Locations of The Green Man
The locations in The Green Man are real places. You can visit each of them for the princely sum of a short walk (there are no admission fees to any of the following places at time of writing):
Cerne Abbas Giant
Situated around sixteen miles north of Weymouth, the Cerne Abbas Giant (or Rude Man, as he is sometimes aptly referred to) sits on a hillside overlooking the small Dorset village of Cerne Abbas.
Perhaps the largest of British chalk- carved hill figures, arguments still rage over his age and identity. Studies in 1996 discovered additional features which have been lost over time, including a severed head at his feet and a cloak draped across his arm. Potential explanations for his identity include Hercules, a 17th century joke by a local vicar, and perhaps most obviously, a fertility symbol. He can be approached from a public car park at the base of the hill.
Maiden Castle
Maiden Castle is huge. Staggeringly so. Situated just a few miles from Dorchester, it dominates the skyline for miles around. It was built and embellished upon in several stages. Simple earthworks existed on site as far back as 4000BC. The first (smaller) hill-fort was built around 600BC. Then, around 450BC, the ground-plan was increased to a staggering 47 acres, making it easily the largest hill-fort in Britain, and arguably all of Europe. It was finally abandoned, after four thousand years of continuous use, in the first century AD.
The hilltop area is protected by a complex layering of banks and ditches, with offset entrances at each layer. The name ‘Maiden’ is believed to be based on the old English Mai- Dun, or great hill. Access is via a small car park at the base of the hill. It’s worth checking on opening times as they vary dependant on the time of year.
The Ridgeway
If you enjoy walking, you’ll love The Ridgeway. Stretching a total of 87 miles in length, it starts just outside Avebury in Wiltshire, and runs continuously through to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. Passing through rolling chalk downs, gentle woodland and windblown hilltops, The Ridgeway also takes the walker through a multitude of Neolithic landscape features; Avebury stone circle, Silbury Hill, sundry hillforts, Waylands Smithy (see below), The Uffington White Horse, and more round burial barrows than you can count. At more than five thousand years old, it can also be enjoyed for the simple pleasure of walking through countryside of unparalleled beauty. Access can be made to The Ridgeway at a multitude of points along its route, enabling short circular walks of little more than a few miles, to the full- scale 87 mile end-to-end journey. Access is free all year, but sections can get muddy in the autumn and winter.
Uffington Castle
Uffington Castle hill-fort (the location of Nick and Beech’s shoot- out) is smaller and less grand than Maiden Castle, but does have the added advantage of being on The Ridgeway (see above), overlooking the Uffington White Horse chalk hill- figure, and being a short walk from Wayland’s Smithy (see below). All of these features can be visited comfortably in one afternoon. Uffington Castle is surrounded by two earth banks. It was originally built in the 7th or 8th century BC, and was in use until the 4th century AD.
The hill can be accessed from a sizeable car park at its base. Access is free, but check opening times as they vary with the seasons.
Wayland’s Smithy.
Set close to Uffington Castle and the White Horse, Wayland’s Smithy nestles in its own isolated glade, just to the side of The Ridgeway. Built in the Neolithic, it is smaller than the Long Barrow at West Kennet near Avebury, but has its own unique charm, and sense of timelessness.
The tomb was originally built around 3550BC, and is believed to have been constructed of timber. Later, around 3400BC, it was rebuilt in stone providing a unique example of a clear change in burial and religious customs during that period.
Wayland’s Smithy derives its name from Wayland or Wolund, a Saxon smith god. The name was applied by the local Saxons 4000 years after it ws originally constructed. There is some evidence to suggest that the Ancient Britons left votive offerings here, long before the arrival of the Saxons.
Wayland’s Smithy can be accessed from the car park at Uffington Castle. The walk will take you up over the hill- fort and down the other side, following the chalk path. Another 20- 30 minutes of walking (depending on your pace) will bring you to the small stile which marks the entrance to the glade in which Wayland’s Smithy Rests.
Windsor Great Park.
Nestling on the border between Berkshire and Surrey, Windsor Great Park sits close to the town of Windsor.
Stretching over 5000 acres, it was originally reserved form a larger (and much older) forest by William The Conqueror in the 11th century.
Large section are now open to the public between dawn and dusk. Today, the park contains managed forests and small woods, together with several striking man-made features.
The locations in The Green Man are real places. You can visit each of them for the princely sum of a short walk (there are no admission fees to any of the following places at time of writing):
Cerne Abbas Giant
Situated around sixteen miles north of Weymouth, the Cerne Abbas Giant (or Rude Man, as he is sometimes aptly referred to) sits on a hillside overlooking the small Dorset village of Cerne Abbas.
Perhaps the largest of British chalk- carved hill figures, arguments still rage over his age and identity. Studies in 1996 discovered additional features which have been lost over time, including a severed head at his feet and a cloak draped across his arm. Potential explanations for his identity include Hercules, a 17th century joke by a local vicar, and perhaps most obviously, a fertility symbol. He can be approached from a public car park at the base of the hill.
Maiden Castle
Maiden Castle is huge. Staggeringly so. Situated just a few miles from Dorchester, it dominates the skyline for miles around. It was built and embellished upon in several stages. Simple earthworks existed on site as far back as 4000BC. The first (smaller) hill-fort was built around 600BC. Then, around 450BC, the ground-plan was increased to a staggering 47 acres, making it easily the largest hill-fort in Britain, and arguably all of Europe. It was finally abandoned, after four thousand years of continuous use, in the first century AD.
The hilltop area is protected by a complex layering of banks and ditches, with offset entrances at each layer. The name ‘Maiden’ is believed to be based on the old English Mai- Dun, or great hill. Access is via a small car park at the base of the hill. It’s worth checking on opening times as they vary dependant on the time of year.
The Ridgeway
If you enjoy walking, you’ll love The Ridgeway. Stretching a total of 87 miles in length, it starts just outside Avebury in Wiltshire, and runs continuously through to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. Passing through rolling chalk downs, gentle woodland and windblown hilltops, The Ridgeway also takes the walker through a multitude of Neolithic landscape features; Avebury stone circle, Silbury Hill, sundry hillforts, Waylands Smithy (see below), The Uffington White Horse, and more round burial barrows than you can count. At more than five thousand years old, it can also be enjoyed for the simple pleasure of walking through countryside of unparalleled beauty. Access can be made to The Ridgeway at a multitude of points along its route, enabling short circular walks of little more than a few miles, to the full- scale 87 mile end-to-end journey. Access is free all year, but sections can get muddy in the autumn and winter.
Uffington Castle
Uffington Castle hill-fort (the location of Nick and Beech’s shoot- out) is smaller and less grand than Maiden Castle, but does have the added advantage of being on The Ridgeway (see above), overlooking the Uffington White Horse chalk hill- figure, and being a short walk from Wayland’s Smithy (see below). All of these features can be visited comfortably in one afternoon. Uffington Castle is surrounded by two earth banks. It was originally built in the 7th or 8th century BC, and was in use until the 4th century AD.
The hill can be accessed from a sizeable car park at its base. Access is free, but check opening times as they vary with the seasons.
Wayland’s Smithy.
Set close to Uffington Castle and the White Horse, Wayland’s Smithy nestles in its own isolated glade, just to the side of The Ridgeway. Built in the Neolithic, it is smaller than the Long Barrow at West Kennet near Avebury, but has its own unique charm, and sense of timelessness.
The tomb was originally built around 3550BC, and is believed to have been constructed of timber. Later, around 3400BC, it was rebuilt in stone providing a unique example of a clear change in burial and religious customs during that period.
Wayland’s Smithy derives its name from Wayland or Wolund, a Saxon smith god. The name was applied by the local Saxons 4000 years after it ws originally constructed. There is some evidence to suggest that the Ancient Britons left votive offerings here, long before the arrival of the Saxons.
Wayland’s Smithy can be accessed from the car park at Uffington Castle. The walk will take you up over the hill- fort and down the other side, following the chalk path. Another 20- 30 minutes of walking (depending on your pace) will bring you to the small stile which marks the entrance to the glade in which Wayland’s Smithy Rests.
Windsor Great Park.
Nestling on the border between Berkshire and Surrey, Windsor Great Park sits close to the town of Windsor.
Stretching over 5000 acres, it was originally reserved form a larger (and much older) forest by William The Conqueror in the 11th century.
Large section are now open to the public between dawn and dusk. Today, the park contains managed forests and small woods, together with several striking man-made features.