Cherhill White Horse and Avebury

Cherhill is a village that lies close to an old coaching road which ran from central London to Bristol.  We cross the new version of this road - the A4 - and head up the hill, enjoying good views of the Cherhill White Horse and the Cherhill Monument (aka the Landsdowne Monument) on the Cherhill Downs.

We reach the Landsdowne Monument first; this is a Grade II 38m tall stone obelisk erected in 1845 now owned by the National Trust - access to the summit is not permitted at present due to renovation work.  Close to it is the Cherhill White Horse which was cut into the chalk hillside in 1780 and may have been inspired by the Westbury White Horse; it is now also owned by the National Trust.  We pass the banks and ditches of the Oldbury Hillfort and as we move between the two monuments and then head downhill to walk along the Old Bath Road running parallel to the A4 before crossing again to the other side to go to Yatesbury village.  We then head back towards Cherhill via Compton Bassett.

It is a short drive from Cherhill to the Avebury World Heritage Site; we visited the stone circle henge on a previous visit, but still have some unfinished business here.  We see Silbury Hill, a Neolithic (2,300 BC) artificial chalk mound; at 39.3m high and with a 167m base diameter, it is the largest prehistoric mound in Europe.  It is a short walk from here to visit the West Kennet Long Barrow; this is a Neolithic (3,650 BC) chambered long barrow that was used as a burial chamber for a short time.  It is has been partially reconstructed with a side chamber that can be explored - a "spooky" experience.Read more