Athelney

Nearest town:
Bridgwater (9km NW)
OS reference:
ST347289
OS sheet:
193
Latitude:
51° 3' 18.62 N
Longitude:
2° 55' 54.5 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Athelney (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) by formicaant

The isle of Athelney with the memorial to king Alfred.

Image credit: Mike Rowland 02/03/10
formicaant
formicaant Mar 2, 2010

Articles

Athelney

C
CARL Jun 1, 2010

Visited 30.5.10.
Athelney – at last! I have wanted to visit this site for many years, ever since seeing it on Time Team (by the way this was Time Team’s first ever site and also their 100th dig!) Heading towards Burrow Mump on the A361 there is a large layby on the right hand side. In the layby is an information board explaining the site, which is very easily seen. I was surprised by how close the site was to the main road. For some reason I was expecting it to be a lot further away. The info board mentions the Time Team dig in 2002 and also states that this is the lowest hillfort in the UK. The monument is at the left end on the long low mound and there was a large pile of wood at the opposite end – looked like someone was planning a bonfire! There isn’t a huge amount to see here but it meant a lot to me.

Athelney

formicaant
formicaant Mar 2, 2010

This is also known as the Isle of Athelney and is most famous as the refuge of King Alfred during the Danish invasion of the 9th century, where he burnt the cakes.
This would once have been a proper island, being as it is one of the few high points in the Somerset levels. The levels were drained and the local river Parrett diverted. The site is on private land and there is no public access to it, there is a large layby next to it with a very good information board in it.
The Iron Age part of the hill is at the western end and consists of a bank and ditch.

Sites within 20km of Athelney

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