In September 2018, I decided to walk the Ridgway National trail. Having just quit my first job out of university and feeling less than inspired with the world, I thought a ‘walk’ would somehow open my eyes again to possibilities. And that’s exactly how I approached it – a walk. Nothing less, nothing more. I didn’t want to place any unrealistic expectations that it would somehow inspire a major transition in my life – you know that slow montage scene in a movie where the protagonist climbs a mountain and realises their true passion is flower arranging. Heck, I wasn’t even sure I would finish.

Why the Ridgeway?
Claimed as the oldest travel route in England – the walk is littered with history and I wanted to learn more. I’ve always been thirsty for knowledge about our ancestors and their connection with this island. The end of the walk is also down the road from me in Swindon – it’s convenient! Because of this I decided to walk from East to West, not the most popular choice as the end of the walk is simply a carpark outside of Marlborough. Whereas if you start from West to East you finish on top of Ivinghoe Beacon – which on a clear day gives you amazing views of the surrounding area. I hope this account of my experience helps any others hoping to give this walk a go!

Route: Ridgeway National Trail
Length: 139km / 87miles
Counties walked through: Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.
Days Taken: 7
Meters climbed: 2,465

Day 1 – Start: Swindon / Finish Ivinghoe (Town Farm Camping)

Ivinghoe is not the easiest place to get to and I was determined not to re-trace any potential walking. From Swindon I got 3 trains to Haddenham & Thame Parkway and two buses through Aylesbury to get to Ivinghoe. After a quick stop at the amazing 17th century Pitstone windmill, I walked to Town Farm Camping and camped there. It’s the perfect place to stay, they have great facilities, wonderfully helpful staff and its in an ideal location.

 

Day 2 – Start: Ivinghoe / Finish: Wendover Woods (Hill Campsite)
Distance walked: 18.3km

From Ivinghoe you walk about an extra 2km to Ivinghoe Beacon (the start/end of the Ridgeway). It was difficult to know where to finish the first day but as a solo walker I didn’t want to push myself too hard – instead I wanted a slower pace (especially with a 18kg backpack on). There were lots of potential places to stop this day including, Tring and Aldbury. Ideally Wendover would be the perfect place to stay that night however it’s not budget friendly and so I found a campsite, slightly off the trail but in a beautiful location, in Wendover woods. Its very easy to get to from the Ridgeway (the farm can be accessed from the trails around the back, not only the road) and only £11 a night at Hill Farm.

 

Day 3 – Start: Wendover Woods (Hill Campsite) / Finish: Outskirts of Chinnor (wild camp)
Distance walked: 25.6km

Today I had to re-trace my steps back to the Ridgeway, if you want a shortcut you can take the Icknield Way Trail which is relatively flat towards Wendover. Today was a challenge. The Chiltern hills are beautiful and difficult. I passed the Boer War Monument, which also delivers panoramic views at 260m above sea level. I passed Chequers (the Prime Minister’s country retreat), Whiteleaf Hill cross and burial mound. A great day of sights! Having met travellers the previous night who informed me of a good wild camping spot just after Chinnor, I aimed for there. As a 24yr old women, who was travelling solo, the idea of wild camping was terrifying, probably worsened by the reaction I got from others upon telling them my plans.

 

Day 4 – Start Chinnor (wild camp) / Finish: Outskirts of Nuffield (wild camp)
Distance walked: 16.1km

Strange animal sounds, windy, cold, damp – just a few examples of how my first night went but I did survive the night. Today I passed the campsite I was meant to be staying at (White Mark Farm in Watlington– which is another good place to stay) because I got there so early – another wild camp for me tonight! A few difficult hills today but upstaged by the beautiful second half of the day. Passing through Ewelme Park was magical and after walking past quaint Nuffield and its golf course, I found another wild camping spot. I did worry about finding water however there was a tap just after Nuffield at the Timber Farm – this was a life saver.

 

Day 5 – Start: Outskirts of Nuffield (wild camp) / Finish: YHA Streatley (hostel)
Distance walked: 16.7km

A much easier walk today – as soon as I saw the Thames I breathed a sigh of relief that much of the route would be flat. There are some interesting points of interest along this stretch, especially Brunel’s Moulsford railway bridge. I passed a lot of picturesque villages including South/North Stoke and Moulsford – as well as enjoying all the passing canal boats. Streatley was also lovely to pass through and luckily the desire to sleep in bed outweighed the painful hill climb to get to YHA. It was a short day of walking and I managed to reach the hostel by 1pm, which was great because my backpack was a mess and I was starting to smell very bad. I would really recommend the YHA to anyone on the route, especially if you are camping, it was such a relief to have one night in a bed, and it fits nicely into the middle of the walk. I only wished they had a washing machine and dryer! My attempt at cleaning my clothes in the sink and using the drying room really wasn’t effective – 16 hours later they were still damp! Not great for my backpack cleanliness.

HALF WAY!

Day 6 – Start: YHA Streatley (hostel) / Finish: Uffington (wild camp)
Distance walked: 32.5km

Today was a particularly long day of walking, most likely a combination between loss of food weight in my backpack and increased momentum from reaching the half way point. After walking down Rectory road, newly named Road Kill Black (by me) because of the number of strewn carcasses along the road, the landscape becomes much more rural. My original plan was to wild camp around East Hendred Down however upon reaching there earlier than anticipated I continued walking towards Britchcombe Farm (which is another great place to camp). Most of the walk passes through farmland and I found the height gain kind today, but I was exhausted by the time I picked my camp spot.

Day 7 – Start: Uffington (wild camp) / Finish: Ogbourne St George (wild camp)
Distance walked: 19.4km

After a peaceful night sleep, I woke up excited to see Uffington Castle fort and the Uffington White Horse – both amazing sights that made me quite emotional. Not far down the trail is also the Wayland’s Smithy Long Barrow, a Neolithic burial site – very cool! The tricky part of the day was walking past Foxhill as the trail loses a distinctive path and you have to walk on the bank by the side of the road. I came across probably my favourite view of the entire walk which was the Aldbourne Circular route, looking out to Lower Upham Farm, it was such a peaceful spot. Having seen on a few websites there was a campsite at Ogbourne St. George, upon arrival it became clear this was not the case. So, I ended up wild camping just outside of the village.

 

Day 8 – Start: Ogbourne St George / Finish Overton Hill
Distance walked: 16.1km

The final day framed by a horrible night sleep – I’m pretty sure there was a bird fight right outside of my tent for a good few hours. I felt very tired today but spurred on by the finish line and a really good bar of chocolate (Gnaw – dark chocolate and orange). The first few hours were spent dodging cows and sweating my way up Smeathe’s Ridge before I got to Barbury Castle. It was very foggy today and so most of my walk was spent looking down at my boots and counting my steps. After finally reaching Overton Hill and asking my mum to not smell me, I shovelled as much food in my face as possible. It tasted good.

Let me know about your own experiences or if you plan to walk the trail.

Accommodation References:
• Town Farm Camping (Ivinghoe)
• Hill Farm (Wendover Woods)
• White Mark Farm (Watlington)
• YHA (Streatley)
• Court Hill Centre (Wantage)
• Britchcombe Farm (Uffington)

 

Want some top tips for climbing Kilimanjaro? You can find out how to plan and what to pack in this article. 

 

Georgia Smith