GOOD HILL HUNTING

When I was a child in the 1970s, I was given as a present a little book called The Observer’s Book of Ancient & Roman Britain. It was one of a series of books designed to stimulate children’s interest in more than 800 subjects – I had another one all about flags.

Both books have long since disappeared, but I well remember the Ancient Britain book because it drew my childhood attention to an otherwise unremarkable county: Wiltshire.

Except for a couple of places out in the wilds, such as the Orkneys, the book seemed to focus on Wiltshire more than anywhere else, and even then, really only the north of the county. If you wanted to make it in Ancient Britain, it seemed, you had to have lived or been buried there.

Such an idea isn’t totally unexpected when you realise that Stonehenge lies within this area. But do a little research and you will find there is much more to see. Not least Avebury, a stone circle that surrounds a hamlet and is actually much bigger than its considerably more visited cousin.

This summer, with lockdown easing, I decided to reconnect with that area. Approaching from the east, before you get to the wide-open chalk downland