Cut into the side of Salisbury Plain, the white horse at Westbury may be one of the later ones in Britain - it's first mentioned in 18th Century records, and has a more naturalistic shape than prehistoric figures such as that at Uffington. It's pretty impressive, and hard to miss as you drive along.
We parked up at the top of the hill and walked along to see the horse up close. It was a blustery day (perfect for the gliders and paragliders circling overhead), and the shape is cut into a very steep bank, so we stayed near the top. There were several anchors set in to the ground, alongside the path, where maintenance workers could rope up when they come to work on keeping the horse gleaming bright white. The natural chalk of the ground provided the original white colour, but I'm not sure if it's currently maintained solely by cutting down to more white chalk, or if they now paint it instead.
5 comments:
Interesting. I'd never heard of the white horse before. Thanks for the informative post and the photos.
Greetings from London.
It's very dramatic feature, isn't it!
they always look so stunning, don't they? it would be a shame to resort to paint when nature has sufficed for centuries!
I remember it well! Thanks for sharing these great photos.
I've never seen any of the white horses but your post reminded me of my girlhood intention of visiting all the sites. Thanks for sharing. Gorgeous photos.
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