Cherhill White Horse

About

Visit Cherhill White Horse, the second oldest of Wiltshire's iconic carved horse figures. The horse is a lovely destination for a countryside walk with splendid views over the pretty Wiltshire countryside!

The Cherhill White Horse (sometimes called the Oldbury White Horse) is one of eight remaining White Horses in Wiltshire. It is located on the edge of Cherhill Down, near both Oldbury Castle and the Lansdowne Monument, three and a half miles from the historic town of Calne.

Historically, there have been 13 chalk White Horses in Wiltshire, but now only eight remain. These eye-catching figures were made by cutting away the turf from grassy hillsides to expose the stark white chalk underneath, creating a precisely defined figure visible for miles around. This is a traditional English phenomenon, with white chalk figures (including horses and people) decorating hillsides across England – some dating back as far as 1000 BC.

The White Horse here at Cherhill is the second oldest of the horse figures in Wiltshire. Cut in 1780, it was possibly inspired by Wiltshire's oldest White Horse at Westbury. In turn, the Cherhill Horse inspired the design of the Alton Barnes White Horse. Today, the Cherhill White Horse is maintained by a group of volunteers who weed and re-chalk the figure every couple of years.

Visiting and Viewing the Cherhill White Horse

All of Wiltshire’s White Horses are best viewed from afar, although for the full experience it is certainly worth walking to the site itself!

Cherhill White Horse is owned by the National Trust, and the site is open to the public to visit, although you cannot walk on the horse itself, to protect the monument. Dogs can also be walked here, although they must remain on a lead through areas where livestock are grazing.

If you want walk to the Cherhill White Horse, head to the A4 where a handy lay-by on the westbound carriageway offers great views of the Horse on the hillside above. From near here, a footpath climbs the hill on to Cherhill Down and the horse figure. When you reach the top of the downs, there are spectacular views of the surrounding rolling green Wiltshire hills.

You can also walk to the horse from the nearby town of Calne, a few miles away. For hiking enthusiasts who want to stretch their legs a bit further, the site is also on the route of the long-distance White Horse Trail, a 94-mile walking route that takes in all eight of Wiltshire’s White Horses.

But if you do not fancy the walk up the hillside to get up-close to the White Horse at Cherhill, why not take a balloon flight to see the horse from the air!

Discover Wiltshire’s other White Horses.