I agree with goffik (why climb Silbury at all?). It's just not on from a conservation point of view even assuming it's ever made safe; and the religious arguments to climb it are about as valid as those of the Druid and neo-pagan arguments to use places like Avebury and Stonehenge for their ceremonies.

That's not to say that Silbury cannot be used for ceremonies - it's just not necessary to perfom them on Silbury itself. I've always thought how much more beautiful, impressive, even awsome Silbury is from a distance than it is up close.

Climbing something seems a particularly Western obsession; that by getting to the top and planting your feet on sacred places like Everest, Fuji, Uluru - even West Kennet - you are somehow conquering it. Sure, all these places may have been used for gatherings in the past but they were probably small gatherings held at a few special times of the year; whatever they were they would not have threatened the beauty or sanctity of the place - our gatherings are in their thousands and do just that.