Pewsey Circular via Avebury Walk

This is a strenuous excursion into the heart of Neolithic Wiltshire, a mysterious landscape full of pre-historic earthworks, standing stones, sarsen fields and hillforts as well as barrows – burial mounds of kings and warriors. The route passes through or past four of the most important prehistoric sites in Britain: Fyfield Down Sarsen Stones Field, Avebury Standing Stones and Bank & Ditch Earthworks, Silbury Hill and West Kennett Long Barrow (two other sites, The Sanctuary and Windmill Hill, can be explored on extensions).
You walk out of the beautiful Vale of Pewsey over the southerly ridge of the Marlborough Downs, from where there are stunning far views over this land of wave-like hills, with its scarps, ridges and valleys, before heading through West Woods, England’s best bluebell wood (source: Forestry Commission), to Fyfield Down and Avebury.
Later the walk leads along the Wansdyke, a 5th century earth bank and deep ditch. It was built by the beleaguered Romano-British Celts as a fortification to stem the Saxon advance. From there it is just a short walk to Wiltshire’s highest peak (Milk Hill) with its stunning Down.
After a scenic descent into the Vale of Pewsey an undemanding stretch along the Kennet & Avon Canal leads back to Pewsey.

There are four different options to finish the walk in Avebury, with a rating of between 4/10 and 8/10.
Buses to Swindon or Marlborough (for connections to Bedwyn station) are then needed.

Pewsey Station, map reference SU 161 603, is 25 km south of Swindon, 116 km west of London, and 116m above sea level. Marlborough, map reference SU 187 691, is 9 km north east of Pewsey and 132m above sea level. Both are in Wiltshire. It is on the Berkshire and Hampshire line, served by Intercity trains between London and the West Country. The journey time is from 59 minutes. Pewsey is outside the Network South East Area: split the journey tickets at Reading, Newbury or Hungerford if using the Network Railcard.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take the train closest to 08.00 hours for the full walk; the train closest to 10.00 hours is an option for the Avebury Endings.

Buses 42 and 49 serve Avebury, enabling a finish there on a shorter walk:
Line 42 (Calne - Marlborough) runs 7 buses on weekdays and 6 on Saturdays (in Marlborough connect to lines 20/22 to Bedwyn Station);
Line 49 (Devizes-Swindon) runs hourly Mon-Sat and two-hourly Sun (this requires a separate train ticket Swindon–Reading!).

The resultant walk options are as follows:

• Pewsey to Avebury is 18.1 km long with 352m height gain and rated 4/10;
• Pewsey to Avebury plus the Windmill Hill loop is 23.5 km long with 405m height gain and rated 6/10;
• Pewsey to West Kennett Long Barrow and back to Avebury via The Sanctuary is 27.1 km long with 526m height gain and rated 7/10;
• Pewsey to West Kennett Long Barrow and back to Avebury via The Sanctuary plus the Windmill Hill loop is 32.4 km long with 578m height gain and rated 8/10.

Avebury Lodge High Street, Avebury (01672 539 023)
Dorwyn Manor Swindon Road, Avebury (01672 539 098)
The Haven 13 Truesloe Cottages, Avebury Truesloe (01672 539 846)
Avebury Life 5 Truesloe Cottages, Avebury Truesloe (01672 539 644)
The Old Forge East Kennet (01672 861 686)

The Who’d A Thought It Lockeridge, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 4EL (01672 861 255). The Who’d A Thought It is located 9.7 km (6.0 mi) into the walk. A traditional English village pub.
Circles Restaurant (at Avebury Museum) Avebury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF (01672 539 250). The Circles Cafe is located 17.5 km (10.9 mi) into the walk.
The Red Lion High Street, Avebury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF (01672 539 266). The Red Lion is located 18.1 km (10.7 mi) into the walk. Open all day every day. Food served all day every day. The Red Lion was first licensed in 1802 and is nowadays managed by Greene King. It is famous for its 26m deep well inside the pub which dates back to the 1600's. The Well Room is named after Alexander Keiller who excavated the ancient stone circle surrounding the pub.

For tea options in Pewsey please consult page 2 of the pdf.

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Jul-24 Thomas G