Days Out: St George's Day and Dragon Hill at Uffington

St George’s Day is tomorrow, April 23, which this year is of course a Saturday and so good for getting out and visiting places associated with the legendary dragon-slayer. One such place is Dragon Hill in Oxfordshire. It is a small chalk hill with an artificial flat top immediately below the Uffington White Horse. Folk tales say that it was on its summit that Saint George slew the dragon.

A bare patch of chalk upon which no grass will grow is purported to be where the dragon’s blood spilled. It has also been suggested that it is an Iron Age ritual site associated with the chalk horse.

It is part of the White Horse group of monuments in the care of the National Trust, which include the chalk figure and Wayland’s Smithy.

I visited the area last August Bank Holiday on a particularly wet and foggy day. I blogged more about it at the time and you can read that post here: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/08/pagan-eye-uffington-white-horse-in-rain.html

If you are wondering why a pagan witch is writing about a Christian saint, here is a blog post that explains why I feel the legend is inspiring: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/04/st-george-man-and-myths.html

To read more posts like this visit A Bad Witch’s Blog at www.badwitch.co.uk