White Horse Hill
We start high, at the National Trust car park, and walk up to Uffington Castle, the Iron Age fort on White Horse Hill. It is worth a circuit of the rampart and a look down over the White Horse and the Manger before we set off. The horse was cut between about 1380 and 550 BC, according to luminescence dating, which makes it Britain’s oldest known chalk figure. From the fort we drop onto the Ridgeway on its south side and turn east, towards home.
Rams Hill to Sparsholt Firs
The Ridgeway here is a wide chalk track along the crest of the downs, with the Vale spread out on our left and the dry valleys and gallops of the Lambourn Downs rolling away on our right. We pass above Rams Hill and Blowingstone Hill. The lane down Blowingstone Hill leads to Kingston Lisle, where the Blowing Stone, a sarsen pierced with holes, stands by the road. After about 3½ miles we reach Sparsholt Firs, where the Ridgeway crosses the B4001. Cross with care: traffic is fast. There are no facilities here.
Hackpen Hill and the Devil’s Punchbowl
East of the road the downs on our left are Open Access Land. Across Hackpen Hill the Devil’s Punchbowl, a steep-sided chalk coombe, opens out towards Letcombe Bassett. A footpath signed off the Ridgeway on the left leads to its rim if you want a short detour. The National Trail says permissive routes there have changed recently, so follow the notices on the gates. We carry on along the Ridgeway, crossing the lane at the top of Gramp’s Hill, the highest point of the downs on this side of the B4001.
Segsbury Camp
A mile further on, the Ridgeway runs along the southern edge of Segsbury Camp, or Letcombe Castle. It is a 26-acre Iron Age hillfort, used on and off between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC according to Oxford University’s excavations. At the information board we leave the Ridgeway and turn left on the track that cuts straight through the fort. It becomes a lane and runs steadily downhill for a mile and a half into Letcombe Regis.
Letcombe Regis to Wantage
The lane brings us to St Andrew’s church in Letcombe Regis, with the Greyhound just along Main Street. From the village a surfaced footpath runs east across the fields to the edge of Wantage for about a mile. We follow Manor Road and Priory Road past the parish church into the Market Place, where King Alfred’s statue marks the end of the walk.
What to look out for
This is one of the best stretches in the county for downland birds. Red kites and buzzards are overhead all day. From March to July skylarks sing above almost every field, with corn buntings and yellowhammers on the fence posts. In winter, flocks of fieldfares and redwings strip the hawthorns. Brown hares are most obvious in early spring. The chalk banks along the track and the slopes of Hackpen Hill have orchids, knapweed, scabious and thyme in June and July, with butterflies to match. Look back often: the White Horse stays in view for a surprisingly long way.
Before you go
Carry all the water you need. There is no reliable supply between White Horse Hill and Letcombe Regis, and no shade. Pack waterproofs, as the ridge catches every shower. OS Explorer 170 covers the whole route. In winter, allow for mud and ruts on the Ridgeway and check sunset times: from Sparsholt Firs it is still about 6 miles to Wantage. Book the taxi in advance, especially at weekends.
Make it longer or shorter
Start at Sparsholt Firs instead of White Horse Hill to save about 3½ miles; there is free parking there if someone can drop you off. To make it longer, begin at Wayland’s Smithy (add about 2 miles) or at the B4000 above Ashbury, and walk the whole Vale-edge section of the Ridgeway back to Wantage.
