Ridgeway 2: Chiseldon to Ashbury

Some parts of the Ridgeway are an ancient track across the chalk downs - but some other bits are on a B Road, with cars going at 50mph round blind corners, and narrow footpaths, if they have them at all. In order to avoid a particularly hairy patch of Ridgeway Road near Swindon, I detoured south to go around Liddington Hill Fort and into Liddington Warrens. The hill fort marked a boundary between the Atrebates, Catuvellauni, and Belgae tribes - it seems I have now left the land of the Durotriges behind, in Dorset. It is also said to be the place where Arthur fought the Battle of Badon - but so are quite a few other places, too. 

The hillfort was groovy, but I'm mostly glad I made the detour because I got to see a family of Red-Legged Pheasants wandering along the path in front of me near Liddington Warrens. I was miles away from the actual Ridgeway at this point and the spongy grass of the farm fields was irritating my sciatica, but a rare bird is a rare bird, and I got one today. Endangered, in fact. 

I finally rejoined the actual Ridgeway at Foxhill, where there was formerly a classic Ridgeway Pub called the Shepherd's Rest, but it has now been taken over by an Indian restaurant called The Burj. The Indian guys in there were delighted to see a customer and were clearly disappointed when I ordered a half pint and a large glass of water and kept going. 

After Foxhill, the path lived up to proper Ridgeway standards, being on a ridge, made of hard chalk, and easily walkable. I strolled along looking out for stones and mounds, sights down on the low ground, and any birds that happened by. I saw what I currently think is a bird called a Yellowhammer, but I'm not 100% sure. After several more hours of this activity I got to the signpost pointing me down to the Rose and Crown, down in Ashbury, my destination. It's a one-pub, one-church, no-shop kind of a town, and there isn't a lot to do here other than chill out in my room and wait for dinnertime. This suits me well as I have blogging catchup and life admin to do. And, sore feet. 

Tomorrow could be the best day of the walk for sightseeing. Wayland's Smithy and Uffington Castle / White Horse are right next to the path as I walk along. It's also a long way to Wantage, so I'm going to take it slow...

PS - at some point in the day I crossed over into Oxfordshire. I'm not exactly sure where it was, but I have noticed that the lovely, soft and rounded Dorset and Wilshire accent is fading, and being replaced with a more RP / Oxbridge Yowl kind of tone. That's a shame because I was only just starting to get my ear on the West Country tone, and perhaps even getting to the point where I could have imitated it without immediately sounding like a Cornish Pirate. But now I've left the West Country behind, and my travels don't take me back that way.

​I'm 2.5 weeks in, and it's all going by pretty fast. Lots of fun, though. 

Pics to follow.