January 8, 2021

NEW FOR 2021: The Magic Circle Tour. Stonehenge, Avebury and the Rollright Stones.

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Discover three of Britain’s ancient stone circle monuments, built by our Stone Age ancestors. Full Day Megalithic Tour. Experience something magical, mysterious, and truly magnificent!

Avebury henge and stone circles are one of the greatest marvels of prehistoric Britain. 

This small group guided tour starts with Stonehenge where you walk in the footsteps of our ancestors from 5,500 years ago and see and experience these mysterious stones. The best-known prehistoric monument in Europe.

After we travel to Avebury. The awe-inspiring stone circle of Avebury, a few miles north of Stonehenge, is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, and rightly so, but unlike its more famous neighbour, Stonehenge, is unfenced. On this guided walking tour of the site, you will be able to wander freely among the stones.

This is followed by a visit to the Rollright Stones. The Rollright Stones is an ancient site located on the Oxfordshire & Warwickshire border. The complex consists of three main elements, The Kings Men stone circle, the King Stone, and the Whispering Knights. Antiquarians date this monolithic mystery as pre-Stonehenge, locked in local legend the stones are said to be a petrified army from long ago. Some people refer to it as the Cotswolds Stonehenge, the circle of stones measures 100ft across and consists of 77 Stones.

Stone circles are prehistoric monuments comprising one or more circles of upright or recumbent stones, often associated with funerary monuments such as burial cairns and round barrows. Where excavated stone circles have been found to date from the Late Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age (c.2400-1000 BC). It is clear that they were designed and laid out carefully. In many instances excavation has indicated that they provided a focus for burials and the rituals that accompanied interment of the dead.  In the 20th century, the stones became an important site for adherents of various forms of folk religion, who hold rituals and ceremonies here. The Cotswold Order of Druids, among others, regularly observe festivals here.

This Full day tour departs every Wednesday and Sunday (April – September 2021)

Please visit our new Stonehenge Tour website for itinerary and booking details

STAY SAFE: Private Tour Option
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March 15, 2016

Visit Stonehenge and ‘Superhenge’. New day tour departing from Bath.

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Superhenge’ Found Buried Near Stonehenge
A row of huge stones stood some 4,000 years ago just two miles from Stonehenge, dwarfing the iconic stone circle.

Dubbed “Superhenge,” the site is five times bigger than the iconic stone circle and lies buried three feet beneath a thick, grassy bank at a Stone-Age enclosure known as Durrington Walls. Full story

* This new Half Day tour departs from Bath. Visiting Stonehenge, Durrington Walls, Woodhenge, the newly discovered ‘Superhenge’ and Lacock Village in the Cotswolds *

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We drive through the beautiful Wiltshire countryside to Stonehenge . This amazing monument was first mentioned as one of the wonders of Britain only seventy years after the Norman Conquest. It has aroused awe and curiosity ever since. This is your chance to experience it for yourself. During the journey to Stonehenge your driver guide will give you commentary on the sites we pass and there is also plenty of information for you to browse through. If English is not your first language there are audio presentations at the monument in all major languages

SUPERHENGE

´We also take a look at Durrington Walls where nearly 100 stones 4,500 years old, some measuring 15ft (4.5m) in length, were discovered under 3ft of earth at Durrington Walls using geophysical imaging technology. Experts think it may have surrounded traces of springs and a dry valley leading into the River Avon. Close by is Woodhenge which consisted of six concentric rings of wooden post holes within a bank and ditch, now marked by concrete posts. In the middle of the circle the grave of a three year old girl was found suggesting possible ritual sacrifice. We firmly believe that viewing these other two henges ´complete the circle´ – if you will pardon the pun – and help to show you that Stonehenge is not ´just a bunch of rocks in the middle of nowhere´ !

On a clear day we get a view of the Westbury White Horse.

Lacock National Trust Village

This wonderful village consists of properties which date from the 13th and 18th centuries. It was once a prosperous woollen town but now it seems like a village trapped in time. There has been no major building here in the last 200 years so you really feel as if you’re stepping back into English history.

If you’re interested in film locations Lacock has been used many times. It became the town of Meriton in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice and more recently Downton Abbey (second episode of final series). The Abbey was also used in the filming of the first two Harry Potter movies. We will take you to Godric’s Hollow, the home of James and Lilly Potter (Harry’s parents) and to professor Horace Slughorn’s house from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Other film credits for Lacock include Emma, Moll Flanders, Robin of Sherwood/Robin Hood, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Other Boleyn Girl, Cranford, and The Wolfman.

Your fully guided return mini coach tour includes:
Stonehenge Stone Circle
Stonehenge Visitor Centre
Durrington Walls
Woodhenge
Newly discovered Superhenge
Lacock Village
The Cotswolds
Chalk Hill-Figures
Crop Circles (seasonal)

Book this small group tour here

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November 18, 2013

Visit Avebury. The largest prehistoric monument in England.

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Avebury Stone Circle rivals – some would say exceeds – Stonehenge as the largest, most impressive and complex prehistoric site in Britain. 

Built and altered over many centuries from about 2850 BC to 2200 BC, it now appears as a huge circular bank and ditch, enclosing an area of 281 ⁄2 acres (111 ⁄2 hectares), including part of Avebury village.Within this ‘henge’ ditch is an inner circle of great standing stones, enclosing two more stone circles, each with a central feature.

Avebury Stone Circle Tours

The site’s present appearance owes much to the marmalade heir Alexander Keiller, who excavated and re-erected many stones during the 1930s, and whose archaeological collections are displayed in the nearby museum. Many stones had been broken or buried in medieval and later times, one crushing its destroyer as it fell.

Avebury is part of a wider complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, with many other ritual sites in English Heritage care. West Kennet Avenue joined it to The Sanctuary, and another stone avenue connected it with Beckhampton. West Kennet Long Barrow and Windmill Hill are also nearby, as is the huge and mysterious Silbury Hill. This extraordinary assemblage of sites seemingly formed a huge ‘sacred landscape’, whose use and purpose can still only be guessed at. Avebury and its surroundings have, with Stonehenge, achieved international recognition as a World Heritage Site.

Avebury Henge and Stone Circles are in the freehold ownership of The National Trust and in English Heritage guardianship. They are managed by The National Trust on behalf of English Heritage, and the two organisations share the cost of managing and maintaining the property.

Take a tour of Stonehenge and discover more about the neolithic man and the landscape they shaped. At Avebury, walk amongst the stones, visit the Alexander Keiller Museum to find out about the arcaeological excavations Keiller did in the 1930s and visit the Avebury Manor and Garden, nearby West Kennet Long Barrow.

Avebury Links:
The Henge Shop – a unique location in the centre of Avebury, the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world.
English Heritage – Avebury Stone Circle.
Stonehenge Guided Tours: Stonehenge and Avebury Stone Circle Tours
National Trust:  Avebury Visitor Information Centre
Visit Wiltshire: Official Wiltshire Tourism Authority

Avebury News Updates:
Follow Avebury Stone Circle on Twitter for all the latest news and events.

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Stonehenge Stone Circle Tour Guide