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Wiltshire

October 2020
A short but fine adventure by Andrew's Travels Read more
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  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 1

    Salisbury, part 1; Town Centre

    October 17, 2020 in England ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    We walk in via the Queen Elizabeth Gardens and turn into Fisherton Street, noting Salisbury Clock Tower, and reach the Poultry Cross; behind are some beautiful old buildings, including The Haunch of Venison pub.....

    We arrive at the large Market Place and see the Salisbury Guildhall. Close by is the lovely St Thomas Church which contains the oldest Doom painting in the UK; these show the Last Judgement and depict, amongst other things, people being sent to Hell.    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 1

    Salisbury, part 2; Water Meadows

    October 17, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We leave the town centre via the High Street Gate and enter the beautiful Cathedral Close area; Mompresson House is closed due to the pandemic and the Cathedral itself well deserves a separate post, but it is a great place to see. Ted Heath used to live in the Close at Arundells; this was also closed and both the Rifles Museum and the Salisbury Museum did not appeal after the Cathedral visit (will see next time).

    We cross over the Cathedral green, look at Bishop's Walk and proceed to Churchill Gardens on the River Avon. Then up the Harnham Road to cross the green there back to the Avon to the 16th century Old Mill, now a hotel. This marks the start of the path across the Water Meadows, with its iconic views of the Cathedral. We are reminded of the equally iconic view of King's Chapel Cambridge with cows grazing in front of it.

    It has been a busy day and we relax with excellent beer at The Haunch of Venison later. This pub has "a nationally important historic interior as the main bar, the Commons, is timber panelled and has a rare zinc topped bar" (a quote from Camra - I'm a member of the Campaign for Real Ale).    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 1

    Salisbury, part 3; The Cathedral

    October 17, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Salisbury Cathedral is incredible; it has the tallest spire in the UK (404 feet), as well as the largest cloister and cathedral close. The original site was at Old Sarum, but bad relations between clergy and military led to relocation further south on the Salisbury Plain; building started in 1220. The Cathedral clock (1386) is the oldest in the world and the large font (2008) has reflections.

    The Cathedral is also famous for having the best preserved of the four remaining Magna Carta documents; a replica of this is housed between the magnificent nave and choir - the original, which we saw in the Chapter House, cannot be photographed. The Magna Carta was a Royal Charter of Rights agreed by King John and signed at Runnymede, near Windsor, in 1215 to make peace with rebel barons; it is still cited today as a statement of personal liberty.

    After the truly amazing experience of seeing an original,Magna Carta document, we exit tbe Cathedral via the cloister.    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 2

    Old Sarum

    October 18, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Old Sarum was originally an Iron Age Hillfort, built around 400 BC at the intersection of two trade paths, before becoming a Roman and then a Saxon settlement. William the Conqueror used the site to build a Motte and Bailey castle and a cathedral, and King Henry I added a royal palace. The city declined due to a lack of water and being windswept and subsequent arguments between soldiers and clergy, and a new cathedral was built on the Salisbury Plain - the city of New Sarum, or Salisbury as it became, was established.

    It was interesting to walk over the outer bailey, cross the ditch where the drawbridge would have been and go up to the inner bailey where the palace and castle are situated; the remains of the original cathedral are behind, on the outer bailey.    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 2

    Stonehenge

    October 18, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument comprising a ring of standing stones set within an earthworks. It evolved in several construction phases, with the third phase being when the iconic Stone Circle was erected using bluestone and sarsen stone (3,000 - 2,200 BC). It was probably constructed for religious ceremonies.

    The entrance to the Stone Circle is where the four vertical stones with three horizontal stones stand. We walk around taking many photos, but they all look quite similar! It is a truly wonderful place to visit.

    Before visiting the Stone Circle, there is an interesting exhibition and the chance to see reconstructed Neolithic houses where the locals lived. On the walk to the Stone Circle we see the Stonehenge Cursus, a 3km ditch built several hundreds of years before, and the cursus barrows, a barrow cemetery.    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 3

    Westbury White Horse and Avebury Henge

    October 19, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Wiltshire is well known for its White Horse hill figures and they have become a symbol of the county. The origins of such hill figures are obscure and of the original 13 only 8 now survive; the Westbury White Horse is the oldest and is carved on to a chalk escarpment on the Salisbury Plain. Hill figures lose their shape over time due to growth of vegetation etc and maintenance is necessary; indeed, in the 1950s, the Westbury White Horse was concreted over by the local council! We viewed both from afar and close up on the short walk above it.

    Next stop is the Avebury World Heritage Site, to see the the Stone Circle. This is a Neolithic henge monument comprising a bank and ditch surrounding a roughly circular flat area; inside this particular henge are two small stone circles within a much larger stone circle - with a diameter of 330m, this is the largest megalithic stone circle in the world. Once again the original purpose is unknown, but construction is thought to have been around 2,600 BC. We enjoy our walk around the entire stone circle; it originally comprised about 100 stones - many are not there now and part of the circle now includes a corner of Avebury village. Another stunning site and a good way to end this visit to Wiltshire.    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 539

    Devizes; Town

    April 8, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Devizes is a market town situated on the Kennet and Avon Canal and has an incredible 500+ listed buildings. The town originally developed around an 11th century Norman motte and bailey castle, but very little remains of this as it was destroyed in the 17th century during the English Civil War; the site is now occupied by a privately owned Victorian-era castle.

    We start at St John's Church, also Norman in origin as it was the garrison church for the castle; the castle is visible from the area around the churchyard. We walk down St John's Court, past the Old Town Hall and the Boots Building to the Market Place; it is surrounded by 18th and 19th century buildings and has a magnificent Market Cross and Fountain.

    We walk along the Brittox, originally connecting the town and castle, and explore further seeing both the Shambles Market and St Mary's Church (also Norman) before reaching another significant site; the Wadworth Brewery, established in 1875 and well known for its 6X beer (a personal favourite).    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 540

    Devizes; Caen Hill Locks / Roundway Down

    April 9, 2022 in England ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    Devizes is a town on the Kennet and Avon Canal; this is actually a waterway that comprises 3 sections;
    1) Bristol to Bath via the natural course of the River Avon,
    2) the Canal itself linking the River Avon to the River Kennet at Newbury, and
    3) Newbury to Reading via the natural course of the River Thames.

    We follow the course of the canal along the Caen Hill Lock Flight between Lower Foxhangers and Devize;; this canal flight allows boats to accommodate a change in height of 237 feet over 2 miles. This amazing feat of engineering, completed in 1810, comprises 16 locks for Caen Hill and another 6 at the Devizes end; there are large side ponds at each lock and the complete structure is now recognised as a scheduled ancient monument. It is truly incredible to see.

    We now follow the course of the canal along the outskirts of Devizes past the Devizes Wharf and the former warehouse to pass large houses with gardens down to the water. We cross a bridge and walk up to the small hamlet of Roundway before carrying on to Roundway Hill to pass the Devizes Millenium White Horse, cut in 1999.

    Further up Roundway Hill is Roundway Down, a steep, chalk grass covered down with great views; there is a triangular shaped Iron Age Hill Fort dating from 600 BC on top. The hill fort is also known as Oliver's Castle because a great battle was fought on Roundway Hill in 1643 during the English Civil War.

    It is a long walk down to Devizes, but another great day has been spent.    Read more

  • TravelerWiltshire
    Day 541

    Cherhill White Horse and Avebury

    April 10, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    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

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