Avebury Stone Circle and Village

Avebury is the sibling that Stonehenge visitors too often skip, which is a pity, because here you can walk among the stones. The great henge was built around 2600 BC and encloses a huge circle with two smaller stone circles inside it, a bank and ditch that still rise high above the field, and a village of thatched cottages, a pub and a church that grew up inside and around the monument over the centuries. The stones are scattered, leaning, tall and squat, some of them medieval victims of being buried or broken up for building, and you can touch them, sit beside them, picnic among them and watch the sheep graze between. The stone circle itself is open from dawn to dusk and is free to explore, which means you can walk the full circuit of the bank for the long views and the lie of the land. The National Trust looks after much of the site and runs a visitor reception in the Great Barn, with a small charge for car parking, and the Alexander Keiller Museum, which tells the story of the archaeologist who excavated and restored the stones in the 1930s, is open most days. Avebury Manor and its gardens, a sixteenth-century house, can also be visited, while Silbury Hill, West Kennet Avenue and the West Kennet Long Barrow stretch the visit into a half-day of ancient Wiltshire. Because the stones sit in an open village, Avebury feels lived-in and ordinary in a way Stonehenge never can.

Why go: because it shows the other side of prehistory. Stonehenge is a refined monument; Avebury is a mighty, rough, sprawling one, and the sheer size of the circle, well over a kilometre around the bank, makes it the largest stone circle in the world. The stones of West Kennet Avenue run southeast from the circle, and the walk to the Sanctuary and the wider landscape of ditches, barrows and the enormous artificial mound of Silbury Hill makes a rewarding route for walkers. Both Avebury and Stonehenge belong to the same UNESCO World Heritage Site, so seeing the pair side by side shows how the area was used over centuries.

Practicalities: Avebury is about thirty miles north of Salisbury, reached in roughly an hour by car, and public transport is thin, so most visitors drive or join a tour. The National Trust car park charges an all-day fee, free for members, and the circle is open at all hours while the manor, museum and gardens keep shorter hours, so check the National Trust page for the current times and any seasonal closures. The pub within the circle serves food and gives you a classic place for lunch. A guided stone circles tour runs at set times for a small charge, subject to availability, and brings the monument to life.

Choosing your approach: if you only have time for one stone circle, choose Stonehenge for the spectacle and Avebury for the experience, and if you have a second day, do both. Dress for wind and mud, as the fields are open, and respect the stones, which are protected, by not climbing them or chipping them. Families love the freedom, and photographers will find the early morning light on the quiet stones hard to beat. The site is mostly flat but uneven, with limited paths for wheelchair users, so check the accessibility page if that matters.