A Walk Round the Circle

Approximately 1 hour plus time for the museum and exhibition
Sturdy footwear recommended 

Before leaving the Tourist Information Centre, feel free to seek the help and expertise of our staff who will be happy to assist you with any aspect of your visit to Avebury or in planning your onward journey. In addition to a wide range of free leaflets and holiday brochures, books and souvenirs unique to the Centre are available for sale.

Pause for a while to look round this 17th century chapel, one of the oldest non conformist meeting houses, and reflect on the unusual existence of a Christian church standing within a pagan site.

This prehistoric circle was constructed approximately four and a half thousand years ago, and covers an area of 11.5 hectares. The ditches, considerably silted up as a result of erosion, were dug out with primitive antler tools and the sarsen stones were probably dragged to the site from the local area on wooden rollers.

Begin your walk from the section behind the chapel, entering the circle from the gate on the left just past the antique shop.

To your left are the remains of an inner circle where a stone of great height once stood namely the obelisk, now marked by a large concrete marker, and around which village fairs were held until the last World War. To your right, if you look carefully, you will detect the ‘elephant stone’ or ‘sphinx stone’, so called due to its outline and shape.

Continue towards the bank, and rest for a moment in the ‘Devil’s Chair’ on the right. Legend has it that smoke may appear from the hole above you, and if you run round the stone 100 times the devil will speak to you! The stone itself marks the southern entrance. Climb the bank and looking to your right, you will see the West Kennet Avenue, which once connected the great circle to the Sanctuary beyond. Looking left on the horizon, you will see two round burial mounds belonging to the Bronze Age, i.e. approximately 2000 years BC, beyond which lies the Ridgeway Path, possibly the oldest road in Europe.

Turn around and admire the view of the circle and village below. On the horizon in the distance through the trees, you will see the outline of Windmill Hill, the site of the very first farming community to the area some 6000 years ago.

Leave this section of the circle from a gate to your left and cross the main road.

The sixth standing stone along is called the ‘Barber’ stone beneath which it was thought that in medieval times a man was buried alive whilst assisting to fell the stone. Here he lay for 500 years until excavations by Alexander Keiller in 1938 discovered his crushed skeleton. Medieval scissors and an iron probe were found in a leather pouch beside him indicating his profession as being that of a barber-surgeon, and are on display in the museum. Recent excavations, however, have thrown a new light on the fate of this man. It would appear that his skeleton had, in fact, not been crushed by the falling stone but that he had received a blow to the head suggesting that he had been first murdered, and then thrown into a hole beneath the stone. It is also possible that his trade was that of a tailor and not of a barber surgeon.

Continue to the gate beside the Henge shop and follow the signs down an uneven track along which, to your right, is a gate with steps up to the northern section. This part of the circle had been much damaged. It was the first section to be excavated by Keiller and contained evidence of having been used as a village rubbish tip for centuries, and you will see broken stones having been pieced together. At the end of line of stones, by the main road, stands the ‘Swindon’ stone and which marks the northern entrance. This massive stone was one of few to have remained standing since the original construction of the circle.

Conclude your tour of the circle at this point as the section opposite can be viewed from your present position in the north west section. (It contains two very large stones, which originally formed part of the inner circle, known as the Cove. Apart from these, few stones are visible in this part).

Exit the circle from the gate in front of you. Turn left and walk down the drive through the gateway leading to Avebury Manor. At the end of the drive are wrought-iron gates leading to the Alexander Keiller museum, and a ticket may be purchased here offering entry into both this and the hi-tech Barn Gallery exhibition.

Avebury Tourist Information Centre, Green Street, Avebury Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 1RE Tel: (01672) 539425 
EMail: ATIC@kennet.gov.uk;  Map: follow this link to location map