• Home

  • About

  • Blog

  • Podcast

  • Walks

  • Map

  • Shop

  • Contact

  • Donate

  • More

    Use tab to navigate through the menu items.
    • Grey Facebook Icon
    • Grey Instagram Icon
    • Grey YouTube Icon
    • Grey Twitter Icon
    0
    • All Posts
    • North
    • East
    • South
    • West
    • Bits & Bobs
    • White Horses
    • Walks
    • Rivers
    Search
    Castle Rings Fort
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Apr 24, 2019
    • 2 min

    Castle Rings Fort

    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
    381 views0 comments
    Knook Castle
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Jan 24, 2019
    • 2 min

    Knook Castle

    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
    748 views0 comments
    Martinsell Hill, Oare
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Nov 23, 2018
    • 2 min

    Martinsell Hill, Oare

    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
    3,077 views0 comments
    Fovant Badges and Chiselbury Camp
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Oct 18, 2018
    • 2 min

    Fovant Badges and Chiselbury Camp

    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
    826 views0 comments
    Oldbury Castle, Cherhill
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Oct 18, 2018
    • 1 min

    Oldbury Castle, Cherhill

    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
    388 views0 comments
    White Sheet Hill, Mere
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Oct 17, 2018
    • 2 min

    White Sheet Hill, Mere

    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
    1,453 views0 comments
    Park Hill Camp, Stourton
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Oct 14, 2018
    • 2 min

    Park Hill Camp, Stourton

    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
    369 views0 comments
    Battlesbury Camp
    hiddenwiltshire
    • Jun 9, 2018
    • 2 min

    Battlesbury Camp

    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
    641 views0 comments
    • White Facebook Icon

    Facebook

    • White Instagram Icon

    Instagram

    • YouTube - White Circle

    Youtube

    • White Twitter Icon

    Twitter