The GBR Project Ch. 7. I'm Off - Day One

The Menhirs

The magical standing stones at Avebury were a fitting destination for Day One of the GBR Project

The first part of the journey had been tested previously and this practice route took me as far as Gastard after I had spotted my first tollhouse and coaching inn on Kingsdown. I had enjoyed the feeling that I was well and truly on the old coaching route. From Gastard it was a short ride to Lacock, the home of photography. Fox talbot, after pain-staking research and enthusiasm had discovered the light sensitive nature of silver salts and the magic of the ‘latent image’. One of the very first photographs was taken from inside this very building so with a respectful nod to this man’s perseverance and ingenuity I whizzed on past Lacock Abbey to join the first of the official cycle routes.

The main ‘paper’ maps I used on my trip

Number 20 is an on-road NCR (national cycle route) that goes from Chippenham to Calne and joins up with the far more extensive NCR 403 which for much of its way is traffic free and would ultimately take me past Marlborough to Great Bedwyn. The highlight of route 20 from a historical coaching perspective was that it would take me through Sandy Lane. This small village is frequently mentioned in travel journals in 18th century itineraries. I’d never heard of it before and was curious to see what it looked like now. First I needed to climb Bowden hill via Bewley common. On an electric bike this is straight forward and without pain or the humiliation of ‘pushing’. As I entered the village the first sight was a large pub with an empty carpark. I was delighted that this old country inn was actually called The George. It had seen better days and was now totally abandoned because of Covid. I nosed around and discovered that the building was built in 1720.

The main road from London to bath passed through here via Silchester and Speen and there is even a roman settlement nearby called Verlucio. The Roman road had been key to east west travel and was still used by drovers in the middle ages but formed no part of the Great Bath Road. The village of Sandy Lane has a population of 32 and was almost hobbit like in appearance with many thatched cottages of the chocolate-box variety. These Teletubby houses were almost unreal with a hyper pictorial Alice in Wonderland quality that included croquet lawns and pruned, door-framing rose bushes. In Calne, my next stop, I got lost. It had to happen sooner or later, and sooner was more likely. I blame the signage, they are also magical. Now you see them and now they’re gone.

The small cycle signs are sometimes hidden or just very hard to see! It’s easy to get lost.

In Calne they never made an appearance but it meant I had to follow my nose, the feature apparently and mysteriously used for navigation. I found myself in Compton Basset, a very posh place, but not one I had intended to visit. Retracing my steps, although thankfully I wasn’t walking, I found the route 403 that goes just north of the A4 via Cherhill and Yatesbury and onto Avebury. I had visited this Neolithic site before but the oddness and spiritual power of the place is striking. It is one of the largest and most complex prehistorical sites in the world and the bed & breakfast that had been booked was slap bang in the middle of the main circle (there are 3 apparently!).

The Neolithic Circle at Avebury

In the early Middle Ages a village was built around and inside the circle. I eventually found Silbery house which faced the Great Bath Road and, as it was now closed to traffic, was in pristine condition. Just as the Georgians would have experienced it. An excellent place to stop for the night and I felt in touch with my older adventurers. There was a pub opposite, and I walked to it in the pouring rain. The Red Lion, a thatched roofed coaching inn, rather spoilt by its proximity to the A361 offered a warm welcome and a good dinner. I could just imagine the inn keepers, ostlers and stable lads looking after the horses whilst I dined with an interesting collection of travellers. If we had had time to walk amongst the stones before dinner we might have speculated, like we still do today, as to the 5000 year old monument’s meaning and method of construction. John Aubrey who had made drawings of the stones in the 1660s had taken a keen and antiquarian interest in them died a few years before our century began. It was certainly one of the highlights and great pleasures of the Great Bath Road.

Coming up: Chapter 8. Day Two