Stones in Avebury

Avebury is home to the largest prehistoric stone circle in Britain. It often gets ignored and overlooked due to the famous nature of its counterpart, Stonehenge.

There are some major differences between the two, from a regular tourist’s standpoint. For one thing, you can actually walk up the stones and touch them in Avebury. You can also do this in Stonehenge, but only if you’re on a special tour. Stonehenge, too, starts getting crowded and busy early in the morning and by mid-afternoon you can often feel as though you’re being herded around the stones like cattle. Avebury, though also frequented by groups, is large enough that you can wander around from the crowd that oftentimes is far less in number.

On the other hand, Avebury’s stones do not have the large overstones that lay atop Stonehenge, making is appear less impressive at first sight.

Still, on my first visit I was amazed by the sheer size of the stones and loved being able to wander through them, touching them and not feeling as if 300 people behind me were pushing me along.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Swindon is the closest train station and is located about 12 miles away. It is on the route between London and Bath. From Swindon you can take a bus (Number 49). Another option is to do an organized tour from London that also stops at Stonehenge, which will give you a good comparison.

The Red Lion Pub is supposed to be one of the most haunted pubs in England. It is said to have two ghosts, a young girl who haunts the kitchen, and a monk who died in a fire. There is also a story about a 17th century woman who was shot by her husband when he returned from the civil war and found her cheating on him. Several recent studies have been done on the pub, but so far no conclusions have been reached. Since it sets right in the middle of the Avebury Stone Circle, it is possible that it carries some sort of energy. The pub sells typical pub fare but it is also the only pub within a two mile radius so it is busy when the tourists are out.

Avebury was constructed as early as 3000 BC, with most of the stones and ditch put into place between 2600 and 2400 BC. Experts think it might have taken as much as 1.5 million man hours to contruct he ditch and sarsen stones.

There isn’t a lot known about the construction of Avebury and why exactly it was built is still a mystery. The Southern Inner Circle used to have an obselisk in it, but has since been lost. There were two ceremonial avenues with the West Kennet Avenue consisting of 100 pairs of stones. The Northern Inner Circle might have been aligned with the moon’s rising point.
Much like Stonehenge, Avebury was abandoned but might have been used as a tourist attraction by the Romans, kind of like it still is today.
In 1114 AD, a small Benedictine church was built on the site and later enlarged in the 12th century. This was during the time that being a pagan was not a good thing to be and the larger stones in Avebury were given devilish names. Some of the stones were thus removed and destroyed.

The small village of Avebury is lovely, as is the countryside around it. The stone circle actually encompasses much of the village and the church is used as a tourist information center.

Admission is free but you must pay to park.

In Avebury, it is possible to purchase dowsing rods at the Red Lion Pub. If you take an organized tour to the site, the tourguide might provide dowsing rods for the group as well. Dowsing rods are used for a number of reasons, including searching for water (which has been scientifically proven) and searching for spiritual energy (which has not been proven). You hold the dowsing rod in your hands, it is generally made of copper, and you walk along, basically waiting for the rod to go crazy and to start moving on its own. This happens when you pass over the underground item that you are searching for. During my visit to Avebury, we used the dowsing rods between two of the head stones. I was leery about using them, as I am not so much into new age beliefs, but sure, enough, when I stepped through the stones the rods went nuts. They were even difficult to hold onto.

There does appear to be a vast amount of energy surrounding Avebury, and even I with my limited sensitivity could feel it. Whether you believe in it or not, trying out the dowsing rods is still a fun experience and kind of a rite of passage.

Due to limited time in London, we decided to go on an organized tour of some of the popular sites outside of the city. Let me say that in general, I hate organized tours. I used to be a tourguide myself and I am a terrible participant. Even if I don’t know anything about the subject matter, I want to take over. I end up ushering everyone into the bus, playing hostess at lunch, introducing people to each other, etc. It is incredibly annoying. I also like to linger and wander and guides don’t like that much.

But anyway, we found Astral Tours and decided to make a go of it. The tour stopped at Stonehenge, Glastonbury, and Avebury. I only cared about Stonehenge at the time but my traveling companion was crazy about "The Mists of Avalon" and was ecstatic about the Glastonbury Tor. I must admit, I had never heard of it.

The tour ended up being fantastic. We had a small group of 20 people and are guide was very personable and knowledgeable. He gave us ample time at each spot and when we got to Avebury (a place I had never even heard of) he himself played tour guide and told us all kinds of interesting stories about it. He let us play with the dowsing rods that he kept on the bus and we stayed well over an hour-longer than we had stayed at Stonehenge.

The tours leave on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday and last all day. They cost 75 GBP (around $150 USD) and do not include lunch.