by Brian Ashley The Knoll & Cherhill Down Map ref. O.S. Land Ranger 173 or Pathfinder 1185 & 1169 Even in the worst of weather, if suitably waterproofed, you can enjoy this tramp into the prehistoric landscape. From the centre of Avebury High Street head westwards down the herepath - about as old a track or road as you will find in England. Pass the Anglo-Saxon church of St James on your right. The church is well worth a visit for the beauty of the small circular Saxon windows immediately facing you, high up as you enter the south porch, the interesting font with its serpent, and also a rood screen, one of the finest in the country.

	My Favorite Walk in the Avebury Landscape: Map
	At the bottom of the High Street turn right down Hunters Lane and follow the path round until the footbridge over the Winterbourne. Here branch left and keep the much-restored Elizabethan Trusloe Manor on your right as you cross the field to the wooden stile. (If you have a dog, beware the cattle - they can be particularly vicious when they have calves and a detour up Bray St would be advisable.) Silbury Hill is very prominent at this point. Take the track up to the road, then left 50 yards to the crossroads of Frog Lane. Notice in the bank on the SE corner a huge Sarsen stone. This I believe to be part of a stone of the Beckhampton Avenue, which William Stukeley recorded in the early 18c. Until recently it was thought that this 'other' avenue of stones was a figment of his imagination, but recent archaeological excavations have confirmed that it did indeed exist. Several parallel stones and stone holes were discovered in the Longstones field. (See Rediscovery of the Beckhampton Avenue).
	Stukely maintained that the equivalent of the West Kennet Avenue extended westwards from Avebury, past Beckhampton, and that it finished up at Fox Covert. Many of the avenue stones had been broken up and used, for example, to build the Waggon & Horses pub on the Bath Road at Beckhampton. The Adam and Eve stones we are shortly to pass are the only two remaining stones standing.

	Stukeley's 'Serpent' view of the Druid Temple of Avebury
	At the crossroads, turn right up South Street, past the thatched houses, until you leave Avebury Trusloe behind. Now you see Adam and Eve, or the Long Stones, in the large field to the right. North of them is the neolithic causewayed settlement of Windmill Hill and its later mounds of bronze age round barrows. The racehorse stables are soon on your left. Continue westwards and straight ahead after 150 yards you will see the Beckhampton Long Barrow, built circa 3750BC, now sadly mutilated over the centuries by grave robbers. Only animal bones such as ox skulls have been unearthed there, so the monument may have had a different purpose to that of the West Kennet Long Barrow. That this Beckhampton Long Barrow is orientated to the mid-summer sunrise is somewhat puzzling as it is low lying, unlike most of the others. As you continue along the path towards the A4 Bath Road, notice the numerous bronze age round barrows in the grounds of the Grange to your right.
	Cross over the Bath Road to the Gallops and ascend westwards towards the wood - the Knoll. At the first of the trees there is a layby on your right. This layby is an alternative starting point for a shorter walk. It is also an excellent vantage point to survey the landscape. Looking southward is Fox Covert, 400 yards below. Three miles away on the horizon are Tan Hill, Milk Hill and further east, Adam's Grave; the distant escarpment is steeped in prehistoric remains and barrows. A few round barrows remain still and there is hardly any sign of habitation.
	Five thousand years ago this whole area must have teemed with activity. Looking down now it is easy to visualise the plumes of smoke curling up from the beehive huts of the first real settlers in this Avebury land: the farmers. Here would surely live much of the population that built Silbury Hill, the Avenues and Long Barrows and the great Stone Circles of Avebury - a concentration of prehistoric monuments of significance that has no equal in Europe. Snap out of the reverie and go on up the path leading to the copse of the Knoll. Notice how the path is indented. One hundred and fifty years ago this was the main stage-coach route from London to Bath and Bristol. The A4 down below on your right, is a 19c construction. If you are in a group, separate yourself from the others so that you can savour quietly what I find a really magical 'spirit of place' as you enter the bottom of the copse. Normally there is a little breeze to give movement and rustle to the beeches. Often there is more than a little. Even so, it is like entering a cathedral of arching, upsoaring movement. Keep on the track to the top of the copse and bear left. Here you will find a circular indentation in the grass about 25 yards in diameter. This I believe to be the actual culmination of Stukeley's Beckhampton Avenue: the western counterpart to the Sanctuary. Step southwards from here a few yards and look east over the top of Silbury Hill. You can just see the Sanctuary on top of Overton Hill. Could it be that Silbury was built up to that height to keep all three sites in visual contact? The O.S. spot heights give the Sanctuary 170m., the Knoll 200m., Windmill Hill 187m., Silbury 188m. - virtually all on a level!
	Now head westward along the ridge of the track - still the old coach road - towards the Obelisk of the Cherhill monument and the White Horse on the northern slopes of Oldbury Castle. Enjoy the views to north and south - sensuous, empty, beautiful, voluptuous curves of little layers of landscape; truly a superb place to be, whatever the weather. The monument, towards which you head, is comparatively recent, constructed in 1843 by the Lansdowne family. But the site of Oldbury Castle, ostensibly an iron age hill fort, is, I believe, as old if not older than Avebury. It dominates everything around and, as far as I know, has been very little excavated.
	When you get to the top and pause in the leeward side of the monument, work it out for yourself. You have the Cherhill White Horse (created in 1780) just down below. You are at the centre of the hill fort, circa 900BC. For me this is the natural western entrance to the Avebury complex - the equivalent of the Ridgeway, but west to east. Archaeological research here would reveal an enormous amount but for the moment we must be content to ponder and admire the marvellous views. Sheep keep the turf close-cropped now, and the National Trust, which recently renovated the monument, is fortunately the guardian of this exceptionally precious area.
	Continue northwest and downwards, then into the narrow chalk path, which runs milkily in wet weather, until you reach the A4. Cross the road and amble gently downhill till you reach the Black Horse pub on your right. Here you can rest your legs and enjoy a fine, inexpensive lunch: Wiltshire ham and salad or fillet steak with fresh vegetables are my favourites. Return via the same route - it's quite a different experience and aspect: the wind, the views, the light will change everything. Or you can follow the road route to Yatesbury and thence to Avebury. Or you can return by the Monument and just before reaching the Knoll you can descend left into the little copse, cross the A4 and take the track towards Windmill Hill. After 500 yards, turn right along the track towards Avebury Trusloe, straight past Swan cottage on your left and on to Avebury. Timings: Avebury to Black Horse pub - 1 hour 30 min. From Knoll layby (park car there) - 45 min. each way to Black Horse.
	Brian Ashley  The Henge Shop, 2005.