Over the last few months we’ve been exploring the area around Avebury in Wiltshire. I love ancient sites and I’m trying to encourage my children to see the beauty and significance of the Avebury World Heritage Site too.
TheWest Kennet Long Barrow is one of the largest, impressive and accessible Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain. Built in around 3650 BC, it was used for a short time as a burial chamber, with nearly 50 people being buried here before the chambers were blocked. It is now part of the Avebury World Heritage Site.
The walk to West Kennet Long Barrow is about half a mile from the lay by where we parked. You can’t actually see it from the bottom of the hill but there were plenty of other people visiting so we knew we were in the right place. As soon as we got to the top of the hill we could see the collection of stones which formed the entrance around West Kennet Long Barrow.
It’s a really impressive monument, even when there are lots of other people visiting. You can see the size of some of the stones compared to Little Sis who is 5!
This was the view looking into the Long Barrow. You could see a long way in but both children were a little scared to walk in alone. There were a couple of glass panels in the roof which let in a bit of light.
This was the view from inside looking out.
Dotted along the crevices and stone shelves were little bunches of flowers and what looked like quartz. It was obvious that this was a very special place to some.
After we had looked around the inside chambers we went outside and walked along the top of the barrow. The views were amazing and it was obvious why the spot had been chosen. We could even see across to Silbury Hill in the distance, another favourite place of ours.
West Kennet Long Barrow is managed by English Heritage and the National Trust and free to visit. There is free parking nearby. It’s at the top of a hill but has good access for buggies.
You can read about our other adventures around Avebury World Heritage Site here:
7 Comments
Sarah
June 17, 2017 at 9:25 pmLooks like a fantastic place to explore! I expect my little ones would be a bit wary going in too though!
Kirsty
June 17, 2017 at 9:52 pmLooks like a great place to explore and I’d be the same as your little one about go into the caves as I’m terrified of the dark.
Ali Rost
June 18, 2017 at 7:19 amMy goodness, I didn’t know such places existed. Good for the kids to be brave enough to go in, even it it was with an adult. Did you feel claustrophobic when you were inside?
Elizabeth
June 18, 2017 at 9:00 amNow that is my kind of place to go and explore! How wonderful! I really do love places like that.
OhMySkin
June 18, 2017 at 11:18 amSince moving to the U.K. I have really wanted to go to Stonehenge and driven passed it twice but still not had the chance to stop. Now I am going to add West Kennet Long Barrow to the list as well. From the looks on the map it seems like I might be able to even do them on the same day!! That could be a little too optimistic though. Thanks for such an interesting post!
Old Sarum {exploring Wiltshire} - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
August 31, 2020 at 7:12 pm[…] by English Heritage to explore near here. Some of our favourites are Bratton Camp and White Horse, West Kennet Long Barrow, Woodhenge, Bradford on Avon Tithe Barn, Silbury Hill, The Sanctuary Avebury, Farleigh […]
The Sanctuary, Avebury {exploring Wiltshire} - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
August 31, 2020 at 7:13 pm[…] the National Trust to explore near here. Some of our favourites are Bratton Camp and White Horse, West Kennet Long Barrow, Woodhenge, Bradford on Avon Tithe Barn, Silbury Hill, The Sanctuary Avebury, and […]