Silbury Hill And Environs

At length we found a nice lay by, a cul-de-sac really, used mostly by dog-walkers, just outside the nano-hamlet of Beckhampton, perhaps a mile from Silbury Hill and two from Avebury. Vicki felt in need of a day off, and I am always happy to do nothing and then rest. So she rested and read, I blogged, and then later I went for a long walk.

At the lay by; we are becoming experts at finding such lay bys: just follow any
car containing a dog or dogs, and you will be led to a nice dog walk area and
carpark; just be careful where you step

View out the windshield: Marlborough Downs; note the conspicuous mounds
near the center top: megalithic sites, neolithic burials sites; this is the axis mundi
of such things

My walk took me along a low ridge and through a couple of beautiful woods

Some exposed chalk substrate, what this area is famous for, among other things;
what they make White Horses out of...

At last, near the end of the trail, I look up and see a mound; my inner Indiana Jones
comes to life

But the view from the top is not so promising; foiled again!

The highway, I discover, has a nice little footpath leading back to the village

Along the way, a nice prospect of Silbury Hill; a completely artificial hill, about
400 feet high, 5 acres in coverage; millions of man-hours would have been
required to build it; despite many excavations, nothing significant has ever been
found in it; dated reliably to 4750 BC, with numerous renovations; the largest of
pre-historic earthen works

The footpath gave out in Beckhampton, at the Waggon and
Horses pub

In whose carpark I found not two

But four Lotus 7s--a favorite car--not a surprise, really, since one sees them often
on the weekends in the countryside, and six had passed me on the highway

Turns out they were part of a 31-car tour from the Netherlands

Another, much closer view of Silbury Hill

Later, the weather cleared a bit, and we were blessed with a beautiful Wiltshire scene