To a keen eye, the Ridgeway Trail unfolds like an animated mash-up of history and storybook. The travelers, men-at-arms and settlers who have walked this route for 6,000 years left their marks in so many ways: ancient churchyards, pagan heritage sites and venerable old farmhouses overlook the trail on its path through five counties of verdant southern England. If you're not up for the challenge of traversing the trail's full, 87-mile length, break it up: The trail can easily be divided into shorter segments. If you can only spare a day, choose from one of the specially selected day-hiking trail sections along this picturesque ribbon of rural Britain.
The Ashbury Circular Routes
- The broad, steep paths of the Ashbury Circulars, shared by dog-walkers, equestrians and bicyclists, wend through the classic chalk countryside of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Trodden since prehistory, the well-marked route now traverses numerous hillside pastures and the lanes of several small villages. The signage for the Ashbury Circular Main Walk leads walkers on a four-hour, 8-mile route, with a posted shortcut that reduces the trail's length to 6 miles. The Ashbury Circular Short Walk is just under 3 miles long.
Compton Circular Route
- Also within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the moderately thigh-searing section of the Ridgeway marked out as the Compton Circular Route hosts bikers, riders and trekkers alike. Rolling through the picturesque Berkshire Downs, the trail begins at the fringe of the pretty village of Compton and ventures out toward the Thames. The Compton Circular Route's two component trails are marked "long' and "short," but the difference between the two is negligible: "long" is 5.75 miles, while "short" is an even 5 miles in length.
Ashridge Drovers Walk
- The Ashridge Drovers Walk allows modern trekkers to follow the ancient green lanes used by farmers for centuries to move their animals to pasture from the villages. This movement of livestock is called droving, hence, the latter part of the trail's name. The trails on the walk crisscross 6 square miles of the woodsy Ashridge Estate, where the main attraction is wildlife. Here, goldcrest and woodpeckers flit among the trees above nervous muntjac deer, burly badgers and the occasional dormouse.
Avebury World Heritage Site Circular Walk
- The easygoing footpath at the Avebury World Heritage Site rambles along just under 7 miles of monument-dotted countryside and packs a serious archival punch. On this walk you'll find the greatest number of prehistoric monuments on the Ridgeway; included are the Stone Circle, Silbury Hill, the Sanctuary and several Bronze-Age round barrows. The Fyfield Down National Nature Reserve also sits along the route, as does the prim, many-gardened village of Avebury.
Ewelme Park Circular Walk
- Once a royal deer-hunting park, the 4-mile hike along the Ewelme Park Circular Walk sits entirely within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The dirt track passes through thick woods and over close-trimmed farmland, heading up several steep hills to breathtaking overlooks. The part of the Ridgeway it encompasses, just north of Nuffield Village, is quiet, without traffic and tranquil.
North Wessex Downs Walk
- Straddling two designated areas of outstanding natural beauty, the North Wessex Downs Walk and its "little sister," the mile-long the Chilterns Walk, take trekkers along the banks of the mighty River Thames. From the trailhead in the riverside town of Goring, the track -- best visited in spring and summer -- wanders through bursting wildflower meadows to the crown of the North Wessex Down, overlooking the Thames Valley. The well-marked North Wessex Downs Walk alone extends for 4.5 miles; combined with the signposted Chilterns Walk, the hike becomes 5.5 miles long. Generally, the trail is shared predominately with red kites, kingfishers and muntjac deer. However, the scene becomes distinctly busier and more colorful during the town's annual summertime regatta.
