ridgeway Although not considered part of the complex of monuments the Ridgeway still must have played a crucial part in the lives of Avebury's builders. As one of the major trade routes in the British Isles during the Neolithic period it is of great significance that Avebury itself lay on it confirming the importance of the locality at that time. Maintained by the Countryside Commission the present Ridgeway is only a part of a much longer pathway that once ran between Dorset and the flint mines at "Grime's Graves" in Norfolk. At one time it possibly extended to the coastline at both extremes linking the English Channel to the North Sea. The surviving section commences adjacent to the Sanctuary on Overton Hill. From there it winds its way across the countryside in a north-easterly direction across the tops of the North Wessex Downs and then the Chiltern Hills until it reaches its northernmost terminus at Ivinghoe Beacon a few miles beyond Tring......a distance of about 85 miles.

Its route is punctuated by several sites which were significant during the Neolithic and Bronze ages including the fine long barrow of "Wayland's Smithy" which is close to the mysterious and ancient hill figure of the Uffington White Horse. A number of prominent Iron Age sites are also to be found nearby. The Ridgeway - JordanWalks JordanWalks Home ‎ > ‎ The Ridgeway The Ridgeway National Trail runs from Overton Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. Well that's the way most people walk it (and the way the guidebooks describe it) but we did it the 'wrong way round', so as to continue from where we finished the Icknield Way Path . For most of its journey, the Ridgeway trail follows prehistoric routes on or close to the chalk ridge that sweeps across the south of England from Dorset to Norfolk. It joins with the Wessex Ridgeway (which leads to Lyme Regis) at its western end and with the Icknield Way Path at its eastern end.

The Icknield Way Path then joins with the Peddars Way , which we have also walked - to Holme next the Sea near Hunstanton. The path is relatively short - for a long distance footpath that is! - 'just' 87 miles, and it runs mostly through Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, with short forays into Hertfordshire and Berkshire. We walked the 3.5 miles from Ivinghoe Beacon to Tring Station after completing the Icknield Way Path in November 2011 and returned 18 months later, walking from Tring Station through the Chilterns to the River Thames at Goring in June 2013. We completed the final 43 miles to Overton Hill in a heat wave in July 2013, so there was an interesting contrast between the weather at the start of the walk (a cold and misty November day) and at the end (with temperatures in southern England hovering around 30 degrees Celsius!).

Before we set off to walk the Ridgeway we knew its reputation as a hard, rutted chalk track, largely due to the fact that about a third of the route is a byway, shared with horses, cyclists and - in places - with motorbikes and cars. A few bits were rutted and more were hard underfoot, but the path has been much improved by the fact that they now ban motorised vehicles from most of the route during the winter. Where motorised vehicles are banned entirely, we were walking on grass turf - lovely! - and in other places the route is an ordinary narrow footpath. The trail passes through glorious rolling English countryside. We didn't know this area beforehand so this was a relevation. The route generally avoids towns and villages but when we did pass houses they were frequently picture-postcard thatch with rose-filled gardens. Even in the heat wave, the landscape had not yet become parched and there were delightful green woods and hedgerows, and plenty of wildflowers by the path. The Chilterns is renouned for its red kites; indeed we saw red kites for most of the length of the path and in the Princes Risborough area they were everywhere.

The path also passes many archaeological sites including Stone Age long barrows (e.g. Wayland's Smithy ) and the immense Iron Age hill forts of Letcombe Castle (Segsbury Camp), Uffington Castle and Barbury Castle . There are also white horses carved in the chalk, but these are generally not visible from the ridge because you are above them. Whichever way you walk the path, its start and end are vaguelly in the middle of nowhere. If you started from Tring Station you'd need to walk to Ivinghoe Beacon and then retrace your steps, so completing the Icknield Way Path and then immediately starting The Ridgeway worked well. The Overton Hill end of the path is in a car park on the A4 to the south of Avebury and the west of Marlborough. Most people don't like this as an end point - we thought it was OK, but it's not great for public transport. Apparently they are contemplating moving this end to Avebury, for its added historical interest, but that wouldn't help public transport access greatly (though there is an hourly bus service to Marlborough, if you ring up to book a seat in advance).

We got around the lack of public transport problem by walking past the end of the Ridgeway, all of half a mile to East Kennett where we staying overnight at The Old Forge. Then, the following day we walked through the pretty Kennett Valley villages of West Overton, Lockeridge, Clatford and Manton to Marlborough, from whence we caught a bus to Swindon. We had a pleasant lunch at the STEAM railway museum then caught the train from Swindon to Paddington and then from Kings Cross home. The Ridgeway is incredibly well signposted, even without the additional signing we acquired by virtue of walking part of the path on the day of the Clare Foundation 's Red Kite Walk and part of it on the weekend of the 100 km Race to the Stones . Normally I find lots of walkers or runners on 'our' path rather trying, but the walkers and runners on both of these events were friendly and polite and sharing the path with them added to the interest. You could almost certainly walk the Ridgeway without either a map or a guidebook, but having both also made the walk more interesting.

The guidebook (Anthony Burton's 'The Ridgeway' in the Aurum Press's Official National Trail Guide series) was slightly irritating simply because it described the walk from west to east, but as always it contained interesting background information and its maps were useful in that they highlighted which of the mutlitude of long distance paths in the area we were meant to be following. We used (in order) OS Explorer (1: 25000) maps 181, 171, 170 and 157 - and as always we enjoyed being able to work out our occasional forays from the path (usually to accommodation), our route to Marlborough for the train home, and to set the walk in the context of the surrounding towns and villages. There is more information about the Ridgeway National Trail here , or follow the links for details each leg of our walk along the path. There are more photographs here .

First leg of path The Ridgeway Maps The Ridgeway: Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon - Trailblazer Guide An 87 mile (139km) National Trail, the Ridgeway runs from Overton HIll near Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire, Part of this route follows Britain's oldest road, dating back millennia. Taking 5-7 days, this is not a difficult walk and the rewards are many: rolling countryside, Iron Age forts, Neolithic burial mounds, white horses carved in to the chalk downs and picturesque villages � 7.75 Shakespeare's Way - This guide describes the 146-mile Shakespeare�s Way � a footpath running through the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, Blenheim Park, Oxford, the valley of the Thame, and the beech woods of the Chilterns. Beyond here it takes a surprisingly quiet route into London. The footpath tries to stay as close as possible to the route the �Bard� may have taken on his own journeys between Stratford-upon-Avon and London. Wild about Londons Parks - Discovery Guide A series of fun and fascinating guided walks for children and families to explore London's green spaces.

The book turns a walk in the park into a fun adventure of wildlife discovery. All walks are designed specifically for children to lead their family on the walk; for the child to become the guide. There are clear, child-friendly maps and step-by-step directions. The emphasis is on discovering the wildlife in the parks. There are questions throughout each walk that encourage the children (and the rest of the family) to discover the birds, animals and plants in the park. Each book contains a set of Wildlife Identification Guides that are used on the walk, in order to answer the questions and to help identify other animals and plants; 'Trees', 'Wildflowers', 'Birds', 'Butterflies', 'Mini-Beasts' (bugs and creepy-crawlies), 'Ponds and Streams' and 'Freshwater Fish'. In addition interesting historical facts and puzzles are also included. There are six different walks set in Hampstead Heath, Regent's Park, Hyde Park, Kew Gardens, Richmond Park and along the Thames at Ham. As well as the six walks there are also shorter reviews of other interesting wild places to discover in London e.g. Coram's fields, The Wetlands Centre, Battersea Park etc.

� 8.99 The Chilterns Cycleway - Map Set - 170 mile circular route, on quiet roads, towpaths, cycle lanes & bridleways. Detailed route info of each section with ) O/S 1/50 000 mapping. Includes places of interest in 'day ride' section �12.99 Hampshire & the Isle of Wight Cycle Tours on and Off-Road Routes Taking Less Than a Day 20 routes on os mapping. 15 lane rides between 23 and 37 miles plus short cuts and suggested links for nearby rides for a fuller day out. also 5 off-road rides of between 10 and 20 miles. a new title in the well know ordnance survey cycle tours series. colour os mapping plus many colour photos & gradient charts (Paperback) » Ogbourne St George and The Ridgeway The Megalithic Empire Route: Ogbourne St. George – Barbury Castle – Hackpen Hill – Rockley – Ogbourne St. George Length: 12½ miles. The best map is OS Explorer 157.

The Ridgeway is designated a national trail, even a national treasure in some people’s view. Don’t be put off by the sheer number of walkers setting out to ‘do’ the Ridgeway in six days or whatever—this is as near to an authentic dip into the Ancient Past as you are likely to find. It is the oldest surviving long distance path in England, stretching more than eighty miles from Overton Hill near Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon in the Hertfordshire Chilterns. As you walk along the ridge, you will feel you are travelling in time as well as distance and you may be urgently asking yourself what it was for, or perhaps who was it for. The starting point of the walk is Ogbourne St. George. Not only is the car parking free (in a side street) and they serve real ale in the pub but it is also a good place to ask the very profound question: what is the Ridgeway’s relationship to the Michael Line? Ogbourne St. George, named for England’s patron dragon-slayer, is on the Michael Line and virtually on the Ridgeway. In fact Ogbourne St.

George is the only village that has an intimate relationship to this strategic route that otherwise makes a point of avoiding human settlement. As you begin your walk, picture yourself droving animals and decide why Ogbourne St. George looms so large in your journey. Follow the main road past the sign pointing to the church till you reach a sharp bend with a signpost on the left to ‘The Ridgeway and Liddington Castle’ which you ignore. A few yards up the road also on the left you will see a second signpost to ‘The Ridgeway and Barbury Castle’. This is where you get access to the Ridgeway via a tree-lined path up from the valley. Within a few minutes the downs are all around. This section is called Smeathe’s Ridge and offers panoramic views to north and south but, looking west, note the cone-shaped hill straight ahead. In the prime megalithic territory that is Wiltshire, it is best to assume that things that look as though they might be man-made probably are. The Ridgeway is right up on the windswept high ground but there is a perfectly good route further down the valley, so it would appear that the Ridgeway was meant to be separate.

The terrain itself, a wide grassy track, looks as if it has been specifically designed as an animal thru-way for flocks of sheep and long strings of pack animals. The name of this stretch, Smeathe’s Ridge, suggests a smithy might have been established here, conveniently close to the only village served by the Ridgeway. A smithy is invariably associated with the Iron Age but this is not necessarily the case since animals en masse require quite a lot of specialist care and were being driven over long distances since the Neolithic. Even after recent rain the ground is bone dry, unlike clay soil where deep ruts are made by farmer’s tractors and four-by-fours. It was just the same then. Chalk downland is pretty much the only kind of landscape that is guaranteed to be easily negotiable 365 days a year so, maybe, this explains chalk downland. As you walk, compare the going with other terrain you are familiar with; if it is the work of Mother Nature as everyone seems to assume, why do we have to create National Park Bureaucracies just to keep the whole chalk downland eco-niche going?

You might come to the conclusion that the Megalithics had more to do with it than nature. This is a question that needs to be constantly in your mind wherever you choose to walk, tramping some godforsaken heath should prompt you to ask whether godforsaken heaths appear in nature. Britons have been despoiling their surroundings for thousands of years, it’s a proud tradition. But the contrary is also true—the pretty bits didn’t just appear by magic, they are the result of thousands of years of British intervention too. Following the Ridgeway westwards, in a little under three miles you arrive at a junction with Barbury Castle straight ahead. Its outline, easily seen from the ridge, disappears where the path dips but a row of trees on the skyline remains constantly in view. When walking megalithically, you should always be aware of features dipping in and out of view while other features seem to make a point of staying in sight even when your path dips. This dichotomous principle, of things ‘bouncing’ along a ridge or remaining in plain sight, was widely employed by the Megalithics.

Once you know the principle, you will often come across it and thereby appreciate what an excellent directional device it is. Upper Herdswick [1] Farm stands at the crossroads with a café a few yards further up the lane; carry on straight ahead through a gate opposite the farm and past a car park which has public toilets and picnic benches at the far end. Barbury Castle, described as an Iron Age hill-fort (aren’t they all?), is now in a country park and managed by Swindon Borough Council. Could you get into the habit of welcoming such modern intrusions into the Ancient Landscape by remembering how many thousands of people have been brought to this spot by Swindon Borough Council rather than English Heritage? It takes all sorts and you’re not the only sort. You will then be able to devote your mind to considering what progress travellers in the past would have made had Swindon Megalithic Council not provided amenities such as Barbury Castle. It is after all a condition of all long distance travel that the more you have to bring with you the less is your payload. And there are other considerations: where are you going to water the animals? How are you going to keep them from straying? Protect them overnight?

Whenever you come across the term ‘hillfort’, just say to yourself “I wonder what it really is”. Look west towards Avebury, eight miles away, eleven if you count the detour to Ogbourne. The well-being and physical capacity of livestock must take priority in long distance travel and since animals cannot be driven more than about twelve miles in a day this might explain why the ‘hillforts’ along the Ridgeway are roughly ten miles apart. Approaching Barbury Castle from the west (map ref. SU149762) Barbury Castle is at the junction of two routes, the Ridgeway and the path leading south to Rockley. From here the outlines of Liddington Castle and Uffington Castle are visible to the east. Barbury soon hoves into view going westwards along the Ridgeway from Ogbourne St. George; the cleft on the skyline is even more obvious in the opposite direction. Its centre is as level as a playing field in contrast to the surrounding embankments and ditches. The only means of access is from the Ridgeway; like a walled medieval market, or a modern one for that matter, where visitors are charged an entry fee.

It would also be difficult to pass through this “hillfort” without paying. If you go round Barbury’s extensive perimeter and climb the ramparts, you will rapidly work out how many soldiers (thousands!) it would take to man them. You would have to conclude that as a defensive fort it is hopeless. On the other hand the ditches are perfect for herding animals and keeping them fenced in. But this raises the question of how you would provide water whether for soldiers or animals in this waterless outpost. You could start off by looking for evidence of dew-ponds—shallow depressions lined with impermeable clay mixed with lime or soot (to deter burrowing beetles). This ensures the pond is watertight and, once it is filled up, the water will never completely evaporate. However, water in dew-ponds is ‘dead’ or chalky and tastes quite unpleasant, more suited to livestock than soldiers, so wherever evidence of a dew-pond is found, it would seem that the needs of animals rather than humans are being catered for [2]. Part of the outer ditch of Barbury Castle, looking towards the north-east corner.

The V-shaped outline is more distinctive looking west-to-east but it is the copse rather than the ramparts that is most visible from the Ridgeway. Apart from their usefulness as landmarks, it is probable that copses played a part in water retention systems. Woods have always had multiple uses, including wood. The large clump of trees to the north-east of Barbury Castle could be significant. Trees stand out in the landscape so collectively they can be used as waymarkers. Also clumps of trees, especially in otherwise bare chalk, can be used environmentally. Let your mind encompass the possibilities: do copses help dewponds fight evaporation? Do tree-roots on hilltops prevent those hilltops being washed away? A copse, that is a ‘coppice-wood’, is self-evidently serving at least one purpose since cutting down trees at regular intervals, between seven and twenty years, for firewood or poles is the oldest form of wood management. Evidence of coppicing has been discovered in ‘handrails’ of straight, uniformly sized poles used to construct wooden tracks five thousand and more years ago.

[3] The approach to Barbury Castle from the east is almost level, you hardly notice how high it is until you reach the middle from where you can admire the view or, conversely, shelter from the prevailing wind in one of the ditches. The Ridgeway passes across the middle of the double ditches to the western end of Barbury Castle and heads down a steep hill at the bottom of which it turns right and then carries straight on. The track now becomes stony and narrower though still wide enough for drovers and easier to pick out from a distance than the indeterminate turf-covered path on the downs. It rises to Hackpen Hill where a white horse is etched into the hillside. Before you get too excited, it was made in 1837 to celebrate Victoria’s coronation. A hack is a kind of horse and a pen is a…a…kind of a pen so Hackpen Hill was probably….but place-name theorists always discount the obvious (otherwise anybody could do it).

Hack is also another word for cut and pen is Welsh for hill so Hackpen could equally well mean ‘a shaped hill’ which would be pleasingly megalithic since Hackpen Hill is one of the few places on the Ridgeway at a road intersection. As the White Horse Trail also crosses here, there must presumably have been a marker to indicate such a locally significant hub. Hackpen Hill White Horse (looking south towards the Ridgeway) The best place to view the white horse is below, from the road, as it cannot be seen from the Ridgeway itself. Though a Victorian creation, the Hackpen horse is modelled on the far older Uffington White Horse close to Wayland’s Smithy, a Neolithic long barrow. The Hackpen horse looks a bit unbalanced, partly because one of the legs and the tail have almost disappeared but white horses always look slightly odd, possibly because they were originally dragons. After Hackpen Hill the views are less dramatic, partially obstructed by wispy hedges on either side. Whether these were planted as windbreaks or intended to dissuade drovers’ flocks from straying off the route is hard to tell.

A couple of miles on you may notice a small group of sarsen stones, or ‘grey wethers’ (an old word for sheep which they resemble when viewed from a distance), almost buried in the undergrowth on the left. They are the only indication of a bridlepath easily missed, there being no sign post. Then as now. Sarsens beside the Ridgeway The path forks just past the sarsens at a point on the Ridgeway close to Fyfield Down, a main source of sarsen stone. Avebury is only a couple of miles away. More sarsens are marked on the map further along; there may have been a circle of stones or a cairn at the junction, whose remnants are now barely visible in the undergrowth. Forks in a road naturally require ‘signposts’. The earliest use of ‘sarsen’ is 1644 claims the Oxford English Dictionary, adding “var. of Saracen” in brackets. Our esteemed OED has typically provided an unfounded historical connection in order to explain the similarity between two words.

Consider the likelihood of English countryfolk adopting a name for their ancient landmarks which would appear to imply that they thought some contemporary Middle Easterners had popped over and erected them when nobody was looking. On the other hand if ‘Saracen’ refers to a different bunch of Phoenicians, the ones of the Bronze Age who might have set up the original system, then that would make a great deal of sense [4]. To Cornish tinners the term Saracen just meant ‘foreigner’, someone prohibited by law from advancing inland. Never forget there is tin at the end of the Ridgeway. A few yards on from the sarsen stones you arrive at a crossroads where the Ridgeway goes straight ahead towards Avebury. This is the half-way stage where you abandon the Ridgeway and opt to go down the left-hand fork. In less than half a mile you come to a footpath on the left that goes through a gate and eastwards across a field, marked ‘Grey Wethers’ on the map. If you cannot see any wethers immediately it is because they are embedded in the ground in the middle of a field with clumps of nettles growing all around.

The stone stumps are lying in a straight line and it is impossible to tell how high they would have been; maybe it was just part of a sheep-pen since the line is too short to have been a wall. In general sarsen stones are not left lying in the middle of fields, they have long since been used for building or simply removed. The path leads to the gate on the far side of the field and carries on as a grassy straight track. On the right you can see a solitary stone approximately four feet high in the middle of a field. Ignore any paths to right or left, our own path continues in a straight line eastwards past a turning on the right to Temple Farm, our first brush with this enigmatic cult who are so curiously widespread in this area and indeed throughout Britain. The fact that so much of the English countryside has been rebranded with ‘Megalithic’ Christian church names must mean that in some form The System continued through the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman occupations. One doesn’t want to be too conspiratorial about this (well, one does) but alongside the overground history something else appears to be bumping along in the deep countryside.

For example, soon after the Norman Conquest, in around 1100 AD, there is a sudden inrush of oddities—Cistercians, Green Men, Gothic cathedrals, Knights Templar, masons—and the part they play in the megalithic countryside, British history and this book will slowly emerge. Meanwhile keep on the path heading east going downhill fairly steeply to Temple Bottom past a gracefully proportioned manor house backing directly onto the hillside and overlooking one of the most peaceful secluded valleys imaginable. This jewel once belonged to the Knights Templar. The house is unofficially a Templar museum but it has a shuttered, brooding air that is faintly disturbing. At the bottom of the hill the path ends at a small metalled road leading straight to Rockley, an enclave that was also part of the former Templar holdings. Rockley’s name derives from rooks rather than rocks, the Ridgeway being studded with rookeries in those copses you have been passing. A local legend has it that the manor at Rockley will fall if the rooks leave, as per the ravens at the Tower of London.

This is a familiar motif of folkloric history, for instance the entire British Empire depends on the apes staying at Gibraltar, so fingers crossed. Carry on a short distance, past a sarsen stone by the entrance to the manor’s driveway on the right-hand side, to the end of the lane where a grassy triangle forms a T-junction with a minor road linking Marlborough and Swindon; a few yards to the right a former inn, The Old Eagle, is marked on the map. The site of the Old Eagle, thought to be a Bronze Age mound, is the point where the track branches northwards to Barbury Castle and westwards to Avebury. Another vanished landmark, Top Temple, possibly a Templar preceptory or chapel, stood on a hillside to the west of the Rockley junction and a white horse, probably carved in the nineteenth century but already ploughed out, was on a hillside to the north of the village. There are few signs of human activity now but it must have once been a thriving place, the only village in the parish that still has a pond, essential for watering livestock.

If you look at the map you can see Rockley lies just north of the downland through-route (‘Herepath or Green Street’ on the map) leading across the Downs to Avebury. Paths marked Green Lane or Street are old drovers’ routes which have been in continuous use for thousands of years. Sarsen stone, Rockley The stone is on the right-hand side of the lane that goes past the entrance to the driveway straight down to the Swindon to Marlborough road. Sarsen stones serve as gateposts, kerbstones set into verges, in churchyards as gravestones and in perimeter or boundary walls. The local word for sarsens, grey wethers, refers to ‘wether’, a castrated ram, and is probably connected to withers used for tying cattle, as in ‘withes’ which are also used to tie the testicles for castration. Scholars tell us that the caduceus is derived from the shepherd’s crook, Hermes being the god of flocks. But the imagery of string entwining a rod is much closer to the rope tied around animals’ genitalia to castrate them.

Hermes is also the god of animal ‘husbandry’, seemingly an ancient euphemism, if not being used ironically. The castrator of the herd is of course all-powerful. Across the road from the junction, take a signposted public bridleway heading north-eastwards straight up a short steep hill. Keep going diagonally across the field once you have reached the top of the climb, even though the path has disappeared, to a gate with pale blue arrows and a public bridleway sign. It appears that the local council feels it necessary to assure us that public paths really are for the public, this being an area where racehorses take precedence over people. If you are knocked down by a horse, you may get sued. Turn left and walk a short way along a stony track beside one of the ‘Gallops’ that are such a feature of the Marlborough Downs, then go through a gate (or, if it is padlocked, duck under the plastic strip) to cross the Gallop. On the other side is a path running parallel which you follow northwards till you see a barn ahead.

Just before you reach the barn turn right onto the signed public bridleway, a ‘green lane’ that leads to Ogbourne Maizey about one and a half miles away. It can get stickily muddy from being churned up by horses’ hooves and four-wheel drives which makes you yearn to be back on the chalk ridge, but you are more sheltered in the lane than on the open downs. After about a mile the bridlepath starts going downhill and just after you pass Green Lane Farm on the left, with a gypsy caravan in the garden, you reach a metalled road; a few yards further on turn left off the road through a white kissing gate and go northwards across the field, over a stile and across another field. The A346 is on the right parallel with the path. The path could well be older than the main “Roman” road and was no doubt later used by villagers to avoid tolls once the road was turnpiked. After climbing a second stile continue on the footpath past some houses on the right and a wood on the left until you reach a road.

The path continues on the other side of the road via a small bridge spanning a wide shallow ditch full of dead leaves and nettles. If you walk a few yards to the right before going over the footbridge, you will see a sturdy thatched cottage on the corner where the road turns a sharp ninety degrees northwards towards the Ridgeway; the cottage on the crossroads is the old village forge. The Old Forge, Ogbourne St. Andrew Set at the corner of a crossroads about half a mile south of the Ridgeway, the forge is a reminder that there would have been more than the occasional rider out for a hack passing through. A smith needs water for quenching, i.e. hardening iron; the ditch running to the foot of the forge may once have channelled a more regular water supply. Further east in the Oxfordshire section of the Ridgeway is a chambered tomb, Wayland’s Smithy, named after the god of smiths and metalworking, Volundr. Volundr like all mythic smiths had been crippled (always in the ‘thigh’, an allusion to the castration role of Hermes) to prevent his escape so naturally he fashioned wings, cf.

the trickster Mercury, the winged messenger. [5] Wayland/Volundr was usually described as ‘of the elven race’ and he was associated with labyrinths. Certain types of cloud-formation are known as “the wing of the Archangel Michael” in bygone Wiltshire-speak. The footpath leads straight to Ogbourne St Andrew’s church; once through the lych gate an avenue of pollarded lime trees leads past the church. Peer through the trees on the right and you will see a large mound covered in dense woodland. The mound, indistinct in the gloom of the conifers but recognisably a barrow, takes up at least half the churchyard which seems to have been built to protect and/or honour this venerable site. The church is half-way between Southend, where the Ridgeway crosses the ritualistically straight A346, and Ogbourne Maizey (presumptively named for the maze, or labyrinth). Carry on through the churchyard to the road and over the stile on the other side. Cross the field and over the gate which has a yellow arrow and a public footpath sign where you follow the track northwards.

After about half a mile, you will see a Ridgeway sign pointing ahead and to the right. If you have time, go down the right-hand Ridgeway track for a few yards until you reach Southend, just before the main road. On the left is a row of pretty sixteenth-century thatched cottages, including ‘Toll Gate Cottage’ almost on top of the A346. You can also inspect a muddy ditch, where the Og crosses the Ridgeway, and try to gauge if there is enough water for man or beast. By now you should be aware that provision of water is a strategic concern everywhere on the chalk downland. Follow the Ridgeway northwards for about half a mile to the road where you will see a signpost pointing to the right, back to Ogbourne St George and the starting point of the walk. Tollgate Cottage, Southend, is half-way between Ogbourne St George and Ogbourne St Andrew and very close to where The Ridgeway crosses the River Og.

[1] ^ You can start your life-long career as a real place-name expert by speculating – and this is what will make you a genuine expert – that herd means herd and wick means wick and that chandlers made candles by processing animal tallow here and using the coarse Herdwick wool to make candlewick covers. On the other hand, ‘wick’ often means a salt market so you can further differentiate yourself from professional place-name theorists by being a bit undogmatic. [2] ^ The process of lining a pit with clay is known as ‘puddling’ so always look out for places with ‘Puddle’ in their name though it should be pointed out that in Megalithic times they were more likely to be pronounced ‘piddle’ – the spelling change is due to Victorian sensibilities. Urine was used for all kinds of alchemical experiments. [3] ^ Coppiced trees are easily spotted; they characteristically have several trunks or shoots growing from their stumps, or stools, and with constant use are immortal. The Americans have their bristlecone pines which are thousands of years old, we have our coppices. Anyway, it’s a nice thought.

[4] ^ The pejorative term ‘Pagan’ has become attached to standing stones not because of any Muslim associations but because of the far more ancient antipathy aimed towards Hermes as the leader of a competing native cult. Give a god a bad name and there is no need to hang him. In fact pagan just means rural. The “Classical” religions – Greek, Roman, Christian – are entirely citified, indeed the whole notion of Civilised Values is bound up with the city, so pagans have always been marginalised, if not worse. [5] ^ One of the legends attached to Wayland or Volundr recounts he married a swan maiden, half-bird half-human. In alchemy the swan symbolises mercury, smithy-work being a form of alchemy. § 3 Responses to Ogbourne St George and The Ridgeway" Keith Macdonald The Ridgeway The Ridgeway 4th April to 10th April 2013 87 miles The Ridgeway is an ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road.

It is one of fifteen long-distance National Trails in England and Wales, and travels for 87 miles (140 km) northeast from Overton Hill within the Avebury World Heritage Site to Ivinghoe Beacon near Tring, where it meets the Icknield Way Path. The Ridgeway meets the more recent (1997) Thames Path National Trail at the Goring Gap, where both trails use opposite banks of the River Thames between Goring-on-Thames and Mongewell; the Thames Path following the western bank and the Ridgeway the eastern.

The Ridgeway passes near many Neolithic, Iron Age, and Bronze Age sites including Avebury Circle, a stone circle similar to Stonehenge; Barbury Castle, Liddington Castle, Uffington Castle, Segsbury Castle, Pulpit Hill and Ivinghoe Beacon Hill, all Iron Age and Bronze Age hill forts; Wayland's Smithy, a Neolithic chieftain burial tomb; the Uffington White Horse, an ancient 400-foot (120 m) chalk horse carved into the hillside near Uffington Castle; and Grim's Ditch, a 5-mile (8 km) section of earthwork near Mongewell created by Iron Age peoples as a possible demarcation line. Other points of interest include the Blowing Stone, and Victory Drive, the private drive of Chequers (the British Prime Minister's country retreat). The Ridgeway is an ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road.

The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs to the River Thames at the Goring Gap, part of the Icknield Way which ran, not always on the ridge, from Salisbury Plain to East Anglia. The route was adapted and extended as a National Trail, created in 1972. The Ridgeway National Trail follows the ancient Ridgeway from Overton Hill, near Avebury, to Streatley, then follows footpaths and parts of the ancient Icknield Way through the Chiltern Hills to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. Follow Garry and his two friends as you scroll down through the photos Wake up sleepyhead, there's a Ridgeway to walk! Self-guided trails | Ridgeway National Trail | Footpath Holidays Ridgeway National Trail Overton Down (near Avebury) to Ivinghoe Beacon 9 nights; 8 days walking The Ridgeway National Trail is an 87 mile (140km) route which follows the line of an ancient trackway from Overton Hill near Avebury stone circle to Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chiltern Hills.

On its way it passes through two AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Ridgeway National Trail is part of the oldest and longest road in Britain, which once stretched from the English Channel Coast in Dorset to the east coast and The Wash. Established to take advantage of the high downland with its good visibility and dry underfoot conditions the route was originally used during prehistoric times by Neolithic traders of flints and axe heads, and later by herdsmen and armies. The western half of the route starts from The Sanctuary on Overton Hill, within the Stonehenge and Avebury UNESCO World Heritage Site , and traverses a landscape steeped in ancient history and littered with a dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age burial sites, standing stones, flint workings and chalk hill figures. It passes through the North Wessex Downs AONB, with wonderful views down into the valley from the crest of the downs, then beyond the Goring Gap, where the route drops down to cross the River Thames, it passes into the Chiltern Hills AONB and a softer landscape of chalk grassland interspersed with ribbons of deciduous woodland.

The route finishes at the high point of Ivinghoe Beacon. Ivinghoe Beacon is an isolated high point with grand views, but no accommodation close by, so the latter part of the final stage will include a descent across the chalk downland and through the beautiful beech hangers of the National Trust's Ashridge Estate to the picture postcard village of Aldbury - the Chiltern Hills at its best. Highlights of the route include the far-reaching views from the high points of Barbury Castle, Liddington Hill, Uffington Castle and Ivinghoe Beacon; the ancient burial chambers at West Kennett and Wayland Smithy; the Uffington White Horse; the crossing of the River Thames at Goring, the far-reaching views across the patchwork landscape of the Vale of Aylesbury, and the Bridgewater Monument on the Ashridge Estate. Of course, the Ridgeway has plenty to offer aside from history. The calcareous grassland throughout the route supports an abundance of wild flowers, butterflies, insects and birds, and the woodland of the Chiltern Hills is renown for carpets of bluebells in spring and wonderful autumnal colours in later in the year.

For much of the western section the route sticks to high ground, so the need to drop down into the valley at the end of several walking stages (see below) means that you will walk a total of 97 miles (156kms). Overton Down** to Ogbourne St George - 10 miles (16 kms) Ogbourne St George to Ashbury - 12 miles (19 kms) Ashbury Folly (above Ashbury)* to Wantage - 13 miles (21 kms) Middlehill Down (above Wantage)* to South Stoke - 14 miles (23 kms) South Stoke to Watlington - 13 miles (21 kms) Watlington to Princes Risborough - 12 miles (19 kms) Princes Risborough to Wiggington - 13 miles (21 kms) Wiggington to Ivinghoe Beacon/Aldbury - 10 miles (16 kms) * For much of the route the Ridgeway National Trail traverses the top of the downland ridge, whilst the villages which provide accommodation opportunities are located in the valley below; often some distance from the designated route.

At the end of stages two and three the mileage details above includes the diversion off route to reach accommodation, but the following morning you will not need to retrace your steps as the transport arranged to transfer your luggage will also drop you back at the point where you left the route the previous day. ** If you would like to include an excellent walk from Avebury village to Overton Down, via the pre-historic sites of Avebury stone circle, Silbury Hill and West Kennett long barrow, to the front end of the first stage add 3 miles (5kms) to the distance stated. The Ridgeway - Wikishire The Ridgeway The Ridgeway in Grim's Ditch near Mongewell Ivinghoe Beacon (the eastern trailhead) from The Ridgeway Path down to Bishopstone, Wiltshire The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs to the River Thames at the Goring Gap , part of the Icknield Way which ran, not always on the ridge, from Salisbury Plain to East Anglia .

[1] The route was adapted and extended as a National Trail , created in 1972. The Ridgeway National Trail follows the ancient Ridgeway from Overton Hill , near Avebury , to Streatley , then follows footpaths and parts of the ancient Icknield Way through the Chiltern Hills to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire . The National Trail is 87 miles long. Contents 8 Outside links History The theory of ancient long-distant trackways is not without controversy, but the general belief is that some long-distance paths such as the Ridgeway have been used for perhaps 5,000 years. The Ridgeway runs along the ridge at the top of the Berkshire Downs and perhaps on across the Thames at the Goring Gap: the long-distance national trail today follows the route from Overton Hill , near Avebury in Wiltshire along the ridge, oacross the Thames and along the ridge of the Chilterns as far as Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire . One theory is that the ridgeway is 5,000 years old and that it may originally have been connected to the Dorset coast, providing a reliable trading route to The Wash in Norfolk .

The high dry ground made travel easy and provided a measure of protection by giving traders a commanding view, warning against potential attacks. Hereabouts are a number of sites believed to date from the Bronze Age ; the Uffington White Horse in Berkshire and the stone circle at Avebury . During the Iron Age, inhabitants took advantage of the high ground by building hill forts along the Ridgeway to help defend the trading route. Following the Romans’ retreat from Britain in 410, turmoil again engulfed the land until the establishment of the West Saxon kingdom , but inthtese times, and in the later Danish invasions, the Ridgeway was used by armies. Throughout history, in peace and war, the Ridgeway has been a droving route, on which herds and flocks had been brought from the western counties to markets in the towns and to London . Before the Enclosure Acts of 1750, the Ridgeway existed as an informal series of tracks across the chalk downs, chosen by travellers based on path conditions. Once enclosures started, the current path developed through the building of earth banks and the planting of hedges.

National Trail The Ridgeway near Uffington Castle The idea for a long-distance path along the line of the Wessex Downs and Chilterns goes back to the Hobhouse Committee in 1947. The present route was designated by the Government in 1972, and opened as a National Trail in 1973. [2] This formalised the route of what had been a series of paths. One of fifteen long-distance National Trails in England and Wales, the Ridgeway travels for 87 miles northeast from Overton Hill within the Avebury World Heritage Site to Ivinghoe Beacon near Tring, where it meets the Icknield Way Path . The Ridgeway meets the more recent (1997) Thames Path National Trail at the Goring Gap, where both trails use opposite banks of the River Thames between Goring-on-Thames and Mongewell; the Thames Path following the western bank and the Ridgeway the eastern. The Ridgeway represents one of four long distance footpaths which combine to run from Lyme Regis to Hunstanton , collectively referred to as the Greater Ridgeway .

Sights along the trail The Ridgeway passes near many Neolithic, Iron Age, and Bronze Age sites including Avebury Circle, a stone circle similar to Stonehenge ; Barbury Castle, Liddington Castle, Uffington Castle, Segsbury Castle, Pulpit Hill and Ivinghoe Beacon Hill, all Iron Age and Bronze Age hill forts; Wayland's Smithy , a Neolithic chieftain burial tomb; the Uffington White Horse , an ancient 400-foot chalk horse carved into the hillside near Uffington Castle; and Grim's Ditch, a 5-mile section of earthwork near Mongewell created at an unknown age as a possible demarcation line. Other points of interest include the Blowing Stone, and Victory Drive, the private drive of Chequers (the British Prime Minister's country retreat near Ellesborough in the Buckinghamshire Chilterns). Surface Ridgeway path near Bledlow The Ridgeway's surface varies from chalk-rutted farm paths and green lanes (which have a propensity for becoming extremely muddy and pot-holed after rain) to small sections of metalled roads.

Labelled a bridleway (shared with horses and bicycles) for much of its length, the Ridgeway also includes parts designated as byway which permits the use of motorised vehicles. Local restrictions along many byway sections limit the use of motorised vehicles to the summer months. Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, many public rights of way in England and Wales that authorities had not explicitly classified as Bridleway or Byway defaulted to the classification "Restricted Byway" which precludes the use of motor vehicles at all times, except authorised vehicles and where required for access. As a result, much of the Ridgeway remains prohibited to motor vehicle use by the general public year round. [3] However, the Ridgeway is the only means of access for many farms, especially in the more remote parts of the downs. Despite the Ridgeway's artificial creation, the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders featured it in 2005 as one of the wonders of the South.

Places along the Ridgeway Cycling the Ridgeway Trail, Marlborough, Stokenchurch, Ivinghoe Beacon You are here: Home / Routes / Cycling the Ridgeway Trail Cycling the Ridgeway Trail by Clive 28 Comments The Ridgeway National Trail is an off-road trail in south central England. Earlier this year, a few friends and I cycled the route (in both directions) over three days. I thought it would be a good idea to post my reflections on the route and provide (I hope) some useful tips if you are planning to do the same. Distance: 87 miles (official route). Start: Overton Hill (near Avebury) in Wiltshire. End: Ivinghoe Beacon (near Tring) in Buckinghamshire. Terrain: Mainly off-road, chalk downlands and forested bridleways but with some quiet lanes. Firstly, there is lots of useful information about the Ridgeway Trail on the National Trails website . That’s the best place to start when planning your trip. Also, Wikipedia has a section about the Ridgeway .

The Ridgeway map at Ivinghoe Beacon Our Route Itinerary We decided to cycle the trail in both directions (from west to east and back), partly because it’s pretty difficult to organise a way of getting from the end of the route back to the beginning again (even with cars), and also because we had three days to do the route. So here’s what we did: Day 1: From Marlborough, cycle 4.5 miles to the start at Overton Hill, then cycle the Ridgeway mostly off-road to Stokenchurch (via Streatley and Goring-on-Thames) – total 68 miles Day 2: From Stokenchurch to the Ridgeway Trail endpoint at Ivinghoe Beacon (via Tring) and back to Stokenchurch – total 54 miles Day 3: Cycle Stokenchurch to Marlborough – total 60 miles (off-road) or 52 miles (by road) Our route was determined by where we were staying but the overall distance may well be be similar even if you stay in slightly different places. You definitely will find it easier with Ordnance Survey maps for this route.

The maps are Landranger 173 , 174 , 175 and 165 although 173 only covers a small section at the start. Sustrans also has a map of the Ridgeway . Where We Stayed We stayed in the Ivy House Hotel in Marlborough and the King’s Hotel in Stokenchurch, both of which were fine. However, the Stokenchurch hotel is opposite a pub and, with the windows open on a summer evening and late night pub opening on Friday and Saturday, it can be pretty noisy if you in are rooms at the front of the hotel. In Stokenchurch, we ate a meal at another pub called the Royal Oak (with great Thai cuisine) behind the hotel. In Marlborough, there are pubs and restaurants up and down the wide High Street. Both hotels provided areas to store bikes, either in a locked room inside, or at the rear in a quiet car park. Cycling from Marlborough View from Ivinghoe Beacon on the Ridgeway Trail The first day was mostly off-road over chalk downland and it can be hard physically if you are not used to this.

There were some sections that I found quite difficult technically because they were rutted and there were a few tough climbs. However, in the main it was very pleasant open landscape riding with some fantastic views from the Ridgeway over the surrounding countryside. Like any long distance cycling trip, you should take plenty of water, energy drinks and food with you (for advice about how to carry this, see also Rucksack or Bike Bag? ). Be aware that unless you go off-route to visit nearby villages, there were not many obvious food and drink stops for long sections of this first part of the route. However, there are water stand pipes at some points and these were very welcome! Tip: Even if you still have water, drinks and food in your bag or rucksack , take every opportunity to top-up when you reach shops. You’ll not always know when the next replenishment stop will be. This section of the trail was well signposted and we had no major problems finding our way on the off-road sections. However, after Streatley and Goring-on-Thames, the Ridgeway is a footpath in many places so you’ll need to find alternative bridleways.

We used the Swan’s Way for part of this latter section until Stokenchurch. If by any chance you are staying in Stokenchurch, there is a long climb on the A40 for the last few miles (north of Stokenchurch travelling south). Just what you don’t need at the end of a long day! To Ivinghoe Beacon The second day was quite a contrast to the first because the bridleways were mostly forested and because we had quite a bit of difficulty finding the way. As mentioned previously, the Ridgway is mostly footpath in this area so we had to find alternative, mostly parallel-to-the Ridgeway, bridleways that allowed cycling. We spent a lot of time looking at OS maps! We followed the Swan’s and Icknield Ways (I think) and also cycled some quiet country roads before we reached the end of the Ridgeway at Ivinghoe Beacon. The last part of the route was a deceptively long, slow climb from Aldbury to Ivinghoe and the Beacon. The last section is a path up to the Beacon itself. It was a great feeling at the top!

To be honest, we arrived at the Beacon between 3 and 4 pm which was much later than we’d planned. If you get there at a similar time and you need to get to your hotel quickly, take my advice and take a faster road route after the Beacon. That’s what we did to get back to Stokenchurch. Tip: Even though it might be tempting to get up late on each day of a cycling trip, my advice is to get going as early as possible. You can often cover a few miles on quieter roads at the start and you’ll finish earlier – giving you more time to relax in the evening. Back to Marlborough For the final day, we cycled back to Marlborough via one of two routes. Either off-road using the same route in reverse or by road via Watlington, Wallingford, Didcot, Wantage, Bishopstone and the A346 to Marlborough. I did the road route because by that point I really needed to make sure that I got back at a reasonable time (and because I wanted to watch the England v Germany World Cup game that afternoon). There were no real problems with the road route and much of it was on quiet roads.

However, the A346 into Marlborough is a busy road (and it has a tough little hill near the end). Boy, oh boy, it was good to relax back in Marlborough that evening (despite the football result). Tip: It’s not always possible but try and cycle in groups (or pair up) on long distance trips. It’s safer if you have a fall and it’s a lot easier to repair punctures and/or change tyres with moral support from friends – and you’ll have a wider range of bicycle tools to call on as well. In Summary You have to be physically fit to cycle the Ridgeway so it’s not for mountain biking beginners. Some of the terrain is very similar to the South Downs Way but I found the route (slightly) easier because there are less hills. The first part of the route has some fantastic open downland, chalk ridge cycling and that was the best bit for me. I would say that the Ridgeway is not too difficult in a technical sense but you need to start early and allow enough time on each day to cover the distances. Overall, I think we all enjoyed the three days even though it was pretty demanding.

If you are thinking about cycling the Ridgeway Trail and want to ask any questions about the route, leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer. Update: This article describes my first trip cycling the Ridgeway and I cycled the Ridgeway Trail again in 2014. The Ridgeway The Ridgeway Office Closure We are working over Christmas and New Year. However we will be closed from Monday 2 January 2017 through to Sunday 22 January 2017. During this time we will have limited access to emails and the office telephone will be directed to voicemail. The Ridgeway The Ridgeway National Trail follows a historic trading route that has been used by travellers, herdsmen and the military for thousands of years. Almost entirely off road this walk starts at Overton Hill, close to Avebury and the largest Stone Circle in Europe. From here you walk broadly north east through some of Southern England's finest countryside as you cross the Wessex Downs of Wiltshire and Oxfordshire before ending your journey at Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire.

We have carefully planned itineraries that give you time to visit the many sites of interest and explore the attractive English villages found along the trail. Accommodation each night is in beautiful hotels and traditional country inns. If you prefer to cycle the trail see our Extreme MTB cycling holiday for the group support we provide. Group Bookings Most people walk from west to east, starting at Avebury and finishing at Ivinghoe Beacon, as the wind is usually behind you. However you can of course start at Ivinghoe and walk west through Oxfordshire and Wiltshire to Avebury. The walking distances each day will vary depending on the accommodation you choose each night. Large groups may need to use hotels and inns in towns and villages nearby. We can provide transport for the group between the trail and your accommodation. On all days there are country pubs to stop for lunch although a small diversion from the trail is usually needed. Alternatively the hotels and inns you stay with can provide a packed lunch, which you collect on departure. Our itineraries have overnight stops at good quality hotels and inns.

Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon Day 1 - Avebury to Ogbourne St George - 12 miles / 19 kms Day 2 - Ogbourne St George to Sparsholt - 14.5 miles / 23 kms Day 3 - Sparsholt to Compton - 15.5 miles / 25 kms Day 4 - Compton to Wallingford - 13.5 miles / 22 kms Day 5 - Wallingford to Aston Rowant - 14 miles / 22.5 kms Day 6 - Aston Rowant to Wendover - 13 miles / 21 kms Day 7 - Wendover to Ivinghoe Beacon - 12.5 / 20 kms Part 1: Avebury to Goring Day 1 - Avebury to Ogbourne St George - 12 miles / 19 kms Day 2 - Ogbourne St George to Sparsholt - 14.5 miles / 23 kms Day 3 - Sparsholt to Compton - 15.5 miles / 25 kms Day 4 - Compton to Goring -

 8.5 miles / 13.5 kms Goring and Streatley train station has regular train connections to Oxford, Reading and London Paddington.

Part 2: Goring to Ivinghoe Beacon Day 1 - Goring to Wallingford - 7 miles / 11.5 kms Day 2 - Wallingford to Aston Rowant - 14 miles / 22.5 kms Day 3 - Aston Rowant to Wendover - 13 miles / 21 kms Day 4 - Wendover to Ivinghoe Beacon - 12.5 / 20 kms From the Beacon there is a 20 minute road walk to Ivinghoe village pub for a celebratory drink or a 3.5 mile walk back along the trail to Tring train station. The walking distances are within the ability of most regular walkers. However should members of the group decide to skip a day we will provide transport to your next hotel. All our holidays include luggage transfers each day so you can enjoy your walk without having to carry a heavy pack. Booking accommodation is by far the biggest challenge when organising a walking holiday. We have listed some of the better hotels and inns with links to TripAdvisor where you can read customer reviews and check prices and availability. If you like an early start, when booking accommodation check the time breakfast is served in the morning.

All should be able to provide packed lunches. For those finishing late, check when evening meals end. Reviews &AMP; Prices Marlborough is a compact, pretty town with a good range of restaurants and pubs. It is worth considering spending the night here before starting your walk. Using our minibuses we can drop you at the start of the Ridgeway or you can walk along a bridleway but that adds 2.5 miles to your first day and purists will be upset as you miss the first 2 miles of the trail. When you arrive at Ivinghoe Beacon the closest hotels and inns are in Aldbury and Tring, which are a 3.5 mile walk or short minibus transfer back along the trail. For groups of 6 or more people we can help organise your holiday and provide support services during your walk. These include group transport, luggage and group transfers each day, first aid support and an accommodation booking service. Luggage Transfers Your bags are collected each morning and moved between hotels and inns leaving you to enjoy each day without having to carry a heavy pack. Group Transport With our minibuses and trailers we can transport your group and luggage from your home or airport to the start and back again at the end.

Hotel Reservations Due to the shortage of accommodation, especially during the summer months, finding rooms for a group can be difficult. Our accommodation booking service can help. Trail Support For groups we can provide trail support. A driver and minibus will provide assistance when needed. Your luggage, hot and cold drinks and food will be available in the vehicle. Guiding Navigation along the footpath is straightforward but some groups enjoy having a local guide walk with them to provide help, encouragement and local information. Local Transfers On long days walking distances can be reduced by descending to a road. We will then meet you and provide minibus transport to your accommodation. There is parking at the start of the trail near Avebury although it is a little isolated. There is also a car park in Marlborough. We can meet you at your parked car to collect your luggage and transfer you to the start of the Ridgeway. At the end of your walk we can collect you from Ivinghoe Beacon and drop you back at your car. The journey time between the Beacon and Avebury is approximately 2 hours 15 minutes although this varies depending on the time of day. At weekends and on public holidays the journey time can be longer.

For groups travelling to Avebury by train there are stations at Swindon, with connections to Bristol and London Paddington, and Pewsey with services from Plymouth, Taunton, Newbury, Reading and London Paddington. The half way point is Goring. There are services from Goring & Streatley train station to Oxford, Reading and London Paddington. At the eastern end of the trail there are train stations at Wendover, with services to Aylesbury and London Marylebone, and Tring with connections to Milton Keynes, Northampton, Watford Junction and London Euston. Tell us about the trip you are planning and the services that you would like us to provide. We will then confirm availability of accommodation and vehicles and provide prices. Holiday Ridgeway National Trail Directory Ridgeway National Trail Directory A view from the Ridgeway Path near Wendover The Ridgeway runs from Overton Hill, near Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon. The start of the path is just down the road from the stone circle at Avebury, and almost in sight of the mysterious conical mound of Silbury Hill.

The path wends its way across the chalk downs through at least three hill forts and passes within feet of the burial mound at Wayland's Smithy and the White Horse at Uffington. The landscape is more varied after Goring, where the path crosses the Thames before climbing into the deciduous groves of the Chiltern Hills. The scenery is exhilarating, and if you have the luck to reach Ivinghoe Beacon on a blustery day you'll find it crowded with locals flying every sort of kite imaginable. The best web sites for General Information and Planning: National Trails of Great Britain Comprehensive site providing details on the route. Includes an accommodation guide, booking service providers, maps required. Hoary A photographic record of the walk. The best web sites for Guided Walking: Footpath Holidays A service offering transportation for each stage and the provision of an experienced guide. The web sites that organise accommodation and/ or baggage transfer: Celtic Trails Full self guided walkers service. Contours Full range of self guided walking services. Three alternatives to the walk offered. The best web sites for you to plan your accommodation: S H Systems Excellent range of accommodation. Just type in the location to bring up a list of accommodation in the area.

You can sort by price, postcode or rating. The best personal journals of the walk: Walking Englishman My report of a wonderful seven days walking which was full of enjoyment on the Ridgeway. Peter Chatfield Peter provides a good journal of the walk. The essential sites for safety advice and emergency services: Ramblers Association Practical walking advice on keeping safe including a guide to map reading, navigation and a detailed list of the essential gear required on a long distance walk. Mountain Rescue UK You may need them so take their advice. Add a service to this Directory Feedback and Suggestions: I am always pleased to received feedback on the structure and content of the website. I also welcome suggestions on how I can improve the website which may include new areas to cover, new walks or route alterations to existing walks. To contact me with feedback and/ or suggestions you can either complete the Walking Englishman Feedback Form or by email . Thank you. (Note: Walking without proper preparation can be dangerous. Information and downloads on this website are provided free of charge; it is each walker's responsibility to check the material and use accordingly. Postscript: My walk reports are not route guides and should not be treated as such.

They are written with personal reflections of my walks) Copyright © 2003-2017 Walking Englishman. All rights reserved.

Question: Which English long distance path runs from Overton Hill near Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon?
Answer: RIDGEWAY