The Ridgeway follows, what is considered to be the oldest known trail in Europe, dating from the Stone Age, at least 5000 years ago. It passes by Iron Age hill forts, Stone Age and Bronze Age burial mounds, and also the 3000 year old Uffington White Horse, carved on the chalk hillside, before reaching the Ancient Sacred Landscape and World Heritage Site around Avebury Stone Circle.
The modern walking trail is 87 miles (140 km) long, following the chalk ridge from Overton Hill, near Avebury, Wiltshire (in the West) to Ivinghoe Beacon, Buckinghamshire (in the east).
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| Anne at Ivinghoe Beacon, the eastern end of the Ridgeway |
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| A view north from the Ridgeway over the rich farmland of Oxfordshire |
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| Walking down to Wendover |
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| Beech woodland along the Ridgeway National Trail |
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| Country Inn at Goring-on-Thames |
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| Spring lambs in shallow chalk valley |
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| A well signed National Walking Trail |
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Bronze Age Round Barrows at Overton Hill,
the western end of the Ridgeway National Trail |
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Dragon Hill and the Uffington White Horse
first created on the hillside around 3000 year ago. |
The Cove Stones within Avebury Stone Circle,
the largest Stone Circle in Europe.
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| A misty morning at the Avebury Stone Circle |
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| The end of the day at Avebury at the western end of the trail |
A really interesting walking trail, which has three natural sections. From the east, the trail first follows the Chiltern Ridge with extensive beech woodland and red kites soaring overhead, before dropping down to the Thames Valley. After the short distance along the banks of the River Thames (15 miles) the trail ascends again to the open landscapes of the North Wessex Downs, skylarks singing overhead and a some of the best prehistoric sites in Britain.
Contact us to find out more.
Happy hiking
Anne
Walk the Landscape
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