The Ridgeway and Uffington White Horse. B walk Keep Fit for a Fiver BOOKING ESSENTIAL

B WALK DESCRIPTION: This is a circular walk from Ashbury Folly. We initially follow the ancient Ridgeway West for a short distance before turning South towards Hailey Wood and Ashdown House (NT). We shall go through the Wood passing the attractive Ashdown House then turn North-East, climbing up past Crowberry Tump and onwards to rejoin the Ridgeway eastwards towards Uffington Castle, an ancient fort; and Dragon Hill then views of the White Horse cut into the chalk hillside. Retracing our steps along the Ridgeway we come to Wayland Smithy, a substantial long barrow burial site, and return to the start. Distance 9.7 miles, ascent 973ft. The fare is £5.

GENERAL INFORMATION: These walks are a great opportunity to see sites used and occupied by ancient people in the rolling countryside with great views across the Wiltshire and Oxfordshire downs. Walkers on all three routes will have the chance follow in the footsteps of bronze age man, who used the Ridgeway to travel across England on higher, drier land. Along it’s route are many historical sites. We will visit Uffington ‘Castle’, which occupies the summit of Whitehorse Hill, and is a rare and outstanding example of a large Iron Age Hillfort. The famous White Horse is the oldest chalk-cut hill figure in Britain, perhaps over 3,000 years old and Wayland’s Smithy, is a Neolithic chambered long barrow, that was once believed to have been the home of Wayland, the Saxon god of metal working.