The Ridgeway, initially brought to fame by the
makers and namers of the Ordnance Survey, is considered a fixed entity running
from Ivinghoe Beacon to Overton Ridge. However, the bundle of routes extensively
used by our ancestors, crossing from Kent and The Wash to the far west of
England, ranged much further. Over the week we will walk a section of the
so-called 'Wessex Ridgeway' from Devizes towards Marlborough.
Day 1
From the northern edge of Devizes, we will head
north up to Roundway Down, the site of one of the Royalist Army's last
successes in the English Civil War. We will then follow the Ridgeway across
open country to the foot of Morgan's Hill.
Day 2
As we climb Morgan's Hill, prehistoric trails,
Roman roads, post-Roman boundary markers and a Bronze Age fort crowd the
dramatic route. We climb over Calstone Down and meet our transport back
to Marlborough just beyond Cherhill.
Day 3
We follow open downland, with the A4 to the left
and Roman Road to the right. Near Beckhampton, we head north-east, passing
scattered barrows and standing stones, before reaching Avebury, the great
religious and cultural centre of the ancient Ridgeway.
Day 4
From Avebury we climb on to the Marlborough
Downs, cutting through chalk landscape and briefly meeting 'The Ridgeway'
proper on Overton Down. We pass the last vestiges of vast 'trains' of sarsen
stones, many of which were dragged away to create Avebury and Stonehenge,
Wiltshire walls and the tramway of Swindon. We finish on the Manton Downs near
Rockley.
Day 5
Depending on our progress, we will either follow
the 'Herepath' Saxon military road back into Marlborough, or continue north
towards the Ogbournes, rejoining the winter route of the better known 'Ridgeway'.
Each day's walk will be around 4 miles, depending
on terrain and journey times to the beginning and end of each walk.