Distance: 10.1 km
Please follow the Countryside Code to keep you, your dog, farm animals and the countryside safe. Respect other people, Protect the natural environment, Enjoy the outdoors.
For dog walkers there is special advice available from Countryside Online.
Thank you to Anita Morton, Oliver Steed, Virginia Dreyer for researching this walk. If you have any suggestions or comments regarding this walk please add a comment using the form at the end of this page.
The Walk:
Park in the area just behind the Red Barn at the top of Sheepdrove (approximately 3 ½ km in a north-easterly direction from the Market Square in Lambourn). Note that this area is quite exposed so on a windy or cold day, wrap up warm!
From the Red Barn, take the road towards the Eco Conference Centre. You will have the Natural Burial Wood on your left. To your right you have distant views across the downs in the direction of Eastbury. After about ½ km, the road to the Eco Conference Centre goes off to the right. Carry straight on here on the rough-surfaced road and again carry straight on when the rough-surfaced road becomes a grass track.
Follow this rough-surfaced road / grass track for just under 2 km. Now the distant views are to both your left and right, with the left hand one giving you an overview of your whole walk along the tops of the slopes. At the junction of tracks at the top of the hill, as you come out from the woods and bushes on either side, turn left. Follow this wide track for about 1 km, with views of the ‘Devil’s Punchbowl’ (see further comments later in the walk) to your far left, until you reach the Ridegway long-distance footpath (well-signposted).
The Ridgeway is a 139 km long distance footpath along a ridge of chalk hills between Avebury in Wiltshire and Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. The route has been used since pre-historic times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers.
Turn left onto the Ridgeway and follow it for 3 km until you meet the Wantage Road (B4001). As you walk along the Ridgeway you will see, on a clear day, views to your right across the countryside to Letcombe Bassett, Letcombe Regis, Wantage and even Didcot. Also, on your right, you are now close to the area known as the ‘Devil’s Punchbowl’. These steep hills are awash with wild flowers in the spring and summer and red kites and other raptors can often be seen flying overhead.
Turn left on the Wantage Road (signed ‘Red Barn 2 ¾ miles’) and follow it for about ½ km to a private road on the left. Take great care as traffic can travel at speed on the main road. Turn left onto the private road and follow it / the public footpath for just over 3km back to the Red Barn. Along the way you again have far-reaching views, including of gallops on your right. These gallops are one of many used to train race horses on the Lambourn Downs.
