The hillfort
Uffington Castle occupies the top of Whitehorse Hill, just north of the Ridgeway and 170 metres south-west of the White Horse. It encloses about three hectares within a single massive bank and ditch, with a smaller outer bank beyond the ditch. The main entrance was on the west side, where the ends of the inner rampart turn outwards to flank a causeway; an eastern entrance seems to have been blocked a few centuries after the fort was built.
What excavation found
Antiquaries dug here in the 19th century, and excavations in the 1990s by Oxford archaeologists worked out how the defences developed. The first rampart, probably of the 8th or 7th century BC, was a box-like bank faced with timber posts, with a smaller bank in front of a V-shaped ditch. Later the ditch was deepened and the spoil piled on the rampart, which was then capped with a parapet wall of sarsen stones. Inside, excavators found postholes and pits but no clear house plans, along with pottery, loom weights and animal bone. The Victoria County History notes that Roman coins were found on the hill and a Romano-British burial place east of the camp.
Activity picked up again in the Roman period, when the ramparts were cut with extra entrances. Close by, a Neolithic long barrow was reused as a cemetery for dozens of Romano-British burials, and a Bronze Age barrow held Anglo-Saxon burials; both are separately scheduled. In the Middle Ages the interior was ploughed, leaving faint ridge and furrow.
Why it matters
Large hillforts with a single rampart are rare nationally, and Historic England describes Uffington Castle as an outstanding example of its class. It was one of the first sites given legal protection when the Ancient Monuments Protection Act came into force in 1882. It stands at about 262 metres, the highest point in Oxfordshire, with views over the Vale and, the National Trust says, across six counties. Tom Hughes opened Tom Brown’s School Days (1857) with a description of the view from here.
Visiting
The hillfort is on National Trust land in the guardianship of English Heritage, and is free and open at any reasonable time. It is a short, steady climb from the National Trust car park off the B4507 (charges apply for non-members). The Ridgeway runs along its southern side.
Nearby
The White Horse, Dragon Hill and the Manger lie just to the north. Wayland’s Smithy is about a mile and a half west along the Ridgeway.