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avebury |
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Immediately to the west of West Kennet, the village of AVEBURY
stands in the midst of a stone circle (free access; NT & EH) that rivals
Stonehenge - the individual stones are generally smaller, but the circle
itself is much wider and more complex. A massive earthwork 20ft high and
1400ft across encloses the main circle, which is approached by four
causeways across the inner ditch, two of them leading into wide avenues
stretching over a mile beyond the circle. The best guess is that it was
built soon after 2500 BC, and presumably had a similar ritual or
religious function to Stonehenge's. The structure of Avebury's diffuse
circle is quite difficult to grasp, but there are plans on the site, and
you can get an excellent overview at the Alexander Keiller Museum , at
the western entrance to the site (daily: April-Oct 10am-6pm or dusk if
earlier; Nov-March 10am-4pm; £3.50; NT & EH), which displays excavated
material and explanatory information. Nearby, the Barn Gallery (same
times and prices) holds a permanent exhibition of Avebury and the
surrounding country, and shows clips from recently discovered home-movies
of Keiller excavating the stones aided by a bevy of nubile assistants.
Having absorbed the contents of the various collections, you can wander
round the peaceful circle, accompanied by sheep and cattle grazing
unconcernedly among the stones. To the southeast, an avenue of standing
stones leads half a mile beyond West Kennet towards a spot known as the
Sanctuary, though there is little left to see here.
Back in the placid village of Avebury, you might drop into Avebury Manor
(April-Oct Tues, Wed & Sun 2-5.30pm; garden: April-Oct Tues, Wed &
Fri-Sun 11am-5.30pm; £3.50, garden only £2.50; NT), behind the Alexander
Keiller Museum. This sixteenth-century house - incorporating later
alterations - has four or five panelled and plastered rooms, for which
you are issued with over-shoes to protect the wooden floors from the
chalk dust, and a garden with topiary and medieval walls. House and
garden are distinctly low-key attractions, however, and little to do
with the spirit of Avebury; you might find it more satisfying poking
around the small village, half inside the circle, and having a snack or
cream tea at the Circles vegetarian restaurant, or a drink in the Red
Lion pub which also serves reasonable meals as well as providing a few
en-suite rooms should you wish to stay over (tel 01672/539266; £50-60).
There's a tourist office (daily: summer 10am-5.30pm; rest of year
10am-4.30pm; tel 01672/539425) in the Avebury Chapel Centre on Green
Street.
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