As the holiday season approaches, many will flock to Wiltshire to enjoy the county's various historical attractions: including the iconic White Horses.
Eight of the original 13 chalk creations remain visible in 2021.
Some are obscured by overgrown grass and trees, while others sit proudly overlooking the towns or villages below.
It is a common misconception that the chalk giants are as old and mysterious as the Avebury Stone Circle, but in reality the earliest was only created in 1700’s. The origins of each White Horse vary greatly.
the westbury white horse 100 years ago
For example, Dr Christopher Allsop, who was Guild Steward of the Borough and lived in nearby Calne, cut the Cherhill horse in the year 1780.
Known as 'Mad Doctor' he was rumoured to have shouted his instructions for the horse through a speaking trumpet, from a position in Cherhill village. A distinguishing feature of the Cherhill white horse was the animal's eye, which in the late 1800s was filled with old bottles that sparkled in the sun from a great distance.
These days, the Westbury White Horse isn't even made of chalk - it was covered in white-painted concrete in the late 1950s.
Meanwhile in 2010, 150 tonnes of new chalk was airlifted into place at the Alton Barnes White Horse by helicopter.
In 2008, the Gazette and Herald reported that the Alton Barnes White Horse had "gained an appendage" much to the amusement of passing motorists.
The Alton Barnes White horse was "turned into a stallion" back in 2008
The owner of the land had been quoted as saying: "It was made into a zebra once before and for the summer solstice on June 21 they always outline it with candles."
Meanwhile, the Marlborough horse is one the hardest to spot at 62 feet long by 47 feet high. Partially hidden by trees, it can be glimpsed from the front to Marlborough College if you squint hard enough.
The most recent addition to the white chalk horses in Wiltshire is the Devizes Horse which was cut in 1999 on Roundway Hill above the town. It is unique in that it is the only Horse in Wiltshire to be facing to the right.
More often than not, communities and parish councils have been directly involved in "tidying up" their local White Horse.
Scout group members give Devizes White Horse a spruce up.
Meanwhile, donations of more than £30,000 have been received by English Heritage to help make the Westbury White Horse brighter and whiter than ever before. Win Scutt, the national charity's properties coordinator, said: "It will be the biggest overhaul we've ever done on the site."
Wiltshire's eight White Horses: How many have you been to?
Westbury (1778) the oldest of the White Horses located on Westbury Hill, Bratton Down.
Cherhill (1780) located east of Cherhill village with laybys available for parking
Marlborough (1804) the smallest of the county's White Horses
Alton Barnes (1812) which overlooks the Vale of Pewsey
Hackpen (1838) located on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, two miles south of Broad Hinton
Broad Town (1864) a formerly neglected White Horse that was saved by the Broad Town White Horse Restoration Society in 1991.
Pewsey (1937) It was cut in 1937 and is on the hill about a mile outside Pewsey on the A345 towards Everleigh.
Devizes (1999) the newest of the White Horses, carved in celebration of the Millennium and overlooking the market town.
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