Avebury Circular – 5 miles

A Rainy Day in Cathallo

  Picture the scene. It’s Saturday evening, just gone seven o’clock. It’s dark, and we have just arrived at the Marlborough Premier Inn after a two-hour drive. There, standing in the glow of the entrance, waits my mother. We open the boot, and a small bit of fabric from a carrier bag escapes and blows across the car park. Mum gives enthusiastic chase. Fabric puts up a good fight but is eventually trapped beneath foot. Mum has consumed one bottle of wine.

  And thus the adventure began! This weekend we made a trip west to join Mum and Dad for a walk around an area they are fond of and have visited several times before – Avebury. I had been there once before, almost ten years ago, and the area is also the setting for one of the main settlements in the historical-fiction novel “Stonehenge” by one of my favourite authors, Bernard Cornwell. Avebury and its surrounding countryside is known for its abundance of great, ancient standing stones, and it is a mythical, magical place.

  We walked into reception just in time to meet Dad on his way down from their room, and we immediately hit the bar. Beth and Mum each had a double gin and lemonade, and – because there was a 3 for 4 deal – Dad and I ordered four bottles of Bulmers to get us going. We continued to consume and chat over dinner, ordering a further four bottles of beer and enjoying our evening. We rounded off with whiskey and rum, with a dash of conspiracy theories, before we called it a night.

  Fortunately, no hangover symptoms presented themselves come the morning! We reconvened in reception at half nine and drove in convoy to the Avebury National Trust carpark. Before we got going properly, we went for breakfast at a little café just across the green. Mum and I had both seen two different weather forecasts for the day. Mine showed a covering of drizzle with scattered heavy spells for more or less the whole day. Mum’s on the other hand, was more optimistic and predicted no rain until the afternoon. However, as I enjoyed my fry-up, the view from the window quickly made it clear whose forecast was correct. By the time we were ready to go, we found ourselves stepping out into the rain with our hoods decidedly up.

  We crossed the road and entered the avenue of standing stones that led in and out of Avebury. However, we were perhaps initially focused on the downpour! Even though we had only been in it a couple of minutes, my trousers were feeling rather soggy, and water was dripping from Mum’s face. Luckily, this downpour began to ease off soon after, and a little sunlight could be seen through the blanket of grey cloud. We continued down the avenue, spotting a few deer on the skyline to our right, and “liking the lichen” on all the stones as we passed.

  As we left the avenue behind, we struck out over the countryside. Across the field to our left, we were then lucky enough to spot three hares dancing around together – an animal closely associated with the mysterious. We stopped to watch, and dad hypothesised that what we were witnessing was two males competing for the more sedate female at the centre – and I believe he may well have been correct.

  Unfortunately, as we were watching, the rain returned. Not as insistent as the start, however this time it did not ease up so quickly. Hoods were raised once more, and I managed to break the elastic on mine. We then began to climb upward. This route had been selected due to being largely on the high ground of “The Ridgeway” to avoid the inevitable flooding in the lowlands, which was a very smart move! On the way up to the hilltop path, we passed three of the many ancient burial mounds that decorated the landscape. All were crowned with dark, twisting trees, and Beth and I climbed up to have a look around. As we descended back down the third to reunite with Mum and Dad, Mum pointed out some deer running their way up toward us. We stood and watched as they hopped across the path right in front of us, before leaping away through the rain.

  We picked up the ridgeway and found that it was deceptively slippery, and carefully navigated the mud as the rain continued. By this point, my trousers were sodden, and Beth’s leggings weren’t far behind. Fortunately, I was distracted from this by getting into a theological discussion with Dad, regarding all things magical, mystical and mysterious. We shared ideas of the truths of life and death and what lies beyond, during which time the rain stopped. As we talked, we got into our long stride, until eventually we turned to realise that we had left the girls behind. We stopped then to wait for them to catch up, reuniting as a four, with the worst of the rain behind us.

  From the high vantage point of the Ridgeway, we got a good view of the surrounding land. Mum and Dad like coming up here for walking, and I can see why. For miles, no pylons spoil the skyline, and no great roads cut through – rare, unspoilt countryside! As we made our way back downhill, we made easy progress on what was the firmest footpath so far. We made our way past a farmyard containing a herd of cows and a solitary guinea fowl, before finding a spattering of snowdrops at the side of the track – our first of the year!

  We then re-entered the edge of Avebury and returned once more to the standing stones. We followed the path of the stones all the way back into the village before ducking into the National Trust shop for a well-earned stamp for our passport. Whilst we were there, we also visited the little museum. Within, we found the 5000-year-old skeleton of a young child, which had been discovered buried in one of the ditches nearby. We all found this quite moving. All that time ago, this poor child passed away, their parents laying them to rest beneath the earth. And now here we were, thousands of years later, looking down at its ancient bones. Sorrow, echoing through the millennium. Beth and I both felt decidedly sad.

  Back out in the open, the rain was holding off. We wanted to visit the Avebury Dairy, and have a go at the self-service milk dispenser housed within – the milk which it contained came from the very cows we had passed earlier! Together, we carefully studied the instructions (we were too slow the first time and had to start again). We left the dairy, the proud owners of a litre of honeycomb-flavoured milk – I am very much looking forward to trying it later.

  We walked around the last few stones, all the way to the centre. Then, it was time to turn our attention to home. We made our way back to the car park and said our goodbyes after what had been a really fun weekend. Dad and I then drove in convoy all the way back to Kent, where we finally went our separate ways at junction four of the M20. Mum and Dad went up the slip road, and we carried on, as we waved an enthusiastic farewell out of our respective windows *cue See You Again by Charlie Puth*.

  Now I am sitting here as Beth prepares our roast dinner, wet socks and trousers removed and replaced with pyjamas, enjoying the feeling of being dry. Meanwhile, our secret stowaways, Boo Boo and Ted, are drying on the radiator next to me, having got a little damp whilst stashed away at the bottom of the bag. For the first time in over five years, I am looking at Ted without his knitted jumper. He is naked and it is scandalous, as he dries his bare bear bottom, after what has been a fantastic adventure in ancient Cathallo.