Visit Avebury
All you need to plan your visit to Avebury can be found from looking at the National Trust website. If you want to explore further to the east why not visit Fyfield Down, a National Nature Reserve. The stones at both Avebury and Stonehenge are large Sarsen stones and Fyfield Down has the best collection of natural sarsen stones in Britain which may have been the source of sarsen stones for both parts of the World Heritage Site.
The collections of archaeological finds can be found at the Alexander Keiller Museum at Avebury and at the Wiltshire Museum, Devizes.
Explore Avebury World Heritage Site
To really appreciate the Avebury World Heritage Site and get a sense of the inter- relationship of the monuments a walk out into the landscape is highly recommended. If you have around 3 hours you can walk south from the henge along the West Kennet Avenue and then turn east up Waden Hill from the top of which you will get a wonderful view of Silbury. After this you can walk down, cross the A4 and climb up to West Kennet long barrow. Coming back go along the A4, past Silbury Hill and cross over into the car park. Please take very great care if you cross the very busy and fast A4 main road. A path leads from here along the River Kennet back to the main National Trust car park for Avebury. Look out for fingerposts to help guide you in the landscape. A number of self-guided walking tours are available as a booklet from the National Trust shop in Avebury.
You can also visit Stonehenge, the other half of the World Heritage Site, as part of your exploration of Neolithic and Bronze Age landscapes. To get to Stonehenge from Avebury by public transport you will need to take the bus to Salisbury changing at Devizes or return to the train station at Swindon and travel via Bath to Salisbury. From there you can take a bus or a taxi to Stonehenge.
Getting to Avebury
You can find information on how to get to Avebury from anywhere in Wiltshire on the Connecting Wiltshire website.
Walking to Avebury
There are numerous rights of way and permissive paths which allow you to explore the monuments and landscape once you arrive in Avebury. If you want to be really intrepid why not walk there along the Ridgeway National Trail which begins in the Avebury World Heritage Site. This National Trail stretches for 87 miles ending at Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns but you can join it at any point. For further information visit the National Trails website.
Cycling to Avebury
The National Cycle Routes 4 and 45 pass through Avebury for those of you who prefer to explore by bike. For further information on cycle routes visit the Sustrans website.
A network of cycle routes serve Avebury from towns and villages all around. It is possible to travel with a bicycle by train to Swindon, Chippenham and Trowbridge. Bike racks are available in Avebury near the Barn Gallery. Please note cycling is not recommended along the A4, A361 and A4361, as these are fast and busy roads
Explore the surrounding area
The gently rolling landscape of the Salisbury Plain, Marlborough Down and Vale of Pewsey offer many delightful experiences. Here the scenery varies from rolling chalk downlands to woodlands, ideal for walkers and cyclists.
The area is famous for it’s prehistoric and archaeological sites, white chalk horses and industrial landmarks.
If it’s action that you’re looking for the area provides an ideal location for all types of activity from hang-gliding to boating and horse riding. The Kennet and Avon canal passing through the centre of the district provides a wealth of things to see and do.
The towns and villages of rural Wiltshire each have something special to offer the visitor, ranging from the bustling market town of Devizes with its charming courtyard alleys, to Marlborough and its splendid High street flanked by Georgian buildings. Find out more about what Wiiltshire has to offer at Visit Wiltshire.