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Hillfort
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As I was walking up from Little Sodbury, I suddenly realised what a racket I was making - I came here for a bit of peace, right? - so I made more effort to move quietly. It turned out this was totally futile, as when I found myself in the fort's ditches, all I could hear was the reverberation of shotguns. I snuck along the ditch wondering what would happen if I stuck my head above the banks. Actually it was only some people clay-pigeon shooting inside the fort. But it did made me think about the (prehistoric) advantages of sneaking up invisibly to a hillfort, but the disadvantages of being totally ignorant of what might be waiting inside.
If you only see this fort from the main road, you'd think there was no view at all - but actually the land drops away on the west side, and you can see for miles and miles, out into Wales. Because I've never understood this, I've always thought of it as a 'little fort' but seeing the double banks and ditch made me realise what a mammoth effort went into building this place. Like Moss, this, together with the violence of the guns, made me think about the nice and not so nice things that might have happened here. But (as I ate my crisps) my thoughts turned to more everyday arrangements, like what the inhabitants ate and drank, and what they might have carried their own packed lunch in.
I walked northwards through the camp centre and I wanted to walk back round along the east side - but I could not find the path round the back of the buildings. All signs were mysteriously missing (except the cotswold way ones) and even brandishing my map I didn't fancy an earful from one of the posh house owners. So I gave it a miss - but it's probably easier from other direction.
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Posted by Rhiannon
27th August 2007ce
Edited 27th September 2007ce
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