Stonehenge Avenue, Ancient ceremonial path in Salisbury Plain, England
Stonehenge Avenue is a prehistoric earthwork that extends roughly three kilometers across Salisbury Plain, linking the stone circle to the River Avon through parallel banks. Two raised ridges run alongside the path, marking the route and showing the scale of ancient engineering across the landscape.
The avenue was built roughly 4600 years ago as part of a major building campaign linked to Stonehenge itself. It reveals how communities worked on monumental projects over extended periods, reshaping the land to suit their ceremonial needs.
The avenue served as a processional route where people gathered for important seasonal gatherings and rituals connected to Stonehenge. Walking along the earthwork banks today gives a sense of the ordered, deliberate way these ceremonies were conducted.
The best way to explore the avenue is on foot, walking alongside the earthwork banks to understand its scale and shape. The terrain is flat and open, but check the weather as the plain offers little shelter from wind and rain.
The earthwork follows natural features in the landscape created during the last ice age. The ancient builders adapted their construction to these pre-existing features rather than reshaping the ground entirely from scratch.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
