The iron age hill fort Oldbury Castle near Cherhill Wiltshire England UK, along with the great British walking routes.
Visit Wiltshire and enjoy walking and taking a step back in history. Take a walk up to the hillfort and get a sense of being on top of the world in this frontier fort. Possibly the highest in the chain of Ridgeway hillforts and one of the best walking routes in Wiltshire, views in all directions with the drone of Oldbury Castle near Cherhill Wiltshire.
Accessible by very steep footpaths from the A4 below the Cherhill White Horse.
Click here to get directions to Oldbury Castle Hillfort
Aerial video of the monument Oldbury Castle in Wiltshire
The defenses of Oldbury Castle near Cherhill are still clearly visible in this aerial drone video. The monument built on top of the hill fort is the Lansdowne Monument and was built-in 1845 to commemorate Sir William Petty
The first people to make a hilltop enclosure here were living in the Bronze Age at around 1,000BC. They dug banks and ditches to enclose a large six-hectare area of the top of Cherhill Down.
The hillfort is bivallate on most sides, having two banks and ditches, however, the northwestern side has only one bank as it is built on top of a steep escarpment which provides a natural defense.
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Geophysical survey work carried out at Oldbury Castle in 1996 revealed up to 20 circular features which are thought to be the remains of Iron Age round houses within Oldbury hill fort castle. These features, together with archaeological finds of animal bones, pottery, and a weaving comb, all provide evidence that it was inhabited over 2000 years ago.
In the south west area there is evidence of disturbance which is likely to be that of quarrying for flint in the 18th and 19th centuries, possibly for the turnpiking of the Bath Road.
Over time paths and banks become eroded by walkers and livestock, to prevent further deterioration these areas are repaired by packing in sterile chalk often with the help volunteers.
