6.8 km
92 meter ascent
Starting at the market square this walk takes you through Lynch wood to Upper Lambourn and then onto the fields above Lambourn and back via the Folly.
Lambourn and Upper Lambourn are working villages where individual and strings of racehorses are ridden throughout the day and particularly before 13:00. Please take great care when horses are about. Horses can be spooked by sudden movements, domestic animals and loud noises which in turn can endanger the horse, the rider and you.
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.
If you have any hints or comments regarding this walk please add a comment using the form at the end of this page.
The Walk:
Start at the Market Square (some car parking at the square or behind Lambourn Universal Stores, High Street)
Note the old Market Cross which dates back to 1446, when Lambourn was granted the right to hold a market, and was restored in the 19th century.
Take the footpath to the right of the church of St Michaels and All Angels.
On your right are the historic Isbury Almshouses which date from 1502 when John Estbury was granted a license by Henry VII to found a chantry and almshouses for ten old men in Lambourn.
Turn right along a footpath just past the almshouses.
On your left at the end of the path you will see two large wooden post. They mark the entrance to Lambourn Place which was a large country house, now demolished.
Turn left and cross Goose Green towards Lambourn Place Farm. The house was the principal farmhouse with farm buildings behind for Lambourn Place.
Continue to the left along Honey Hill.
You will cross the river Lambourn with Riverside Cottage on your right. The cottage is famous for having the Lambourn Lighthouse in the stream in front of it. (now in disrepair)
Enter the woods on your left. (Bit of a scrabble to get in)
Follow the path through the woods noting the chalk springs which are part of the source of the River Lambourn.
Continue through the woods and you will, having crossed the river again come out on Uplands lane.
Continue along Malt Shovel Lane towards Upper Lambourn.
On your left is the historic The Maltshovel Pub which has now been converted to accommodation.
Upper Lambourn is famous for training some of the greatest racehorses of all time. On your left you will see racing stables and maybe hear the sound of hooves as horses are prepared to be ridden out on the extensive gallops above Lambourn.
Continue straight along Fulke Walwyn Way. Fulke Walwyn was a British jockey and a celebrated racehorse trainer, who was particularly successful in National Hunt racing.
When you reach a road on your left take a left turn.
St Luke’s Chapel is in the small churchyard on your right. The chapel has been converted into a forge and now in use by farriers serving the racing yards of the Lambourn Valley.
Cross the main road carefully and continue up the hill.
Take a left turn at the top followed by another left turn after a few hundred meters.
Continue down Folly road and turn right at the end
Take Three Post Lane (footpath). On your left you will see a doorway in the wall with a crest above it. This is the old footway from Lambourn Place, the country house which is now demolished, to the church and village. The crest belongs to the Hippisley family. The doorway and crest are a Grade II listed building.
After 100 meters you will arrive back in the market square.
