Uffington White Horse

Horse Cultures of the World

The Uffington White Horse is a HUGE stylised prehistoric horse trenched into the English countryside and filled with white chalk. How big you ask? The horse has been measured to be over 110 METRES long! You can find this gigantic horse while strolling past White Horse hill, which is eight kilometres from the local village of Farringdon.

The hill on which you find this enormous horse forms part of the Berkshire Downs and overlooks the Vale of the White Horse. This horse is so important that everything around it has its name linked to it! The people must have been horse mad! How long ago was this statue built? Well, it turns out it was built over 3000 years ago during the Iron Age and it’s thought to be linked to Uffington Castle as a representation of the tribal symbol.

The horse cannot only be found on White horse Hill but also in stories, movies and even music! Read Thomas Hughes’ 1959 novel The Scouring of the White Horse or G.K Chesterton’s epic poem The Ballad of the White Horse. The white horse is also the emblem of many prestigious groups such as the Vale of White Horse District Council and the Berkshire Yeomanry!

So if you ever find yourself in the English countryside around this monument, make sure to go and have a look at a piece of history!

Reference: Wikipedia

Image Credit: Youtube and Sparkle Britain