<< Our Photo Pages >> West Kennett Long Barrow - Long Barrow in England in Wiltshire
Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 14 February 2025 Page Views: 52682
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: West Kennett Long Barrow Alternative Name: West Kennet Long BarrowCountry: England County: Wiltshire Type: Long Barrow
Nearest Town: Marlborough Nearest Village: Avebury
Map Ref: SU10506774 Landranger Map Number: 173
Latitude: 51.408589N Longitude: 1.850426W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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I have visited· I would like to visit
deepblue 43559959 madmark23 Traumrealistin ajmp3003 rrmoser hallsifer would like to visit
rvbaker2003 visited on 10th Nov 2024 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3
WanderingGoat visited on 10th Sep 2024 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3
Shalaa visited on 20th Aug 2024 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
MartinJEley visited on 27th Apr 2024 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4 A site that I had read about many times proved to be well worth the visit. On the walk up there I got to see my first Red Tailed Kite.
Couplands visited on 12th Sep 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
NDM visited on 1st Mar 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
mesolithica visited on 29th Dec 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
aolson visited on 24th Jun 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 2 As spectacular as expected. Great to visit a chambered tomb that still has its covering of earth.
TheCaptain visited on 25th Sep 2020 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Up the hill across the fields to West Kennet longbarrow. Its bright and clear but very windy up here, which gives good views all around. A steady stream of people are coming up here for a look, but not enough to get in the way. As I suspect is often the case, there is quite a bit of tat and suchlike inside, put there by people who should know better.
michelle_b007 visited on 14th Aug 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5
Mikesee visited on 1st Jan 2019 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 3
Hodur visited on 29th Dec 2018 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 A wonderful sacred site if you can get enough time to yourself there.
Chappers60 visited on 6th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3
elad13 visited on 4th Jul 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3
dancing_star visited on 1st Jun 2018 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4
bishop_pam visited on 16th Oct 2017 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 3
Chrononaut1962 visited on 24th Jul 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3 Also visited on several previous occasions over the last 15 years or so.
achiersnakes visited on 18th Mar 2016 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Amazing long barrow with its structure still in good condition. Parking available and well-gravelled footpath. Inside are small chambers to the side and it is fairly "roomy" inside. Definitely worth a trip after visiting Avebury Stone Circles.
trystan_hughes visited on 22nd Dec 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
XIII visited on 13th Aug 2015 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
Chrus visited on 1st Jan 2014 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
Estrela visited on 4th Sep 2013 West Kennet is an impressive long barrow, with huge shielding stones at the entrance end, obscuring the passage leading within. From its top one has a clear view of Silbury Hill to the north.
Glass blocks have been let into the barrow roof to give some light in the barrow rooms, but one has been left entirely dark to show what it would have been like.
TwinFlamesKiss visited on 1st Aug 2013 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 3
ModernExplorers visited on 21st Dec 2012 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Your classic Long Barrow, huge megalithic rocks and sausage shaped
Phillwhite visited on 11th Aug 2012 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5
graemefield visited on 27th Jun 2012 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
TheCaptain visited on 11th Jul 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Having failed to get dinner at The Barge Inn, we got sandwiches in Marlborough, and then went and sat up on top of WKLB to eat them in the lovely sunshine, overlooking Silbury Hill and Avebury. Its lovely up here. But, there are always nutters about, banging drums, dowsing, tealights etc. What a shame the place has to put up with this.
jeffrep visited on 27th May 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3
SteveC visited on 26th Aug 2010 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3
johnstone visited on 30th Jun 2010 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4
Richard13 visited on 1st Jul 2009 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3
ForestDaughter visited on 23rd Sep 2008 - their rating: Amb: 5 Access: 3
SolarMegalith visited on 1st Jul 2008 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4
Woode visited on 21st Dec 2007 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4
Andy B visited on 18th Dec 2004 Featured in Episode Two of BBC's History of Ancient Britain with Neil Oliver
RedKite1985 visited on 1st Jan 2002 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4
wildtalents visited on 1st Jul 1997 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 2 The only time we visited the West Kennet Long Barrow we were just about to leave when a bunch of folks turned up and held some kind of a sing-song inside. We hung about a while marvelling at the booming then made our way down the hill just in case some sacrificial rite might be about to unfold.
Prior to that, we'd had about thirty minutes to recover from the uphill walk, have a smoke, and admire the Avebury sacred landscape as it unfolds below you. The view of Silbury Hill from up there is second-to-none. The Barrow itself is reconstructed quite substantially but if you ignore the little bits of mortar here and there it is possible to imagine yourself many many hundreds of years before, literally in the bowels of the Earth. A magic place and I have to visit again.
woodini254 visited on 29th Dec 1993 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4
Orcinus visited on 1st Jan 1989 - their rating: Amb: 4
bat400 visited on 1st Oct 1987 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4
coldrum visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
coin visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4 A great atmosphere, one of the best locations in the world.
NorthernerInLondon saw from a distance
Lazulilou visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 4
CoppellaiaMatta PAB Humbucker FrothNinja DrewParsons Ogham Bladup sem h_fenton AngieLake PhilipT TimPrevett JimChampion sirius_b davidmorgan mdensham myf NickyD AnnabelleStar ArchAstro Wazza12 hevveh have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4.18 Ambience: 4.61 Access: 3.37
Access: West Kennet Long Barrow is a short uphill walk (less than half a mile), signposted from the A4 road. Parking in the lay-by can be difficult during busy times. More parking is available about half a mile to the west at the Silbury Hill viewing area.
Acoustics of the West Kennet Long Barrow by Steve Marshall, see the comments below for links to the published paper paper plus sound samples, spectrograms and other archaeoacoustic experiments.
Note: Top photo: the polisher stone inside the barrow - can you see the owl figure that I do asks Bladup?
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