Day One of the Uffingdon White Horse Camping Weekend Away (UWHCWA for short…) – this walk will explore the Ridgeway, through to the Vale of White Horse – and will stop at 3 traditional Oxfordshire village pubs en-route, before ending the walk at The White Horse Pub in Woolstone, for a group meal.
*NOTE* If you like to join the group for a meal at the end of the walk (Wood fired Pizza at the White Horse, Woolstone), please let the walk leader know beforehand in order to make a reservation, and of course don’t forget to bring some lunch, drinks, and any other snacks you’d like on the way.
The meeting point for this walk is trig point at the historic Uffington Castle – the “summit” (261 m) of Whitehorse Hill. (SU300863)
The walk leader will start the main walk from here, setting off at 10.30am.
For all those camping with the group at Britchcombe Farm Campsite, we’ll set off from the campsite at 10.00am sharp, with a short climb up Dragon Hill to the starting point at Uffington Castle. If you’re not camping with us, or just joining for the day, parking (charges may apply) is available at the nearby White Horse Hill car park (SU293865). From there, it’s a short 1 km walk to the meeting point, by following the Lambourn Valley Way, and turning left onto the Ridgeway up onto Whitehorse Hill – you shouldn’t miss the meeting point! (If you’re running late, do let the walk leader know).
From the early Iron Age fort of Uffington Castle, we’ll enjoy the elevated views across Oxfordshire following the ancient Ridgeway east, passing the Devil’s Punchbowl, to our lunch stop at Segsbury Castle, another Iron Age Hill Fort, lying on the crest of the Berkshire Downs and overlooking the Oxfordshire town of Wantage.
After our lunch time, we will descend off the Ridgeway, to the village of Letcombe Regis, where we will make our first pub stop, The Greyhound Inn, an 18th century free house and a 2018 regional CAMRA prize winner.
We will continue across rural farmland beyond the villages of Letcombe Regis and Childrey to Sparsholt, for our second shorts drinks stop at The Star Inn.
The walk will then cross North Park to the village of Kingston Lisle, famous for The Blowing Stone – legends say this was used by King Arthur to summon his Saxon troops for battle! We’ll be stopping for a quick drinks stop at the apt named pub, The Blowing Stone.
Continuing westwards through the Oxfordshire countryside, we head to the village of Woolstone. This leads us to our final stop for the day, and the official end of the walk – at the The White Horse pub. The weekend leader will make a group booking for an evening meal here, where we can take advantage of their large garden and fantastic wood-fired pizza oven!
For those wishing to make an early departure, it is a short walk from Woolstone back up White Horse Hill to the main car park at Uffington Castle, and the walk leader will happily help with directions. For the campers, it’s only 1.5km back to Britchcombe Farm campsite via footpaths, a head torch might be handy if we plan to stay late!
Start Location (Walk): SN7 7QJ or 51.5755 -1.5675
Grid Ref (Walk): SU300863
Start Location (Car Park): SN7 7QN (Nearest – check map) or 51.5771 -1.5779
Grid Ref (Car Park): SU293865