Along the Ridgeway to Wayland’s Smithy
From the car park on the B4000 we follow the Ridgeway north-east. If we drove up from Ashbury, that means turning left. The route carries the National Trail’s ‘Ridgeway Circular Route’ waymarks. We cross the first junction of tracks and soon pass Wayland’s Smithy on our left, a Neolithic long barrow among trees. It was built in two stages between about 3590 and 3400 BC and is fronted by big sarsen stones. It is worth the few steps off the track.
South across the downs
At the next crossing of tracks we turn right, leaving the Ridgeway, and follow a track south past narrow strips of woodland. Where the woods break, the path strikes out across big arable fields towards woodland on the horizon, crossing a bridleway and then a track with an old signpost. Beyond a gate we come into downland that is usually grazed by sheep. We bear left, with a dry coombe falling away on our right, and head for the site of an old weathervane on Weathercock Hill. From here we follow the ridge downhill towards the road. Ashdown House is in the park below us.
Ashdown House and Alfred’s Castle
We cross the B4000 and take the minor road opposite, keeping Ashdown House on our right. The tall, doll’s-house-like building was put up in the 17th century by the 1st Earl of Craven, who, according to tradition, meant it as a refuge for Elizabeth of Bohemia, sister of Charles I; she died before it was finished. It is built largely of chalk blocks and belongs to the National Trust, with house visits by pre-booking only. Where the track turns left we go straight on through a gateway and round to the right. A field-edge track then climbs through two gates with Alfred’s Castle on our left, a small Iron Age hillfort about 2,500 years old. It has a single bank and ditch, and sarsen stones once lined the ramparts. Some have linked it with the battle of Ashdown in 871, when the West Saxons under King Ethelred and his brother Alfred, born in Wantage, beat the Danes, but no one knows exactly where the battle was fought.
Down to Ashbury
We carry on uphill through the fields and along a fence line, ignoring turnings to the right, until we reach the Ridgeway again. For the 6-mile shortcut, turn right here and the car park is about 400 metres away. The main route crosses straight over and drops down to Ashbury, a spring-line village where many cottages are built of chalk blocks with stronger sarsen or brick at the corners. We follow the bank round and take the path past St Mary’s church, which has a Norman south door. The village claims the first Sunday school in England, founded by the curate in 1777. The Rose and Crown is just along the road.
Up the coombe and back to the start
From the village we pass the 15th-century Manor Farm and follow the waymarked paths past a pond and the allotments. Then we climb the coombe beyond, with beech trees on our right. At the top we go left along the fence, through a gate, and turn right on the Ridgeway back to the car park.
What to look out for
The National Trail’s leaflet mentions brown hares and deer here all year round. In summer, listen for skylarks and meadow pipits singing overhead and corn buntings singing from fence posts. The North Wessex Downs National Landscape notes marbled white butterflies, six-spot burnet moths, orchids, scabious and vetches on the chalk grassland in the warmer months. Red kites and buzzards patrol the whole route. Look out, too, for grey sarsen boulders lying in the fields near the road at Ashdown.
Before you go
Take OS Explorer 170. There is no water or shelter on the downs, and the fields near Ashdown can be very exposed in wind and rain. Check the National Trust website if you want to see inside Ashdown House, because visits are limited and must be booked. The Rose and Crown suggests booking if you plan to eat.
Make it longer or shorter
Use the National Trail’s shortcut (6 miles) by turning right on the Ridgeway above Ashbury. Or try its 2½-mile short walk: from the car park, head south-west along the Ridgeway for 400 metres, drop to Ashbury, and return up the coombe. For a longer day, continue north-east along the Ridgeway from Wayland’s Smithy to Uffington Castle and the White Horse and back, which adds about 3 miles.
