I MUST take issue with comments made by the travel author Bill Bryson following his visit to National Trust Avebury as reported in last week’s national press and the Gazette and Herald.

I wonder at what time of the day (or night) he visited. He couldn’t find his way round the stones, couldn’t locate an information board, couldn’t lay his hands on a leaflet and, presumably, couldn’t find his voice to ask somebody.

Mr Bryson’s most caustic remarks were directed at Avebury Manor, which he described as being ‘cheesy.....like a film set.....each room done (presumably created) in about 20 minutes’.

In fact a great deal of thought, planning, intensive research and hard work (over six months) went into the creation of the Manor Reborn project of four years ago.

Dating from the Tudor period rooms in the manor are decorated in the style of different historical periods, each evoking memories of the owner or tenant living in the house at that time.

Mr Bryson was expecting the manor to be filled with the personal effects and curios of the archaeologist Alexander Keiller, a former owner of the house.

I must respectfully point out that Mr Keiller lived in Avebury for only 15 years – a very short period of time in the manor’s colourful 450-year-old history.

I work in the manor house as a volunteer and hear at first hand the public’s reaction to their visit, the most frequent comments being ‘fantastic’, ‘great fun’, 'special', ‘the best’.

I can confirm that the manor continues to be very popular as evidenced by the groups that come to Avebury, by the number of return visitors and by the increase in visitors from overseas.

A few months ago a well travelled American gentleman said to me: “This (Avebury) beats anythin’ ah’ve ever seen in the world!”

If Mr Bryson intends to commit pen to paper for human consumption I suggest he does a bit of homework first.

ROBERT MACMILLAN Churchill Court Kelham Gardens Marlborough