Have been through Lockeridge many of times on route to walks starting from Knap Hill but it was only when I went past on the Henge Hopper min-bus a few weeks back did I realise how far this sarsen drift spreads.
Today my walking friend parked up near one of the southerly access points into West Wood and we walked along the narrow road towards Lockeridge. About a 15 minute walk until we came to a gate leading into the drift. It has the same 'other-worldly' quality as Piggle Dene though perhaps a bit more accessible. There are three fields of grey wethers leading up to the village of Lockeridge where the first field can be clearly seen from the road. An essential part of the Avebury landscape - the NT information board says these stones have been used for building for the past 5,000 years and indeed many of the houses and garden walls in Lockeridge are built from sarsen blocks.
I visited this site a couple of years ago and what a cracking place it is to. Easy to find in the village of Lockeridge. Parking is possible near the gate which leads into the stone covered field. When I visited it was a sunny winter's day and ice had formed on the small pockets of water on top of many of the stones. It was early evening and I had the place to myself - very peaceful. It does give you a good idea of how the land in this area must have looked thousands of years ago. A highly recommended place to visit.
For those unable to get up to the Mother's Jam, here's a great way to see how the landscape up there is littered with massive stones. Why this little valley escaped field clearance is not apparent, but it did and very impressive it is, too. And we're not just talking about a handful of big stones here, there are hundreds of them lying exactly where the long-forgotten glacier dumped them as it melted into history. Fantastic.
Another curious outcropping of the source stones for Stonehenge and Avebury. This is slightly easier to get to compared withThe Mother's Jam and The Greywethers as it lies in the middle of the little village. It's a NT property and there is a small explanatory notice at the entrance. Disabled: Parking on Road, level access to gate, most can be seen from Rd.
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