The Cerne Giant is an ancient naked figure sculpted into the chalk hillside above Cerne Abbas in Dorset. Standing at 180ft tall the Cerne Giant is Britain’s largest chalk hill figure and perhaps the best known.
Many theories have surrounded the giant’s identity and origins, including ancient symbol of spirituality, likeness of the Greco-Roman hero Hercules, mockery of Oliver Cromwell and fertility aid. In 2021, after extensive scientific analysis, National Trust archaeologists concluded the giant was probably first constructed in the late Saxon period.
Above the giant is a rectangular earthwork enclosure, known as the Trendle, which is believed to date back to the Iron Age. It is still used today by local Morris Dancers as a site for May Day celebrations. The chalk grassland where the giant lies is of national and European importance for the many rare chalk downland plants and invertebrates that thrive here. Try and spot a marsh fritillary butterfly in May, and look out for wildflowers in summer.
The giant was given to the National Trust in 1920. Part of conserving the giant means leaving it alone as much as possible – the chalk is replaced every decade or so, a process that takes days of work by National Trust rangers and volunteers. The more the ground is disturbed, the quicker the giant erodes away.
The Cerne Giant is also a fertility symbol and local rumour is that if you want to have children to go sit on him. However, it is fenced off from the public although there is a lovely walk around the Giant from the village.
The Giant can be easily seen from the car park at the end of Acreman Street in the village of Cerne Abbas. To walk around the giant you can park at Kettle Bridge car park on Duck Street and walk up the hill.
