I discovered this Iron Age fort when I was looking at Oysters Coppice on the ordnance survey map. Just a short walk to the South West of the coppice, it is a distinctive round shape and rather large. Looking at aerial photos of the site, the perimeter appeared to be covered in trees which can mask the shape of the fort at ground level. Parking my car at Gutch Common, a small hamlet nearby I set off to walk along a public footpath that would take me to the north edge of the fo

Early in January when I was checking the Ordnance Survey maps for sites to visit in Wiltshire, I stumbled across an earthwork called Knook Castle. It has a distinctive shape, and looked to be a complete Iron Age enclosure. In actual fact, it is a univillate Hill fort. I already knew the area around Knook Camp, as I regularly visit Dunscombe Bottom to do livestock checks for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust (last summer it was cattle, at the moment it is a flock of sheep). But looking

Martinsell Hill first came to my attention in November 2018, when a fabulous picture of a dusk sky from the top was posted on twitter by Visit Wiltshire : (click here to view tweet ) It is near the village of Oare in the Pewsey Vale, and rises steeply to a horseshoe shaped plateau where many paths and trails seem to converge. The White Horse trail and the Mid Wilts Way are the most prominent. Like many hills in this area it is steep sided, chalk grassland with strong evidenc

Chiselbury Camp is another fine example of an Iron Age hill fort sitting on top of a chalk hill in Wiltshire. Although less well preserved than other hill forts in the county, its shape is clearly discernible from ground level, and more so from the air. It is the side of the hill and its more recent additions which draws visitors to this site though. A set of regimental badges are carved into the hill. Known as the Fovant Badges, the tradition of carving the badges began in W

Cherhill Down has featured quite a bit in some of my other posts, not least the one about the Cherhill White Horse that sits upon its slopes. But I had also seen reference to Oldbury Castle, an ancient hillfort, that is situated in the vicinity of the Lansdowne Monument. It was only when I visited it from the rear, on a walk from Beckhampton Gallops that the shape of the hillfort came into view as the sun set. It was wonderful to finally see it materialise, and not just be a

White Sheet Hill is another fine example of elevated chalk grassland which has evidence of ancient history at its summit. While I have already visited plenty of dramatic hill fort sites in Wiltshire, White Sheet Hill is interesting for its diverse archaeological heritage. It has a neolithic enclosure dating back to 3,000 BC, and an Iron Age hill fort at the top. There are also Bronze Age barrows, some of which are clearly visible. It is incredible to think they have survived

If you have been following this site for a while you will know that I cover a lot of Iron Age sites in Wiltshire. Whilst I was visiting White Sheet Hill near Stourhead I found a reference to Park Hill Camp, which is another Iron Age hill fort in the vicinity. But on closer inspection I discovered that it sits within the woodland of the Stourhead estate. Looking at the OS maps, you can clearly see a fort marked by a place called Park Hill right in the middle of the wood. So I

I could see Battlesbury Camp when I walked up Scratchbury Camp a few weeks earlier. Another Iron Age hill fort in the hills above Warminster, the ramparts are clearly visible from above and at ground level. A mere 15 minutes walk from Scratchbury, these separate communities must have interacted but we don't know for sure what drove these ancient people to build these fortified structures all over the UK. The Camp dates back to the first millenium BC, and there has been extens