White Horse 3 - Alton Barnes

Went to see my favourite one, at Alton Barnes in Wiltshire, when on our way to Portsmouth to get the boat to France. Guess what, it was raining again.....

This horse was created by a Mr Robert Pile in 1812. Apparently Mr Pile paid twenty pounds to a journeyman painter, John Thorne, also known as Jack the Painter, to design the white horse and have the work of cutting it carried out.   But before the work was finished Thorne took off with the money, and Mr Pile was left to pay out again........

We went to the nearby village of Alton Prior to find the big stone which has a carving of the horse on it, the lichen is starting to take over though.....

There is a tradition of lighting the white horses to mark special occasions, and in recent times the horse has been lit with candles such as on 30th June 2012, marking its 200th anniversary. Which looked very cool.....(photo courtesy of Terry Waldron)

And here's a pic taken from the air by those Last Refuge people again......on a sunny day!