In the garden of a house in the south part of the village stands a squat, square boulder, pierced by several curious narrow holes (possibly caused by tree roots). By blowing very powerfully through one of these holes it is possible to produce a sound rather like a horn, and for this reason the boulder is called the Blowing Stone. Formerly it used to stand on the hill crest, beside the Ridgeway, and legend claims that it was blown by King Alfred to summon his troops to gather for the crucial battle against the Danes at Ethandun (Edington), Wiltshire. It was removed to its present position some time in the 18th century, the house being at that time an inn. The fact that the village name is ‘King’s stone’ must have encouraged the growth of the story, which is mentioned by the novelist Thomas Hughes in The Scouring of the White Horse (1859). He quotes a local ballad sung by men who had been scouring the Uffington horse, celebrating Alfred’s victory, and including the lines:
The Blewing Stwun in days gone by
Wur King Alfred’s bugle harn.