The Ridgeway
Location: Southern/Central England.
Length: 85 miles (136 km).
Average number of days to complete: 6 for walkers.
Users: 100% for walkers; the whole of the western half (50% of the Trail) is available for cyclists and horse riders too.
Highest point: Uffington Castle 261m (857ft).
Start point: Overton Hill, 3km(2miles) from Avebury.
Finish point: Ivinghoe Beacon, 2km (1.25 miles) from Ivinghoe north of Tring.
Landscape: The western half is a broad ancient track along the edge of open rolling chalk downland. In the east it is a narrower path through more intimate woods and valleys. 100% within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Highlights: Avebury World Heritage Site; Iron Age Forts and historic chalk hill features along the whole length; beech woodlands in the Chiltern Hills with carpets of bluebells in Spring; extensive views of rolling downs and the Thames Valley; chalkland flowers, butterflies and birds.
Famous Associations: King Alfred, Saxon King born at Wantage; 20th century poet laureate John Betjeman; Marianne Faithfull, George Michael; Prime Ministers at Chequers.
Trail Officers favourite part: Uffington Castle to Letcombe Bassett - grew up there, so perhaps biased, but wonderful history and views. Swyncombe, a secret place in the Chilterns.
Nearest towns: From west to east: Marlborough - 6.5km (4 miles) east of start of Trail, Wantage - 3 km (2 miles) to the north, Goring on the Thames on the Trail, Wallingford - 1.5 km (1 mile) to the north, Princes Risborough and Wendover are on the Trail, Tring - 2km (1.25 miles) to the west.
Access: To western end: London is 50 minutes away from Swindon by train from Paddington station and Swindon is 1 hour from Bristol. Buses go to Avebury from Swindon (30 minutes). To mid point: Goring is 60 minutes by Train from London. To eastern end: Tring is 40 minutes from London Euston by train and is on the Trail 7km/4.5miles from the eastern end).
Information available: National Trail Guide by Neil Curtis Aurum Press ISBN 1-85410-268-0; Public Transport leaflet, Guide to facilities and accommodation, Circular route packs and merchandise available from National Trail Officer. Online information available for accommodation and wide range of facilities and services coordinated by National Trail Manager.
Contact for all information and advice: Jos Joslin, Cultural Services, Holton, Oxford, OX33 1QQ.
Telephone: 00 44 (0) 1865 810224.
Website: www.nationaltrail.co.uk
For places to stay near this National Trail click here
For more information contact:
South West Tourism - 0871 572 2521
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This page visited 12130 times since 28th April 2009
Previous destinations of the month:
Starry Starry Night, Look You – Dark Skies Tourism, South Wales | Mills and Hills in Central Lancashire, Lancashire | Get Fit on the North York Moors, North Yorkshire | A West Country Christmas – Dorset in December, Dorset | Nottinghamshire – Rural and Urban, Nottinghamshire | The Test Valley, Hampshire | Ashdown Forest, Sussex | The Rugged Northumberland Coast , Northumberland | The Resorts of North Devon, Devon | The Queen's London, London | Denbighshire , North Wales | York and Its Surrounds, North Yorkshire | The High Weald of Kent, Kent | Leisure, Luxury and Retail Heaven in Leeds , West Yorkshire | Rejuvenate Yourself in Rejuvenated Belfast , Belfast | Seasonal Fun in Brum, West Midlands | Autumn in the Southern Chilterns, Buckinghamshire | Cheshire Peaks and Plains, Cheshire | Essex’s Colne Valley, Essex | Cardigan Bay, West Wales | South Wales Valleys, South Wales | Highland Perthshire, Perthshire | South Downs National Park, Sussex | Royal Wedding London, London | Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire | The Oxfordshire Cotswolds, Oxfordshire | Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire | Edinburgh at Christmas, Edinburgh and the Lothians | Marvellous Manchester, Greater Manchester | The National Forest, Derbyshire | East Lothian, Edinburgh and the Lothians | Regency Brighton and Hove, Sussex | Isle of Purbeck, Dorset | The Somerset Levels, Somerset | Llandudno, North Wales | Hereford, Herefordshire | Cheltenham, Gloucestershire | Bristol, the Great West City, Bristol | Weardale, County Durham | Festive London, London | Islay, Isle of Islay | Blackpool and the Lancashire Coast, Lancashire | The Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire | Land of the Prince Bishops, County Durham | The North Cornwall Coast, Cornwall | Torbay, Devon | Dumfries & Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway | West Highland Way, Argyll | Caithness and Sutherland, Highlands | Harrogate & its Surrounds, North Yorkshire | Sheffield, South Yorkshire
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