If you hear about a place called ‘Devil’s Den’ you don’t quite know what to expect!

We joined a walk organised by the Wiltshire Museum at Devizes one overcast but muggy afternoon in early September.

The walk itself was about 6 miles (9.6 km) in duration and we started just outside Marlborough and headed in the direction of Avebury.

The Wiltshire countryside is just beautiful and we had some local wIldlife to deal with 😊.

The Devil’s Den is quite an interesting structure of stones or Sarsens.

There is still some debate on how it got its name though. It might be local folklore that once said that the devil resided inside and when it rained, he would come out and drink from the furrow on the top of the stone.

We were accompanied by an archaeologist from the Devizes museum who described the area and what the local finds have been, including some flint tools.

We passed a geological flow that indicates that this was once a river system here. This can help with understanding how the stones, that were once used at Stonehenge and Avebury, were transported.

A so-called river of Sarsens.

Further still and we were shown the Polisher’s Stone which was used to sharpen flint tools.

And then, a large Sarsen which the locals refer to as the Toad Stone.

The whole circular walk took about 3 and a half hours and it was brilliant!

A new insight to a hidden world, completely sheltered from public eye and not near any major roads.

Only way to get to it is on foot. 😊

For more information on future events and walks – have a look at the Wiltshire museum.

Links included are for information only and aren’t affiliate links.

All images used are personal photographs taken during the Hidden Wiltshire walk in September 2021.

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