Natural landmarks · South East England
The Ridgeway
In or near Littleworth.
Britain's oldest road — 5,000-year-old prehistoric track from Avebury to the Chilterns.
Sarah Charlesworth — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Free entry
- Dog-friendly
Getting there & planning your visit
The Ridgeway is located in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, with the postcode SN7 8FP. Entry is free. There is no nearest railway station mentioned, so please plan your visit accordingly.
About
The Ridgeway is described as 'Britain's oldest road' — a 5,000-year-old prehistoric trackway from Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon, designated as a National Trail in 1973. 87 miles across the Wessex Downs and Chilterns; passes the Uffington White Horse and Wayland's Smithy.
Photo gallery
Protected designations
- Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cotswolds
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs to the River Thames at the Goring Gap, part of the Icknield Way which ran, not always on the ridge, from Salisbury Plain to East Anglia. The route was adapted and extended as a National Trail, created in 1972. The Ridgeway National Trail follows the ancient Ridgeway from Overton Hill, near Avebury, to Streatley, then follows footpaths and parts of the ancient Icknield Way through the Chiltern Hills to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. The National Trail is 87 miles (140 km) long.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
hillfort in distance on left)]] For at least 5,000 years travellers have used the Ridgeway. The Ridgeway provided a reliable trading route to the Dorset coast and to the Wash in Norfolk. The high dry ground made travel easy and provided a measure of protection by giving traders a commanding view, warning against potential attacks. The Bronze Age saw the development of the Uffington White Horse and the stone circle at Avebury. During the Iron Age, inhabitants took advantage of the high ground by building hillforts along the Ridgeway to help defend the trading route. Following the collapse of Roman authority in Western Europe, invading Saxon and Viking armies used it. In medieval times and…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.6500, -1.5000
- County
- Oxfordshire
- District
- Vale of White Horse
- Parish
- Stanford in the Vale
- Postcode
- SN7 8FP
- Parliamentary constituency
- Didcot and Wantage
Sources
- manual: ridgeway (manual)
- wikipedia: The Ridgeway (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Other places nearby
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is The Ridgeway?
- The Ridgeway is in Oxfordshire, South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode SN7 8FP), in the parish of Stanford in the Vale.
- What is The Ridgeway?
- Britain's oldest road — 5,000-year-old prehistoric track from Avebury to the Chilterns.
- How do I get to The Ridgeway?
- Drivers can use postcode SN7 8FP.
- When was The Ridgeway built?
- Dates from the modern period.
- Is The Ridgeway a protected site?
- Yes — The Ridgeway is part of the Cotswolds National Landscape (AONB).
- Is The Ridgeway free to visit?
- Yes, The Ridgeway is free to enter.
- How do I get to The Ridgeway?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode SN7 8FP. It sits within the Didcot and Wantage parliamentary constituency.