Discover ancient history on Britain's oldest trail — the Ridgeway

The Ridgeway follows Britain's oldest trail through an idyllic landscape of rolling hills, enchanted woodlands, prehistoric castles, stone circles, sleepy villages, and grasslands filled with some of the rarest wildflowers you'll see.

The ancient route starts from the World Heritage Site of Avebury and travels 87 miles (139 km) to finish on the iconic Ivinghoe Beacon, named after the huge fires that were once lit at the summit for navigation and communication.

The western part of the trail follows an ancient ridge track along the crest of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which was used by prehistoric travellers, herdsmen and soldiers. This section passes some incredible Bronze Age hillforts, stone circles, and burial chambers, some of which are more than 3,000 years old.

The eastern part follows the River Thames for a short time before heading east into the Chiltern Hills AONB. The walking on this section is a delightfully-contrasting mix of open downland, farmland, grassland, and woodland. Along this section, you pass through some internationally-important nature reserves that are home to incredibly rare flora and fauna.

In this itinerary, I've split the Ridgeway into six stages. Of course, you can split up each stage into as many days as you are comfortable with. You can also walk any single stage, or a couple of stages, in isolation.

Every stage finishes close to accommodation, even if there are only a few options nearby. Places to stay are not always abundant so it's worth planning in advance and scheduling any rest days accordingly.

If you're planning to arrive by public transport, you can catch a train to Swindon railway station, which is served by direct trains from London and Bristol, and has connecting services around the country. From Swindon, you would need to catch the 49 bus service, which runs hourly buses to Avebury.

To get home, you can catch the 61 bus service from Ivinghoe to Aylesbury. The train station in Aylesbury has direct trains to London and has connecting services around the country.

As with all long distance hikes, arriving by car is not the most sensible option. However, if you do decide to, your best bet is to leave your car in Swindon, then catch the 49 bus to Avebury.

To get home, you would need to catch the 61 bus service from Ivinghoe to Aylesbury, then catch a train from Ayelsbury to London Marylebone, then jump on the tube from Marylebone to Paddington Station, then catch a train from Paddington back to Swindon.

The Ridgeway combines with three other long-distance footpaths — the Wessex Ridgeway, Icknield Way Path, and The Peddars Way — to form the Greater Ridgeway, an epic country-crossing hike from Lyme Regis, in Dorset, to Hunstanton, in Norfolk, that follows an ancient trade route developed long-before Roman occupation. If you would like to combine these routes, follow the links below.

For the Wessex Ridgeway hiking route, click here: komoot.com/collection/935252.
For the Icknield Way Path, click here: komoot.com/collection/954916.
For the Peddars Way, click here: komoot.com/collection/991.