The Ridgeway: Scutchamer Knob to Goring

For much of its route, The Ridgeway National Trail follows part of an ancient track, the Great Ridgeway, which once ran from Dorset to Norfolk and which has been dubbed ‘the oldest road’ in Britain. The route of the trail initially follows the northern edge of the North Wessex Downs and finishes on paths through the rolling and wooded Chiltern AONB. These two contrasting landscapes are divided by the River Thames, which cuts through the chalk hills at Goring, and the differences are further emphasized by the route following the banks of the river for some miles before climbing back into the hills.

The Ridgeway sets off eastwards alongside racehorse training gallops. Just to the north of this section of the trail, at the base of the scarp, runs Grim’s Ditch, one of three linear earthworks with this name which are passed during the course of the trail. This particular Grim’s Ditch stretches off and on for 8 miles (13km) but does not appear ever to have been continuous. Those sections where the ground was either too steep or wooded were left. Its date is uncertain but it has been suggested that it may represent the boundary between two Iron Age estates.

To the east lies the town of Didcot, with its station and railway centre.

Before long, the route meets a minor road on Bury Down, where there is car parking, and then presses on towards the roar of traffic on the A34.

Fortunately, the walker is spared having to attempt to cross this road, as The Ridgeway dodges underneath by means of a tunnel, and continues to climb up on to Several Down before descending it.

It then takes a sharp tack to the left, where a concrete track continues straight on towards Compton. The descent continues quite steeply on a wide track, until it crosses a dismantled railway.

The next summit on the rollercoaster is Roden Downs. To the left is the steep spur of Lowbury Hill, which, according to the Ordnance Survey map, is the site of a Roman temple. In fact, excavations at the site failed to establish the exact purpose of the rectangular, banked enclosure and it is as likely to have been a farm as a temple. One grisly find from beneath the foundations of one of the walls was the skeleton of a middle-aged woman, in a position that suggests a dedicatory burial.

The great traverse of the Downs is coming to an end and there is a sense of finality as The Ridgeway begins the long descent beside Streatley Warren towards the Goring Gap, where the River Thames cuts through the chalk hills. The Gap itself is, in geological terms, a relatively recent feature and prior to its formation the Thames used to run northwards to join the sea near the Wash.

At Warren Farm, the track becomes metalled. Before long the A417 is joined and followed into Streatley, where a left turn at traffic lights just before the youth hostel leads across the Thames into Berkshire and Goring.