? Click here for step by step directions? Click here for our interactive map of all the walksDistance 7.7 miles (12.4km) Classification Moderate Duration 3 hours 30 minutes Begins White Horse Hill car park OS grid reference SU293866Walk in a nutshellA long, bracing trek around a beautiful part of central England that is alive with ancient mystery. Some of the route follows the Ridgeway, considered to be Britain's oldest road. At the beginning you pass by the Uffington White Horse, a prehistoric chalk figure in the hillside whose true significance will probably never be known. There's also a Neolithic burial mound and an iron age hill fort before you reach Ashdown House, a 17th?century mansion. The paths are mostly hard, or through fields, with a couple of moderate slopes as well as one notably steep hill.Why it's specialOne of England's outstanding ancient sites, the 3,000-year-old White Horse has found its way into many stories and poems, including GK Chesterton's The Ballad of the White Horse and, perhaps now most famously, Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky. That book's heroine, Tiffany Aching, grew up near a similar horse and wears a necklace depicting it. "'Taint what a horse looks like," she recalls her father telling her. "It's what a horse be." Pratchett lives close to the real one, and once you've seen it for yourself it's easy to understand why it should appear in his work.Keep your eyes peeled forWayland's Smithy is a stone age long barrow and chamber tomb, probably built in two stages between 3700 and 3400BC. An archaeological investigation of the older part revealed one crouched buried figure and the scattered bones of 14 others, from which the flesh and organs had been removed before burial. In comparison, the 17th-century Ashdown House seems positively modern. It was built by the first Earl of Craven, supposedly to offer refuge from the plague for Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, with whom he was in love. Elizabeth died before seeing it, however, and the earl lived unmarried into his 80s. Uffington "Castle" near the horse, of course, is not a castle, but an iron age earthwork.Recover afterwardsThere are several excellent pubs to choose between nearby. The White Horse at Woolstone is an old and beautiful inn that serves excellent upmarket pub food. Alternatively, the Blowing Stone Inn, less than 2 miles south-east of the horse, has a similar restaurant menu, and also does sandwiches. As does the Fox and Hounds, a humbler but no less inviting establishment in Uffington.If it's tipping downThe Vale and Downland Museum explains the story behind the White Horse in great depth, as well as many of the area's other tales, varying from the reign of King Alfred the Great to the development of Formula 1.How to get thereSwindon is the nearest station to the start of the walk, but it still isn't very close. Your best bet would be a 47, 47a or X47 bus, all of which run a limited service on Saturdays from Swindon to Uffington, and a weekday service to Ashbury, where you should alight at the Rose and Crown hotel.Step by step1 Leave the main car park by the gate nearest to the disabled bays and cross the field towards the White Horse. Head for the furthest gate on the left, cross the road, and follow the path to the White Horse, which is signposted.2 Head up the hill passing Uffington Castle on your right, before reaching the Ridgeway. Turn right and continue along the route to Wayland's smithy, which is on your right.3 Continue on from Wayland's Smithy for 250m. At the crossroads take the path to the left passing Odstone barn. Carry on until you reach the tree line. Turn right and follow the path until you reach the road. Cross over and carry on until you reach the grassy avenue running through Ashdown estate.4 Leave the footpath and walk along the large avenue towards Ashdown House. Feel free to detour and explore the woodland paths leading off the main avenue. When you near the house, head back on to the main avenue and follow the sign to the car park.5 Continue onwards, crossing the road and climbing up Kingstone Down keeping to the fence line. At the top, head towards Weathercock Hill for a rewarding view of the house. From here, with the house in front of you, go to the right and return to the path in the corner of the field marked by a stile.6 Follow this path across the field. You will see Uffington Castle in the distance. Stay on the same path until you reach a small wood.7 Turn left here and follow the path until the Ridgeway.8 Turn right and retrace your steps back to the car park. You can also turn left at the first road junction to get back tothe car park.Walking holidaysguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
No comments:
Post a Comment