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INTRODUCTION

This guidebook offers a collection of 25 adventurous circular walks in the Thames Valley, covering the Southern Chilterns, Berkshire, Lambourn and North Hampshire Downs and Southern Oxfordshire, all within easy reach of places such as Reading, Swindon, Newbury, Abingdon and surrounding towns.

All the walks – which vary in length from 10 to 18 miles (16 to 29km) and include a two-day (26-mile/42km) weekend walk over the Lambourn Downs – have a detailed route description that includes information on points of interest along the way, and are accompanied by a map based on Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 series maps. Many of the routes also have shorter (around 7–10-mile/11–16km) options, for those times when you want a less strenuous day out.

Some of the walks visit the ancient sites of Iron Age hillforts while others pass more modern features such as Wilton Windmill and the Kennet and Avon Canal. Many pass through picturesque villages with cosy pubs, thatched cottages and fascinating old churches. Some follow sections of the Ridgeway National Trail, which links some of the oldest ‘green’ roads in Britain, while others meander gently along the banks of the River Thames following the Thames Path. All the walks have one thing in common: they introduce the adventurous rambler to some of the best parts of the region.

The countryside encountered on these walks forms a patchwork of open chalk grassland, broadleaved woodland and farmland. Below the downs, chalk streams flow from the springline and support a diversity of plant and animal life; some of these streams, known as winterbournes, are seasonal and only appear during the wetter winter months. The richly wooded character of the Chiltern Hills distinguishes them from other, commonly more open, chalk landscapes such as the Lambourn Downs. Many of these woodlands are termed as ancient woodlands, defined as being continuously wooded since at least 1600. These areas tend to support a greater number of species and their character often closely reflects the underlying soil conditions, producing a wide range of woodland types and wildlife habitats.

The unmistakable outline of a red kite – look out for them overhead in the Chilterns

You should have plenty of opportunities for catching glimpses of local wildlife, from foxes to roe and fallow deer or the much smaller muntjac; you may even be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the elusive badger as dusk approaches. Along the riverbanks you may see herons patiently waiting for a fish to swim past, or the vivid turquoise-blue and orange flash of a kingfisher as it darts along the river, while the ever-present ducks, coots, moorhens and mute swans will keep you company.

As you wander through the ancient broadleaved beech and oak woodlands you may hear the drumming knock of the great spotted woodpecker declaring its territory, or the raucous call of a jay. Oak woods offer the more diverse wildlife habitat. Beech woods – a celebrated feature of the Chilterns – have a much denser canopy that greatly reduces the light reaching the ground, though even here, in late spring, the forest floor is carpeted with vivid bluebells.

The open chalk grasslands support rare butterflies, plants including gentians and orchids and traditional farmland birds such as the colourful pheasant; high above you’ll often hear the skylark singing, or see the majestic silhouette of a buzzard soaring overhead. One of the success stories of the area is the reintroduction of the impressive red kite, and you’d be unlucky not to see one while walking in the Chilterns. These birds of prey, with distinctive forked tail, chestnut-red plumage and high-pitched whistling calls – ‘weeoo-wee-wee-wee’ – were driven to extinction by the end of the 19th century. However, in the early 1990s the RSPB and English Nature reintroduced some birds; their numbers have increased, and there are now over 200 pairs of breeding birds in the region.

The River Thames at Sonning (Walk 23)

The view east from Haydown Hill (Walk 4)

The area is also home to two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): the Chilterns and the North Wessex Downs. The aim of the AONB status is to conserve the natural beauty of the area and protect the landscape for future generations.

The Chilterns AONB was designated in 1965 and covers over 830 square kilometres of the beautiful Chiltern Hills, which stretch from Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley northeast through Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire to Hitchin in Hertfordshire: an unspoilt area of rolling chalk hills, swathed in beech woods, quiet valleys and picturesque villages with characteristic brick-andflint cottages (www.chilternsaonb.org).

The North Wessex Downs AONB, the third-largest in the country, covers a rural landscape that encompasses large areas of typical downland scenery from the Marlborough Downs to Watership Down, and includes the World Heritage Site at Avebury and the famous Uffington White Horse. The market towns of Marlborough and Hungerford can be found within its boundaries, as can large stretches of the Ridgeway National Trail and the Kennet and Avon Canal (www.northwessexdowns.org.uk).

A brief history and a guide to the geology of the region are given in Appendices 1 and 2.

Getting Around

By car

The area enjoys a good road network with the M4 motorway running east–west and a number of main Aroads, such as the A34, travelling north–south. If you are travelling by car to the start of these walks please use designated parking areas and make sure you don’t block access for local people and farmers.

By rail and bus

The main railway from London to the west gives access to some of the walks, while more local connecting services reach the likes of Henley-on-Thames and Cookham. Throughout the region several bus operators provide reasonably frequent services to several of the towns and villages and some of the walks, though not necessarily to the starting points. Bus services tend to be rather infrequent or non-existent on Sundays.

Brief details of bus and train services are given with each route description as appropriate. A good source of public transport maps for the Ridgeway and Thames Path is the National Trails website (www.nationaltrail.co.uk). These two maps cover many of the walks in this guidebook.

For rail service enquiries call National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950 (www.nationalrail.co.uk). Information for planning a journey by bus, coach or train can be obtained by calling Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 (www.traveline.org.uk). Another service that may be useful is the Connect 2 Taxi (0871 750 0303) which automatically connects you to a cab service in your area. Contact details for bus companies operating in the region are given in Appendix 3.

The Rose Revived at Newbridge (Walk 7)

St Michael’s Church in Little Bedwyn (Walk 3)

Food and Drink

Most of the walks start near places where food and drink can be bought: a local shop, café or pub. Some offer opportunities for stopping off during the walk at a village with either a local shop or pub, although not always conveniently placed; brief details of villages with pubs, shops and cafés are given in the information box for each walk, though there is no guarantee that they’ll be open when required. It’s always a good idea to carry some food and drink with you, plus a small ‘emergency ration’ in case of an unexpected delay. Pubs or cafes passed en route are mentioned in the text.

Accommodation

There is a wide range of accommodation available from hotels to B&Bs and youth hostels. Contact the local tourist information office (see Appendix 3) for information on accommodation in a particular area.

When to Walk

Summers tend to be fairly dry and can be quite hot with hazy skies. Spring and autumn offer better walking conditions, with clearer skies making for better views. Cool autumn nights herald a dramatic change, with the trees – especially the Chiltern beech woods – becoming clothed in spectacular shades of russet, gold and brown, while in the early summer there are striking carpets of bluebells. During the winter months spells of rain can make paths and tracks, especially on chalk-based soils, rather muddy, and rivers can flood surrounding fields, especially along the River Thames, making some routes impassable. Even though the days are quite short, walking on a clear, frosty, winter’s day can be a magical experience and you maybe lucky enough to have rare fall of snow, especially on the higher downs.

A winter scene looking east to White Horse Hill on the Ridgeway (Walk 6)

Kit Suggestions

A good pair of walking boots, a comfortable rucksack, waterproof jacket and appropriate clothing for the time of year are necessities; on wet days, gaiters can also be very useful. Stinging nettles, which reach their peak during the summer, can be a problem on some of the walks, so shorts are not always a good idea. It’s also worth carrying a basic first aid kit to deal with minor incidents.

Walking with Children

The walks are all fairly long and, although the terrain is not too hilly, they can be quite strenuous. Only older children who are used to longer walks should attempt these routes (note that 10 of the walks do have shorter options).

Using the Guide

The walk descriptions in this guidebook all follow the same format. The individual route information section is followed by a brief guide to the walk, identifying any major points (including towns and villages). The information section gives the total length of the walk in miles and kilometres, the starting point, car parking, maps, public transport, distance and pubs. The walking times are based on a walking speed of 2½mph or 4kmph, plus 10 minutes per 100m (300ft) of ascent. This should be treated as the guide to the minimum walking time required to undertake the route and does not include time for rests, photography, consulting the map or guidebook, or simply admiring the view – all of which can add substantially to the day’s activity. Always remember to pace the walk to the slowest member in the group, so that everyone can enjoy the day. There is also a simple indication as to the amount of ascent covered during the walk (see Table of Walks on pages 8 and 9).

Beech trees in winter, Stonor Park (Walk 22)

THE COUNTRYSIDE CODE

While you are out enjoying these walks please respect the countryside and follow the Countryside Code.

Be safe – plan ahead and follow any signs

Even when going out locally, it’s best to get the latest information about where and when you can go; for example, your rights to go onto some areas of open land may be restricted while work is carried out, for safety reasons or during bird breeding seasons. Follow advice and local signs, and be prepared for the unexpected.

Leave gates and property as you find them

Please respect the working life of the countryside, as our actions can affect people’s livelihoods, our heritage, and the safety and welfare of animals and ourselves.

Protect plants and animals, and take your litter home

We have a responsibility to protect our countryside now and for future generations, so make sure you don’t harm animals, birds, plants or trees.

Keep dogs under close control

The countryside is a great place to exercise dogs, but it’s every owner’s duty to make sure their dog is not a danger or nuisance to farm animals, wildlife or other people.

Consider other people

Showing consideration and respect for other people makes the countryside a pleasant environment for everyone – at home, at work and at leisure.

For further information visit www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk or call 0845 1003298.

The walks are split into numbered sections. The numbers, accompanied by grid references, correspond to the numbers highlighted on the route maps and will enable you to identify your location easily. The grid references are generated from the National Grid; each Ordnance Survey map is divided by a series of vertical and horizontal lines to create a grid with a spacing of 1km. You can locate a point on a map, accurate to within 100m, using a grid reference which is made up of two letters and six numbers.

The two letters correspond to the 100,000m₂ in which the grid reference lies, and can be found in the corners of any Ordnance Survey map. The first two digits of the six-figure number correspond to the vertical line (easting) to the left of the point of interest, using the horizontal numbers along the bottom and top of the map; the third digit is the tenths of the square (equivalent to 100m). Next find the fourth and fifth digits: locate the horizontal line (northing) below the point of interest. The last digit is again the number of tenths moving up through the square. Always remember – read the horizontal numbers before the vertical ones.

Throughout the route text you will find various easily identifiable items or places of interest highlighted in bold type; additional information is given for the latter.

Useful contact details are given in Appendix 3, and a Table of Walks on pages 8 and 9.

Maps

Extracts from the Ordnance Survey Landranger series of maps, at a scale of 1:50,000, are used throughout this guidebook, with overlays showing the routes. However, these maps do not give the same level of detail and clarity as that found on the Ordnance Survey Explorer series, at a scale of 1:25,000 – for example, the location of a path in relation to field boundaries. For this reason walkers may find the larger scale mapping of value on some of the routes. Details of the relevant maps are given with each route description. The Explorer maps that cover the walks in this guidebook are:

 Explorer 157 Marlborough and Savernake Forest

 Explorer 158 Newbury and Hungerford

 Explorer 159 Reading, Wokingham and Pangbourne

 Explorer 170 Abingdon, Wantage and Vale of White Horse

 Explorer 171 Chiltern Hills West, Henley-on-Thames and Wallingford

 Explorer 172 Chiltern Hills East, High Wycombe, Maidenhead and Rickmansworth

 Explorer 180 Oxford, Witney and Woodstock

Access and Rights Of Way

All the walks suggested follow public rights of way, whether they be footpaths, bridleways or byways; some sections also follow permissive paths (routes where the landowner has allowed the public to have walking access). Paths are mostly well signed, but not always: in these cases care is required not to lose the way. Local authorities have a duty to protect and maintain the extensive network of off-road routes. Where a path is obstructed, you are entitled to divert around the obstruction. Please report any problems while using the rights of way mentioned in this guidebook to the relevant local authority.

Footpath sign at Radcot (Walk 1)

In October 2005 the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 was completed, giving all users of the countryside the opportunity to walk freely across mapped ‘access land’ without the need to follow designated paths. Open access land includes mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common land, and these open access areas are marked by a yellow tint on the more recent Ordnance Survey Explorer maps.

Rights of way are marked on the ground as follows:

 Footpath Yellow arrow – walkers only

 Bridleway Blue arrow – walkers, cyclists and horse riders

 Byway Red arrow – walkers, cyclists, horse riders, motorcycles and vehicles

 Restricted Byway Purple arrow – use by all except mechanically propelled vehicles, but can be narrow and so may not take, for example, a horse and cart.

Long-Distance Routes

If you fancy a longer and more testing walk several long-distance routes pass through the Thames Valley, and all of them are visited by at least one of the walks described in this book.

Chiltern Way (Walk 20)

The Chiltern Way was created by the Chiltern Society as its Millennium project (officially launched in October 2000), and is based on an earlier unofficial route, the Chiltern Hundred (100 miles/161km). The route takes in four counties: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire, in a 133-mile (214km) circuit (extended to 172 miles in 2003) from Ewelme in the southwest to Sharpenhoe Clappers and Great Offley in the northeast, and as far southeast as Chorleywood West.

Looking across to the Devil’s Punchbowl from the Ridgeway (Walk 9)

D’Arcy Dalton Way (Walk 1)

The D’Arcy Dalton Way is a 66-mile (106km) north–south path between Wormleighton near Banbury and Wayland’s Smithy on the Ridgeway. The route was created to mark the Oxford Fieldpath Society’s Diamond Jubilee in 1986 and was named after a notable defender of the county’s path network. The route passes through parts of the Cotswolds, Thames Valley, Vale of the White Horse and Wessex Downs.

Lambourn Valley Way (Walk 6)

The Lambourn Valley Way is a 22-mile (35km) walk running from the Berkshire Downs at the Uffington White Horse to Newbury, following the picturesque valley of the River Lambourn.

Oxfordshire Way (Walk 22)

The Oxfordshire Way is a 65-mile (104km) lowland path linking the Cotswolds at Bourton-on-the-Water with the Chilterns and River Thames at Henley-on-Thames. The route passes through the most rural and scenic landscapes of Oxfordshire, including two AONBs: the Cotswolds, with their characteristic grey limestone buildings and stone walls and the Chilterns, with their flint-and-brick architecture and famous beech woods.

Ridgeway National Trail (Walks 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 17 and 20)

The Ridgeway, designated as a long-distance route in 1972, stretches for 85 miles (137km) across five counties, from Overton Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. However, it is just part of a prehistoric track that once stretched for 248 miles (400km) from the Dorset coast to the Wash on the Norfolk coast. Its purpose was to provide a route for travellers over high ground which was less wooded and drier than routes following the springline villages below. These ancient trackways have been in use for over 5000 years, making them some of the oldest roads in Britain.

Along the Ridgeway, man has left evidence of early occupation in the form of Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds and later Iron Age hillforts. Three hillforts along the western section of the Ridgeway are visited on separate walks detailed in this book. These are Liddington Castle (Walk 2), Uffington Castle (Walk 6) and Segsbury or Letcombe Castle (Walks 6 and 10). The atmospheric Neolithic burial mound at Wayland’s Smithy and the stunning Uffington White Horse, believed to be 3000 years old, are visited on Walk 6.

Shakespeare Way (Walk 19)

This long-distance path, following minor roads and footpaths, runs for 146 miles (235km) between Stratford-upon-Avon – Shakespeare’s birthplace–and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.

Swan’s Way (Walk 20)

A long-distance bridle route of 65 miles (105km) from the River Thames at Goring in the south to Salcey Forest in Northamptonshire, passing through a variety of Buckinghamshire landscapes en route.

Thames Path (Walks 1, 7, 16, 18, 23, 24 and 25)

The National Trail, opened in 1996, follows England’s best-known river for 184 miles (294km) as it meanders from its source in the Cotswolds near Kemble (Gloucestershire) through the bustle of London to the Thames Barrier in Woolwich. En route the path passes through several rural counties and fascinating urban areas such as Oxford, Henley-on-Thames, Windsor and Greenwich, as well as peaceful water meadows rich in wildlife. A 10-mile (16km) extension from the Thames Barrier east to the Crayford Ness marshes was added in 2001.

Test Way (Walk 8)

A 44-mile (71km) route starting on the chalk downs at Inkpen Beacon where the Wayfarer’s Walk ends (see below). The route follows much of the course of the River Test, passing through some of Hampshire’s picturesque villages, to reach the coast at Southampton Water.

Wayfarer’s Walk (Walks 8 and 14)

The Wayfarer’s Walk stretches for 70 miles (113km) through Hampshire from the coast near Portsmouth to Inkpen Beacon just across the Berkshire border, where it meets the Test Way. The Wayfarer’s Walk provides a fine selection of walking terrain from coastal to gentle rolling hills, dotted with the dense woodland and rich green valleys for which Hampshire is renowned.

St Michael’s Church in Aston Tirrold (Walk 13)