Ardington to East Lockinge
Much of the land around Ardington and the two Lockinges forms part of the Lockinge estate, which Robert Loyd-Lindsay, later Lord Wantage, and his wife were given as a wedding present in 1858. From the Boar’s Head we walk east along Church Street past Holy Trinity church, then turn right into Well Street and cross the Ardington Brook. An enclosed path on the right leads to a wider path and then a track, which brings us to the road. We turn left through East Lockinge, past the war memorial, and take Bitham Road south.
Up to the monument
Bitham Road becomes a long farm road heading straight for the downs, passing Bitham Farm and Chalkhill Barn. After a couple of kilometres we leave it on the signed footpath and climb steeply to the Ridgeway, arriving beside the tall stone cross that Lady Wantage raised in memory of her husband, who died in 1901. He won the Victoria Cross in the Crimean War and helped found what became the British Red Cross. The views north over the estate and the Vale to the Chilterns are excellent from here.
East along the Ridgeway
We turn left along the Ridgeway. This section is broad and open, with gallops and big arable fields on the gentle southern slope. Along the crest near here runs Grim’s Ditch, a long prehistoric bank and ditch; the Walking Britain route notes it too. After about 1½ to 2 kilometres, near a small wood, we turn left onto the bridleway called Coldharbour Road and head downhill towards Betterton.
Betterton and the Ginge Brook
The bridleway reaches the lane near Upper Farm and Betterton. We go right along the lane to West Ginge, then turn left onto the footpath that follows the Ginge Brook north. This is a quiet, green stretch with the stream in a line of trees, and we cross it by footbridges. After about a kilometre we turn left, heading west, and cross the Icknield Way, an old east–west route along the foot of the downs that is now a byway. The next path to the right passes Roundabout Hill and brings us to farm buildings by Red Barn.
Back to Ardington
From the barns a tarmac lane leads west past Ardington House, built in 1721 for Edward Clarke and set in its park, and back to Church Street and the Boar’s Head.
What to look out for
The Ridgeway here is good for farmland birds. Corn buntings and skylarks sing from spring into July, yellowhammers are in the hedges, and grey partridges are sometimes flushed from the field edges. Red kites and buzzards hunt overhead all year. Along the Ginge Brook, look for grey wagtails and, with luck, a kingfisher. Chalk flowers line the Ridgeway banks in June and July. In winter, flocks of fieldfares and redwings work the hawthorn hedges, and brown hares are easy to see on the bare fields.
Before you go
OS Explorer 170 covers the whole route. There is no water or shelter between East Lockinge and West Ginge, and the Ridgeway is exposed in bad weather. The climb to the monument is steep and can be slippery; poles help on the way down if you reverse the route. The Boar’s Head is a restaurant pub, so book if you want to eat.
Make it longer or shorter
For a shorter, flatter walk, follow our Hendreds and Ardington route instead. To shorten this one and skip the climb, follow the lane east from East Lockinge through Betterton to West Ginge and pick up the Ginge Brook path there (about 4½ to 5 miles in all). For a longer day, continue east along the Ridgeway to Scutchamer Knob. Then come back a few hundred metres and take the bridleway north to East Ginge, rejoining the brook path (about 2 miles extra).
