Bedwyn Circular via Savernake Forest and Marlborough walk

More veteran trees than anywhere else in Europe, undulating pastures, historic Marlborough and the landscaped Tottenham Park

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Mon, 01-May-23 Bedwyn Circular - Savernake Forest with its veteran trees, historic Marlborough and the landscaped Tottenham Park (Long or Short, plus other options) 8 grey clouds at noon then sunny
Length: 31.0 km (19.3 mi) or 22.4 km (13.9 mi)
Ascent/Descent: 407m or 281m
Net Walking Time: ca. 7 or 5 hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10 or 4 out of 10
Many other – longer or shorter – options are possible. See the webpage or the pdf for details.
Take the 09.08 Newbury train from Paddington (Reading 09.36), change at Newbury (10.01/10.22, coffee shop and waiting room), arriving Bedwyn at 10.42.
Return trains (change at Newbury apart from where mentioned): 16.55, 18.04, 18.55, 19.55, 20.42 (direct) and 21.16.
A meandering route through Savernake Forest with its veteran trees and through historic Marlborough.
Savernake Forest today is just a fraction of its historical size, but yet is the largest privately owned forest in Britain. It stands on a Cretaceous chalk plateau within the North Wessex Downs AONB, presenting as rolling downland serrated by four shallow dry and wet valleys. This creates the damp heavy soils well suited to oak and beech woods. Pollarding has taken place for many generations, leading to the trees developing sizeable girths and having curved pieces of bows. Some of the picturesque veteran trees are over 1,000 years old and many have recently been protected, named and signed. More than 20 of the named trees are passed on this walk, as well as numerous other grand oak, beech and chestnut specimen.
The forest itself is a mixture of some plantations (outside of the core area), Ancient Woodland, landscaped spaces, pastures, commons and other open areas and a few long avenues with grand vistas.
Its timber has been managed by the Forestry Commission since 1939, but under the condition that the public shall have access to it (apart from a few clearly marked private areas).
The link routes from and to Great Bedwyn cross some pastures and smaller woods and lead through the landscaped Tottenham Park, ending with a scenic descent into a valley, while the route from the forest into Marlborough follows a dismantled railway line and goes through the river meadows of the Kennet and the Old Town. After lunch, you walk out of the historic market town with its extra-wide High Street and through fields back into Savernake.
Amongst the many walk options are several out-and-backs or loops to or past veteran trees not on the main walk, as well as one through the Chisbury Camp hillfort site.
Lunch: Numerous options along Marlborough’s High Street , see the walk directions for details.
Tea: The Three Tuns (open from 18.00), located 300m from the end of the walk.
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.399
  • Mon, 24-Apr-23

    Despite this being a Bank Holiday, as per bustimes.org, bus line 20 DOES run, from Marlborough to Bedwyn (the first 3 on to Hungerford), at 14.10, 15.35, 17.05, 18.30

  • Mon, 01-May-23

    I’ll be driving so I’ll meet you at the station :)

    Kasia

  • Tue, 02-May-23

    There were a few reasons to post this walk now: it had only relatively recently been finished and it's always nice to end the process by getting a group walk going soon after; in early spring, the lack of foliage should make it easier to spot all those named or unnamed gnarly and characterful veteran trees including the ones a little off path; a spring posting would show whether there are actually reasonable amounts of spring flowers on the route (I had done the recce in winter and the few parts of Savernake that have loads of bluebells are way off route). It turned out to be good reasoning.

    We did see loads of characterful trees as well as fine (if not carpet-like) pockets and areas of bluebells (mostly but not only outside the forest), large swathes of wild garlic (lots of it in flower), a 'wall' of flowering hawthorn in the Kennet meadows, lots of yellow flowers (dandelions, celandines, primroses, cowslips), but also white ones: bluebells, wood anenomes, celandines. Animals: a rather brilliant white butterfly with yellow wing tips, a buzzard and a hare were all seen close-by, a couple of herds of deer were spotted in fields in the few shallow valleys and we also heard a cuckoo. A lot of the plants listed above were in the areas that were not Savernake Forest, and my feeling and the feedback given was that the mix of landscapes and vistas did work well.

    It makes for a long walk (by also adding two of the extension loops to see more of the special trees we made it 33 km all in today), and a long day, especially when combined with the rather sad train service (2 changes on the way back, resulting in a journey time that's almost twice as long as to/from Pewsey which is on the same line but actually further from London), but I heard no complaints or regrets.

    6 off the posted train, awaited by 1 car driver, and eventually caught by 1 other who had missed the train (as he occasionally does), ie 8. 1 of those immediately diverted to the village shop and was only encountered again in Marlborough. He and 2 others took a mini-cab from there to Hungerford to connect to a fast train back, citing various ailments. The other 5 (2 lunchers and 3 picnickers) walked the rest and caught the 19.55 back home.

    Mud: the heavily used riverside path in the Kennet meadows had some noteworthy amounts, else a non-event.

    Busy-ness: apart from Marlborough itself and the picnic area in the forest close to town, this is a really quiet walk (good for listening to all the birdsong). There are not many car parks in or around the forest, so not many dog walkers about, and clearly not many walkers have cottoned on to the forest being permissive access.

    Weather: a cloudy start, with some dark ones passing around noon (even leading to about 5 minutes of thin rain), then turning and staying sunny, with some brilliant late afternoon/early evening sun from behind throwing long shadows; ie grey clouds at noon then sunny .

    Special mention to the walker that went about the business w/o complaints despite having developed massive blisters!

  • Tue, 02-May-23

    I hope its ok to say, that this walk can be completed really well one way, and catch most or all the trees, about 12 or so miles. The bus, taxi back. PD taxis very good (the one we used yesterday. Note I did not see all the tress, although with planning can be done.

  • Wed, 03-May-23

    It is, Gavin, it is.