I’m a witch – tourists should swap Stonehenge for this magical English village
A SMALL village in England is home to the largest stone circle in the country – and it’s only 30 minutes from Stonehenge.
White witch Dee Johnson is a Third Degree Wiccan High Priestess who casts spells and reads tarot cards for her clients.
Dee has also spent years travelling to magical, mystical, and spooky parts of the UK for both work and leisure.
And, there’s one “totally magical” village in the UK that Dee visits at least four times every year.
Avebury in Wiltshire is home to 100 huge standing rocks, which are known as Avebury Henge.
The stones are both older and larger than Stonehenge, and date back to between 2850 BC and 2200 BC.
On their website, English Heritage said: “Avebury henge and stone circles are one of the greatest marvels of prehistoric Britain.”
English Heritage claim that Avebury is “part of an extraordinary set of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial sites that seemingly formed a vast sacred landscape”.
The henge contains the largest stone circle in Britain, which also has two smaller stone circles enclosed within it.
Dee, who is also known as The Modern Witch, told Sun Online Travel: “Avebury is a totally magical place. I say forget Stonehenge because Avebury is only 23 miles away.”
“The stones are really interesting, and you don’t realise just how massive they are until you get up close and touch them.”
Avebury Henge is free to visit, and visitors can even touch the stones at the historic site too – something that isn’t allowed at Stonehenge.
Dee from St Albans, Hertfordshire added: “I’ve never managed to make it to all three stones in one day, but nevertheless it’s a lovely little village.”
And Dee isn’t the only person who thinks Avebury is better than Stonehenge, one person wrote on TripAdvisor: “A better experience than Stonehenge, as you can wander as you wish. It has a magic lacking at Stonehenge”
While a second person added: “In my opinion, Avebury is well worth a look at. It’s better than Stonehenge as you can actually walk straight up to the stones.”
But the Avebury Henge isn’t the only magical attraction in the English village, Dee added: “There’s also a wishing tree, which you can touch. You can either touch the tree or tie a ribbon to its branches to make a wish.”
The Avebury wishing tree is even thought to be the real-life inspiration behind JRR Tolkien’s Ents.
Dee also recommended visiting the Red Lion Restaurant, which is said to be one of the most haunted pubs in Britain.
The Wiltshire village was also used as the filming location for the TV show Children of the Stone.
Dee added: “Avebury is a completely magical place, and I’ve even heard people say it’s like they’ve ‘gone to heaven’ when they visit.”
Avebury is just over a two-hour drive from London, and a 50-minute drive from the neighbouring city of Bristol.
While visitors can’t book to stay at the Red Lion Restaurant, there are other accommodation options, including the Marsh Farm Hotel where prices start from £51 per night, based on two people sharing a room.
Sun Online Travel have rounded up the best family-friendly Halloween attractions in the UK.
Meanwhile, several holiday parks across the country have recently launched budget Halloween breaks for the half-term too.
