🗿 The Best of Avebury UNESCO World Heritage Site Day Hike

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We’ve created a list of FAQs to help you.
The self-driving option is available for this trip (see below).

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Travel back in time with us 6,000 years! This weekend we're off to Avebury UNESCO World Heritage Site to hike one of the greatest surviving concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in Western Europe! Listed together with Stonehenge as a single UNESCO World Heritage Site, Avebury presents a much more intimate experience compared to Stonehenge as you can see the stones up close and actually touch them, and it's completely free! Avebury stone circle is older and far, far larger than Stonehenge!

On this hike, we'll pass the world-famous Avebury stone circle – the world’s largest known stone ring, the West Kennet Avenue of standing stones, the West Kennet Long Barrow – one of the most impressive and longest in the British Isles burial mounds, and mysterious Silbury Hill – the largest man-made prehistoric mound in Europe. A part of our route will follow the ancient Ridgeway trail, often described as Britain’s oldest road, having been used by travellers, armies and herdsmen for nearly 5,000 years.

This trip is suitable for BEGINNERS – a great way to experience hiking before joining our more difficult hikes! 🤩

HIKE HIGHLIGHTS

• Visit the world-famous Avebury stone circle – the world’s largest known stone ring and (fun fact!) the only stone ring in the world to contain a pub inside it! Built around 2,600 BC, the stone circle measures 330 metres across and is 16 times larger than Stonehenge.
• Walk along the West Kennet Avenue – a ceremonial avenue of standing stones, nowadays about 800 metres long, that used to connect the stone circle at Avebury to the Sanctuary.
• See Silbury Hill – the largest man-made prehistoric mound in Europe, at around 37 metres in height, 30 metres in width across its top and about 500 metres around its base. It was built around 2,400 BC.
• Discover West Kennet Long Barrow. Built around 3,650 BC, it is one of the largest and most impressive Neolithic chambers in Britain.
• See Windmill Hill – a Neolithic causewayed enclosure (the largest of its kind in Britain!), which dates back to around 3,675 BC.
• Enjoy fantastic panoramic views from the high grounds of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
• Hike along the Ridgeway National Trail, following Britain's oldest road.

DISTANCE & DIFFICULTY

Distance: 10 miles (16km).
Ascent: 170m.
Difficulty: Easy.

ITINERARY

07:45 meet outside Hotel Novotel London West, 1 Shortlands, W6 8DR (a five-minute walk from Hammersmith Station); 08:00 sharp departure; 10:00-15:30 The Best of Avebury circuit walk; 15:30-17:00 drinks and refreshments at Avebury stone circle, free time to visit the Alexander Keiller Museum, which houses artifacts from the Avebury World Heritage Site; 17:00 departure; 19:00 London, Hammersmith.

TRANSPORT

As on most of our trips, we'll travel in a comfortable 16-seater minibus with air conditioning and Wi-Fi.

SELF-DRIVING OPTION

If you don't need transport, we're happy to offer a 50% discount. Simply change to the correct amount at the checkout, and PM our admin (one of the hosts of the event) your phone number. We'll meet you at 9:45 AM at Avebury National Trust Car Park, 1 Beckhampton Rd, Beckhampton, Marlborough, SN8 1QT (Google Maps link). Look for a silver, 16-seater minibus (see the picture).

FOOD

We'll stop for a snack lunch halfway through the hike. Please bring a packed lunch with you.

SAFETY

This hike is led by an experienced, Outdoor First Aid qualified hike leader.

BOOKING

Please RSVP and pay by bank transfer to the account below, leaving your Meetup name and the name of the trip as a reference (e.g. John Avebury):

Business Account Name: London Social Hiking
Sort Code: 20-17-20
Account Number: 63116514

We'll let you know by changing your status to ‘Paid’ as soon as the payment is cleared. You can check your status next to your name in the attendees list of the event. Please allow up to 48 hours for the payment to arrive.

THE PRICE INCLUDES

• Transport throughout the trip
• Experienced IAM/RoSPA qualified driver
• Professional event organisation
• Guiding by an experienced Hill and Moorland Leader
• Group first aid kit with qualified first aiders
• Admin fee
• 20% VAT

HOW TO CONTACT US

For all enquiries, please PM our admin (one of the hosts of the event) via Meetup. If you have any difficulties locating the starting point, please call Vince on 02081338200. Please DO NOT call on this number during the week, and note that this number is call only and cannot receive text messages.

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

This is where we share pictures from our events. Feel free to use for inspiration on where to go next!

Facebook group link and Instagram

WHAT TO BRING

• Suitable hiking shoes with ankle support
• Waterproof and windproof jacket and trousers
• Gloves/hat/cap
• Packed lunch
• Water (min 1L)
• Walking poles (optional)
• Gaiters (optional)

That’s it – we'll take care of the rest, so just turn up and have a great day hiking! 🙂

You can check the refund policy here.