Episode 4 of our Hidden Wiltshire podcast is now live in which we explore the village of Kingston Deverill and the hills to the south of the River Wylye. We follow a walk that both Glyn Coy have done about which I wrote a blog in May 2020 for the Hidden Wiltshire website.
This is one of my favourite parts of Wiltshire. It seems to be less visited than may other places partly I imagine because to reach the hills requires a level of fitness. I’ve walked here several times and rarely see anyone else.
Apart from the spectacular landscape and views the area is steeped in history having been continuously farmed since at least 3,500 BC. There are numerous earthworks and tumili, much evidence of the Roman occupation and it’s the favoured location for where King Alfred gathered his troops on their way to defeat the Danes in the Battle of Ethandun in 878 AD.
Its more bizarre secrets include two stone circles on Summerslade Down that have fooled many a historian. It seems they were actually built in the 1990s for a music festival.
I took this photograph very close to the location of the larger of the two stone circles. The ashes of a loyal farm worker were scattered under these beech trees. The views he will now have for eternity or utterly beautiful. The hills in the background will be the subject of our next podcast when we explore Brixton Deverill and wonder the area to the north of the River Wylye.
The podcast is available from all the usual sources or on the Hidden Wiltshire website using the link below.