Barbury Castle

I visit Barbury Castle whenever the opportunity presents itself; not that easy to get to without a car so I am always on the lookout for local walks/events that take place or start from there.
Apart from being a scheduled ancient monument it is also a designated local nature reserve. A couple of Sundays ago fellow member of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust gave me a lift up there to participate in a field talk on butterflies. I’ve never attended anything like this before so had some inital reservations – it was however, very enjoyable. I learnt that Barbury is ‘managed’ in order to encourage blue butterflies – the Common Blue and Blue Adonis in particular, although we saw many other varieties.
The views are spectacular, especially on the far side of the ramparts which overlook rolling Wiltshire downland. It is also the starting point for a ten mile walk along the Ridgeway into Avebury. Haven’t yet done it, but soon ...

swindon.gov.uk/barbury