Avebury Photo Gallery

Avebury henge and the stone circles were built during the Neolithic period about 4000 years ago. What we see today is a circular ditch with stones around the village. This was the largest stone circle in Britain with about 100 stones originally. There were 2 smaller inner circles here aligned to the north and south. We still don't know much about how the stone circle was built. Perhaps they were intended for ceremonies and worship. During the Middle Ages, many of the stones were buried or taken out as pagan worship was an embarrassment to the church. In more recent times, Alexander Keiller bought the site, cleared the buildings, and re-arranged many stones in the 1930s. The stones are now managed by the National Trust on behalf of English Heritage. With your membership, you can park for free in the centre of action and walk to the stones. You really need your own wheels to get here. With a car, it's easy to bundle Stonehenge and Avebury into a single day trip from London, and perhaps add Bath as well if you're ambitious.