways' book - for more information click on the link on the Walkingworld homepage.

England - South England - Wiltshire - Countryside

Features

Great Views, Museum, National Trust, Pub
2/4/2019 - Nikki Adam

We did this walk yesterday in the snow, and the scenery was stunning. The directions were easy to follow even with all the drifting snow. Thanks David & Chris.

3/31/2014 - David and Chris Stewart

Thank you, Stephen, for your clarifications to the instructions. We have added them into the walk guide.

3/31/2014 - David and Chris Stewart

Thank you, Stephen, for your clarifications to the instructions. We have added them into the walk guide.

3/21/2014 - Valerie Monaghan

In early March 2014, the track at Point 10 was very muddy. We made a couple of navigational errors on this walk; i) Point 5: for those (like us!) who aren't used to an open field system and expect field boundaries to be fences or hedges, turn right, towards the trees in the distance, when you meet a track running across your direction of travel. ii) Point 7: when you reach the clump of trees, follow the path around to the left - ignore the path that goes right down towards a house - and continue uphill to reach a T-junction. Turn right to the road here. Re Point 12: you can see the Long Barrow over on your left as you enter the field. Turn up to it where there is a lone tree on your right (festooned with ribbons when we were there).

9/20/2012 - Roger Stevenson

Great walk through prehistory. Thanks, Vanessa, for the tip to walk it in reverse. Much better this way as you re-enter Avebury by way of the Avenue which is excellent. Crossing the A4 by the Sanctuary can be tricky as the view of the road isn't great but don't let that put you off. The more adventurous can venture north from Avebury up to the neolithic settlement at Windmill Hill to round the day off. Also the Wagon and Horses on the A4 is a pub once frequented by Charles Dickens, serves a good pint and food and has a good atmosphere.

8/24/2012 - Chris Pluthero

Did this on a bank holiday when West Kennett and Avebury were swarming with people however just a short distance away and there was no one around. This walk gives a far better sense of how these monuments relate to the surrounding countryside than you would get by just driving up to each one as most people do. We timed it fairly late in the afternoon which is worth doing as it's especially beautiful with the sun low in the sky.

11/9/2008 - Vanessa Tocher

I walked this with a bunch of friends and our labradors on Nov 7th. We absolutely loved this walk and without a doubt will do it again in the summer! My notes: 1. The day we walked it was after a week and a half of rain, and it was REALLY muddy and the going was quite tough in places, so would not suggest anyone do it after heavy rains. 2. We felt it would actually be better walked backwards, so you see Silbury Hill first, then West Kennett Long Barrow, then The Sanctuary, and end the walk by entering Avebury via The Avenue and then take your own time to walk around among the stones, so this is how we'll walk it in future. 3. Great walk for dogs - we had them offlead for most of the walk (except road crossings and one field with sheep in) and there were loads of places for them to swim and race about. There were 4 stiles to cross, and only one of them was hard to navigate with the dogs - the farmer had fenced off the gap under the stile. It was next to a farm gate leading onto the road at the start of Step 12 (Cross the road...). The farm gate does not open. We eventually coaxed the dogs under the gate and were fine, but if you are walking it with very big dogs this could be an issue. Overall an excellent walk, and many thanks to the contributors David and Chris!!