The Cerne Abbas Giant

I posted the other day about our drive down through, Avebury, Stonehenge and the chalk horses of Wiltshire. What a great day out, we loved it!

We missed one very important site, The Cerne Abbas Giant.

I’d never seen this very excited chap, ever, in my 47 years of Britishness, so we made the pilgrimage today.

It was about a 1 hour drive from Bournemouth through beautiful chalk down countryside and some of the prettiest villages I’ve ever seen. Cerne Abbas village itself was stunning with thatched cottages and ancient coaching inns turned pubs. The drive through the Piddle valley, today badly flooded, was incredibly picturesque.

We got to see the Cerne Abbas Giant up on the hillside. Not a great view, but I forgot to bring my helicopter. If you click the link through to the National Trust site you’ll see some better pictures.

It was well worth the drive and, as I said before, it’s a shame that so many visitors only make it to Stonehenge. this part of the UK is bristling with history.

The giant is the UK’s largest chalk figure, he’s 180ft tall. They haven’t quite worked out why he’s there or how old he is yet, he’s a man of mystery. Maybe he’s a fertility symbol, maybe he’s a giant chalk two fingers up at Oliver Cromwell. The jury is still out, as far as I know. Have you ever seen a naked man on a hill?