The Ridgeway: Barbury Castle

Thursday 5th April 2018

After a day spent walking from near Swindon to the River Thames at Goring along the Ridgeway trail, I returned to my usual pattern for these walks as I drove to Barbury Castle, which is not far from Swindon. This is an Iron Age hill fort and lies on the Ridgeway trail so after parking beside it I immediately set off along the trail, however not over the fort but in the other direction, east. The weather for this walk was completely different to the day before when I had rain and strong winds almost all day as now the sun was shining through virtually cloudless skies. Thanks to the free-draining nature of chalk downs the ground had dried surprisingly quickly despite the heavy rains of the last few days. Consequently I was able to stride out on firm grass under the fabulous weather across the gorgeous landscape of the Marlborough Downs along the grassy top of Smeathe’s Ridge. I had not seen much on the previous day, but now I could see far and wide with fabulous walking underfoot alongside ranges where horses were being trained at a gallop on the springy turf.

Gradually I began to descend into the valley of the River Og and around the village of Ogbourne St. George where I was already beginning to feel hot despite the morning chill that lingered in the air. After stripping down to a thin top I strode up the slopes on the other side of the valley along lanes and byways such as I was often finding on the Ridgeway trail. This section of the trail has good paths with muddy bits coming only rarely which made the walk a lot better than the day before and considerably better than the horrendous mud I had found in the Chiltern Hills. I quickly strode out along the trail passing Liddington Castle fort, over the M4 motorway and up to the top of Charlbury Hill. Barbury Castle hill fort, where I had started, and Liddington Castle hill fort are just two examples of a string of forts that would have lined the ancient Ridge Way road that lends its name to the National Trail. I wondered as I passed whether there used to be a fort on top of Charlbury Hill, but this doesn’t appear to have been the case while the next fort along the Ridge Way was Uffington Castle, which I had visited on the previous day.

Eventually I reached the Ashbury crossing where I had started my walk along the Ridgeway the previous day and there I left the trail to head south along the road. However, I soon tired of walking along the road so when I came to a footpath on my right I took it around the edge of the woods that adorn Ashbourne House, which is a National Trust property. I didn’t explore the park as I still had many miles to cover to get back to my car although my route back was in doubt. My original plan had involved a lot of road walking that would take me all the way down to the village of Aldbourne, however I had already tired of road walking and that wasn’t the most direct route. Looking at a map I had an idea, as I was walking along, to turn left onto a byway that heads west and rejoin the Ridgeway somewhere south of Liddington Castle. The flaw in my plan was that I didn’t have a map of this precise location as I was in a gap between my Ridgeway map and my O.S. Marlborough Downs map. All I could do was keep heading south and hope I came across the westward byway that I wanted, but inevitably I missed it and by the time I realised I was stuck on the original route through Aldbourne.

After passing over the M4 motorway I headed through the village of Baydon and frustratingly all the way along a road to Aldbourne where I turned onto the Swindon road eventually coming off onto a byway that heads almost straight west towards Barbury Hill. It was now getting quite late in the day and I rather tired while the weather had turned colder when clouds finally ruined the clear skies and a cold wind lowered the temperature meaning that the lovely weather that I had enjoyed while on the Ridgeway was now a distant memory. The remaining walk was a slog as I headed over the ridge that carries the Ridgeway trail and hours earlier had carried me on it in sunnier and happier moments, but now I wearily descended the steep slope on the other side to a busy road. The walk ended on Gypsy Lane climbing steeply up to top of Barbury Castle, while all the way cursing myself that I had parked at the top of a hill. The first half of this walk, along the Ridgeway, was pretty good in fabulous sunny weather along good, dry paths that were enjoyable to walk upon. The return to Barbury Castle was a hard, tiring slog and calculating the total distance now it comes out at a gruelling twenty-seven miles, so I just wish I’d come up with an easier walk.

The Ridgeway: Ashbury

Wednesday 4th April 2018

For the next stage of my trek on the Ridgeway trail last Easter I thought I’d try a different approach. I caught a train from Goring & Streatley railway station to Swindon where I caught a bus to the Ridgeway path at the top of Ashbury Hill just outside the village of Ashbury with the result that I didn’t reach the Ridgeway until quarter past eleven. I then had to walk all the way back to the Streatley Youth Hostel along the Ridgeway, which is a distance of over twenty miles, and it was wet and windy; terrible weather to be walking along an exposed ridge top. The path was already really muddy thanks to the rain that had already fallen over the last couple of days, so when I got off the bus into the murky, drizzly weather I was not eager to get started and things just got worse as I plodded along the many miles of trail. Initially the path was actually well-made with a good, free-draining, gravelly surface underfoot, but it wasn’t long before this good path stopped and I had to endure mile after mile of rutted tracks while trying to avoid the mud.

The Ridgeway trail follows the route of one of the oldest roads in Britain which dates back to before the Romans and is called the Ridge Way, and lends its name to the National Trail. This ancient trackway deliberately kept to the high ground as this would be drier than in the valleys which would make travel easier and would also provide a measure of protection by giving the ancient traders a commanding view that gave them warning against potential attacks. However, this just meant I was exposed to the wind and rain that resulted in me suffering through many hours of miserable walking with few highlights. Not long after starting I reached Wayland’s Smithy, which is a Neolithic long barrow, a burial chamber situated in an idyllic woodland setting. In better weather and with less of a walk ahead of me I might have appreciated it better. Not too long after I reached Uffington Castle, an Iron Age fort that is now merely two circular earth banks. Nevertheless I walked around the northern edge of the fort where on a good day there are fabulous views across the valley below.

This was not a good day so I continued around the bank to reach the trig point at the highest point on Whitehorse Hill upon whose slopes sits a highly stylised representation of a horse 110 metres long and formed from deep trenches filled with crushed chalk. Hill figures such as these are quite common in England, though most are more recent copies of this horse that must be at least as old as the nearby fort. Unfortunately I was in the wrong place to see it at its best so I didn’t even bother trying and returned to the Ridgeway trail where I resumed my slow trek in deteriorating weather with little of interest to relieve the tedium of the dull surroundings. The brief moments when I had a good footpath underfoot were very welcome as was the times when the wind wasn’t blowing a gale or it wasn’t raining, but these failed to prevent the overriding sense of constant mud, wind and rain as I made my miserable way along the trail. Deep ruts caused by four by fours made the walking especially unpleasant so when one passed by me I gave them an evil look.

At one point in the middle of the afternoon while enduring the usual rain with grey clouds ahead of me I realised that I was beginning to cast a shadow. Disbelieving my eyes I turned to look behind me and saw glorious blue skies as the weather slowly began to brake and the sun made its first appearance of the day, though this proved to be short-lived and it wasn’t long before it started raining again. As the afternoon began to give way to early evening the wide avenues of mud became narrower lanes with hard surfaces that were finally much easier to walk upon. As I thankfully started the descent into the Thames Valley the clouds finally cleared for good and I had a sun-filled end to the day, but it was too little, too late and did nothing to prevent the memory of the previous six hours of misery. When I had started planning a return to the Ridgeway I was initially going to stay in the Chiltern Hills and go no further along the trail. With hindsight I wish I had not decided to complete it.

The Ridgeway: The Goring Gap

Tuesday 3rd April 2018

Last Easter I spent a week walking along the Ridgeway trail and by the end of this day I had reached the Goring Gap, which is the point where the River Thames punches through the chalk hills of the Chilterns and the North Wessex Downs forming a boundary between the two ranges. Ever since I started walking on the Ridgeway path, in 2017, I had been walking through the Chiltern Hills, but after this walk I would move into the North Wessex Downs. During this week I was staying in the Streatley Youth Hostel, which is situated just across the river from Goring, so for this walk I actually started from the hostel and walked down to the river turning left onto the Ridgeway. However, it wasn’t long before I realised I’d left my walking poles behind so I turned around and returned back into Goring and along the road up the hill back to the hostel.

Returning to the Ridgeway I headed north along good paths with the river not too far away on my left. After all the horrible, muddy footpaths that I had walked on during the previous two days it was good to have firm, dry paths underfoot even if at times it was tarmac. By the time I reached South Stoke it was raining, which had always looked likely to happen, however this proved to be short-lived and before too long the sun had come out. After South Stoke the Ridgeway follows the bank of the River Thames and it was rather muddy, but I had become used to that on the Ridgeway during the last couple of days. Underneath the railway viaduct the river had flooded the path which forced me to wade through the cold water, while further on, at a gate, the river was even deeper on the path.

Just before I left the river side, when I thought my problems were ending, there was one final section of path that was at least knee deep underwater, so by the time I reached North Stoke my feet were completely wet. With the river now thankfully left behind I walked along a good path into Mongewell where I turned right through a lovely, little wood, and upon crossing a main road I came across a narrow, man-made ridge, called Grim’s Dyke, which was a delight to walk upon. The surface was good, the sun was shining and there were plenty of wild plants to be seen so that with every step I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Eventually the ridge widened and a ditch appeared in the middle lined with all manner of wild flowers. Infant bluebells could be seen, but also in flower there were celandines and wood anemones that added a wondrous sparkle to the surroundings.

I was overjoyed to see these wild flowers and I was entranced with everything I saw. Spring is by far the best season to be walking through woodland and I was seeing a fabulous display that would only get better as the season progressed. I was just disappointed that the display was not these woods at their best. This walk was quickly becoming a highlight of the holiday especially after the mud and rain that I had endured during the previous two days. Eventually I came off Grim’s Ditch and after briefly crossing a squelchy field I entered the tiny village of Nuffield and while crossing a golf course dark clouds started to appear overhead and it wasn’t long before it was raining, which detracted from the bluebell-filled wood that I then passed through. Soon I reached a narrow woodland strip that carries the footpath I had been on the day before and where I had joined the Ridgeway, so now I left the trail and turned left onto the Chiltern Way.

Pre-flowering bluebells greeted me once again as I made my way along this path, which lifted my spirits even though they were not yet in flower. It is amazing how I could consider the sight of bluebells so uplifting even though I was not seeing any flowers. The path soon deteriorated into a farmer's track, but after turning south I passed through the delightful Oakley Wood, which was also full of young bluebells, until eventually I reached a quiet road and headed south along this for several miles. At one point I crossed the route of the Ridgeway that I had been on earlier in the day and when I reached a T-junction I continued straight ahead following the route of the ancient Icknield Way. The recreational path I was now following was the Swan’s Way and when this turns right I followed it over the hill of Watch Folly onto a road. Turning south alongside this road I reached South Stoke where I rejoined the Ridgeway and followed my earlier route back into Goring.

There were some fabulous moments on this walk when I saw banks of wild flowers basking in the spring sunshine. Throughout most of the walk I had good, firm footpaths, which, even more than the wild flowers and sunshine, helped to make this walk an enjoyable outing. Sadly I was now done with the Chiltern Hills as the Ridgeway passes into the North Wessex Downs. Despite the minimal display of wild flowers on this visit due to the late winter, and despite the very muddy paths I had enjoyed walking through the Chiltern Hills, and I knew I would be back.

The Ridgeway: Watlington

Monday 2nd April 2018

To resume my trek along the Ridgeway trail I drove back to the village of Watlington and set off up the road that heads into the Chiltern Hills but came off just as the road starts to steepen so I could join the wide track that is the course of the Ridgeway National Trail that at this point runs along the foot of the Chilterns escarpment. Soon I returned to the spot where I had joined the Ridgeway the day before and now I left the Ridgeway to retrace my steps up into the Chiltern Hills. It was forecast to rain all day and it had already been raining heavily all night which had left the ground even wetter and muddier than it had been the day before. However, when I set off it wasn’t raining and the sun was even peeking through the clouds meaning my waterproofs seemed to be a waste of time, but before I reached the top of Watlington Hill it was raining again and all was normal. Coming off my route of the day before I followed the Oxfordshire Way through the delightfully named settlement of Christmas Common until eventually I decided I would keep to the byway of Hollandridge Lane rather than trying to go along the muddy paths in Fire Wood. This provided me with a much better surface under foot as I walked in the rain, which is all I ever ask, but sadly the good surfaces soon came to an end.

On rejoining the Oxfordshire Way I also rejoined the Chiltern Way that I had left the day before, and when the Oxfordshire Way turned south I stayed on the Chiltern Way, which was generally my trail of choice for linking my sections along the Ridgeway. I was now in the delightful College Wood that at this time of the year was covered in infant bluebells, and even though they were not in flower it was still fabulous seeing these plants covering the woodland floor. Although the bluebells didn’t extend far into the woodland I still had a fantastic walk through the undulating woodland terrain and even the rain stopped so I could enjoy the walk as I made my way over yet another small ridge. When I eventually reached the road on the far side of the wood I turned left along the road and later turning right I entered another bluebell-rich wood that brought me into the lovely little village of Russel’s Water where a pond takes centre stage in the picturesque surroundings. Soon after leaving Russel’s Water I turned left at a junction of paths rather than right, along the Chiltern Way, so I could rejoin the Ridgeway Trail at a more convenient location.

I was now briefly on Shakespeare’s Way, which runs from Stratford-upon-Avon to the Globe Theatre in London, but very soon I came off this path to join the southern arm of the Chiltern Way, which is a circular trail. The paths at this point were abominably muddy which made the walking extremely difficult and tiring, and to worsen the condition of the path it started raining again, and this time really heavily. Overhead my struggles were accompanied by a cacophony of crow calls that seemed to be mocking my progress as I battled through the awful terrain. When I eventually reached a road I was so relieved and exhausted I stopped to have a rest, and my lunch, before resuming the walk coming into woodland that had slightly better footpaths and was also full of bluebells to once again delight my soul. It was disappointing that none of the bluebells on this walk were in flower, though that was inevitable this early in April and after the cold weather we had endured in March.

Eventually I reached the crossroads that I had been aiming for all day where I finally rejoined the Ridgeway turning right to head north along the National Trail, which I must say was in no better condition than the paths I had been on earlier in the day. After passing Swyncombe House I was joined by the northern arm of the Chiltern Way that I had left soon after Russel’s Water, though it wasn’t long before it turned left and I continued along the Ridgeway as the trail descends off the Chilterns escarpment to reach the ancient trackway of the Icknield Way. Now with a firm, dry surface underfoot I was happy and able to easily walk along the trail back to the road above Watlington not far from where I had parked my car. If I thought the muddy paths on my walk the day before had been tough this walk was so much worse following the heavy rain overnight and the continued rain during the day. The conditions of some of the paths on this walk was atrocious, however when I was in woodland bedecked in young bluebells with a firm, rocky path underfoot this walk was really special. All I ask for is a dry path, but on this walk that was a rare occurrence.