The Ridgeway
  

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The Ridgeway as it nears Uffington Castle
    

 

  When I was oh so much younger than I am today I used to walk parts of the Ridgeway — an ancient trackway connecting the south coast of England to the east coast, much of it along or near the ridge formed by the northern limit of the chalk downland, and much of it connecting ancient settlements and sacred sites.   click here for a map on a sign board along the track
       
  I walked a small part of it again from 2-4 May 2006.    
     
  As currently established as a "National Trail" the Ridgeway begins by the Sanctuary — a 4,500 year old ceremonial site at one end of where Avebury's Avenue used to begin. Click here to see the display board from the site.   alongside the track there are fields where sarsen stones — gray wethers — still lie. larger stones than these were taken to construct Avebury and Stonehenge   round barrows among the beech trees on the ridge at sunset
         
     
  the path connects hill forts like Barbary Castle and Uffington Castle (above)   and it passes ancient field systems   and ancient flint quarries
           
           
      And it leads by the door of Wayland's Smithy — a long barrow with sarsen chambers    
     
           
     
  I shared an offering (a litre of Academisch Bier kindly donated by some students from Nijmegen, The Netherlands who'd I'd met at Stonehenge and Avebury) with the ancestors (including those from the original burial in a mound now enclosed within the larger mound) and with Wayland. I was also grateful for the muscle relaxant after a long walk.
         
     
 

The White Horse near the top of the scarp slope at Uffington Castle and just above dragon hill.

I arrived as the National Trust were treating the horse with weed killer ... why aren't they asking for volunteers to scour the horse instead of polluting the land?! Perhaps they're afraid of hosting a fair in the hillfort ...
           
     
  And to my delight I then espied the Beltain camp of the Order of Bards, Ovate's and Druids (OBOD). I dropped in to beg some water and ended up staying the night in delightful company.   OBOD's maypole — and, to my surprise, in a field I recognised as the location of one of the camps we used years ago when trying to join in a festival at Stonehenge and were prevented by Thatcher's police. But, hey, thanks for making us add this to our festive locations   the garlanded beribboned maypole
           
     
  the Blowing Stone   the Ridgeway looking back   and the path leading onwards (another time)
         

 

Last updated 16 May 2006