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Avebury shortlisted as Heritage Site of the Year.
AVEBURY has been shortlisted as Heritage Site of the Year in the BBC Countryfile Magazine awards 2014/15.
Small Group Guided Tour of Avebury
Well known for its henge, which is cared for by the National Trust, Avebury was chosen against some strong competition for the awards shortlist.
Now the poll has been opened up for people to vote for their favourite places.
Eleanor Eaton, visitor services manager for the National Trust at Avebury said: “We’re up against some special places, including Portmeirion village in North Wales, and Kew Palace in Surrey, so we would be really grateful if people who share our love of Avebury were to take the time to vote for it before 31 January.
“This has been a special place for thousands of years, long before it was chosen as the site of the henge and it still clearly inspires people today.”
Now in its fourth year, the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards celebrate the UK countryside and its people, from great heritage attractions and favourite holiday destinations to the best nature reserves and the finest rural pubs.
Avebury was nominated by Countryfile presenter, Jules Hudson, who said in his nomination that although the stone circle is often overlooked by Stonehenge, it is more readily accessible.
He said: “You can marvel at a prehistoric world that’s as mysterious as it is beautiful and explore the wider landscape and component sites such as the Sanctuary and West Kennet long barrow.”
The awards which feature 12 categories, including rural pub and garden of the year, were launched in the January edition of the magazine.
To whittle down the contenders, BBC Countryfile Magazine asked experts in each field to draw up shortlists of candidates in each category.
To vote for your countryside favourites email awards@countryfile.com or go on the BBC Countryfile Magazine website at http://www.countryfile.com/awards2014-15 More information about Avebury is available at http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury
Article source: Gazette and Herald
The Stonehenge Travel Company based in Salisbury offer frequent guided tours of Stonehenge and Avebury Stone Circle
Stonehenge Travel Company
Guided Tours from Salisbury
Mystical Landscape, Magical Tours
Plains, Trains and Automobiles: Salisbury, Stonehenge and South Wiltshire is a truly unique destination
Take some time out and escape to Wiltshire this year. Find out more about this mysterious and beautiful part England.
The newly completed Stonehenge visitor centre deserves an extended visit. We recommend staying in Wiltshire and 
exploring the surrounding area, rich in history, myths and legends. Salisbury, Stonehenge and South Wiltshire is a truly unique destination. Set among some of the most beautiful countryside and with a 5,000 year old history the area is steeped in history but with its eye firmly fixed on the future.
Salisbury is a bit of a rail hub with main lines and frequent trains going east to London, south to Southampton and west to Bath and Bristol. Frequent trains run from London’s Waterloo station taking approximately 80 minutes to do the journey. There are normally two trains an hour operating up until very late evening. During the week, the cheap tickets are not available until after the morning commuter rush. Don’t worry if your accommodation is in London, its very easy to get to Salisbury or Bath from London by train and the trains run till late so there is still time to get back to London last thing.
Here are some examples of how accessible Wiltshire is using the Inter-City services from central London:
• London (Paddington) – Bath and Bristol via Swindon (55 mins),Chippenham (70 mins) and Great Bedwyn (90 mins).
• London (Waterloo) – Salisbury (90 mins) and Tisbury (103 mins).
Salisbury is one of England’s most wonderful cities – a medieval masterpiece with something for everyone. From traditional English pubs to cosmopolitan street cafes and from hard-to-find specialist shops to major high street stores, you’ll find it in Salisbury. And at its heart there is the magnificent Salisbury Cathedral, towering over the city as it has for over 750 years. Step outside of the city and you are in another world. Green hills, crystal clear rivers and picturesque towns and villages just waiting to be discovered. And, of course, there’s Stonehenge. The world’s most famous stone circle stands just a few miles north of Salisbury – a must see destination.
Stonehenge Stone Circle is the most famous and enigmatic Megalithic site in the United Kingdom. Dominating the landscape of Salisbury Plain in the county of Wiltshire, the giant standing stones of Stonehenge – some weighing up to 50 tonnes – are a mysterious icon left by mysterious ancient peoples. You may have a special interest in burial chambers, the construction of Stonehenge, the purpose and culture of the people that built the henge.
English Heritage Stonehenge Visitor Centre. The fantastic new £27m visitor centre at Stonehenge is now open, offering tourists an interactive experience and the chance to examine prehistoric objects. Visitors are transported by shuttle bus more than a mile (2km) from the venue to see the stones.
Salisbury Plain
Discover prehistoric sites and rare species preserved on Salisbury Plain. An ocean of grassland and a sweep of big sky. Ancient 
monuments loom out of the mist; camouflaged soldiers crouch in the undergrowth. Salisbury Plain is a landscape of extremes. It is the largest remaining area of chalk grassland in Northwest Europe and home to 2,300 prehistoric sites yet also the largest military training area on British soil.
Avebury Stone Circle Avebury rivals – some would say exceeds – Stonehenge as the largest, most impressive and complex pre-historic site in Britain. Avebury is part of a wider complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, with many other ritual sites in English Heritage care. West Kennet Avenue joined it to The Sanctuary, and another stone avenue connected it with Beckhampton. West Kennet Long Barrow and Windmill Hill are also nearby, as is the huge and mysterious Silbury Hill. This extraordinary assemblage of sites seemingly formed a huge ‘sacred landscape’, whose use and purpose can still only be guessed at. Avebury and its surroundings have, with Stonehenge, achieved international recognition as a World Heritage Site.
Mysterious Crop circles Salisbury Plain is well known for its crop circles and much mystery still remains as to why they occur and the meanings behind their complex formations. A tour of the ancient hills and vales of Wiltshire which are, inexplicably, the world capital of crop circles Crop circles in Wiltshire often occur around the heart of the county in and around Avebury, usually first appearing in April and continuing into the summer months. Crop circle guided tours can be arranged from Salisbury or Bath
Guided Tours from Salisbury can return to Salisbury or why not make the most of your sightseeing and be dropped off in Bath, Southampton or even London. Popular destinations can include: Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta | Old Sarum Hillfort | Stonehenge Stone Circle and the new visitor centre | Woodhenge and Durrington Walls | Ancient Chalk Hill Figures | Pewsey valleys | Salisbury Plain and mysterious crop circles | Avebury Stone Circle | West Kennet Long Barrow | Silbury Hill | Lacock Village | Castle Combe Village | The Cotswolds | Glastonbury Tor and The Isle of Avalon
Needless to say private guided tours are bespoke and can be tailoured to suit your needs in the date(s) you wish to travel. Stonehenge private access tours allow you to enter the inner circle of Stonehenge before or after it is officially open to the public.
A once in a lifetime opportunity!
We would be delighted to arrange a private guide tour of Wiltshire and help you with your Salisbury Travel plans. Email us: tours@StonehengeTravel.co.uk or visit our website: http://www.StonehengeTravel.co.uk
Some Salisbury and Stonehenge links:
Visit Wiltshire: Discover things to do and places to visit across Wiltshire. Plan your visit, book hotels and accommodation and find out what’s on in the county. http://www.VisitWiltshire.co.uk
Download the Visit Wiltshire Apps here: http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/plan-your-visit/apps
Magnificent Salisbury Cathedral with the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom, home to the finest of the four surviving original Magna Carta 1215: http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/
Old Sarum Hillfort: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/old-sarum/
Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, in Wiltshire, England was opened in 1966 and was the first drive-through safari park outside Africa: http://www.Longleat.co.uk
Wilton House is an English country house situated at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire. It has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years: http://www.WiltonHouse.co.uk
Amesbury Museum & Heritage Centre: http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/ideas-and-inspiration/amesbury-museum-and-heritage-centre-p1536253
Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum: Showcasing the medieval Cathedral town of Salisbury and the ancient wonders of Stonehenge. http://www.salisburymuseum.org.uk/
The Cathedral Express. Wonderful days out by steam train: http://www.steamdreams.com/
English Heritage: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/
The Stonehenge Tourism Website: http://www.Stonehenge-Tourism.com
London to Salisbury Trains: http://www.thetrainline.com/
Discover Britain: http://www.discoveringbritain.org/walks/region/south-west-england/salisbury-plain.html
Guided Tours of Stonehenge and Salisbury http://www.StonehengeTravel.co.uk
For Stonehenge and Salisbury News follow us on Twitter: @SalisburyTours
Local Wiltshire Tour Guide
The Stonehenge Travel Company
Experience sunset from within the inner circle of Stonehenge. A truly magical experience!
Go beyond the fences in 2014 on our legendary Magical Tour……
What better way to experience the magic and mystery of Stonehenge than with a private viewing at sunset. On our exclusive small group guided tours from Salisbury, visitors will be able to access the historic stone circle, and explore the surrounding area rich in history, myths and legends
“Experiencing the inner circle of Stonehenge at Sunset is a unique and, for many, a magical and moving experience”
Magical Tour Highlights:
- Experience Stonehenge at Sunset from within the Inner Circle
Expert local Stonehenge guide and small group guaranteed
King Arthurs Avalon including Glastonbury Tor, Glastonbury Abbey and Challice Springs Walking Tour of Avebury Stone Circle
Drive through the Warminster Triangle and see mysterious Wiltshire crop Circles
West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill
Walk the Stonehenge Avenue
Learn how to Dowse and here about the many Ley Lines
On this tour we discover the myths and legends of King Arthur, the stories behind this famous British hero. We depart from Salisbury, Wiltshire (approx. 10am) 
and travel through the spectacular west country of England and travel to the mystical Isle of Avalon, allowing time to walk up Glastonbury Tor for spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.
We will visit the vibrant, bustling town of Glastonbury to visit the Abbey and Arthur and Guinevere”s grave site. There will be time for lunch among the New Age shops and quirky little boutiques. Then, for the later part of the afternoon we move on to the ancient complex of Avebury, truly a giant among stone circles. The largest collection of Neolithic monuments in England, we spend the final part of the tour being guided around the huge stone rings of Avebury and see the mysterious Silbury Hill, Europe’s tallest prehistoric man made monument.
We end the day by heading back through the ancient Kingdom of Wessex and onwards to Stonehenge visiting and mysterious crop circles on-route. This landscape is peppered with burial chambers and stone circles, each one thousands of years old and rising above all of them on Salisbury Plain is Stonehenge. With 5,000 years of history our expert guide will explain what we now know, and then reveal theories and ideas that still have historians debating right up to today. Astronomical clock, calendar, place of worship, burial site for the elite? You can ponder the theories as you walk amongst the stones and experience sunset from with the inner circle
“A person only has so many great moments in life. You know the kind of moments I’m talking about; the ones where time moves slowly, everything feels amazing, and you walk away with a sense of awe. You will have such moment on our Stonehenge sunset tour.”
Click here to view this tour: http://stonehengetravel.co.uk/sunset-experience-stonehenge-inner-circle.htm
Stonehenge Travel Co, Salisbury
Avebury’s past to be on TV
Presenter Tony Robinson and his production team battled the elements at Avebury stone circle to film part of the four-part series Walking Through History.
Avebury’s past to be on TV
Last week the team visited various locations in the county for the Wiltshire episode of the series, which looks at some of Britain’s most historic landscapes.
Other areas visited in Wiltshire included Devizes, Silbury Hill, the Kennet long barrows and Stonehenge.
Photographer Nicola Salt from Cadley was at the Avebury stones when the filming took place.
She said: “I spoke to someone from the production team and they said they’d really enjoyed the visit. It’s great to see Wiltshire get the recognition it deserves – when you live here you don’t appreciate how lucky you are.”
Full article in the Gazatte and Herald: http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/10625991.Avebury_s_past_to_be_on_TV/
Stonehenge Travel Company, Salisbury
Stonehenge and Salisbury Guided Tours 