I WENT TO ENGLAND AGAIN IN AUGUST 1999

Photos by Harold Totten

Post card of Uffington Horse

I visited the ROLLWRIGHT STONES near Chipping Norton. I was interested in this stone circle because of its many wonderful legends. One of them is about the witch that turned the king and his men into stones and then turned herself into a willow tree. When I got there I heard about how the stones can't be counted from one time to the next. The pock marked stones were laying and standing in every imaginable position. The largest stone in the circle, or was it the King stone, was supposed to have been taken with much difficulty down the hill to serve as a bridge. It turned out that everything fell off the new stone bridge. So, they took it back with no difficulty and stood it up in its hole. The stone circle, as well as the king stone on the other side of the road, is hidden from view by hedges from the road. Do talk to the young man in the hut next to the circle and pay your 60 pence. He loves to talk about lay lines.This circle makes a good half day trip if you are in the Oxford, Statford-upon-Avon, or Banbury area. As far as I can tell no public transportation goes to the site. I would suggest you take a car, a good map and follow the signs.

The UFFINGTON WHITE HORSE is a prehistoric hill carving. It was made by digging a trench and then filling the trenches with chalk. The chalk is a local material. The way the carving was made has kept it the same shape for thousands of years. It is cleaned every so many years to keep the weeds out. The horse (or is it a dragon?) is looking out over Dragon Hill (where St. George killed the dragon) and the vale of the White Horse and the village of Uffington. Yes, that is me seeing that vista. The aerial photo of the horse is from a post card. Above it is an Iron Age hill fort. Down the ridgeway path bit from the hill fort is the Wayland Smithy long borrow. Leave your horse and a coin at the borrow and in the morning it will be shod.  Most of the sites can be seen from each other accept the long borrow. The hills are high and steep, without shade. I recommend taking a car. The parking lot is centrally located. Wear good walking shoes and bring a lunch and water. This is a site you cannot rush through. You can walk miles and feel like you only went to the end of a short city block. You need to look at the view and contemplate the legends of each site. I was tempted to stand in the horse's eye for good luck. The local high School students were taking a survey and the signs say you are not supposed to stand on it. So, I didn't and set a good example.

 

 

 

 

 

The AVEBURY complex is an awesome stone circle site. For an idea of how old, go to Avebury Chronology. A village is in the middle of it and spills over one of its sides. Some of the village is unfortunately made out of some of the stones of the circle. Some of the stones were buried and others remain standing. Go to the Alexander Keiller Museum. Go to the gift shop and look at more books. Buy a book or two. This will take the day. Now rent a room. I have heard that the Red Lion Inn is a good place to rent a room. Take the night to skim your books and other info. Now that you have had a good sleep put your walking shoes on and walk the site. Walk to Windmill Hill, the long borrows, the springs, Silbury Hill, the banks on the outside of the ditches, the circles within the circle and the avenues. They have discovered that the Beckhampton Avenue does exist in 1999. Also, there is the Sanctuary which is at the end of the Kennet Long Barrow. Up the ridgeway 20 miles is the Uffington Horse. Walk is the key word here, for it was the primary way of transportation back then. It is awe-inspiring. I would suggest staying several days. Bus transportation is easy from Marlborough and from there to Swindon, then London or wherever.

I would like to hear from you and share your ideas and experiences.

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