Wiltshire Day Trip – Part Two – Avebury.

When I got off the bus at the tiny village of Avebury I was immediately transported back in my memory to a television series that I loved as a teen called “Children of the Stones”. Filmed on location here (and now on the YouTube website) I found myself alighting from the bus and standing in front of a building that was used as the village Post Office in the series (now an antiques shop). The evidence of the stone circle (or circles) was immediately apparent and a small huddle of people were listening to a guide nearby at one of these prehistoric monoliths.

A main road does run through the village on a sharp bend so the impact of the traffic, which is not especially heavy anyway, is further reduced by vehicles moved “respectfully slowly” through this modest but magnificent place. A larged thatched structure, the “Red Lion” pub stood prominently across the road from the bus stop (it can be glimpsed in the photo above) and this lured me in straight away for a lamb shank lunch washed down with a pint of ale. Both were priced, if not cheaply, at least realistically. There was no waste. Now it was out to explore the stones and the surrounding village. Absolutely the sort of place that a visitor would associate with the Britain of the “Avengers” series with Emma and Steed! I found myself, even as a Brit, soaking up the precious atmosphere of the place. But it was not too “chocolate boxy” and because I had visited in late October the place was not crowded.

This special rarified atmosphere was briefly interrupted by the arrival of a coachload of school-party children, probably aged around nine to eleven who errupted from their coach, scattered all over the main road (to the despair of those supposed to be in charge of them) and who then began to chase the sheep yelling at their maximum lung capacity. Well, you know what I am like for noise! This affront to my senses was soon put at some length away by my rapidly choosing another part of the village for exploration and within half an hour they had gone and tranquility returned. I contemplated staying overnight at a bed and breakfast facility visible in the photo to the left of the pub. It was called “The Lodge” and I thought that even if they charged fifty pounds a night for bed and breakfast it would be worth it. But then I remembered my transfer ticket and my sense of economy prevailed. I did not even walk up the path to that homely door. (When I got home I checked out the website for the place – two nights there would cost the same as a transatlantic flight! – not surprised though ‘cos it looked great!).

Plenty has been written about the stones, about how when Christianity arrived in Britain these stones were associated with devil-worship and were either broken up or buried as the centuries passed. It happened to be a marmalade heir who resurrected many of them in the nineteen-thirties and helped to make Avebury what it is today. A lovely place and almost criminal to by-pass if you are within reasonable distance. For me it was very rewarding for even this fairly lengthy day trip and I plan to return again next year for a more detailed and extensive exploration.

The tourist information office, located in an old chapel, was an attractive place but I scored them low marks on not having a railway timetable in the place that could have told me connections from Pewsey (a few miles distant to the south) to Paddington in case the weather forced me to curtail the day. As it was my bus was due and although the lady offered use of the internet I did not have time to go through the rigmarole of looking up on-line which could have been checked with the flick of a page or two.

The next 95 bus came on schedule and I boarded a minibus this time for my onward journey…..