• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Wednesday January 26 2022
• Author Name: Peter Davison

International media explore neolithic treasures of Great West Way

England’s Great West Way has collaborated with The British Museum, English Heritage, Salisbury and Wiltshire museums to offer national and international journalists the opportunity to experience a pre-historic journey along the touring route.

A two-day, one-night itinerary took place on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 January and it included curators tours, walking in Wiltshire’s Neolithic landscape and exclusive access to UNESCO World Heritage Site of Stonehenge and Avebury.

It was attended by 12 press including national arts and travel journalists from The Observer and The i newspaper, plus international agency AFP, and foreign correspondents from Italy, Spain and Germany.

The first day of the itinerary the group visited Salisbury Museum and discovered 500,000 years of history. They undertook a director’s Tour to understand the museum’s internationally important archaeological collections and world-class gallery of archaeology housing one of Europe’s most extensive collections of Stonehenge and prehistoric artefacts.

A visit to Salisbury Cathedral for a VIP behind-the-scenes tour also took place where they discovered ancient documents charting the Cathedral’s history and a Cathedral Works Yard tour.

An early start on day two was the highlight of the trip for an Exclusive Stone Circle Access Experience at Stonehenge. This unforgettable opportunity enabled the journalists to spend time inside the tranquil circle at dawn watching the sunrise and meet with leading experts to hear all the fascinating details of this world-famous monument.

The group later visited Wiltshire Museum in Devizes for a director’s tour and home to the best Bronze Age archaeology collection in Britain. This was followed by a walk to West Kennet Long Barrow, near Silbury Hill, which is one of the longest and most impressive Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain.

The final stop of the day was a visit to Avebury – the world’s largest stone circle, stone avenues and ancient tombs.

Florence Wallace, PR Manager, said “We were delighted to be able to share the pre-historic Great West Way story with so many interested national and international media and look forward to seeing the Great West Way press coverage that this generates over the next few weeks”

“The World of Stonehenge Exhibition at The British Museum opens 17 February- 17 July 2022 and it is hoped that many people who visit the museum will be interested to explore further and delve deeper into England’s pre-historic past journeying along the Great West Way.”

The Great West Way passes through Wiltshire on its way between Bristol and London, following the A4: the route of one of the six Great Roads proposed by King Charles I in the 17th century.

But exploring the route by road is only one of the options: the Great West Way actually encompasses 500 miles of navigable routes, including waterways and railways, so can be enjoyed on foot, bike, by boat, train or a mix of modes.

The A4 goes through Marlborough, Calne, Chippenham and Corsham while railway lines to the north and south take visitors through Swindon or Pewsey and Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon. The Kennet and Avon Canal – the third mode of travel – also goes through Pewsey, Devizes and Bradford on Avon.

The route was devised by VisitWiltshire to boost Wiltshire’s £1.5 billion tourism industry, which pre-pandemic supported 28,000 jobs.