The Ridgeway, Waylands Smithy and Uffington Castle from Ashdown House
This walk combines one of the best sections of the Ridgeway and the start of the Lambourn Valley Way with visits to two ancient monuments. It is easy walking; the paths are either well-made or on well-drained chalk downland.
A
Ashbury walk
posted on 28/08/22 by Berkshire Walker. Last update : 19/09/22
Description
The walk starts from the car park of Ashdown House.
(S/E) From the upper section of the car park, go straight into the wood on a good path. When you reach a broad ride with a good view of Ashdown House to the left, turn right and continue along the ride to the end of the wood. Turn left onto the path just inside the edge of the wood, to its corner. Turn right onto a path across a field, and continue past a stand of trees until you reach the Ridgeway.
(1) Turn right along the Ridgeway, cross over the road (B4000), and continue until you reach the woods. It is more pleasant to walk through these woods than along the track, so take the path into the woods on the right then bear left on the path that is parallel to the Ridgeway. Cross the track and over a man-made bank to continue through the wood until you see a wooden gate and the signs to Wayland's Smithy through a small gap in the hedge on the left. Go through this gap and along the path opposite to reach the site of the ancient monument.
(2) From Wayland's Smithy, return back into the wood, turn left and continue to the end, then rejoin the Ridgeway. When it starts to climb towards Uffington Castle, there is a stile on the left next to a National Trust sign saying "White Horse Hill". Go over this and a second one to the right, then climb directly up to the Castle.
(3) Walk round the embankment of the Castle, then aim for a gate back onto the Ridgeway. Turn right along it for a short distance, then turn left onto a signposted bridleway that runs along the edge of a field. At the end of the field, it makes a small 'dog-leg' to the left, then continues along the edge of the next field and past a stand of beech trees on the right. The route then continues as a public footpath straight across Woolstone Down gallops, marked by wooden posts with black and white stripes. (There is a stand of trees at the southern end of the gallops that is not marked on OS maps).
(4)Go through a gap to the right of a gate, and turn right onto a bridleway going downhill along the right hand edge of a field (the boundaries shown on the map on either side no longer exist). When you reach a track to the right (with a wood to your right), the bridleway continues straight ahead across the field and then onto another track. Take the track straight ahead and climb the hill to a T-junction of tracks. Continue slightly to the right on a footpath that crosses the field across the field ahead, aiming slightly to the right of the bush on the skyline. A weather vane will come into view, and then a gate.
(5) Go through the gate, then turn right to follow the fence (this is Access Land, so you are free to roam as long as you keep dogs on a lead). Turn left to follow the fence downhill to a gate onto the road (B4000). Cross over, and return to the Ashdown House car park (S/E)
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 172 m - Ashdown House, car park
- 1 : km 2.71 - alt. 199 m - The Ridgeway
- 2 : km 4.48 - alt. 218 m - Wayland's Smithy
- 3 : km 6.57 - alt. 252 m - Uffington Castle
- 4 : km 9.81 - alt. 205 m - Path junction at southern end of gallops
- 5 : km 12.38 - alt. 212 m - Weathercock Hill
- S/E : km 13.19 - alt. 172 m - Ashdown House, car park
Useful Information
Access by car
Ashdown House is 5km north west of Lambourn on the B4000, with a large sign indicating the entrance. It has a free car park for around 20 cars.
Public transport
There is a bus stop at the entrance to Ashdown House for West Berkshire Council bus service No. 47, between Lambourn and Swindon. There are 4/5 buses a day on Monday to Saturday (no Sunday service).
Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.
During the walk or to do/see around
(D/A) Ashdown House is an unusually tall and narrow country house, built in the Dutch style and topped by two massive chimneys and an octagonal cupola. It was built in around 1663 for William,1st Earl Craven, who was one of the richest nobility of the 17th century. There is a tradition that he chose the site of Ashdown House as a refuge away from London (where the plague was rife) for James I’s daughter Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia. Unfortunately, she died before the building was finished.
The house and small parterre garden have limited opening hours (currently between 2pm and 5pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from April to October) - see https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ashdown
(2) Wayland's Smithy is a neolithic long barrow, dating from around 5,500 years ago. It had two bural chambers of different ages - and the stone structure at one end is the reconstruction of the later one. It is named after Wayland, the Saxon god of metal working. For more information, see https://lambourn.org/waylands-smithy/
(3) Uffington Castle is a large Iron Age hill fort on the summit of Whitehorse Hill. It consists of a large enclosure, about 220 metres by 160 metres, surrounded by a wide chalk-stone bank or inner rampart that was formerly lined with sarsen (sandstone) stones, a grass-covered ditch and a further, smaller bank forming an outer rampart. The entrance was a causeway on the west side, which would have been closed by a gate. Postholes and pits found in archaeological excavations indicate the location of buildings, which would probably have been large round huts, each housing an extended family group.
Around 200m North East of the castle is the Uffington White Horse, carved into the hillside and filled with chalk. It has been dated to the late Bronze Age (around 3000 years ago), and its purpose is uncertain. The best views of it are from the villages in the valley below.
For more information, see https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visi...
