Terry does it every year. It was after a procession from Avebury, and was done in honour of Lammas. Terry does a lot of good for the Avebury community, and treats Silbury Hill with the respect and honour it deserves.
Scousemaiden xxx

"During the hour that Dobney walked around the top of the hill posing the passing traffic was slowing down and swerving dangerously all over the road."

New road signs needed? 'CAUTION! Druids climbing for next 1/2 mile'

Top and botto of the matter is, until it's *proved* stable, It's not really safe. Neither for the hill nor for the climber, nor those driving nearby apparently. If someone wants to risk falling down a hole in a great big mound of collapsing chalk and getting buried as it slides on top of them, that's their business I guess. I'd rather they didn't do it on this particular great big pile of collapsing chalk.

"Sunday 2nd August 2004 was the third time that self proclaimed druid Terry Dobney obtained a key for the gate at silbury and scrambled up the hill, on all fours at some points, to get to the top.
http://aveburytour.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/SilburyClimber.jpg"

very nice pics pete - perhaps if more people used the 'path' then EH may install a lift, or a tarmac path to make it easier? It is a difficult climb because of its infrequent useage.

"Dobney was given the key by Ancient Monuments site inspector Amanda Chadburn.
Before he got to the top passers by were climbing over the fence and racing to the top to see what was going on.
http://aveburytour.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/SilburyClimbers.jpg
An amercian family out viewing the cropcircles in the area also jumped the fence."

Yes - and no. they were turned away by the other people at the procession, base of silbury. A few people tried to come and climb the hill. If the Lammas priocession had not been there they would have climbed. Their wish to climb was NOTHING TO DO WITH TERRY BEING UP THE HILL. They wanted to take pics of crop circles - how on earth this has anything to do with any Druid climbing Silbury is beyond me. The traffic issue therefore is not relevant here - you seem to be implying that one druid climbing silbury is responsible for all sorts of idiots wanting to climb. In fact several were stopped. Something we ALL want yes? Idiots climb all the time - nothing to do with pagans, druids or lammas.

"During the hour that Dobney walked around the top of the hill posing"

PLEASE! We all have opinions on druidry and paganism. "Posing" is not an appropriate term and most disrespectful. Personal issues should NOT be aired here where people do not know the full backgrouds of people invloved. If any person is using this site, then surely they have respect for what the sites are and how they may be used? A ceremony for lammas being led by the Druid (no personal arguments please) is NOT posing ffs!

"...the passing traffic was slowing down and swerving dangerously all over the road.
As Dobney left around 12:30 other visiters from the cropcircle circus nearby invaded the hill for the afternoon.
By midnight there was a fully established crop watch on top the hill."

As said earlier, this is NOTHING to do with Terry climbing - thus happens all year - mainly by idiotic croppies and photographers (sound familiar?)

It seems to me there are certain people with agendas of their own and are using events like this to promote their cause - something which I feel embarassesd about. The climb of Silbury has been going on for more than two years (I have been on at least 3) and one climb carried out by a respecting person will do little damage, far less than any amateur (or professional) archaeologist will or have done.

If anyone wants some pics of the people taking pics, i have some!! ;-0

respectfully yours, sorry for the cut & paste

I would love to climb Silbury. But I don't because to top is prone to collapse and my footsteps could further damage what we already know to be a delicate and unstable structure.

For EH to give someone permission to climb is completely out of line and sends the wrong message to EVERYONE. Are EH saying it's not unstable if you're a druid/pagan? WTF is going on here?

Why won't people just KEEP OFF IT?! Gah! Some people have shit-for-brains.

J
x

but I'm going to anyway..

"Well done EH! This sort of behaviour will damage the hill quicker than just leaving the ancient mound to crumble on its own"

Has anyone contacted EH about this and complained or queried?

I have the contact e.mail (which I'm sure you all have anyway) for Dr Kevin Brown at EH. Is it worth complaining???

Sorry.

Nat

I think the issue can be judged different ways, depending on which reality you inhabit.

In EH's hyper world, the hill is stable, though there are "worrying" parts. Consequently, he should have considered himself to be in no danger, but would have been well-advised to feel worried. I trust they supplied him with valium.

In the real world however, there are obvious signs of surface instability and localized land slippage. In addition, their consultants told them there was a danger of the tunnels migrating to the surface, but how soon and how suddenly has never been revealed. So on the basis of that information and lack of it, he would have done well to have judged himself to be in finite danger of unknown degree.

Back to the hyper-world: EH can't use the D word (danger) or the W word (warning) or the NS words (not safe) on their notices, as that would mean HA was right. So instead, they ASK people, not tell them, to keep off. And for why? 1.) It's steep 2.) there is delicate archaeology close to the surface and 3.) there is rare flora. Well, yes it's steep, though telling something so bleedin obvious strikes me as finding a reason to avoid saying it's dangerous, nothing else. And delicate archaeology close to the surface? Really? After a thousand years of rabbits burrowing the top 3 feet into porridge? Rabbits that they've recently allowed to become an absolute epidemic? Would the steps of a druid really damage archaeology below that layer?

Nah, they're trapped by there own concoction. Rare flora is the only valid reason to keep people off, unless they admit to instability, which they daren't.

We've just gone through month fifty, with no sign of repairs, and their porkies have caught up with them and they look entirely ridiculous. Never mind the druid, give the real discredit where it's due.

I'm a heathen, and I love Silbury dearly, it means tons to me. I've never climbed it (despite having visited once), since it is so sacred to me that setting foot there is not something I would undertake lightly or in a hurry. It seems to me that no-one knows for sure just how unstable Silbury is, but given that parts of it have collapsed in the recent past I think it safe to assume that nobody should walk on it for the time being. It makes me sad that people who call themselves "pagan" or "druid" or whatever (and this is not a criticism directed at "pillars of the pagan community" like the lovely Cursuswalker) are walking on Silbury, in some small way decreasing the chances of me ever being able to make the climb, later in life when I feel like I have earned the right. I called myself a heathen at the beginning of this post, but I have to say that I feel absolutely nothing in common with the people who climb Silbury, at this time, in the name of paganism/druidry/whatever. They strike me as very selfish, potentially denying Silbury's tomorrow (and with it my tomorrow with Silbury), in the name of performing their rituals today. I just wish that more of the people who claim to hold Silbury sacred would treat it with the respect that something so very sacred (and delicate) deserves. When I hear of "pagans"/whatever climbing Silbury at this time I can only think that they have no understanding at all of what sacredness means.

Oh, and I think there's something fundamentalist and obsessive about insisting on holding a Lughnasadh (why do "pagans" prefer to call it Lammas, the Christian name of this festival?) rite on top of Silbury when there's so many other places around Britain that are known to have been significant to the ancients at that time of year. It seems to me that people like this Terry chap are more keen to be <b>seen</b> honouring their gods/spirits/whatever than they are on actually honouring their gods/spirits/whatever. Public piety of this sort disgusts me: a quiet, simple and humble honouring of Lughnasadh is surely more pleasing to the gods, if you ask me. I agree with Ishmael on that one: it <b>is</b> just posing.

How sad. So much conflict over something we all love so much.

I've spent nearly 40 years of my life as a conservator - saving this and that for a little while longer while knowing all along that the very things I tend to, beautiful meaningful things, will one day crumble and fall.

I have a particular interest in ancient paints and would have loved to have climbed down into the dark depths of the Altamira and Lascaux caves to see the paintings there on the rock walls - paintings of bison and deer some 14000 years old. To see those paintings just once would have been a dream come true but the very act of one person going there, breathing in and breathing out, increasing the humidity levels, will hasten the end to those lovely works of art. Better then not to go. Better then not to climb Silbury even once if a single footstep will hasten its end.

Does it really matter what our short-term or long-term 'needs' are to climb Silbury? Does it really matter what we think such a climb will satisfy - now or in years to come? Surely the only important consideration is Silbury's conservation; and surely that means appropriate action to see that that is done while meanwhile stopping anyone (other than those directly concerned with Silbury's conservation) access to this truly stunning, sacred and most beautiful of places.