NORTHSIDE
TRAINING
Moving through Time and Place: A Day Journey in the Landscape
Avebury
(nr Swindon, Wiltshire)
8 April 2025
Eco-TA Discovery Day
Join us on an extraordinary day’s pilgrimage through the mystical heart of England’s ancient past.
Come and explore the enigmatic landscapes that have borne witness to millennia of human history.
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Facilitated by a team of passionate and experienced Eco-TA professionals : Helen Blackburn, Mary Dees, Sarah Devine, Rebecca Elston and Andy Williams, the journey will be slow-paced, and you will be invited to take part in various Eco-TA activities along the way.
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These activities invite personal reflection on the landscape and our relationship to the “more-than-human.” Eco-TA is non-intrusive, so on this introductory day, nothing will be too demanding, and participation will be totally voluntary.​​
Silbury Hill
Our Route
Our journey begins in the shadow of the Ridgeway, ‘Britain’s oldest road,’ a path once trodden by travellers, herdsmen, and warriors long before recorded history. This ancient highway, still following the high ridges of the land, whispers of forgotten lives and secrets lost to the ages.
From there we will travel to “The Sanctuary,” a sacred space that rose around 2500 BC, where timber posts and standing stones formed a powerful circle of unknown rites. In the early Bronze Age, this revered ground became the resting place of a young boy, buried with a Beaker pot.
From there, we will walk in the footsteps of those who built the “West Kennett Long Barrow,” a neolithic monument dating back to 3670 BC. Fashioned from ancient Sarsen stones and rare oolitic limestone brought from distant Cotswold hills, this ancient burial site beckons us to contemplate the mysteries of those who came before.
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Our path then winds past the silhouette of Silbury Hill, a mound whose purpose remains shrouded in the fog of history, before we enter the sacred circle of Avebury, where stones stand sentinel around the village. Here, we will pause—allowing ourselves to connect with the echoes of ancient rituals, and enjoy the local sites as well as refreshments before returning to our starting place.
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Activity Level
The walk is pretty level throughout the day, with some hills. The ground underfoot can be muddy in parts, we will be crossing agricultural land at times which may be uneven. We will walk approximately six miles during the day, with a late lunch stop and toilets at Avebury.
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Tickets
The day costs £50 per person. Full refunds will be available until 1st March 2025.
To book, click on the link below to go to the booking site.
Faciliators
Sarah Devine PTSTA(P)
Sarah lives & works in Burton upon Trent with an interest in supporting people to develop their own ecological practices and is particularly interested in working seasonally, with spirituality & ritual.
Mary Dees CTA(P)
Mary is an ecological psychotherapist and runs a private practice from Stockport/High Peak Border. She also runs learning programmes, including Climate Change Programmes for NHS leaders. She has a particular interest in ecological grief and working with deep adaptation to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.
Helen Blackburn PTSTA
Helen lives and works in rural West Wales, and has developed her ecological practice in partnership with Ffynnon Dawel woodland. She offers therapy, supervision and training in this setting, based on her long term fascination with our reciprocal relationship with the land.
Rebecca Elston CTA (P)
Rebecca lives on the outskirts of Nottingham and works with an intersectional and ecological lens. She is interested in working with people within systems and ecosystems, working alongside the land to facilitate this. She also has a small supervision and growing teaching practice.
Andy Williams TSTA(P)
Andy has a psychotherapy and supervision practice in West Yorkshire. He is currently undergoing a doctorate exploring the supervision of practitioners working with risk. Currently he is passionate about labyrinths and creating them in the landscape.