Buckland Rings

Finds recorded beneath the ramparts include a hearth, worked flints and part of a Neolithic stone mace head, so occupation of the ridge predates the fort itself.

• Tree-covered ramparts on three sides, with beech, oak, birch and sweet chestnut growing on the banks.
• The eastern entrance, marked by the terminals of the ramparts; excavation here found an inturned entrance with two large post holes, probably for a gate.
• An interior of almost 3 hectares, about 225m at its widest and 160m north to south, now pasture and level, with no upstanding earthworks inside it.
• Two short waymarked routes shown on the on-site interpretation board: a yellow Meadow Trail of about 1.25km and a red Ramparts Trail of about 1km.
• A public footpath skirting the northern boundary, useful for linking the site into a longer walk.

• The experience is compact. With two short waymarked trails and no upstanding earthworks in the interior, it works best as a short stop or an add-on to a longer walk rather than a destination in itself.
• Wayfinding can be vague once you are in among the banks and trees, despite the interpretation board.
• Access on foot involves a crossing of a busy road, which needs real care. There is no designated car park.
• The banks and ditches are steep and uneven, and bracken and bramble crowd parts of the ramparts. Sway Road has cut through the outer bank on the west, and old ploughing and farming have softened the southern and eastern entrance area.

• Go in dry weather. Grassy banks and ditch bottoms get slick, and the slopes are the whole point of the visit.
• Wear shoes with grip and expect rough, tussocky ground rather than a surfaced path.
• Low or angled light rakes across the banks and ditches and makes the earthwork profiles far easier to see and photograph than flat midday light does.
• Read the interpretation board first, then walk the ramparts, so you know which side carries three banks and which carries two.
• Treat the road crossing as the main hazard of the visit, especially with children.