Silbury Hill Near Avebury
Practical Guide To Visiting The Neolithic Mound
Silbury Hill, even for ancient Neolithic monuments is a bit of a mystery. It appears right by the side of the main A4 road about one mile south west of Avebury.
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| Avebury What To See. |
| Overview |
| Avebury Henge |
| Avebury Village |
| West Kennet Long Barrow |
| Silbury Hill |
| Crop Circles |
| Avebury Walk |
| Getting To Avebury |
| Public Transport |
| Tours To Avebury |
| Mystical Avebury |
| Private Tours |
| Within An Hour |
| Stonehenge |
| Salisbury |
| Lacock |
| Bath |
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There are some theories about it, but no real front-runner that convinces all. Even dating of when and how long it took to build have see sawed over recent time. The latest suggestion is that Silbury Hill is the finale, the full stop at the end of the Neolithic age, the last great monument.
Unlike most of the Neolithic monuments at Avebury its strictly off limits for the public, for your own safety. There is a small car park and viewing terrace with information boards, but this is away from the hill itself.
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The guide books will tell you its the largest man made mound in Europe.
At 130 feet high and covering an area in excess of 5 acres the enormous contours of the hill challenge us with the mystery of why it was built and what for.
To many it reminds them of the pyramids in Egypt and following on from this was perhaps a burial mound for someone important ?.
A lot of people have thought this and as a result funneled into the hill over the ages only to find, well nothing - its just a solid mound. As a result of all this tunneling for treasure the hill is now unsafe for you and I to climb over the hill.
Whatever our confusion, the Neolithics must have had a clear idea of the purpose of Silbury Hill. The manpower required to build such a structure was vast and someone had to inspire and lead people to buy into the project over decades and generations.
The hill itself has distinct stages of building, but is very simple in construction. It is assumed that in its day it would have been pure white, devoid of the vegetation that now cloaks it. The natural colour of the chalk rock. One interesting fact about it is the height of Silbury Hill and its flat platform at the top. This flat top can just be seen or is level with key points all around the Avebury complex, including the centre of Southern Sun Henge at Avebury.
| Summary of Most Popular Guided Tours From London (Reduced Frequencies Common January & February 2012 - See Individual Tour Pages) |
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| Including Stonehenge | ||||
| Stonehenge Afternoon or Morning Tour | PR | £29 | Full Size Bus | Stonehenge only. Morning or Afternoon. (Afternoon only Nov-March) Daily. |
| Stonehenge & London Sights | PR | £49 | Full Size Bus | Morning tour of London on red London bus. Afternoon tour Stonehenge. Daily. |
| Stonehenge & Bath | PR | £39 | Full Size Bus | Admission Stonehenge afternoon in Bath. Daily (Nov -Mar, not Tue or Thu). |
| Stonehenge & Bath | IF | £54 | Small Group | Admission Stonehenge + Roman Baths at Bath. Saturdays only. |
| Windsor - Stonehenge - Bath | PR | £65 | Full Size Bus | Admission Windsor, Stonehenge + Pub lunch. Flexible time Bath after tour. Daily |
| Windsor - Stonehenge - Bath | IF | £85 | Small Group | Admission Stonehenge, Roman Baths, but not Windsor. Mon, Wed,Fri and Sat. |
| Windsor - Stonehenge - Lacock - Bath | PR | £83 | Midi Size Bus | Admission Windsor, Stonehenge + Pub lunch at Lacock included - Daily |
| Windsor - Stonehenge - Oxford | EE | £74 | Full Size Bus | Admissions to Windsor Catle, Stonehenge, Walking Tour Oxford. Daily |
| Salisbury - Stonehenge - Avebury | IF | £85 | Small Group | Admission Stonehenge+Salisbury Cathedral. Tour Avebury. Wednesdays |
| Lacock - Bath - Stonehenge | IF | £85 | Small Group | Admission Stonehenge + Roman Baths at Bath. Walking tour Lacock. Tuesdays. |
| Stonehenge - Glastonbury - Avebury | IF | £85 | Small Group | Admission Stonehenge, Glastonbury Abbey. Fridays. |
| Stonehenge - Glastonbury - Avebury | AN | £75 | Small Group | Admission Stonehenge, Glastonbury Abbey. Daily. |
| Salisbury - Stonehenge - Bath | EE | £74 | Full Size Bus | Admissions to Salisbury Cath, Stonehenge, Roman Baths. Daily |
| Stratford - Cotswolds - Stonehenge - Bath | PR | £76 | Full Size Bus | Admission Stratford, Stonehenge, Tour Cotswolds Sun, Wed, (Fri Apr-Sep Only) |
| Oxford - Cotswolds - Bath - Stonehenge | IF | £169 | 2 Day small group with hotel | Includes admissions, walking tors and good hotel. Every Weekend |
| Stonehenge Special Access Tours | ||||
| Stonehenge - Lacock - Bath | PR | £97 | Various | Special access admission at Stonehenge plus Roman Bath |
| Stonehenge - Salisbury or Avebury | AN | £79 | Various | Special access at Stonehenge plus either Avebury or Salisbury |
| Stonehenge From Salisbury | £85 | Various | Evening Special access at Stonehenge from Salisbury | |
| Cotswolds, Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwick Castle | ||||
| Oxford - Stratford - Warwick Castle | PR | £65 | Full Size Bus | Admission Christ Church Oxford and Shakespeare's Birthplace + Warwick |
| In depth Cotswolds + Lunch - Stratford | PR | £72 | Full Size Bus | With lunch + Cream Tea in Cotswolds, Walking Tour Stratford. (2-7 days a week) |
| Oxford - Cotswolds - Stratford | IF | £85 | Small Group | Guided tours of Oxford, Stratford, Burford, Boutron On Water. Thursday & Sunday |
| Oxford - Cotswolds - Stratford | AN | £75 | Small Group | Guided tours of Oxford, Stratford, Cream T Cotswolds. Daily. |
| Oxford and Stratford | AN | £50 | Full Size Bus | Includes Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Tues+Thurs+Sat+Sun |
| Windsor - Stonehenge - Oxford | EE | £74 | Full Size Bus | Admissions to Windsor Catle, Stonehenge, Walking Tour Oxford. Daily |
| Stratford - Stonehenge - Bath | PR | £76 | Full Size Bus | Admission Stratford, Stonehenge, Roman Baths. Sun+Wed, (Fri Apr-Sep Only) |
| Oxford - Cotswolds - Bath - Stonehenge | IF | £169 | 2 Day small group with hotel | Includes admissions, walking tors and good hotel.Every Weekend |
| Canterbury, Greenwich Thames River Cruise, Leeds Castle & Dover Castle | ||||
| Canterbury - Dover Castle - Greenwich | PR | £65 | Full Size Bus | Admission Dover Castle+Canterbury Cath. Lunch inc. Greenwich tour+ cruise. |
| Leeds - Canterbury - Dover - Greenwich | PR | £65 | Full Size Bus | Admission Leeds Castle, Canterbury, Lunch Dover. Greenwich tour+cruise. |
| Scotland, Amsterdam & Paris | ||||
| Day Trip Paris - Train & Metro/River Pass | PR | £119 | Eurostar Train | Day return on Eurostar train. Paris public transport pass and Seine cruise. |
| Escorted Day Trip To Paris | PR | £149 | Eurostar Train | Pickup from hotel. Eurostar day return. Fully escorted tour of Paris |
| Luxury Day Trip To Paris | PR | £209 | Eurostar Train | Pickup from hotel. Eurostar day return. Tour + Champagne lunch on Eiffel Tower. |
| 3 day Weekend Break In Paris | IF | £229 | Coach | 2 nights in Paris with full sightseeing. Optional Versailles trip. |
| 3 Day Weekend Break In Edinburgh | IF | £189 | Train | 2 nights in Edinburgh with guide, optional trips to Highlands. Every Friday. |
| 3 Day Weekend Break In Amsterdam | IF | £229 | Coach | 2 nights in Amsterdam with guide and full sightseeing programme. |
| IF - International Friends (Uses 16 seat minibuses) AN - Anderson Tours |
EE - Evan Evans Tours PR - Premium Tours |
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