Out & about
Around Devizes you will find some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, as well as a wealth of activities and points of interest. You can examine the relics left to us by our ancestors of thousands of years ago, walk or cycle among the hills and forests, or explore quaint villages and hamlets. In the cold weather you’re guaranteed to find a cosy pub with a roaring fire, and in the summer you can relax in a pub garden and watch village life pass you by.
Roundway Hill forms a wide ridge of high chalk downland just north of Devizes. It is the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War when the Royalists won a total and famous victory. Periodically the Sealed Knot Society re-enact the battle on the original site. The name Roundway is said to be a corruption of “runaway”, given by the victors as a commentary on the Parliamentarians on the day.
Also on Roundway Hill is the newest of the Wiltshire White Horses, the Millennium White Horse, cut into Roundway Down in 1999 to replace a long overgrown one cut in 1845.
Pewsey Downs National Nature Reserve lies on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, overlooking the Vale of Pewsey. These reserves were established to protect the most important areas of wildlife habitat and geological formations. It is open to the public on foot, although visitors are asked to respect the farming on the Downs by closing gates and keeping dogs under control. These Downs are home to an abundance of chalk grassland flowers including the Burnt-tip, Lesser Butterfly and Fragrant orchids. They also support typical chalk grassland butterflies such as the Marbled White and Dark Green Fritillaries.
Around the tiny village of Avebury, about eight miles to the north-east of Devizes, is one of the best prehistoric sites in Britain. The Avebury World Heritage site is actually a collection of ancient sites dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
Avebury Stone Circle is contained within a massive bank and ditch, and is the largest stone circle in Europe. To the south of the village is The Sanctuary, a ceremonial site of concentric stone and timber circles, linked to Avebury by the West Kennet Avenue of Stones. Unlike Stonehenge, the stone circle is not fenced off and visitors are free to walk at will.
Sadly many of the stones in the Avenue were destroyed in the 18th century and today concrete pillars mark the site of many of the originals. However, twenty-seven sarsen stones remain from the original 200, set in pairs and stretching 1.5 miles along West Kennet Avenue, between the stone circle and the Sanctuary.
West Kennet Long Barrow is well worth a visit, being the largest stone-chambered collective tomb in England and Wales with an earth mound 100 metres long.
To the north, Windmill Hill is the largest earthwork of its type in Britain. Originally a Neolithic causeway enclosure dating back to 3,500 BC, the bowl barrow and bell barrow between the inner ditches are part of a Bronze Age cemetery.
Also at Avebury and dating from the Bronze Age are Overton Hill Barrows, a cemetery of six bowl and bell barrows with an exceptionally fine bell barrow close by.
To the south of Avebury and located next to the main A4 road stands Silbury Hill. This massive, man-made mound dates back to at least 2,400 BC; it stands 40 metres high with a base covering 5.5 acres. One can only imagine the colossal effort needed by primitive man to build such a hill. Despite a number of excavations having taken place, we are still none the wiser as to its purpose.
During your stop in Avebury, take time to visit the Chapel. It was built in 1670 by dissenters who came every Sunday from Marlborough, Calne, Pewsey and Devizes to enjoy freedom of worship.
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