England
Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire Travel Guide - Stone Circles

(and other bits and dabs of prehistoric sites, too!)

Rollright Stones Long Compton, Oxfordshire Neolithic stone circle 100 feet across, set in a wooded clearing. Across the road is a larger solitary King Stone, while a short distance away is a group of large stones leaning together (the Whispering Knights). The legend goes that the king left his troops (the stone circle) to have a look at the valley, and while he was so occupied a group of his knights gathered together to plot treason. Another tale tells that the king encountered a witch, who promised him "If Long Compton you can see, then king of England you shall be". Since Long Compton is so close, the king thought the task an easy one, but the hillside obstructed his view, whereupon the witch turned him and his men into stones. near Chipping Norton, Long Compton, Oxfordshire, England, Location: 1 mile SE Long Compton, off the A3400 Website: Rollright Stones Under private ownership

Uffington White Horse Uffington, Oxfordshire Well, it might be a horse, or it might be a dragon, and it might be Celtic, and it might be Iron Age, and the fact that it is terribly hard to see the whole thing from anywhere but up in the air has given rise to theory that it is a signal to extraterrestrials, but you must admit that the White Horse is impressive. Cut into a hillside just below an Iron Age hill fort, and only a mile from Wayland's Smithy. Uffington, Oxfordshire, England, Location: off B4507 Website: Uffington White Horse English Heritage

Wayland's Smithy Uffington, Oxfordshire Originally a megalithic mortuary house, later a chambered tomb fronted by an elaborate entrance (see photo). Ony a few yards off the ancient Ridgeway track, and less than a mile from the Uffington hill fort and the famous White Horse. The name "Wayland " refers to Wayland the Smith, the Scandinavian Wodin, and the story goes that if you leave your horse at the site along with a few pennies, the animal will be reshod when you return. Uffington, Oxfordshire, England, Location: On a signposted path off the B4507 Website: Wayland's Smithy English Heritage

OXFORDSHIRE FEATURES:

Oxford Heritage Guide

Featured articles
Rollright Stones - Uffington White Horse - Burford - Swinbrook - Vale of White Horse