The Ridgeway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other meanings see Ridgeway.
The Ridgeway is an ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. It is an 85 mile (137km) route that follows the chalk hills between Overton Hill, near Avebury and Ivinghoe Beacon in Hertfordshire. The route has been in use since Neolithic times. It largely follows the top ridge of the chalk hills of the north west Downs and of the Chilterns - thus avoiding what were difficult woods and marshes in the valley below.
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[edit] National Trail
It is now a long-distance National Trail in England that starts at Overton Hill, near Avebury and heads northeast for 85 miles to finish at Ivinghoe Beacon, near Tring, where it joins the Icknield Way, passing through Streatley and Wendover en route. It is almost certain that it used to traverse the entire chalk ridge (escarpment), that runs from Southwest in Dorset to Northeast in Lincolnshire but it has become interrupted by the military restrictions on Salisbury Plain. However, it is one of four long distance footpaths which, when combined, run from Lyme Regis to Hunstanton and are referred to as the Greater Ridgeway.
On the way, it passes through or near the following sites of interest: Barbury Castle, Liddington Castle, Wayland's Smithy, Uffington Castle, with its White Horse (which unfortunately is not visible from the path, but is very close) and the Blowing Stone. It also passes over Victory Drive, the private drive of Chequers.
The path's surface varies from chalk-rutted farm paths to green lanes (which can be extremely muddy and pot-holed, after rain) and small sections of metalled roads. Most of the path is either a Bridleway or a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT), so can be shared with horse-riders, bikes and motor-bikes.
Some sections of the Ridgeway, especially those between Streatley and Uffington Castle are regularly used by recreational off-road vehicles and scrambler motor-bikes. This use has, in part, along with lack of maintenance, led to degradation of the surface. Recent (early 2005) experiments have closed sections of the byway to such vehicles, with varying results.
Despite being an artificial creation, it was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the South.
[edit] Conflicts of use
As, for most of its length, the Ridgeway is shared by vehicles, horses, cyclists and walkers there are sometimes conflicts of use. Walkers have suggested that horses and cyclists spoil the peace and quiet of the countryside, while all types of user can damage the surface making it harder to cycle the ridgeway. It is possible that, in the future, the ridgeway may be closed to motor vehicles but there is strong opposition to this and, with arguments supporting each 'side', the debate goes on. In May 2006 a 22 miles stretch of the Ridgeway was declared a "restricted byway", which means that motor vehicles and motorbikes are prohibited. [1]
[edit] Places along the Ridgeway
Places that are near to (or on) The Ridgeway include (from West to East):
- Avebury
- Overton Hill
- Swindon
- Marlborough
- Faringdon
- Uffington Castle
- Lambourn
- Hungerford
- Wantage
- Abingdon
- Oxford
- Newbury
- Didcot
- Blewbury
- Streatley
- Wallingford
- Thame
- Chinnor
- Reading
- Henley-on-Thames
- Princes Risborough
- Aylesbury
- Wendover
- High Wycombe
- Tring
- Maidenhead
- Ivinghoe Beacon
- Hemel Hempstead
[edit] Maps
- Annotated map of the Ridgeway
- Ridgeway National Trail. Published by Harvey Maps, UK.
