Friday 5 October 2012

Clatford Bottom, The Devil's Den Dolmen and the Grey Wether Field.

It rained heavily overnight on Thursday evening, so we knew that on today's walk, we would encounter some puddles.  The ones  to the right  show  some of the worst, although we all managed to find a dry route past, and nobody slipped in!    We walked to the "Devil's Den Dolmen," the last three remaining stones that once stood and supported  the entrance to a stone-age, long barrow burial chamber.   Fortunately the one on top is  cemented firmly to the others,  but none of us was keen to walk under the lintel, just in case!
 
 
Through the Dolmen,  B can be seen reading the map, and working out the best way to the "Grey Wether Field" and "The Red Lion" at Avebury.

 
The sarsen stones in the background are still a mystery to archeologists and historians.  How did they get to this dry valley?  Were they carried here by ice and water?  Were they here all the time, and have appeared through the eroded ground over millions of years?  Nobody seems to know, and perhaps we never will.  The stones are called Wethers, after the old English name of sheep.  Many sheep were grazing in this area, and were very difficult to make out amongst the stones.
 
We finished our walk in "The Red Lion" at Avebury, where I had to drink another half pint of beer.  Sorry G!

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