Evening all, today’s adventure took us towards Salisbury where we were blessed with great weather ranging from the morning a warm 24 degrees to a hot and humid 28 degrees, phew.

We have decided to take advantage of our English Heritage membership (please see below for more information) and discover the glory that is Stonehenge, but, because we wanted to make a day of getting out and about after some odd isolation and uncertainty, we decided to visit some of the other interesting sites around Wiltshire and Salisbury which led us to Woodhenge.

Now, we wont lie, Woodhenge isn’t anything like its neighbour at Stonehenge, but it still has some interesting mystery surrounding it such to as; why it is here and what the purpose was. Originally the neolithic site was discovered accidentally by squadron leader and aerial photographer Gilbert Insall in 1926, whom noticed shadows in the earth that seemed odd, and with help from locals and archaeologists, they thought it could have been an old burial ground with man made work and no real purpose.

Luckily pottery was found around the site which normally indicates some form of human habitation.

The best thing around pottery is the fact that it can be carbon dated, which meant that they were able to pinpoint eras around when Woodhenge could have been built. Some of the pottery pieces and artifacts found at the site were carbon dated to around 1800 B.C, but then the site was used by the Anglo Saxons and the Romans too.

Something that we have read about was an eerie and perhaps gruesome discovery of a 3 year old child’s body. It had been excavated at the site by scientists, with the forensic analysis of the skull showing it had been split open from an axe. This could indicate the original purpose of woodhenge, which could be for religious purposes and possibly human sacrifices.

What stands here today is a number of concrete blocks that represent where the timber posts would have been. There are six oval concentric posts with the long axis pointing towards both the summer and winter solstices.

What artists and archaeologists have predicted is that back in the day, it would have been likely that the site was completely open, with carved posts and painted like totem poles.

Honestly I believe it is worth visiting if you are heading towards Stonehenge, located around Larkhill and Amesbury and following a quite obvious walking path will take you 2 miles towards Stonehenge. The site is completely free, open access at all times with free roadside parking and protected by the English Heritage.

If you are interested in joining the English Heritage and having unlimited access to over 400 sites ranging from historic sites, castles, ruins, houses across the UK with free entry up to six children and you can save hundreds of pounds with entry and car parking fees, please give https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/ a visit and join your love of history and exploration.

We really hope you are enjoying reading, please give our Instagram a follow, say hello and we cant wait to share Stonehenge with you next!

Address: Countess Rd, Salisbury SP4 7AR