YARNBURY CASTLE

Wiltshire

Yarnbury Castle stands on the south-western edge of Salisbury Plain, and has a commanding position overlooking the western approaches to the Plain.

This is a superb Hill Fort, with two large oval ramparts, and traces of a third.  It also has a very complex entrance area. It seems to have been occupied only up until the Roman invasion; no Roman traces have been found inside the Castle, although the foundations of what might be a temple were found a few metres away.

From the 18th century until 1916 an annual sheep fair was held inside the Castle which have left the square traces of enclosures to confuse future historians even more!

Yarnbury Castle is visible from a footpath, and is strictly speaking on MoD land, but in this remote spot nipping over the fence to have a closer look is only likely to be observed by grazing sheep.

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2001