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Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 15.20 miles Duration - 6 hours 1 mins Total ascent – 1083 feet Total descent – 1175 feet Highest point – 609 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Drive from Premier Inn Hitchin to Harlington Station car park LU5 6LD - £3.50 at weekends Walk down Sundon Road for 1.2 miles to pick up Icknield Way Path Walk to Ickleford Catch bus 9A from Church to Hitchin OR Walk to Bedford Road & catch 9B 74 or 89 bus to Hitchin Walk to Hitchin railway station and catch train to Harlington Pick up car and drive home My Walk The 2nd stage of the Icknield Way Path would begin with a tiny bit of cheating. I wasn’t going to allow my irrational fear of crossing any of the M1 bridges at Toddington to spoil my walk. I’d done a lot of research before starting the Icknield Way Path and using Google Maps, had evaluated and rejected all the M1 crossing points in the vicinity. So, instead I would start today’s stage on the other side of the motorway at Harlington Station and walk from there down Sundon Road to join the Icknield Way at the point the alternative route from Toddington met it. With that out of the way, today’s walk would start with a climb to the top of Sundon Hills Country Park, a beautiful chalk grassland ridge with extensive views. The Sharpenhoe group of hills comprise Sundon Hills, Moleskin and Markham Hills, Sharpenhoe Clappers and Smithcombe Hills. The Icknield Way would follow this ridge before dropping into the village of Streatley. After running parallel to the busy A6 and eventually crossing it, the path would climb again up Galley Hill with its views over Luton and then climb to the top of Telegraph Hill, the highest point of this stage and part of the Pegsdon Hills landscape with its magnificent views. Beyond Pegsdon the path would descend slowly alongside fields to the pretty village of Pirton and then on to the end of the walk at Ickleford. The shape of the Bedfordshire Hertfordshire boundary means that I’d be popping in and back out of Hertfordshire during the day before finishing in Hertfordshire; that’s 3 counties so far that the Icknield Way would have passed through. My day began at the Hitchin Premier Inn with a full English. I helped myself to a banana and a couple of pain au chocolat to see me through the day. I then drove to Harlington railway station and parked my car. I set off down Sundon Road and in less than a mile I picked up the Icknield Way Path. Like just about every stage of the Great Chalk Way, today was going to be a sunny and warm day. Immediately, the path started to climb to the top of Sundon Hills Country Park via a small disused pit. From the top were views across the ridge towards Sharpenhoe Clappers, site of a promontory fort ( a particular kind of Iron Age hillfort ) situated in a commanding position in the area that provided the best defence. These days it is covered in tall beech trees. Start the day with a climb Thankfully some steps Small disused pit Views across to Sharpenhoe Clappers The Icknield Way followed the ridge towards Sharpenhoe but after entering the Sharpenhoe Clappers car park, rather than taking you to the fort, instead it cut across the hill towards the next hill, Smithcombe Hill. The geology of the land meant that I was doubling back on myself due to some steep escarpments below. I'd keep seeing these communication masts almost as if I was going round in a circle The Icknield Way doesn't go round the Clappers but heads off to the right After Smithcombe, the path descended towards the A6 but rather than crossing it here as I would have expected, instead it entered the attractive village of Streatley. I stopped at a bench by the side of a tree-covered pond in the village and ate my banana and the pains au chocolat I’d taken from the Premier Inn at breakfast time. Blackberries were in abundant supply all summer It's those masts again! Perfect spot in Streatley for a break Moving on, for the next mile or so I walked alongside a number of fields that were themselves roughly parallel to the A6. Eventually I emerged onto the A6 and crossed it, literally on the northern edge of residential Luton. Pheasants Welcome to Luton The path took me onto South Beds Golf Club with Warden Hill right in front of me and Galley Hill to the left. The path took me up Galley Hill which forms part of the Galley & Warden Hills Nature Reserve. The top of Galley Hill provided panoramic views of the town of Luton and the more attractive countryside to the north of it. View over Luton from top of Galley Hill - December 2025 After crossing one more fairway, the path carried on in an almost dead straight line along what some people label ‘proper Icknield Way’ i.e. the original ancient trading path rather than the collection of modern day footpaths comprising the Icknield Way. I like to imagine the cobbled bricks I walked over had a reasonable amount of age to them, if not thousands then maybe hundreds or tens at least!! As is often the way, the path was sandwiched between dense vegetation comprising hedges and trees, with openings here and there. In summer, the vegetation cover is at its greatest. This is the excuse I’m using for walking straight past the Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit Nature Reserve! The Pegsdon Hills are known for some of the best panoramic views in Bedfordshire and I missed them. To remedy this, I returned in May 2026 to see what I had missed - and boy, I'd missed a lot. In particular, Deacon Hill, apart from being an SSSI has ancient earthworks as well as a trigpoint pillar. I would strongly recommend that walkers should follow the path through the nature reserve and over the top of Deacon Hill, rather than the official Icknield Way Path. Whichever way you go however, you end up a small car park by the side of the B655 - Hexton Road Car Park. As pleasant as it is, the vegetation in summer can hide important things left and right Pegsdon Hills Pegsdon Hills Pegsdon Hills Trig point at top of Deacon Hill Deacon Hill Deacon Hill showing medieval strip lynchets Looking back up towards Deacon Hill Back to August 2025, having unknowingly walked past the Pegsdon Hills, the path continued with hedges and trees on both sides and a bit of road walking – pleasant but not inspiring. I passed another nature reserve, Knocking Hoe National Nature Reserve. The views were fabulous. Re-entering Hertfordshire Views from Knocking Hoe National Nature Reserve Views from Knocking Hoe National Nature Reserve I was getting closer to the village of Pirton which was a good thing as I’d run out of water. Pirton has the remains of the earthworks of a medieval motte and bailey castle that was called Toot Hill but I missed them. I didn’t realise this at the time but I probably walked past the earthworks without realising what they were! On the other hand, I did pass a pub called The Motte & Bailey in the village! The wrong Motte & Bailey! St Mary's Church in Pirton. The earthworks are behind both the pub and church on the Icknield Way! I settled on stopping at the other pub in the village, The Fox, for a soft drink, a packet of crisps and a top up of one of my water bottles. Duly refreshed I set off for the last couple of miles alongside the hedges of fields that had either recently or were being harvested. Again, pleasant but not too inspiring. Having said that, there is something to be said about photos taken on a sunny day of landscapes featuring harvested fields and natural hedge borders. The colours go very well together and the photos make for better photos than those of fields with green crops! The path eventually reached the busy main road between Hitchin and Henlow Camp. I crossed the road and continued for a few hundred yards into the village of Ickleford. This is where this stage finished. Ickleford I could have walked into Hitchin from here to get back to my car in Harlington but I was rather hot and sweaty. Instead, I walked back to the main road and a bus turned up almost straight away. Back in Hitchin I walked to the railway station and caught a Thameslink train to Harlington where my car was. I then drove home. Perfect timing! Hitchin Today’s walk was enjoyable but not as interesting as I’d been used to; the landscapes were outstanding however and made up for this. I’d been really spoilt up to now in terms of history and hill climbing. I accepted that much of the Icknield Way from here on would be all about the landscapes. Tomorrow's walk was going to be longer than today's and take in 3 towns - Letchworth Garden City, Baldock and Royston.

Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 12.87 miles Duration - 5 hours 30 mins Total ascent – 1665 feet Total descent - 1418 feet Highest point – 897 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Drive to Iwerne Courtney and park car Walk to Win Green & extend to Ludwell Catch 29 bus to Shaftesbury - 16:10 Get taxi to Iwerne Courtney - Taxi4You Mere - 07598 108317 - £25 Drive to The Talbot Iwerne Minster DT11 8QN & stay overnight - £90 My Walk Today’s walk would start from Iwerne Courtney with a gentle climb through fields to 500 feet, pass through the most amazing display of bluebells in Ashmore Wood and continue on to Ashmore, the highest village in Dorset. Beyond Ashmore I’d be leaving Dorset and entering Wiltshire, heading for the pretty village of Tollard Royal. Beyond Tollard Royal the path would do a hairpin bend and take me to the top of Win Green, the highest point in Cranborne Chase. From Win Green I’d follow the Wessex Ridgeway down to the village of Ludwell where I’d finish this stage. The Talbot in Iwerne Minster where I’d stayed the previous night had only been taken over by the new owners a few weeks before my stay, so I was able to forgive the very tired room. As a pub it had a great atmosphere and the locals really like the new management. Cooked breakfast was small but tasty. It also came with 1 slice of toast. When asked if I wanted tea or coffee I went for coffee. I knew from the time of booking that breakfast would be extra but when I got the bill I couldn’t believe that I was charged separately for my coffee! I’m just glad I didn’t ask for a 2nd cup or even some more toast!! Never as a guest in a pub or hotel have I been asked to pay extra for a hot drink at breakfast – it’s part of the deal surely. I know that I can be very curmudgeonly and did take this up with the owner who promised to review this policy. You wouldn’t have this issue in a Premier Inn but the closest one was in Poole, 20 miles away!! Anyway, enough of all this negative stuff. Today was yet another perfect spring day for walking, without a cloud in the sky. I drove the short distance from the Talbot to Iwerne Courtney and parked my car. I walked through the village, crossed the main road into a field and began the gentle climb up Preston Hill. Every so often I looked back at the fabulous views of Hambledon Hill. The Cricketers in Iwerne Courtney. Love the stumps, bails & ball on the door Iwerne Courtney Iwerne Courtney & Hambledon Hill What a perfect day for a walk The next few miles were relatively flat and before I knew it I’d reached Ashmore Wood. I’d been treated to many displays of bluebells so far on the Wessex Ridgeway but this was the best – absolutely gorgeous. Nice track to walk along Plenty of different spring flowers Little bit of road walking Now entering Ashmore Wood Wild garlic for starters Bluebells everywhere Bluebells everywhere Bluebell Heaven! After Ashmore Wood the path continued for another mile along a well defined track into the picture perfect village of Ashmore. At over 700 feet, the village boasts being the highest in Dorset. About ¼ mile from the village centre I came to a very important Wessex Ridgeway fingerpost, one of only a handful I encountered since leaving Lyme Regis. From looking at GPS data it looks like the fingerpost was placed bang on the Dorset – Wiltshire county boundary. Its fingerboard indicates that Lyme Regis is 62 miles (100 km). The post also has the inscription “First Opened By Priscilla Houstoun 1994”. Priscilla Houstoun was a member of the Ramblers Association who first designed the trail in the 1980s. The Dorset section was officially opened in 1994. Heading towards Ashmore Acrobatic hares doing what comes naturally! Log pile Church in Ashmore Ashmore Now heading away from Ashmore Commemorating Priscilla Houstoun on the Dorset / Wiltshire border A couple of miles and a gentle descent further on, I entered the village of Tollard Royal, another very pretty village with a church, pond, pub, war memorial and so much more, including an old phone box named the “Tolllard Tardis”! The Tardis houses a defibrillator, book swap and local information. Outside it has a large OS map of the local area. The village is situated within Cranborne Chase. I’d hear a lot about Cranborne Chase on my walks but before I started I never really knew what it was. Taken from the official website, “Cranborne Chase is a National Landscape, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and covers 380 square miles of countryside, overlapping the boundaries of Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset……………………. The primary purpose of the National Landscape designation is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area – now and for future generations.” . Tollard Royal Tollard Royal & the Tollard Tardis! Barely room inside the Tardis to swing a sonic screwdriver! Tollard Royal Tollard Royal The path took a bit of a hairpin bend in Tollard Royal and continued in a valley called Ashcombe Bottom. Part of this section is on the 1,134 acre Ashcombe Estate which was bought by Madonna and her then husband Guy Ritchie in 2001. As part of their divorce settlement in 2008, Ritchie kept the estate and he and his family now live there. He has since carried out carried out many changes linked primarily to the high end leisure industry, so if you have very deep pockets you can stay on the estate for a shooting weekend! The fact that the website doesn’t publish anything so vulgar as prices conjures up the old adage “If you have to ask the price you probably can’t afford it!”. Ashcombe Estate Ashcombe Bottom The estate has numerous public rights of way, which explains why the Wessex Ridgeway is able to pass through the estate. It also has a 400-year-old Quaker burial ground which Quakers still have access to. At the end of the valley, the path climbed very steeply up to the highlight of the day – Win Green. The estate is subject to public rights of way An Ashmore Estate cottage The final push to the top of Win Green It was quite a steep climb Yay! Win Green. What fabulous views Win Green is the highest point in the Cranborne Chase at over 900 feet and covering 64 acres. It provides panoramic views from the Isle of Wight and Purbeck Hills to Blackmore Vale and Salisbury Plain. It’s an SSSI and is crowned by beech trees growing on a Bronze Age bowl barrow with a distinctive ridge around the edge. This clump of trees is visible for miles around. A few years ago grazing was reintroduced which has resulted in an increase in the number of flowers. Today it is managed by the National Trust. I felt so lucky to be here on such a perfect day. Trig point at top of Win Green Beech trees can be seen for miles away Direction & distances plaque View from the top Just fabulous! Win Green is the point at which the Wessex Ridgeway meets the Cranborne Droves Way. I had 2 options to reach The Ridgeway at Overton Hill; either continue along the Wessex Ridgeway or turn right along the Cranborne Droves Way to Salisbury and then the Sarsen Way from Salisbury to Overton Hill. I’d decided from the outset of this challenge that I’d go via Salisbury, so tomorrow I’d come back here and head along the Cranborne Droves Way. For today, my plan was to continue along the Wessex Ridgeway for a couple of miles to the main road in Ludwell where I’d be able to catch a bus to Shaftesbury and from there a taxi back to my car in Iwerne Courtney. In April 2026 I would return to complete the whole of the Wessex Ridgeway to its finish in Marlborough! The walk down from Win Green to Ludwell saw a drop in height of 500 feet and continuing panoramic views. Towards the end in Ludwell I passed a watercress farm owned by Sun Salads. The watercress grows in spring water naturally filtered through the local chalk – perfect! On the way down now Heading towards Ludwell Ludwell Watercress Farm By the time I reached Ludwell I was very thirsty having drunk all my water. Right opposite the bus stop was a pub, The Grove Arms. On such a glorious day I was surprised that there weren’t loads of people sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. Sadly, I discovered the pub closed down in October 2024. The village shop was also closed, so I’d have to wait until I got back to Shaftesbury for liquid refreshment. Boo hoo! It's closed! My bus turned up on time and I was soon in Shaftesbury where I headed for the nearest pub for a pint! Shaftesbury is actually back in Dorset. It’s a thriving town with mainly independent shops and cafés. Gold Hill in the town was the filming location for the 1973 Ridley Scott advert for Hovis bread. It made the street famous nationally. After taking some photos of the street, I found another pub where I had my tea whilst waiting for a taxi I’d booked to take me back to my car in Iwerne Courtney. Back at my car I drove to the Talbot in Iwerne Minster for a 2nd night. Gold Hill in Shaftesbury What an absolutely perfect day today had been! I’d now completed 68 miles of the Great Chalk Way across some beautiful countryside. I was so glad I’d waited to begin my challenge until the bluebells were flowering. I hadn't completed the Wessex Ridgeway as a consequence of leaving at Win Green; however, as mentioned above, I returned in spring 2026 to walk the rest of it to Marlborough!

Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 15.66 miles Duration - 6 hours 47 mins Total ascent – 2180 feet Total descent - 2087 feet Highest point – 860 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Drive to Yeovil Pen Mill station BA21 5DD - 0.7 mile & park car APCOA Location ID 2204 Catch train to Maiden Newton 07:33 - 22 mins Walk to Lower Ansty Get taxi to Blandford Forum - Oakwood Taxis - https://blandford-oakwoodtaxis.co.uk/ - 01258 455555 Catch CR4 bus to Yeovil Pen Mill station BA21 5DD at 17:40 – 98 mins Drive to Premier Inn Yeovil Town Centre BA20 1LT & stay overnight My Walk Today’s walk would almost certainly be the toughest of the whole Great Chalk Way, being almost 16 miles with a total ascent of 2180 feet and 5 steep climbs. I would definitely be paying for having had an easy walk yesterday. The weather forecast for today was unsurprisingly more sunshine with a maximum temperature of 27°C – which ordinarily would be really nice if you’re not on a long walk with numerous climbs. Between start and finish, once again there would be no shops or pubs along the route without making a combined detour of at least 2 miles. As things panned out during the day I really wish I’d decided before I set off to detour to Cerne Abbas for a lunchtime break at 1 of its 3 – yes 3 – pubs! Whilst mentioning Cerne Abbas, it is famous for the Cerne Giant, an ancient naked figure sculpted into the chalk hillside above Cerne Abbas. The Giant is without doubt a man!! At 180 ft tall he is Britain’s largest chalk hill figure and perhaps the best known. Archaeologists believe the Giant was possibly first constructed in the late Saxon period which ended in 1066 but really, it’s a bit of a mystery - Cerne Giant The Wessex Ridgeway doesn’t actually go past the Giant; however, it does pass within a mile on the same ridge. On my drive down to Lyme Regis a few days earlier to start the Great Chalk Way, I stopped off at the visitor car park to get some drone footage of the Cerne Giant. The Cerne Giant The Wessex Ridgeway doesn't actually go past the Giant In 2026, the Giant made headline news for requiring to have his chalk replaced a number of years ahead of normal due to - you guessed it - climate change. Anyway, back to the walk. I was staying in the Yeovil Town Centre Premier Inn and was down for brekkie at 06:30, after which I drove the short distance to Yeovil Pen Mill Station; in fact, I could have walked it as the station is only a 15 minute walk from the Premier Inn. As is my way when planning my walks, I aim to choose locations with good public transport links. Yeovil has 2 stations. Yeovil Junction is on the London to Exeter main line, whilst Yeovil Pen Mill is on the Heart of Wessex Line with trains running between Gloucester and Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth. Most importantly, Maiden Newton is 4 stops from Pen Mill. I arrived just in time for the 07:33 train. Maiden Newton is a passing place for trains as it's single line running between Yeovil & Dorchester From Maiden Newton my walk today would first take me on a steep climb and descent into the village of Sydling St Nicholas. From there a straight and steady climb to the top of Gore Hill at 850 feet would then be followed by a steady descent into the hamlet of Up Cerne. Another climb from Minton Parva to a minor road would bring me out opposite the Giants Head Caravan & Camping Park. The Wessex Ridgeway would continue through the caravan park with 2 more climbs up Ball Hill and finally, Lyscombe Hill, the highest point on this stage at 860 feet. Dorsetshire Gap would soon follow and it is here that I would leave the trail and continue to Lower Ansty where I would finish my walk. Everything went swimmingly well initially. Like every other day the views were spectacular. Sydling St Nicholas is a really attractive village with plenty of thatched roof properties. Hoping for good luck today! Looking back at Maiden Newton on the 1st climb of the day You have to cross the busy A37 to reach Sydling St Nicholas Did as I was asked On the walk down to Sydling St Nicholas Sydling St Nicholas Sydling St Nicholas Sydling St Nicholas The climb out of the village up Gore Hill was relatively easy with bluebells, wild garlic and other spring flowers aplenty alongside the path. Up Cerne comprises an estate of 1,930 acres centered around a Grade II listed manor house. It includes eight let properties, most of which are listed buildings, a church, farm buildings, woodland, farmland and fishing lakes. So pretty! Looking back at Sydling St Nicholas The path up Gore Hill Pretty spring flowers Spring flowers & great views The instructions said 'Walk across field towards the trees' Dower House - Up Cerne Cank Cottages - Up Cerne Up Cerne Lake in Up Cerne After crossing the A352 at Minterne Parva I began the day’s third climb towards the caravan park. This is where things went wrong. I religiously followed the written instructions to arrive at a point with a glorious view over Up Cerne, even though there had been no obvious path to follow. With what I now know I was just 300 yards away from the road; however, I took a wrong turning and by the time I reached the road I was 1.2 miles off course. Whilst only classed as a minor road, this road was very busy and I was constantly having to walk along the very uneven verges. Eventually I found an entrance to a field and I thought I’d do better walking along the inside of this field. Sadly, there was no way of getting out of this field so I had to walk all the way back again to continue along the road. In the space of 90 minutes, I’d managed to walk just ¾ of a mile of the route. Wow! Wild garlic galore at Minterne Parva More wild garlic Former cock fighting ring at Minterne Parva Definitely on the right track at this point Still doing well with views back to Up Cerne Manor So how on earth did I manage to end up at Gales Hill? Idiot!! I reached the caravan park hot and bothered – actually, sweating profusely as it had got very humid. I’d already drunk all the water from my 2 bottles and I was only half way through the walk. I put the written instructions in my backpack and decided that using them along with the OS Maps app was hopeless; going forward I’d rely on the app and waymarkers alone. I asked at the caravan park office if there was anywhere I could get water. Thankfully, the lady pointed me in the direction of a standpipe and I filled my bottles. At last - there it is. The entrance to the caravan park The caravan park Wessex Ridgeway continues after this gate at the back of the caravan park From the caravan park, the path dropped gently before the inevitable steep climb up Ball Hill. The reward for this climb was an incredible display of bluebells and wild garlic in the woods on the hilltop. Naturally, a descent followed to the hamlet of Folly, ahead of the day’s final and highest ascent to Lyscombe Hill (aka Higher Melcombe Hill). As I was walking up the steep path, a couple of fellow walkers with their dog were coming the other way. We exchanged pleasantries and as you do, I asked where they’d walked from and where they were heading to today. They reminded me that when I reached Dorsetshire Gap I would have to sign the visitors book. Dropping down towards Alton Pancras Thankfully didn't have to climb up here Some unpleasantness! Bluebells at the top of Ball Hill Waymarkers on a random stone structure in the middle of huge field Cows not to be argued with but looking at their undercarriages, they have other things on their minds! Having reached the top of Lyscombe Hill, the Wessex Ridgeway began a gentle descent. It took a left and after about 700 yards and the best displays of bluebells & wild garlic, I reached the fabled Dorsetshire Gap. I’d seen Dorsetshire Gap mentioned many times when doing my research for the Wessex Ridgeway. Essentially it is the meeting point of 5 ancient tracks with steep, narrow, man-made cuttings; a crossroads, recognised for centuries, where people and animals moving east/west on the Great Ridgeway were able to access north/south tracks. Looking at it this way, I could see just what a special place this was. The lidded bin containing the current and previous visitors books was plain to see. What a wonderful tradition to keep alive. It was great reading some of the previous entries and naturally I signed in too; thank goodness though that a pen was supplied! Definitely worthy of a 'Wow!' Wow! And 'Wow!' again Dorsetshire Gap Dorsetshire Gap Current & previous visitors books What terrible writing I have! AKA Dorset Gap I chose to leave the Wessex Ridgeway for the day at Dorsetshire Gap. I took one of the north/south tracks and walked a further 2 miles to Lower Ansty via Higher Melcombe. I reached The Fox pub at about 16:30. Having set off from Yeovil Pen Station at 07:30 with no real breaks, this had been a long, hot day, exacerbated by my stupidity near the caravan park. Nevertheless, I felt I’d earned my pint, crisps & flapjack, as since breakfast I’d only eaten 1 banana and a 2 finger Kit Kat! On my way towards Lower Ansty On my way towards Lower Ansty The Fox - Lower Ansty Well deserved I feel in spite of stupidity My plan for getting back to Yeovil was to get a taxi to Blandford Forum from where I’d get a bus. My hope was that I’d be able to catch the 17:40 CR4 from Blandford, as otherwise I’d have to wait until 19:40 for the next and last bus. Blandford Forum is 10 miles from Lower Ansty. Paul from Oakwood Taxis in Blandford picked me up and dropped me off at my bus stop with 5 minutes to spare – yippee! Many thanks to Paul who certainly did not drive like a 'Sunday afternoon' driver. The fact that the CR4 bus would take 100 minutes to reach Yeovil really didn’t bother me in the slightest as it went through some beautiful countryside and it gave me time to unwind and look back on yet another lovely day walking in Dorset. Back in Yeovil I spent a 2nd night in the Premier Inn. Not quite the 15.67 miles official distance! My plan for the next day had been to walk the next stage as far as Iwerne Courtney, stay 1 more night in Yeovil and then drive home. When I woke up next morning however, my body told me that 5 nights away from home and 4 long walks were enough! Fortunately, I make all my Premier Inn bookings flexible, allowing me to amend check-in dates as many times as I like, up to 13:00 on the day. So, I changed the check-in date to sometime later in the summer and prepared to drive home. It was yet another perfect day so I decided to call in at National Trust Stourhead on my way home. Were it not so far away from home, Stourhead would easily be my favourite National Trust property to visit; the gardens are spectacular and for once I’d timed my visit to perfection to see the rhododendrons in full flower. The iconic view at NT Stourhead NT Stourhead UPDATE August 2025 I mentioned earlier in this post that I wished I'd visited Cerne Abbas itself. Over the August Bank Holiday weekend I returned to Dorset & Wiltshire to catch up on some of the places I'd missed before or wanted to spend more time investigating. I parked my car in the Kettle Bridge Lane car park and followed the riverside walk along the River Cerne into the village. It was certainly well worth the stop to explore more of this pretty village. The River Cerne Cerne Abbey was built in 987 AD. The original abbey building is long gone and in its place an imposing private residence has been built. However, the remains of the Abbot's Porch - the entrance to the Abbot's Hall - still stands as does Cerne Abbey Guest House. Cerne Abbey is now a private residence Cerne Abbas Abbot's Porch remains Cerne Abbey Guest House Inside Cerne Abbey Guest House Cerne Abbas village The Giant Inn pub The Giant Inn pub A chalkboard outside the Royal Oak pub in the village centre was advertising coffee and apple cake and as it was approaching cake o'clock now seemed a good time for a break! The Royal Oak pub Just what I needed!

Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 17.34 miles Duration - 6 hours 41 mins Total ascent – 704 feet Total descent - 1483 feet Highest point – 902 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Drive to Shaftesbury & park car - Angel Lane, Shaftesbury SP7 8DF - Just Park 3640 Taxi to National Trust Win Green SP7 0ES - Taxi4You Mere 07598 108317 Walk to Salisbury Taxi to Premier Inn Salisbury South Milford SP1 2FF & stay overnight Monday - bus back to Shaftesbury - P&R & 29 Drive home My Walk At ‘only’ 17 miles and virtually downhill all the way, I decided I could easily walk from Win Green to Salisbury in 1 sitting. My only issue would be getting back to the start to collect my car and belongings at the end of the walk. On a Sunday there is no public transport between Salisbury and Shaftesbury and there is no way I'd fork out for a taxi! Even on a weekday, the last bus from Salisbury leaves at 17:50. If anyone has got here having read my blog of Stage 5 of the Wessex Ridgeway, this is the reason why I’d left a bag of overnight stuff at the Salisbury Premier Inn a couple of days earlier. My plan was to walk the Cranborne Droves Way to Salisbury, stay overnight and then get the bus back to my car in Shaftesbury the next morning. I am so pleased to report that my planning worked perfectly! Anyway, to the walk. I’d stayed at The Talbot in Iwerne Minster the night before. After having to pay extra for a single cup of coffee once again at breakfast I drove to Shaftesbury. I parked in the car park I’d agreed with the taxi firm the day before and even though he was a little late, I was back at Win Green by 10:00 am ready for my walk to Salisbury. There were a few light clouds in an otherwise blue sky; yet another lovely day ahead of me! I stopped at the top of Win Green for a while taking in the 360° panoramic views. I then set off eastwards towards Salisbury along what was going to be an extremely well waymarked trail. The chalk path from Win Green towards Salisbury Looking back at Win Green Looks like a lake is being dug on Guy Ritchie's estate Very soon to my left and down in a valley was an extremely long, tree-lined lawn leading up to what looked like a most handsome country mansion. A swift bit of googling revealed that this was the Ferne Park Estate owned by 4th Viscount Rothermere, Jonathan Harmsworth, chairman of Daily Mail & General Trust. Ferne Park Estate Much of the Cranborne Droves Way involved following a pretty straight line across a ridge with fantastic views nearly all the way; it was therefore hard to go off course. The surface varied between grass and mud tracks, stone tracks and fully metalled minor roads. I’d read blogs written by people who’d got a little bogged down in flooded, rutted tracks in winter but fortunately I had no such problems. I could say that the landscape was a little bit ‘samey’ but on this occasion it was meant in a good way as the views were pretty spectacular from end to end. I'd have views like this all day Sometimes the path would be like this ..........and at other times it would be like this Sheep keeping cool in the shade Such a lovely sight After about 9 miles, the trail left the Ox Drove and started to head north east towards Salisbury. This next 5 mile section of the trail to Salisbury Racecourse roughly follows the course of an old Roman road. With total reliance on the OS Maps app on my phone there were a couple of fields where the app told me to walk diagonally across them but with crops filling the fields this wasn’t possible – no big deal to walk along the edges of the fields. I've left the Ox Drove now I think this is called Croucheston Hollow It was getting a bit windy but I loved the effect My first view of the spire of Salisbury Cathedral Just lovely! Clever use of part of a tree trunk Descending Throope Hill into Stratford Tony After about 12 miles I came to the pretty hamlet of Stratford Tony. I wish they’d called it Tony Stratford as that sounds like someone’s name! The River Ebble flows through the hamlet. At a crossroads the trail crossed the road and followed a sign for the racecourse. ½ mile along the road was a turning to the right which brought me back on to the track along the Roman road. Eventually I emerged by the white plastic rails of Salisbury Racecourse. The trail turned right here following the rails. I was now walking along the Old Shaftesbury Drove. This is a well known old road which for centuries was the main road between Salisbury and Shaftesbury and part of the longer route from London to the South West. Rather nice house in Stratford Tony Ford in Stratford Tony River Ebble in Stratford Tony River Ebble in Stratford Tony Out of the blue you're at Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse The trail only followed the Old Shaftesbury Drove for about ¾ mile before peeling off to the left towards Harnham, a suburb of Salisbury. There was a lot of house building going on here and plenty of temporary fencing keeping me away from the building sites. There was no doubting that they were building on chalk. Eventually I reached the residential streets of Harnham. Walkers are kept well away from the building sites Getting closer to the Cathedral By now I’d drunk all my water and was in need of a drink. If I reached a shop first, I’d buy some water but if I reached a pub first then I’d buy a pint and get them to fill one of my water bottles. ‘Luckily’, I just happened to pass by the Old Mill in Harnham where I stopped for a pint before walking the final mile to Salisbury Cathedral! What a brilliant day I’d had – a trail in a day! Someone this year ran it in 2 hours 44 minutes but I completed it in a more leisurely 7 hours. Keeping cool at the Old Mill at Harnham It's a lovely walk into the centre of Salisbury Salisbury High Street Gate was once a small jail Salisbury Cathedral has the tallest spire in the UK I stopped off at the Kings Head pub in the city centre for my tea before getting a taxi to the Salisbury South Milford Premier Inn and reuniting myself with my luggage. After spending the night at the Premier Inn, the next morning I got the bus back to my car in Shaftesbury and drove home. This was end of my second batch of walks along the Great Chalk Way and very successful and enjoyable it had been. Salisbury has one of just a handful of information boards along the trail promoting the Great Chalk Way After my exertions of the day I had a very healthy pizza at Spoons! 2 trails down now and officially 79.5 miles completed! The Cranborne Droves Way is a great example of an enjoyable walk with great views along a ridge where you can also get outstanding views from the road below. Sometimes you can see things from the road that you can't see from the ridge itself. In this case, the A30 road between Ludwell and Barford St Martin provides plenty of views of the ridge, including the Fovant Badges - 10 regimental badges cut into the chalk ridge. They are quite a sight to see. The Fovant Badges

Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 11.50 miles Duration - 4 hours 52 mins Total ascent – 1619 feet Total descent - 1399 feet Highest point – 880 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Drive to Premier Inn Salisbury South Milford SP1 2FF & stay overnight - 8th May Drive to Blandford Forum & park car - Langton Road Car Park DT11 7EN Get taxi to Lower Ansty - Oakwood Taxis - 01258 455555 Walk to Iwerne Courtney or Shroton - The Cricketers Catch CR7 bus to Blandford Forum - 15:31 17:07 or 18:42 Pick up car & drive to The Talbot Iwerne Minster DT11 8QN. Stay overnight My Walk After a week back home, it was time for another 4 stages. My aim over the next 4 days was to complete the Wessex Ridgeway section, the Cranborne Droves Way and reach Amesbury on the Sarsen Way. As I didn’t want to have to lug overnight stuff around with me on my walks in addition to my camera and drone stuff, I devised what I thought should be a foolproof plan. All will eventually become clear! I started on the Thursday morning by driving down from home to Salisbury and parked in the large city centre car park near Sainsbury’s. With the afternoon to spare I did an out of sequence short walk along the Sarsen Way to Amesbury – see later. I then drove to the Salisbury South Milford Premier Inn and stayed the night. Next morning at reception I left a holdall containing overnight stuff I’d need for Sunday night for them to look after for me. I explained that even though it was now Friday, I’d collect the bag on Sunday. They were very happy to do this for me. Unlike Travelodge, Premier Inn will look after luggage for you; another reason why I like Premier Inn so much. I drove to Blandford Forum and parked my car. I then got a taxi back to Lower Ansty to begin Stage 5. Thanks to Paul and Bruce, the 2 taxi drivers from Oakwood Taxis Blandford Forum who transported me from and to Lower Ansty. Today’s walk would take me up Bulbarrow Hill; at almost 900 feet it’s the 3rd highest point of the Wessex Ridgeway. 5 miles of walking along the ridge would then give way to a really steep descent through Shillingstone Woods into Shillingstone. Another couple of miles and having crossed the River Stour I’d be climbing to the top of Hambledon Hill, a tiddler of about 630 feet. The stage would finish with a descent into Iwerne Courtney or Shroton as it’s also known as! On yet another gorgeous spring day I rejoined the Wessex Ridgeway by Crockers Farm, Stoke Wake and began the steep climb past Rawlsbury Camp to the top of Bulbarrow Hill. The camp is a small pear-shaped Iron Age hillfort on a spur of Bullbarrow Hill and interestingly, is situated lower than the top of the hill. The 360° views of the countryside were fabulous. The hill is recognised as a take-off site for paragliding and hang gliding but from what I’ve read, it is rarely used now. It has gained a reputation as a poor site suffering from turbulence at times and no bottom landing. However, it is used by aeromodellers and on this day, by a drone flyer! For anyone old enough to remember the ITV programmes ‘How’ and ‘Out Of Town’ from the 1960s, Jack Hargreaves had his ashes scattered from the top of the hill. When his wife died 4 years later, she also had her ashes scattered from here. Two large radio towers on top of the hill have been in use since 1942 and can be seen for miles around. Looking back downhill from Rawlsbury Camp Rawlsbury Camp - the wooden cross is so out of place here! Bulbarrow Hill from Rawlsbury Camp Fabulous views This is more like the fencing in a POW camp! Guessing the landowner doesn't want people in his field Looking down at Chitcombe Down Looking back towards the radio masts on top of Bulbarrow Hill The great views keep on coming The route continued along the road past Woolland Hill and Ibberton before branching off to the right and continuing through some stunning countryside over Bell Hill and Okeford Hill, before reaching Shillingstone Hill. It really made you feel good to be alive! Beyond Ibberton the trail left the road Contented piggies! Very striking orange - not a camera trick Walking towards Okeford Hill Walking towards Okeford Hill This board was erected after my 2025 walk - so me being me, I had to return! Sponsored by the Ramblers - Dorset Area Showing my progress along the GCW Some welcome shade at the side of Okeford Hill Trig point at top of Shillingstone Hill There then followed a very steep descent through Shillingstone Woods. I was so happy I was walking the trail in this direction as I really didn’t fancy having to climb up through the woods! The woods ended in the pretty village of Shillingstone. I followed the path through the village and across a footbridge over the River Stour. I could see Hambledon Hill ahead of me and was expecting a steep climb up to it. However, this would come a little later. The path took me through Hanford Farm. Next to the farm was Hanford Girls Independent Prep School, a boarding school for girls aged 7 to 13. Wow – from looking at their website I would say the pupils are very lucky to be there! The path down Shillingstone Hill doesn't look very steep at all - but it is! The path down Shillingstone Hill doesn't look very steep at all - but it is! In Shillingstone with 2 miles to Hambledon Hill The 14 mile North Dorset Trailway Network uses mainly former disused railways including here at Shillingstone Nice bridge across the River Stour Warning of a bull but no sign of him River Stour Path passes across this field at Hanford Farm Hanford Farm cows are showing a little interest but nothing more Path continues through the farmyard School is next to the farm. Girls are encouraged to take up pony riding & there are on-site ponies & stables Beyond Hanford came the inevitable climb up the side of Hambledon Hill and then a gentler walk to the summit. It may ‘only’ be 630 feet high but what fabulous far-reaching views! It’s also one of the best preserved and most notable Iron Age hill forts in Britain. The climb begins. Looking back from where I've come Getting closer! Trig point at the top of Hambledon Hill Friendly wild pony Pano of Hambledon Hill Hambledon Hill From Hambledon Hill the path dropped down into Iwerne (pronounced Ewan) Courtney and the end of this stage. Shroton was the original name of the village and apparently is still preferred locally. I didn’t have a minute to explore the village because having found the bus stop, my bus back to Blandford Forum turned up. This had been a really enjoyable walk and best of all, having ditched printed walking directions, I didn't get lost once! Back in Blanford, I drove to The Talbot in Iwerne Minster where I was going to spend a couple of nights. Obviously, I would have preferred to stay in a Premier Inn but the nearest one was 20 miles away! For anyone paying attention, I had a second set of overnight stuff with me in the car – the first set being in Salisbury. I chose The Talbot because Iwerne Minster is less than 2 miles from Iwerne Courtney, so making it ideal for an early start for my next stage on Saturday morning. Path down from Hambledon Hill Lovely views to the end of the walk Iwerene Courtney in the background Iwerne Courtney Iwerne Courtney The Talbot Iwerne Minster

Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 14.25 miles Duration - 5 hours 23 mins Total ascent – 553 feet Total descent – 1169 feet Highest point – 750 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Drive from home to Portway Wantage car park - OX12 9BU - £7 for day - Pay by Phone – location 810582 Walk to Market Place & get taxi to Manor Road intersection with The Ridgeway Walk to Goring Walk to Goring & Streatley Station & catch train to Didcot Parkway Catch X36 bus to Wantage & pick up car Drive to Whalebridge Car Park in Swindon Stay overnight at Premier Inn Swindon Town Centre My Walk After all the historical sites I’d passed on the first 3 stages of The Ridgeway, today would be a bit of an anti-climax. On the other hand, I’d reach the halfway point of The Ridgeway and towards the end of my walk I’d be joined by Wendy, a Thames Path National Trail volunteer who does so much to promote this trail. I’d begin today’s stage more or less where I’d finished the previous stage at Segsbury Camp. The route would continue a slow descent, roughly west to east, along a wide, easy underfoot path with views of large fields far into the distance on both sides. After passing underneath the busy A34 near West Ilsley, the descent would continue along Compton Downs, with much of the land given over to racehorse gallops. After crossing a dismantled railway, I’d climb for the first and only time today. The nature of the path would also change from being mainly wide and grass covered to being narrower, mostly exposed stone with trees and bushes on both sides giving hardly any views. Nearing the end, the path would descend into a valley with Streatley Warren on one side and Thurle Down on the other side. The stony path would give way to a tarmacked road which I’d follow into the village of Streatley. Finally, I’d cross the road bridge over the River Thames into Goring-on-Thames. My day began from home with an early morning 80 mile drive to Wantage. The morning weekday traffic is usually lightest on a Friday morning and I had a good run. I parked in the Portway car park, walked to the Market Square and got a taxi to take me up to where the A338 intersects with The Ridgeway. I could have walked the 3 miles from Wantage but I’ve done this before and as it’s mainly uphill, it’s not much fun! So, by 9:15 I was ready to continue towards Goring. I was actually about 0.7 miles further along The Ridgeway from Segsbury Camp, which is where I’d ended the previous stage but what’s 0.7 miles amongst friends; in any case, I didn’t miss anything of note, having previously walked it in 2023. I could go to Segsbury Camp & back again....... ........but choose not to! The first 9 miles or so of this stage were going to be downhill all the way on a mainly wide, grass covered path. On a sunny day at the end of May what’s not to like about this. The Ridgeway has a habit of intersecting with roads and tracks and it wasn’t long before I crossed the B4494. Just beyond the intersection I reached the Loyd-Lindsay Monument (AKA Wantage Monument). Robert Loyd-Lindsay was a benefactor to Wantage and the first chairman and co-founder of the British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War (later the British Red Cross Society). For being an all round good egg, he was elevated to the title of 1st Baron of Wantage in 1893. The monument was erected by his wife after his death in 1901. As they had no children, the title ‘Baron of Wantage’ died with him. April 2026 Shortly before reaching the point where the Ridgeway crosses a road down into East Hendred, I passed Scutchamer Knob - also known as Cuckhamsley Hill - an early Iron Age round barrow adjacent to The Ridgeway. It is said to be the place where King Edwin of Northumbria killed Cwichelm of Wessex in 636AD. Believing it to be Cwichelm's burial place, there were several excavations in the past that left the barrow with its misshapen form. I also passed Scutchamer Knob in 2023 and on both occasions I didn't know because it was just so overgrown. However, I'd read that valiant groups of volunteers had now cleared the area, so in April 2026 I made a special journey to visit it. Having seen photos of how it looked beforehand, on a gorgeous sunny day I have to say it looked amazing, giving great views across the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. The volunteers even created a bench out of a couple of pallets. I found it quite atmospheric and certainly very calming. As I got closer to the A34, the path left Oxfordshire and entered West Berkshire. I’d stay in West Berkshire for the remainder of today’s walk, until I crossed the Thames into Goring, when I’d be back in Oxfordshire. As I walked, the chimneys of Didcot ‘B’ Power Station could be clearly seen in the distance. I always thought it was a shame that the 6 cooling towers of Didcot ‘A’ Power Station were demolished – but then I don’t live in Didcot! For me the towers were an iconic sight whenever I drove down the A34. I could also see Harwell Campus in front of the power station. Harwell used to be the main research establishment of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, built on the former RAF Harwell. Today the nuclear facilities are being decommissioned and its new role is as a science and business park. Its most striking building is the Diamond Light Source which resembles a huge silver doughnut! The Ridgeway has plenty of these helpful 'You are here' maps Heading towards the A34 Harwell Campus & Didcot 'B' Power Station not that far away On reaching the A34 near West Ilsley, The Ridgeway crossed under the road by way of a concrete tunnel. Beyond the tunnel the path initially continued as a wide grassy track over downland. The area’s links to racehorse training were to be seen almost everywhere. At Compton Downs the path took a very decisive 90 degree left turn away from the village of Compton. Tunnel under the A34 Memorial at Gore Hill just beyond the A34 Beyond the A34 Gallops everywhere Gallops Compton Gallops Bridge over the dismantled railway - February 2023 A little further on the path narrowed to a ‘standard width’ chalk track with trees and hedges either side blocking out most of the views. A 2 mile climb then ensued. As the path levelled off, I saw Wendy coming towards me. As mentioned, Wendy is a volunteer for the Thames Path National Trail and manages the social media accounts for this trail. However, to say just this is grossly understating the work she undertakes promoting the Thames and the Thames Path. She’s also very happy to get her hands dirty in the installation of fingerposts, clearing of paths etc! She’s always been very kind in promoting my walks along the Thames Path. She’s also a very active member of the Friends of The Ridgeway and these are just a few of things she gets involved with; she’s a bit of a human dynamo! Wendy had parked her car in the Thurle Down car park in Streatley and the idea was that she would start walking towards me and once we met, would walk with me to the end in Goring. You can't see a great deal when the trees & bushes are in full leaf As we began to descend towards Streatley, on our right we passed Streatley Warren, a 77 acre SSSI. In use by the Romans, it was during the Middle Ages this land was used for farming rabbits, hence the name! To our left were the slopes of Thurle Down. This short little stretch of The Ridgeway has some really stunning views! Unfortunately, we were talking so much that I barely took any photos, so me being me, I returned in late September to get some more photos! Streatley Warren Streatley Warren Thurle Down on the left & Streatley Warren on the right Thurle Down Just before reaching the Thurle Down car park is a fingerpost pointing to Overton Hill in one direction and Ivinghoe Beacon in the other direction. It’s a bit short of being quite halfway along The Ridgeway. I regard it as being quite iconic. Almost half of The Ridgeway completed Beyond the car park the path joined Rectory Road, a narrow, metalled road which for 1½ miles gave fabulous views both left and right towards Streatley. As it got closer to Streatley we passed the entrance to Goring & Streatley Golf Club and the road became more residential. Very colourful! Very well to do golf course In Streatley we crossed Goring & Streatley Bridge over the River Thames and in so doing we left West Berkshire and re-entered Oxfordshire. After taking some photos, Wendy very kindly bought me coffee and cake! We then went our separate ways, Wendy back to her car at Thurle Down car park and me to Goring & Streatley Railway Station. Wendy on Goring & Streatley Bridge Goring Lock Collection of photos by Matt Writtle taken along The Ridgeway called 'Pathways'. 25 of the 50 have been erected along the trail Looking upstream from Goring & Streatley Bridge - September 2025 I’d done this stage in February 2023, albeit in the opposite direction and so enjoyed it. I was quite excited about doing it again in May 2025 but something was missing. In winter 2023 there were very few trees and hedges with leaves alongside the path, whereas in spring 2025 I felt quite hemmed in at times by the foliage and lack of views. So, same walk but different time of year can make quite a lot of difference! Anyway, it was still a good walk and I really enjoyed Wendy’s company. I got the train from Goring to Didcot Parkway, then the bus back to Wantage where my car was. Tomorrow I was going to walk the very short section from Goring to Mongewell, so rather than driving all the way home and then back again for a short walk, I stayed in the Swindon Town Centre Premier Inn overnight, driving back to Goring on Saturday morning. Why Swindon you ask? Well, booking a room at short notice for a Friday night can be very expensive. This Premier Inn is almost always cheaper than anywhere around, so I’d rather drive a little further and feel I’m getting better value for money!

Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 13.22 miles Duration - 5 hours 15 mins Total ascent – 994 feet Total descent - 926 feet Highest point – 582 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Drive to Amesbury and park car in Central Car Park SP4 7JE - MIPermit 700174 - £5.50 a day Walk to Upavon The Ship Catch X5/X4 bus to Amesbury 14:21 - 30 mins Drive to Stonehenge Visitor Centre SP4 7DE. Free parking and entrance for English Heritage and National Trust members Drive to Whalebridge Car Park in Swindon & park car - SN1 1TN – free for the duration of my stay in Swindon as the barriers weren't working Walk to Premier Inn Swindon Town Centre and stay overnight My Walk After a few days back home it was time for my third batch of walks along the Great Chalk Way. Over the next 5 days my plan for this batch was to reach Overton Hill on the Sarsen Way where I’d meet up with The Ridgeway. I’d then continue along The Ridgeway as far as Letcombe Bassett. My home for the next few days would be the Swindon Town Centre Premier Inn. I’d used this hotel on a number of previous occasions whilst walking the Thames Path. It’s a new hotel right in the middle of Swindon and of all the Premier Inns I’ve stayed in over the years, this is easily my favourite. The staff here are so friendly and helpful; they were even more than happy for me to have the camera battery charger I'd ordered on Amazon to be addressed to my room (I'd left mine at home)! The hotel is also just 32 steps from Wetherspoons - ideal for steak night and curry night! Finally, the hotel is less than 5 minutes walk away from the Whalebridge Multi-Storey Car Park. For the duration of my stay, parking was free due to the barriers being out of action. I saved more than £50 by parking here. Another tip - the Town Centre hotel is considerably cheaper than the other 3 Swindon Premier Inns! Despite people’s misgivings about the town, it has excellent road, bus and train links – including its own Magic Roundabout. In fact, at the end of August 2025, the run-down bus station was at last consigned to history and a new ‘Transport Hub’ in Fleming Way opened in its place. Demolition of the bus station is due to start in November 2025 with completion by Christmas. Swindon is well situated for both the Sarsen Way and parts of The Ridgeway. For the first 10 miles, today’s walk would take me along the valley of the River Avon again through a number of pretty villages. The whole walk lies within Salisbury Plain. Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau within Wiltshire and Hampshire, covering about 300 square miles. The British Army owns about half of the land, 11% of the area of Wiltshire. This land is known as Salisbury Plain Training Area making it the largest military training area in the United Kingdom. There are a number of camps and barracks within the training area and about 47 square miles are used for live firing. The last 3 miles of today’s walk would take me pretty close to a live firing area. Having stayed overnight in Swindon I began today’s stage by first driving to Amesbury and parking in the car park in the centre of town. I bought myself a sandwich for lunch at the Co-Op. Amesbury on yet another sunny day To the walk itself. It was another warm, sunny day with no clouds. I knew I had to cross the narrow footbridge over the busy A303 Amesbury Bypass, something I wasn’t looking forward to as I have an irrational fear of such narrow bridges. This fear even has a name - gephyrophobia! A hypnotherapist did once try to drive this from the depths of my brain but without success. Part of my planning for any walk I do involves checking if I’m going to have to cross any bridge that might give me an issue; if I find one, I look to see if I can divert away from it. For this footbridge at Amesbury there was no safe alternative so I had to just grin and bear it. Thankfully, with this anxiety out of the way within ½ mile of starting the walk, I could really enjoy my day now. As it turns out this bridge over the A303 wasn't that long The path continued alongside fields into Bulford and then into Durrington, where it crossed the River Avon. I lost track of the number of pretty little villages I then passed through, each with its fair share of thatched roof cottages. Across a few more fields and I was in another village with the River Avon either alongside or never very far away. This carried on until I reached Enford. Up to this point the terrain had been pretty flat but beyond Enford the path climbed quite steeply and this is where I first started noticing MOD Salisbury Plain Military Lands Byelaws signs. At last, the Sarsen Way stopped tracking the river and instead decided on a dramatic change of scenery to big fields and wide open spaces with views for miles. On a day like today this was absolute bliss. I passed through a quirky farm - Compton Farm - complete with it's own canon and a life-size model of a Great Bustard! I wondered what the relevance of this model was and this got me Googling. A change in farming methods and hunting killed off the last British Bustard in the 1830s. The passion and vision of a former policeman resulted in the founding of the Great Bustard Group in 1998 and the re-introduction of the species to Salisbury Plain. The first birds were imported from Russia and subsequently eggs were imported and hatched from Russia and Spain up until 2019. There are now a fair number of breeding birds in the UK and all chicks are born naturally. Following a visit in 2017 to Salisbury, King Charles became Patron of the group in 2019. The things you learn! A change of scenery from the quaint villages I'd walked through This is more like it Compton Farm Compton Farm. Note the Sarsen Way waymarker! Which farm doesn't have its own canon! Salisbury Plain - pretty flat and almost treeless but still beautiful All of a sudden I felt very regimented by the long, wide, almost dead straight chalk bridleways; I was definitely on the MOD’s training land! The OS map showed me that I was going to follow 3 sides of a large square for almost 3 miles rather than the 4th side which would be the river – interesting! Despite passing a couple of red danger flags I didn’t hear any live firing. An official looking van with headlights on did come up to me however and the driver stopped me. I thought I was in trouble for something I’d done. He told me he’d noticed my camera from a short distance away and that’s why he stopped me. He asked me what I was taking photos of. He was unphased when I truthfully answered ‘landscapes’. Uh-oh I thought, is he going to tell me to stop, or worse, confiscate my SD card? In fact, he told me where some deer were grazing and if I was patient I should get some good shots. Phew! He went on to say that there had been live firing the day before and that the smoke I could see in the not too far distance was from grass fires that had started from ammunition rounds hitting the ground – nothing to worry about! No need to be alarmed! Smoke from grass fire I was relieved to finally leave the training area and head downhill towards the village of Upavon where this stage would end. I’d made good time today and reached The Ship pub in the village at 13:50; this gave me half an hour before the next bus back to Amesbury was due. On such a gorgeous day I ordered a pint and sat outside in front of the pub eating my sandwich. With the stop right by the pub there was no need to move until the bus turned up. Back in Amesbury it wasn’t even 3 o’clock, so as a National Trust member I decided I’d drive the short distance to Stonehenge for the nth time. I certainly wouldn’t have done this were I not a member of either NT or English Heritage because of the high cost of entrance and car parking. From the A303, the hundreds of visitors at the stones look like ants! As I have countless photos of the stones from all angles, I just wished there was a stopping place on the A303 to capture pictures of these ants as they looked so funny against the large stones! For today I settled on taking a few more photos of the stones and full size visitors! Replica of one of Stonehenge's upright sarsen stones. On average each stone weighs about 25 tons

Official Stage Statistics Route distance – 12.14 miles Duration - 4 hours 48 mins Total ascent – 681 feet Total descent - 441 feet Highest point – 815 feet Fly-through of this stage Logistics Walk to Swindon Bus Station & catch X5 bus at 08:40 to Upavon arriving 09:51 Walk to Avebury Catch bus 49 back to Swindon Bus Station from Red Lion at 13 & 48 mins past the hour Walk to Premier Swindon Town Centre and stay overnight NB – Since August 2025 Swindon Bus Station has thankfully closed as buses now leave/arrive from the new public transport hub in Fleming Way My Walk Today’s walk would begin by following the River Avon for about 3½ miles as far as Manningford Abbots. Here the Sarsen Way would briefly join company with the White Horse Trail (WHT) and finally part company with the Pewsey Avon Trail (PAT), with the PAT veering off to the right towards Pewsey. Beyond Manningford Abbots I’d follow the Kennet and Avon Canal for about 2 miles before turning right at Alton Barnes. A steep climb would take me to Walker’s Hill, the Alton Barnes White Horse and provide so many ‘Wow!’ moments. This is where the WHT parted company in its quest to find more white horses! Following a final climb to the point at which the path crossed the Wansdyke, the last couple of miles would be a steady descent to the A4 at Overton Hill where the Sarsen Way would meet The Ridgeway. Overton Hill is part of the Avebury section of the UNESCO Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site; as such, you can’t not stop here to take in some or all of the fascinating historic sites. In any case, the bus back to Swindon leaves from the pub at Avebury so you can’t help but marvel at the stones and ditch which surround the pub whilst waiting for a bus. To my mind, Avebury is so much more interesting than Stonehenge and everything is free to National Trust and English Heritage members, including car parking. Non-members pay for car parking, entrance to the museum and Avebury Manor Garden but everything else is free. So, my day started with the short walk from my Premier Inn to Swindon bus station to catch the X5 bus back to Upavon. The bus took over an hour but sitting on the top deck I wasn’t bothered as I could admire the countryside. Picking up from where I’d left off yesterday at The Ship in Upavon, the path crossed the River Avon and then more of less tracked its course into the village of North Newnton where its defibrillator and library were hard to miss outside the Woodbridge Inn pub! The path continued past a trout farm and across a couple of fields, all of which are on the Manningford Bohune Estate. There are 3 ‘Manningfords’ – Bohune, Bruce and Abbots which in 1934 became the single civil parish of Manningford. None of them is very large so it was difficult to know which village I was walking in at any one time! Anyway, at the end of a field I reached a gate which saw the parting of the ways. The Pewsey Avon Trail took a right towards Pewsey and the Sarsen Way and its new friend the White Horse Trail took a left, emerging eventually in Manningford Bruce. St James Church North Newnton St James Church North Newnton right by the Avon Manningford Trout Farm Beautiful setting for one of Manningford Trout Fishery's lakes It's goodbye to the Pewsey & Avon Trail at last After walking through the village of thatched roof cottages I crossed over the railway tracks carrying the GWR mainline between London and Penzance. At the end of the next field I came across a couple of stones that mark the location of Swanborough Tump. A tump is defined as a British Hill with more than 30 metres of prominence. Swanborough Tump dates from the Bronze Age but over thousands of years of being ground down it can no longer be easily seen - Swanborough Tump. It was chosen in A.D. 871 as the meeting place for King Aethelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great on their way to fight the Danes. They promised each other that if one of them should die then the dead man's children would inherit land belonging to their father King Aethelwulf. A plaque on one of the stone monuments commemorates this event. Manningford Bruce Crossing the GWR main line Stones commemorating Swanborough Tump The Sarsen Way continued down a rather grand driveway to Cocklebury Farm – a working farm that has diversified into also running a holiday lets business. Beyond the farm buildings I crossed Ladies Bridge, a very ornate bridge over the Kennet and Avon Canal. For the next couple of miles I walked along the towpath, crossing back over at Woodbrough Fields Bridge. To my right was Picked Hill and its neighbour Woodborough Hill. With my first sightings of cygnets this year, what a brilliant walk this was turning into. Driveway to Cocklebury Farm Ladies Bridge over the Avon & Kennet Canal Picked Hill (right) & Woodborough Hill (left) I left the canal and crossed over one more time at Bridge 124 – Honeystreet Bridge. On one side was Honeystreet Wharf, now a private residence. On the other side was Honeystreet Mill, which offers a café, The India Shop (furniture warehouse showroom), a farm shop and a holiday boat company. There was certainly a lot going on here. I chose not to stop here and with my first sight of the Alton Barnes White Horse and the highest hills in Wiltshire, I carried on. Honeystreet Bridge where the path leaves the canal Alton Barnes White Horse comes into view The path continued into Alton Barnes where I was directed to follow a fantastic cobbled stone path towards All Saints’ Church in Alton Priors. Before reaching the church, I turned off this cobbled stone path towards the imposing hills named Walker’s Hill and Knap Hill. No idea who this lady was but she certainly looked the part! I love this old turnstile & cobbled stone path leading to the church Over Easter 2026 I revisited the area and continued to the church which was built in the 12th century but was declared redundant in 1972. I didn’t know at the time of my visit that underneath each of the 2 trapdoors in the church there is a sarsen stone. It is claimed by some that these stones are part of a stone circle on which the church was built. In the churchyard is a yew tree that has been estimated to be more than 1,700 years old i.e. older than the church itself, possibly indicative of an earlier sacred site. All Saints’ Church in Alton Priors This looks like 2 trees but is definitely only 1! Anyway, back to my walk in May 2025, the Sarsen Way began a steep climb up Walker’s Hill. At the summit of Walker’s Hill and overlooking the Vale of Pewsey was a Neolithic long barrow known as Adam’s Grave. Whoever Adam was, he couldn’t have chosen a finer location. According to folklore the barrow is the grave of a giant, which explains the dimensions of it – 70 metres long and 7 metres high! Walker's Hill Adam's Grave. Presumably the ditches either side provided the building material Adam's Grave Adam's Grave At this point I decided to briefly go off-piste and head higher and closer to Milk Hill, the highest point in Wiltshire. From there I got even better views of Adam’s Grave and the surrounding area; so many ‘Wow!’s. Milk Hill is 966 feet high. I didn’t walk all the way round to it but the OS map tells me I got to 944 feet. The Alton Barnes White Horse is located on the southern slope of Milk Hill. He’s approximately 180 feet high and 160 feet long and was cut in 1812 under the commission of local farmer Robert Pile. He can be seen for miles around. At the time of my walk he was looking in mighty fine condition. The Alton Barns White Horse Walkers Hill, Adam's Grave, Knap Hill & the Vale of Pewsey. What views! More of Knap Hill, Golden Ball Hill & the Vale of Pewsey - just gorgeous! You get a better idea of the height of Adam's Grave Having got all the photos and videos I wanted, I returned to the Sarsen Way which took me down Walker’s Hill to a road. On the other side of the road was Knap Hill and a car park. Knap Hill is another steep hill that has a neolithic causewayed camp (an enclosure marked out by ditches and banks, with a number of causeways crossing the ditches) at the top. As there was so much more I wanted to see today, I decided not to climb the hill, which in any case wasn’t on the Sarsen Way. Knap Hill However, over Easter 2026, I returned to the area and climbed to the top of Knap Hill for more ‘Wow!’ moments. Unfortunately it was way too windy to get my little drone up in the sky to fully appreciate the earthworks here; a little frustrating, so I’ll just have to return another time soon and also continue along Golden Ball Hill. The climb to the top of Knap Hill - April 2026 You can see just a little of the ditch but really need a drone's view to fully appreciate Looking across to Walker's Hill from the top of Knap Hill - April 2026 Golden Ball Hill Back to my May 2025 walk - continuing beyond Walkers Hill, the Sarsen Way initially climbed towards the Wansdyke (an early medieval defensive ditch and embankment – think of it as a kind of Hadrian’s Wall). From there, the path descended slowly towards East Kennett. The views were spectacular all the way along here. Before reaching East Kennett was East Kennet Long Barrow. There is no public access and it’s not located on the Sarsen Way anyway, so I gave this a miss. East Kennett is a small village just ½ mile from the A4 and Overton Hill. By the way, I’m confused by the spelling of Kennet/t! Road signs and OS maps spell it with 2 ‘t’s, whereas English Heritage & National Trust choose to use just 1 ‘t’. Who’s right – goodness only knows! Descending towards East Kennett Just before the A4 is The Sanctuary, originally a complex arrangement of 6 circles of timber posts and standing stones begun in about 2500 BC. The Sanctuary is at one end of the West Kennet Avenue - 2 parallel rows of standing stones that stretch over 1½ miles linking the site to the henge and stone circles at Avebury. Nobody is 100% sure what the purpose of The Sanctuary was. When archaeologists excavated the site in 1930 they found many objects such as flint tools, animal bones and pottery fragments, suggesting that Neolithic people were placing offerings in and around the standing posts. Other excavations discovered the body of a teenage boy from the early Bronze Age, about 200 years after the Sanctuary was constructed; he’d been buried against the base of one of the stones. As the monument was destroyed in the 18th century by a local farmer digging up the stones and posts, today they have been replaced with concrete blocks painted blue on top for stones and red on top for wooden posts. Fortunately, detailed drawings of the monument existed from before it was destroyed! Site of The Sanctuary The Sanctuary from above After crossing the A4 at The Sanctuary I arrived at the official start of The Ridgeway National Trail at Overton Hill. Whilst the Sarsen Way ‘code shares’ with The Ridgeway as far as Barbury Castle near Swindon, for the purposes of my blogs I finished the Sarsen Way here and my next walk would be along The Ridgeway. 114 miles completed officially As mentioned at the start, there is so much more to see whilst you’re at Overton Hill – West Kennet Long Barrow, Silbury Hill, West Kennet Avenue and Avebury itself being the most spectacular. I also mentioned that you catch buses at the Red Lion pub in Avebury. The 49 bus travels between Swindon, Devizes and Trowbridge all day until late in the evening. A – The Sanctuary B – Overton Hill – start (or finish) of The Ridgeway National Trail C – West Kennet Long Barrow - one of the largest, accessible Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain D – Silbury Hill - the largest artificial mound in Europe E – West Kennet Avenue - An avenue, originally of around 100 pairs of prehistoric standing stones F – Avebury - the largest stone circle in Britain G – Windmill Hill - one of the first sites excavated to provide evidence of the life of early farming communities in southern Britain I won’t bore readers with any more history of the sites, so here’s a link to the English Heritage site which tells you everything you need to know about Avebury - Avebury UNESCO World Heritage Site Here are some photos from the other Avebury sites. Windmill Hill is getting on for about a 2 mile walk from the centre of Avebury. West Kennet Long Barrow West Kennet Long Barrow West Kennet Long Barrow West Kennet Long Barrow West Kennet Long Barrow - November 2025 Silbury Hill West Kennet Avenue West Kennet Avenue Avebury. The village & pub are in the centre Avebury Avebury Avebury The Red Lion Avebury where buses stop The view from the pub! Windmill Hill Windmill Hill Windmill Hill

I had my full English at the Premier Inn and took 3 pain au chocolat and a banana to keep me going through the day. I checked out but left my luggage which I would collect at the end of the day. I caught the 170 bus into Strood and then caught the 133 back to The Six Bells at Cliffe. With no recovery time after yesterday’s walk from Greenhithe to Cliffe, I was slightly concerned about how my foot would cope with this final stage of my walking challenge but it felt OK right now. From Cliffe it was necessary to retrace my steps through RSPB Cliffe Pools until I reached Cliffe Creek. Yesterday I had walked down the left hand side of the creek from Cliffe Fort to get to Cliffe. Today I had to walk up the right hand side of the creek to be able to continue towards Grain. From this point on, for the next 12 miles I would be completely on my own, walking alongside the sea wall most of the way. The landscape is flat marshland and saltings. On a cold and wet winter’s day I would imagine the landscape would be pretty bleak but on a mild sunny day like today it was lovely. The land is so flat that you can see for miles. Walking between the RSPB Cliffe Pools towards Cliffe Creek Cliffe Fort behind that mound of aggregate & on the other side of Cliffe Creek Remains of a former explosives factory Miles & miles walking alongside the river The container cranes of DP World London Gateway Port dominated the Essex side of the river all day. London Gateway Port You can just about make the path out It's a long way to reach Allhallows One thing I didn’t appreciate until after I’d walked this section in 2022 was the reason for an apparent deviation from the natural course of the river starting at the point where a misspelled sign told me to bear right. It turns out that when DP Ports were constructing London Gateway Port, they (presumably?) paid for the creation of a new reserve called the Salt Fleet Flats Reserve as compensation for predicted impacts to coastal habitats resulting form the new port. The tide was allowed to flow into the new reserve by removing 700 metres of sea wall. The things you learn! Spelling! Grrrrr!! Salt Fleet Flats Reserve. You can see the old sea wall Egypt Bay After passing Egypt Bay beach I came face to face with a solitary cow. This was the first and only creature I would pass in 12 miles, let alone any human beings! I was very pleased to see this cow Another couple of miles further on and the Allhallows Holiday Park came into view in the distance but was still 3 miles away. Approaching Allhallows, the path turned away from the river and continued along farmland briefly before emerging at the holiday park. St Mary's Bay Allhallows in the distance Path continued here along the farmland Dagnam Saltings I don’t mind admitting that I found that 12 miles from Cliffe to Allhallows a real slog. Maybe it’s because I was tired after yesterday’s walk, plus my foot was starting to hurt. Last year I walked this section at the end of April and the holiday park was like a ghost town with everything shut. Today however, it was buzzing with holidaymakers and I was so pleased. That’s because I’d run out of water and the onsite bar/café by the sea was open. The very kind lady behind the bar filled my bottle with ice cold water. Haven Kent Coast Holiday Park Allhallows Allhallows Beach Haven Kent Coast Holiday Park Allhallows After eating my banana from breakfast I set off again on the final 5 mile stretch of my challenge to Grain. The holiday park extends for quite a way but eventually the path had a more familiar look to it – flat marshland. After another mile I reached Yantlet Creek. Yantlet Creek is the reason for the Isle of Grain. At one time the creek stretched from the Thames to the Medway and the land to the right was a true island – hence the Isle of Grain. However, the creek was forever silting up and nowadays it’s only about 1½ miles long with sea walls preventing it from getting any further. Heading towards Yantlet Creek The mouth of Yantlet Creek The London Stone at the mouth of Yantlet Creek. Formerly marked the limits of jurisdiction of the City of London Yantlet Creek with Grain LNG in the background Yantlet Creek Turning right down Yantlet Creek the storage tanks of Grain LNG - Liquified Natural Gas – came into view. I don’t care how ugly they are but right now they were beautiful to me as I was nearly home and dry. Just look at these beauties! At the sea wall, rather than continuing up the right hand side of Yantlet Creek and round into Grain, the path instead heads straight for Grain. Yipee! This is because the land to the right of the creek was requisitioned by the War Office in the 1920s to be used for artillery trials and practice firing across the Thames Estuary towards (but not into!) Shoeburyness. The military have been long gone but there are still plenty of signs telling you to keep out. I gratefully did as I was told. You don't have to tell me twice The final gate of my challenge At last I reached Grain itself and headed towards the beach which would be the official end of my challenge. I passed the Co-Op on the way down to the beach and bought 4 cans of cold beer (couldn’t buy just 1). Despite my foot really hurting, I managed to put on a spurt to the beach for the benefit of my drone. The sense of achievement at reaching Grain in 14 stages and with a dodgy foot was immense; far greater than for any other walk I’ve done. Maybe it was that final walk down to the sunny beach at Grain, or the fact that I hadn’t let the people who sponsored me down – probably a combination of both. I didn’t have too much time to contemplate this as the 191 buses from Grain are few and far between. The pub in Grain is almost opposite the bus stop. I had just about enough time to down a sneaky pint before the bus came. I've reached Grain Done it! 232 miles Source to Sea completed Grain Beach That's Southend-on-Sea nearly 5 miles away A final sneaky pint in Grain Back in Strood, I treated myself to a taxi to take me to the Premier Inn for my luggage and then bring me back to the station. I then got the train to St Pancras and by the time I got there it was about 8:15. I wasn’t that hungry for an evening meal but what I really fancied was a Greggs sausage roll; in fact 2 Greggs sausage rolls – a ‘real’ one and my first ever vegan one. I have to say I preferred the vegan one!! I really needed these. Delicious! Today's final walk! I got the train back to Huntingdon and then drove home. It was gone 10:30 by the time I got home and I was still buzzing with the sense of achievement; in fact, I was on such a high that I hardly slept a wink thinking about what I’d done. I have one more blog post to write which I think I’ll call “and finally”. For now, I just want to say a huge “Thank you” on behalf of myself & Royal Papworth Hospital Charity to everyone who sponsored me.

For stages 13 and 14 it would be necessary to stay away as it would be totally impractical to commute from home. When I did this walk last year I stayed at the Rochester Premier Inn. This is actually in Strood on the other side of the Medway! I chose this for a number of reasons – · I wouldn’t need to drive other than to and from my local station at Huntingdon · Strood has a railway station · the high speed train service from St Pancras – HS1 – takes 34 minutes to get to Strood · being on a bus route, the Premier Inn is easy to get to from the station · Strood has the bus links to both Cliffe and Grain · Premier Inn breakfasts start at 6:30. Really handy for getting an early start. · Premier Inns offer a left luggage service unlike Travelodge. Left luggage services like LuggageHero don’t extend this far out of London. After checking out of the hotel, being able to safely leave my luggage for the day whilst out walking would be vital. · I really like Premier Inns! Had it not been for the lack of left luggage service, the Rochester Travelodge would have won! Having stayed at this Premier Inn last year it was a no-brainer for this year. Its rooms overlook the River Medway and for a nerd like me who loves bridges, there is the Medway Viaduct just a couple of hundred yards away. The Medway Viaduct has two road bridges carrying the M2 over the Medway and a third carrying the HS1lines over the river. A new UK railway speed record of 208mph was achieved by a Eurostar train in 2003, as it crossed this bridge – so there! So, after getting home from my stage 12 walk to Greenhithe on Saturday, I set off again on Sunday lunchtime for Strood and checked into the Premier Inn mid-afternoon. As requested, I had a room overlooking the Medway and of course the bridges! The River Medway The Medway Viaduct The Medway Viaduct On Monday morning I was down early for breakfast. I sneaked out a couple of pain au chocolat for a planned mid-morning snack in Gravesend. I got the 170 bus to Strood Station, caught the train to Greenhithe and by 8:15 I was back on the path. The morning started like my Saturday walk from Woolwich – very grey and overcast. Despite the greyness, the QE11 Bridge still looked amazing The path briefly left the river and took to the streets of Greenhithe. Very soon the houses and apartment blocks came to an end and I was walking along Swanscombe Marshes towards one of today’s highlights – the 400 kV Thames Crossing! Unless you are blind it’s totally impossible to miss the 2 pylons that carry 400 kV power lines across the river to West Thurrock; they can be seen for miles around. The pylons are the tallest electricity pylons in the UK at 190 metres. To give you an idea of scale, the BT Tower in London is 189 metres high. Best of all, the ECP takes you right under the Swanscombe pylon! It’s amazing standing under it, admiring the construction of this beast; bit of a shame that it was so grey though. Greenhithe The 450 kV Thames Crossing The 400 kV Thames Crossing pylon at Swanscombe Right underneath it. Shame about the cloud The path doesn’t go the tip of the Swanscombe Peninsula and walkers are given a stern warning not to attempt this. I did as I was told and followed the signs for the path across Botany Marshes before exiting into an industrial estate in Northfleet. Do as you're told! Exit the marshes into this industrial estate Many Routemasters have ended up here After passing Ebbsfleet United’s ground, the signs directed me back towards the river. I remember from last year that the path passed through some pretty run-down industrial areas in Northfleet and it was the same this year. Eventually however I emerged into an industrial estate that was a little less threatening let’s say. The estate was dominated by Kimberley-Clark where they make Andrex loo rolls and a huge Lidl distribution centre. I was redirected by a man at the gate This is the England Coast Path Just keep following the signs A little odd! I hope this memorial is preserved You've been warned Getting there Last gate and we're free Andrex Tower even looks like a loo roll! Last year it hadn’t been possible to continue straight on after Lidl and there had been a longish diversion through the streets of Northfleet. The diversion was in place as groundworks were being carried out for a large new housing development called Cable Wharf. This year I could see some houses had been built and there were ECP signs directing me through the estate. “ECP signs” is actually a bit of an exaggeration; “ECP sign” is the truth of it. I was very pleased not to be diverted, so happily and innocently followed the sign. All was going well initially but very soon I was well and truly on my own, walking alongside an active building site with no barriers in place. I was sure this couldn’t be right because eventually I came to a dead end. A couple of builders even asked me why I wasn’t wearing a hard hat! The Thames Path / ECP sign definitely in place Seems promising Seems less promising I turned back to find a different route through the site and eventually came to some barriers with ‘Pedestrian route’ printed on a sheet of paper. However, these too came to a dead end. Eventually a site foreman came up to me and asked me how I’d got to where I was. He told me that I should have been stopped by a gateman long before I entered the building site. He kindly escorted me off the site and I emerged where I hoped I would be. Looking promising again Except the barriers form a dead end Thankfully the site foreman came to my rescue I was now in Gravesend on a path by the side of the river and all was well again. There was even a glimmer of blue sky. One of Gravesend’s points of interest is the statue of Pocahontas in St George’s Churchyard. It’s only a very short distance to deviate so I decided to take a look. The statue commemorates the life of a Native American woman known in popular culture as Pocahontas. She converted to Christianity and married an Englishman. They came over to England for a stay in 1616. To cut a long story short, on their way back to America in March 1917 she got ill and aged 22, died in Gravesend. She is believed to have been buried in St George’s Church. History lesson over. Anyway, whilst I was taking photos of the statue, a group of Gravesend residents waited patiently for me to move. They noticed the Papworth logo on my t-shirt and next thing you know, one of the ladies took out £5 from her purse and handed it to me as a donation. I didn’t get any of their names but whoever you are, thank you very much! London International Cruise Terminal Tilbury Pocahontas and the group I met who kindly donated money to Papworth Back on the path I was now by the riverside again. After passing the elegant pier and lightship LV21 I reached Gravesend Promenade and more importantly, the Promenade Café. It was 11 o’clock and time for a coffee and the pain au chocolat from breakfast. Gravesend Gravesend Pier from where you can get a ferry across to Tilbury Former lightship LV21 - now an arts centre I do love the Promenade Café. There is something rather seasidy about it. If nothing else they have the largest number of pavement signs I think I’ve ever seen! As well as my hot drink I ordered a sandwich that I would eat later on, bearing in mind there would be nowhere to get any food between here and the end of my walk. Right on cue, the clouds were really breaking up now. Promenade Café What a choice! Mid-morning snack You don't get quaint narrowboats on this part of the Thames! From the promenade I followed the same diversion I walked last year that went through one of Gravesend’s industrial estates. Once back by the river I was happy as Larry. The section from this side of Gravesend to Cliffe Fort is 3 miles of brilliance, walking on marshland alongside the river with plenty of wild horses for company. Another diversion Things are looking up with the weather Small marina behind the promenade The Thames & Medway Canal only goes as far as Higham these days The old Shornemead Lighthouse. Now preserved by the PLA at their Denton depot The ECP is following the Saxon Shore Way Tug boat at Gravesend The river is so wide Plenty of wild horses Not bothered by me This chap wanted to be in my selfie No red flags today. Milton Range used by the Metropolitan Police Training Facilityy I passed what is left of Shornemead Fort and took a look ‘inside’. This was an artillery fort built in the 1860’s and used by the military until it was abandoned in the 1950s. Its purpose was to guard the entrance to the Thames from seaborne attack. Shornemead Fort Shornemead Fort. Not much left Shornemead Fort The old Shornemead Lighthouse was replaced with this More wild horses ......and a foal Eventually I reached the finger of land between the river and the largest of the manmade lakes known collectively as Cliffe Pools. The lakes were created from clay extraction for the cement industry until 1972. A certain amount of infilling has been taking place since then with river dredging deposits and other licensed material. The site was acquired by the RSPB as a reserve in 2001. I understand that the spoil from HS2 tunnelling and other excavation works is being transported here and in conjunction with the RSPB, this material is being used to enhance the wetland habitat for wading birds and wildlife at Cliffe. It's straight ahead! I love the different colours between the river and the freshwater lake The path continued along this finger of land and I soon reached Cliffe Fort, sitting in the middle of an aggregates processing plant. This was definitely drone time. Cliffe Fort was built around the same time as Shornemead Fort and for the same purpose. It was eventually sold to the former owners of the aggregates plant and the current owners are Brett Aggregates Ltd. There is no public access allowed (but not to say people don’t get in!). I definitely think it looks best from the air! Cliffe Fort surrounded by aggregate Cliffe Fort Remains of land based torpedo launching mechanism Ship unloading aggregate Yes - this is the path Keep going Ship to shore on a conveyor belt that at one point runs over your head Cliffe Creek. Time to call it a day Cliffe Fort is where I finished my Thames walk today. I had to make my way from there into Cliffe and catch my bus to Strood. There are loads of footpaths within Cliffe Pools and I’m glad I had my Ordnance Survey app running on my phone to make sure I took the right ones. I reached The Six Bells at Cliffe with 4 minutes to spare until my bus left – it’s the 133 service. Rather than have a pint here and catch the next bus to Strood, I got on this bus and had my pint at the “10:50 From Victoria” micro-pub in Strood. This is an absolute hidden gem of a pub I discovered last year when I was down here. It’s so quirky and definitely suited to people of my age! It reminds me of Last Of The Summer Wine. And as for that tuna sandwich I bought in Gravesend - I finally got to eat & enjoy it, despite the crusts having gone a little hard! The 133 bus stops right outside the pub Back in Strood & time for a sneaky pint Cheers! What a great setting Such a brilliant little pub Today's walk I’d now completed the 2nd of the ECP walks with my left foot hurting as normal. Tomorrow I’d be walking from Cliffe to the sea at Grain and thereby complete my challenge to walk the Thames Source to Sea in 14 stages. I was very excited!