This winding path has been used for centuries – and is just as popular today.
This is one of the oldest roads in Britain(Image: Getty)
A winding road which meanders through Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire is thought to be the oldest in Britain. The Ridgeway is an ancient path which has provided safe routes through the country for centuries.
The road follows a ride of chalk hills for 139 kilometres to reach Ivinghoe Beacon in northwest London. This same route is the one that travellers, farmers and soldiers have walked for more than 5,000 years.
Nowadays, the road is popular with cyclists and walkers as well as people who use mobility scooters.
Along the trail, walkers can gaze out over wide views of rolling chalk hills and find all kinds of archaeological marvels.
There are Iron Age forts, as well as the White Horse of Uffington, which is thought to be the oldest hill figure in Britain.
The White Horse is carved into the chalk hillside and is an incredible 374 feet in length. According to the BBC it’s thought to date back to 1,000BC in the late Bronze Age.
The path also takes walkers past Wayland’s Smithy – a Neolithic ruin that is thought to have once been the home of Wayland, the Saxon god of metalworking.
It’s an atmospheric area.
The visible ruin is actually a secondary structure – the original, which lies beneath the stones, is thought to have been a burial structure where 14 people were interred between 3460 and 3400 BC.
Wayland’s Smithy was constructed on top of the burial site, and has remained there over the centuries.
The track fluctuates between the wide open chalk paths along the hillside and the deeply embedded lanes between ancient beech trees.
Once you are East of the Thames, The Ridgeway travels through the sun-dappled woodland and the intimate hills and valleys of the Chilterns – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The walk is rich in history, but also makes for a stunning walk. You don’t have to tackle the whole thing at once – there are plenty of circular routes dotted along the trail, and multiple places to start and finish.