A Guide to The White Horses of Wiltshire

Philip Webb Gregg

18/05/2024

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Join Philip as he takes us on a journey through history, myth, and the enchanting beauty of the remarkable geoglyphs that paint the landscape, in his guide to the white horses of Wiltshire. Plus, scroll down for an interactive White Horses map!

A few summers ago, my brother and I camped out at the base of the White Horse of Uffington for Midsummer’s Eve (for more on wild camping, see my Dartmoor piece: ‘The Right to Wonder’). It was a good adventure. Pristine camping conditions and barely a bicker or argument with my usually feisty elder sibling.

After staying awake late into the warm and starry night, we woke early to the sound of hooves.

Poking our heads out of our tents, we watched in awe as two riders galloped gracefully across the green hillside, while the giant shape of the chalk horse shone in the post-dawn light. 

Like I say, it was a good adventure.

The trip sparked a keen fascination with the mysterious White Horses of Britain. And I was surprised to learn that unlike most of the ancient structures, symbols and assorted burial mounds scattered across these curious islands, most of them aren’t actually that old…

So, What Are ‘White Horses’?

The word ‘geoglyph’ refers to a man-made pattern or symbol cut directly into the ground, from geo – the Earth, and glyph – carved figure or design. Probably the most famous of these are the spectacular Nazca Lines that adorn the Nazca Desert in Peru, but there are dozens of other examples from all over the world. And while people usually equate geoglyphs with ancient civilisations, that’s not necessarily the case.

Exhibit A: The White Horses of Great Britain, a good example of relatively modern geoglyphs. That being said, Uffington is in a whole other league. 

Officially, there are sixteen White Horses carved into Britain’s hills. Unofficially, the number is almost twice that.

That’s because, just like real horses, the White Horses are rather high-maintenance. Without regular clearing and cutting, known as ‘scouring’, the intricate patterns become overgrown and fade into the hillside. 

For me, this is part of the great magic of the White Horses. 

They can be seen as a symbol of co-existence between the natural world – horses, and the local population.

Most of the villages located in areas with White Horse have some kind of yearly cleaning tradition woven into their traditional village fairs. Thus, an age-old contract has been formed: the village maintains the horse, just as the horse, in so many ways over so many years, maintains and strengthens the village. 

Great Britain, being a very horsey place, has more horse geoglyphs than anywhere else in the world.

But there’s one place in all of Britain that has more White Horses than anywhere else: Wiltshire.

The White Horse of Uffington: The Original

You can’t talk about the White Horses of Wiltshire without talking about the White Horse of Uffington, which is just over the border, in Oxfordshire. 

Uffington is Britain’s original White Horse. Located on the Berkshire Downs, the massive symbol can be seen from as far as twenty miles away. At over a hundred metres long, and estimated to be around three thousand years old, the horse is among the oldest and most fascinating geoglyphs in the world. 

There are countless stories around the meaning of the symbol. Many believe it to be somehow linked to the nearby Ridgeway, Britain’s oldest road.

Perhaps it was a status symbol of the local chief or lord. Or a giant spiritual totem of the pre-Christian peoples of Britain.

Some say the horse will grant wishes if you stand on the eye and turn three times. Others claim this is to be the final resting place of King Arthur. 

One of the most well-known legends says that it’s not a horse at all, but a dragon, and that the hillside marks the spot where St George slew the mythical beast. Dragon Hill, in the shadow of White Horse Hill, has a flattened top, where the grass never grows – apparently caused by the dragon’s blood scaring the ground forever. 

Whatever its age or original significance, it’s impossible to deny that the White Horse of Uffington is a masterpiece of minimalist, Celtic-style art.

The elegant figure doesn’t look like much up close; just a series of random lines cut in the turf, but walk a few mountains back, and the horse gallops right out of the landscape, as if it were alive.

Why Are There So Many White Horses in Wiltshire?

While Uffington is a remarkable place, it’s only the beginning of the story.

As I learned after my brother and I went camping that Midsummer Eve, there are many more White Horses to discover.

Of those sixteen figures I mentioned earlier, eight are visible in Wiltshire – while five more are known to have faded back into the landscape.

Without a doubt, Wiltshire has more white horses than anywhere else in the country.

Why, you might ask? This is almost certainly due to the county’s chalky soil and vast, rolling hills. The starkness of the chalk creates a powerful, but ghostly silhouette that can be seen from miles away.

However, unlike the mighty Uffington, many of these are pretty small. So unless you know where to look, you could drive right past them in a car. That’s why the best way to see the White Horses of Wiltshire is by foot. 

Shortly after our Midsummer adventure, I walked part of the White Horse Trail, a ninety-ish mile route around the countryside that lets you see all eight horses close-up.

If you have the time, you can do the full White Horse Trail walk in seven to nine days. The circular trail also takes you past other historic locations such as Avebury Stone Circle (which we recommend visiting over visiting Stonehenge – for a start Avebury is free!) and of course, the Ridgeway.

If you’re looking to see the White Horses of Wiltshire, this walk is definitely the way I’d recommend.

A Rough Guide To The White Horses of Wiltshire:

Now let’s talk a little about the horses themselves. Every horse has its own distinct history and style and it’s what makes them so interesting to explore.

From oldest to newest, the eight remaining White Horses of Wiltshire are as follows:

Westbury (approx. 1600s):

The oldest of the eight, the Westbury Horse can be found on Westbury Hill, Bratton Down.

Generally considered one of the most picturesque of the group, it’s worth noting that the Westbury Horse is neither chalk nor is this its original design. The original horse is thought to have commemorated the Battle of Ethandun. But in 1778, the steward of the local lord apparently didn’t think it was very horse-like, and so had it re-cut.

It was then cut again in 1873 and in the 1950s it was decided that the yearly cleaning of the horse was too costly, so it was covered in concrete. This was done again in 1996, and the concrete was painted white to keep its iconic colour.

Cherhill (1780):

This White Horse in Wiltshire can be found at the edge of Cherhill Down. The Cherhill Horse was possibly inspired by the Westbury Horse, as it was cut just two years after the first re-design.

It was commissioned by Dr Christopher Alsop of Calne, sometimes called ‘the mad doctor’. Legend has it that he sat on the opposite hill, shouting instructions through a megaphone.

Curiously, the eye was originally made of glass. A number of upturned bottles were buried in the ground to reflect the light. To someone seeing it from across the hillside, it would have looked strangely alive and gleaming.

Alas, none of these bottles remain today, believed to have been taken as souvenirs.

Marlborough (or Preshute – 1804):

Found above the village of Preshute, southwest of Marlborough, the Marlborough Horse is much smaller than most of the others and often hard to spot due to the trees that surround it.

Rather sweetly, this horse was originally cut by the pupils of a local boys’ school in the 1800s, and recently restored by members of the local Scout’s club.

Alton Barnes (1812)

Alton Barnes is on Milk Hill, just north of Alton Barnes village and looks out over Pewsey Vale and the new Pewsey Horse.

There are great views of this horse from many miles all around, but perhaps the best views are from Alton Barnes itself.

There’s a noteworthy tradition of lighting the horse up with candles on special occasions like solstices and other important dates, such as its 200^th anniversary which was in 2012.  

Hackpen (1838)

On the Ridgeway on the edge of Marlborough Downs, south east of Broad Hinton village, lies a rather mysterious horse.

The most likely story of Hackpen’s origin is that it was cut to commemorate the coronation of Queen Victoria by one Henry Eatwell, a parish clerk, with the assistance of an unnamed landlord of the local pub. Classic Wiltshire.

Broad Town (1864)

South of Royal Wootton Bassett is a white horse believed to have been the passion project of the local farmer at the time. However, it was more or less forgotten for most of its history.

That all changed in 1991, when a local society was formed to restore and regularly scour it. The Broad Town White Horse has been given a new lease of life thanks to the hard work of dedicated volunteers.

Pewsey (1937)

Pewsey Horse, south of Pewsey village, stands very close to the site of another, much older horse which has sadly been lost. Like many of the Wiltshire horses, the Pewsey Horse was carved to commemorate a coronation. In this instance, it was George VI by members of the Pewsey Fire Brigade.

It’s one of the smaller white horses in Wiltshire, but despite that, it has been described as a “well-proportioned representation of the real animal”.

Devizes (or Roundway – 1999)

The newest of the Wiltshire Horses is Devizes White Horse, which can be found on Roundway Hill, overlooking the hamlet of Roundway.

Interestingly, it’s the only one out of the eight white horses in Wiltshire to face towards the right.

The Devizes Horse was cut to commemorate the millennium. Like Pewsey, this horse also stands on the site of an older, now lost white horse. And, like Alton Barnes, there is also a beautiful tradition of lighting up the horse with candles on special occasions.

The iconic white horses of Wiltshire are an enduring part of Wiltshire’s cultural heritage and a compelling reason to explore this unique area. Carved into the chalky hills, these figures do more than simply decorate the landscape; they narrate stories of ancient rituals, battles, historic events and the artistic expressions of the generations before us.