Wandsdyke in the evening sun

SWC Walk 127 Pewsey Circular

26-Sep-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk127 walkicon banner

Westerly Views from Huish Hill

SWC Walk 127 Pewsey Circular

08-Aug-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk127

Bridge #115, Kennet & Avon Canal

SWC Walk 127 Pewsey Circular

08-Aug-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk127

Oare Hill with Giant's Grave

SWC Walk 127 Pewsey Circular

26-Sep-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk127

Cows at bottom of Milk Hill

SWC Walk 127 Pewsey Circular

26-Sep-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk127

First View of Oare Hill

SWC Walk 127 Pewsey Circular

08-Aug-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk127

Kennet & Avon Canal from Pains Bridge

SWC Walk 127 Pewsey Circular

08-Aug-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk127

Introduction Comments Map GPS Weather Photos Videos History Download Walk (pdf)

Pewsey Circular walk

Circular Long Wiltshire

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.

Updated: Wed, 21-Apr-21

Date # Post
Sat, 24-Apr-21

Thomas G
Saturday Walk - Bluebells on the Downs - Vale of Pewsey, Marlborough Downs: Pewsey Circular --- CANCELLED due to train service alterations

COVID 19
Track-and-Trace: please provide email address or mobile phone number at the start
Rule of Six: from start to finish please, and up to May 16
Length: 26.8 km (16.7 mi) [shortcuts possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 382 m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10
Outside of the Network Southeast, and without lunch pubs. But the scenery…!
There are fine areas of bluebells, but the blue beasties are NOT the main attraction of this walk.
Take the 10.35 Exeter St. David’s train from Paddington (11.01 Reading, 11.16 Newbury), arriving Pewsey at 11.34.
Return trains: 17.06 (63 mins, stops Newbury and Reading), 19.23 (64 mins, stops Newbury and Reading) or 20.44 (58 mins, stops Reading only)

Buy a Pewsey return (the full undiscounted off-peak price is £42.60, but it’s of course cheaper with Railcards, and in any case cheaper if you buy separate return tickets London-Newbury and Newbury-Pewsey, or – if travelling back on the 20.44 train – London-Reading and Reading-Pewsey). !! For example, if you are using a Network Railcard, you buy a discounted London-Newbury return and a separate off-peak Newbury-Pewsey return (and travel back on the trains that DO stop at Newbury).

Exhilarating excursion through the solitude of the Vale of Pewsey, which separates the chalk upland of the North Wessex Downs to the north from that of Salisbury Plain to the south, including an ascent up the southerly hill chain of the Marlborough Downs, from where there are stunning far views in all directions over this land of wave-like hills, with its scarps, ridges and valleys. It is a mysterious landscape, full of pre-historic earthworks and hillforts as well as barrows – burial mounds of kings and warriors.
After a scenic descent back into the Vale of Pewsey, your tea option is in the hamlet of Honeystreet. Finally, an undemanding stretch along the Kennet & Avon Canal leads back to Pewsey.
Two Shortcuts on the downs are possible, they reduce the walk by 3.5 km (2.1 mi) or 3.4 km (2.1 mi) respectively. See route map and pdf for details.
Lunch: Picnic.
Tea: Honeystreet Mill Café in Honeystreet (19.6 km/12.2 mi, open to 17.00), plus one other en route and several others in Pewsey; check page 2 of the walk directions pdf.
For summary, walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.127
PeteG, 18-Apr-21
I can't find your train.....
Thomas G, 18-Apr-21
Neither can I. Thanks for the headsup.
GWR seem to have 'thinned out' the timetable, with a few days to go (no wonder their trains are 'full' if they run only a skeleton schedule, and with shorter units as well, as they did yesterday on the Hanborough walk).
Their 'Amended Timetable' valid 12 April 15 May, available on gwr.com, shows all the trains that should run and were still showing as running when I posted this walk. But we are now seemingly left with the 08.35 departure and the earliest return being the 19.23, which is way too much time in Pewsey for doing the walk, so I will have to cancel and post a new one. C'est la vie...
Message to the webmaster: following the link on the walk's webpage to the National Rail schedule still shows the train as running (plus plenty of others that are actually not now running...
Thomas G, 20-Apr-21
In a final (?) irony, Journey Planner today is showing more trains to and from Pewsey on Saturday. Not the 10.35, but an 11.03. But one can't reserve a ticket on it. Could play the system by going to Reading 10 minutes earlier (bookable) and boarding the train there (bookable), but this is now officially getting too complicated. Probably best to avoid GWR trains for the time being. They seem to be in a right mess.
New walk post coming up shortly...
Sat, 07-Nov-20

Thomas G
[cancelled] Saturday Walk - Cancelled due to nationwide lockdown (Pewsey Vale and Marlborough Downs: Pewsey Circular )

One of the best walks within an hour of London, surely?
Length: 26.8 km/16.7 mi [shorter options available, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 413m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10
Take the 08.36 Exeter St. David’s train from Paddington (Reading 09.01), arrives Pewsey at 09.34.
Return trains are on 17.06, 19.23 and 20.45.
Cheap Advance Tickets are available at time of posting. With a Network Railcard, split the ticket at Newbury.
This is an exhilarating excursion through the solitude of the Vale of Pewsey, which separates the chalk upland of the North Wessex Downs to the north from that of Salisbury Plain to the south, including an ascent up the southerly hill chain of the Marlborough Downs, from where there are stunning far views in all directions over this land of wave-like hills, with its scarps, ridges and valleys. It is a mysterious landscape, full of pre-historic earthworks and hillforts as well as barrows – burial mounds of kings and warriors. Part of the walk leads along the Wansdyke – an earth bank and deep ditch running east to west – which sporadically links Bristol to Marlborough. It was built by the beleaguered Romano-British Celts – after being deserted by the Romans in the 5th century – as a fortification to stem the Saxon advance. From there it is just a short walk to Wiltshire’s highest peak (Milk Hill) with its stunning steep serrated Down and then to the Alton Barnes White Horse – cut into the hillside in 1812. After a scenic descent into the Vale of Pewsey, an undemanding stretch along the Kennet & Avon Canal leads back to Pewsey with its tea options.
Shortcuts reduce the rating of this walk to 6/10 or even 5/10.
Lunch/Tea: Honeystreet Mill Cafe and The Barge Inn, both in Honeystreet (19.6 km/12.2 mi into the full walk).
More than a handful of tea options just off-route in Wilcot and in Pewsey. For details see the walk directions pdf.
For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.127
Fri, 19-Apr-19 17

Thomas G
Good Friday - Pewsey Vale, Marlborough Downs and some bluebell woods: Pewsey Circular [Late Start]

Length: 26.8 km (16.7 mi) [shortcuts possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 382 m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10
One of my favourites, with the known downsides of infrequent and often very early trains, of being outside the Network Southeast, and of having no lunch options. But the scenery…!
And now with a late outbound train! And with several return trains to choose from!
Take the 10.33 Paignton train from Paddington (11.00 Reading, 11.21 Newbury), arriving Pewsey at 11.40.
Return trains: 16.32 (82 mins, stops Newbury), 17.02 (65 mins), 19.29 (68 mins, stops Newbury) or 21.24 (73 mins, stops Newbury)
Advance Tickets are currently £9.50 each way (and even cheaper with Railcards other than Network Railcard) but they tie you to a fixed return train, of course. Your choice…
Else, buy a Pewsey return (the full undiscounted off-peak price is £40,40, but it’s of course cheaper with Railcards, and in any case cheaper if you buy separate return tickets London-Newbury and Newbury-Pewsey, or – if travelling on the 17.02 return train – London-Reading and Reading-Pewsey).
!! For example, if you are using a Network Railcard, you buy a discounted London-Newbury return and a separate off-peak Newbury-Pewsey return (and travel back on the trains that DO stop at Newbury) for a total cost of £26,40!! The costs are lower for other railcards.
Exhilarating excursion through the solitude of the Vale of Pewsey, which separates the chalk upland of the North Wessex Downs to the north from that of Salisbury Plain to the south, including an ascent up the southerly hill chain of the Marlborough Downs, from where there are stunning far views in all directions over this land of wave-like hills, with its scarps, ridges and valleys. It is a mysterious landscape, full of pre-historic earthworks and hillforts as well as barrows – burial mounds of kings and warriors.
After a scenic descent back into the Vale of Pewsey, a new tea option has sprung up in the hamlet of Honeystreet (on the other side of the road from the old café). Finally, an undemanding stretch along the Kennet & Avon Canal leads back to Pewsey.
Two Shortcuts on the downs are possible: they reduce the walk by 3.5 km (2.1 mi) or 3.4 km (2.1 mi) and the rating to 6/10; or to 5/10 when walking both Shortcuts (19.2 km/305m height gain). See route map and pdf for details.
Note 1: this is not Pewsey Circular (via Avebury), there are no standing stones on this walk.
Note 2: there is no lunch pub en route, so prepare for picnic on the Downs, then tea in Honeystreet and/or Pewsey.
Lunch: Picnic.
Tea: Honeystreet Mill Café in Honeystreet (19.6 km/12.2 mi, open to 17.00), plus one other en route and several others in Pewsey; check page 2 of the walk directions pdf.
For summary, walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.127
Anonymous, 12-Feb-19
Two advance singles BZ6 Pewsey with SRC Outbound £7.60
Return (19.29 allowing time for dinner) £6.25
Thomas G, 19-Apr-19
17 walkers off the train, incl. 2 first timers attracted to the SWC/this walk through our Meetup feed, in sunny warm with a cooling breeze weather. 2 took both shortcuts, 1 just the afternoon one, the rest walked the main walk route.
The last two outings of this walk had seen snow drifts (03/18) and torrential rain (05/16), so this was the day to average out the longterm trend, as it was a perfect day for walking. The train was packed with staycationers, but most if not all of us had reservations, and the rest found seats. After ascending the ridge, we had bright yellow rape oilseed fields below (although later others were still part green), large pastures swathed in dandelions, an alley of celandines and several impressive bluebell woods, with carpets of healthy looking tall bluebells, unlike the wilting sorry ones I had seen in the Southeast over the last few walks. Maybe they had more rain out there? Later we had verges of white bluebells and even some very purple looking ones (but were they bluebells, asks the amateur?). The gorse was in bloom, the views were far, the breeze cooled us down a wee bit.
Picnic was had where we caught up with the two morning shortcutters, on a grass bank on the ridge. Skylarks were larking, later a paraglider was seen. The Iron Age and other prehistoric features were admired, all the optional tops were ascended without prompting (the first group to do that) and back in the Vale the Saxon Church and the 1,700 years old yew tree at Alton Priors were viewed.
We got to the Honeystreet Mill Cafe in good time before they closed, and apart from the staff being a bit rushed off their feet at the end of a busy day, this is an impressive cafe, large and with good outdoor space by the canal and a decent selection of cakes, ice cream and drinks (even some local ales).
The long canal ending came in handy as the sun had taken its toll, and the various bits of the group got to Pewsey with about an hour to spare before the 19.29 train. The Royal Oak and the Shed Alehouse were the preferred outlets to quench the inevitable thirst. Some got reinforcements for the train journey home from the SPAR next door to the Shed...
A rather faultless day.
Sun, 04-Mar-18 8

Thomas G
Sunday Walk - Pewsey Vale and Marlborough Downs: Pewsey Circular

Length: 26.1 km (16.2 mi) [shortcuts possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 370 m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10
Take the 09.57 Plymouth train from Paddington (10.32 Reading), arriving Pewsey at 11.03.
Return trains: 16.11 (77 mins), 18.13 (77 mins) or 22.00 (88 mins)
Buy a Pewsey return (the full undiscounted off-peak price is £39.20, but it’s of course cheaper with Railcards, and in any case cheaper if you buy separate return tickets London-Reading and Reading-Pewsey). !! For example, if you are using a Network Railcard, you buy a discounted London-Reading return and a separate off-peak Reading-Pewsey return for a total cost of £29.30 !! The costs are lower for other railcards.
Advance Tickets shave off a few quid for all of these combinations, but they tie you to a fixed return train, of course. Your choice…

Exhilarating excursion through the solitude of the Vale of Pewsey, which separates the chalk upland of the North Wessex Downs to the north from that of Salisbury Plain to the south, including an ascent up the southerly hill chain of the Marlborough Downs, from where there are stunning far views in all directions over this land of wave-like hills, with its scarps, ridges and valleys. It is a mysterious landscape, full of pre-historic earthworks and hillforts as well as barrows – burial mounds of kings and warriors.
After a scenic descent back into the Vale of Pewsey, a tea option exists in the hamlet of Honeystreet. Finally, an undemanding stretch along the Kennet & Avon Canal leads back to Pewsey.
Two Shortcuts on the downs are possible: they reduce the walk by 3.5 km (2.1 mi) or 3.4 km (2.1 mi) and the rating to 6/10; or to 5/10 when walking both Shortcuts (19.2 km/305m height gain). See route map and pdf for details.
Note 1: this is not Pewsey Circular (via Avebury), there are no standing stones on this walk.
Note 2: there is no lunch pub en route, so prepare for picnic on the Downs, then tea in Honeystreet and/or Pewsey.
For summary, walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.
The en route café in Honeystreet is now shut due to being too successful (!!!), read here. 2 minutes away is The Barge Inn (19.8 km/12.3 mi, food to 17.00), which used to market itself as ‘Crop Circle Central’ but seems to be a more serious enterprise these days. For the tea and dinner options en route to and in Pewsey check page 2 of the walk directions pdf. T=swc.127
Thomas G, 04-Mar-18
What a day! You wait for years for a snowy walk, and here we finally got one.
From the train window (only slightly delayed), the hills didn't look to have that much snow cover at all, but then we encountered some knee deep snow drifts on the first farm track beyond the Kennet & Avon Canal. Energy sapping fun.
Up onto the ridge (half went left for the short walk, the other half right for the full walk) with the sun now out and together with a cold but not uncomfortable breeze giving us the best winter walk scenario. As we turned west along the ridge (after passing through some lovely woods) there was another snow drift heavy farm track, this time more than knee deep, so much so that the wellie equipped walker suffered some snow ingress. The weather stayed dry until about 13.30, when we stopped for our picnic lunch (we had seen the short walkers disappear from the spot as we arrived). From then on it was more typical winter weather: passing clouds with showers coming down left and right, and often also where we were. The showers being rain and/or hail, often followed by some stunning rainbows (one of them the longest lasting and most complete and vivid I have ever seen).
We eventually caught the shortcutters just where the afternoon shortcut branched off from the main walk, and all of them took that shortcut. On up to the Wansdyke and around back into Pewsey Downs Nature Reserve and to Milk Hill, a truely stunning Down. Alton Barnes White Horse was completely covered in snow, so we just had to imagine it's shape based on the fence surrounding it.
A holloway on the descent to Alton Priors was then full of snow to man height, so we circumvented it along a field boundary, before checking out the Saxon Church. With the cafe in Honeystreet shut, we had planned on popping in to the pub there for refreshments, alas it is now shut as well (and as the short walkers found out from the taxi driver they had ordered to pick them up there: it is shut for good, to be developed into housing).
We then embarked on the 'easy' finish along the canal back to Pewsey, only to be surprised to find [A] the canal largely frozen (frozen enough to have swans standing on the ice w/o breaking through) and [B] lots of snow drifts along the northerly embankment, at one point about a metre deep and necessitating a diversion over barbed wire into a field...
We got to Pewsey with enough time before the 18.13 train (the shortcutters had taken the [delayed] 16.11) to have a drink at The Waterfront Inn, and then as the train was delayed by 45 minutes as well another one at The Royal Oak.
Buffet Car on the train, lots of seats and a working heating system. A well deserved finish to an extraordinary day in Wiltshire. 8 sunny initially then overcast with rain and hail showers.
Thomas G, 05-Mar-18
Further online research regarding The Barge Inn reveals that the lease had been sold in 2016 and the new owners had embarked on a refurbisment and repositioning of the pub (more serious food offerings, less hippy esk focus on crop circles). But a subsequent planning permission to turn a neighbouring barn into housing and the pub into a wine bar/restaurant was turned down in Dec 2017, so they have now shut the (still loss making) pub and put if up for sale. There is a local initiative to find the funds to buy it for the community and preserve it as a pub.
Anonymous, 05-Mar-18
Magnificent, inspiring report. Well done all who walked.
Mon, 02-May-16 9

Thomas G
Bank Holiday Monday Second Walk - Vale of Pewsey and Marlborough Downs. Far Views. No Bluebells

SWC Walk 127 – Pewsey Circular
Length: 26.1 km (16.2 mi) [shortcuts possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 444 m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Take the 10.57 Plymouth train from Paddington (11.33 Reading), arriving Pewsey at 12.02
Only just missed the 10.57? Take the 11.00 Bristol Temple Meads train to Reading (arr. 12.26) and change there…
Return trains: 17.12 (80 mins), 19.29 (82 mins) or 21.22 (90 mins)
Buy a Pewsey return (the full price is £37.20, but it's cheaper if you buy separate return tickets London-Reading and Reading-Pewsey)!! And as Pewsey is just outside the Network Southeast Area: if you are using a Network Railcard, buy a discounted London-Reading return and an off-peak Reading-Pewsey return, which saves you £10.30 vs the full price!! Split tickets can not be bought at the machines in the station, only online or at the ticket counter.
Exhilarating excursion through the solitude of the Vale of Pewsey, which separates the chalk upland of the North Wessex Downs to the north from that of Salisbury Plain to the south, including an ascent up the southerly hill chain of the Marlborough Downs, from where there are stunning far views in all directions over this land of wave-like hills, with its scarps, ridges and valleys. It is a mysterious landscape, full of pre-historic earthworks and hillforts as well as barrows – burial mounds of kings and warriors.
After a scenic descent back into the Vale of Pewsey, tea options exist in the hamlet of Honeystreet. Finally, an undemanding stretch along the Kennet & Avon Canal leads back to Pewsey.
Note 1: this is not SWC 255 Pewsey Circular (via Avebury), there are no standing stones on this walk.
Note 2: there is no lunch pub en route with this late start, so prepare for picnic on the Downs, then tea in Honeystreet and/or Pewsey.
Two Shortcuts are possible: they reduce the walk by 3.5 km (2.1 mi) or 3.4 km (2.1 mi) and the rating to 6/10; or to 5/10 when walking both Shortcuts (19.2 km/305m height gain).
For the walk directions click here. For a map, a height profile, gpx/kml files, and some photos click here.
The en route cafe is The Honeystreet Cafe (18.8 km/11.7 mi), 4 mins away is The Barge Inn (19.2 km/12.0 mi), it markets itself as ‘Crop Circle Central’ and attracts plenty of folk that are interested in all things otherworldly (plus some weary walkers). The pub has re-opened on April 21 after a Mgmt change and a subsequent lengthy refurb.
For the tea and dinner options in Pewsey check page 2 of the walk directions pdf.
T=swc.127
Anonymous, 25-Apr-16
Could not ONE of the bank holiday walks been under 13 miles, for those who want a more relaxing day out?
Thomas G, 25-Apr-16
To quote the text of the posting: "Two Shortcuts are possible: they reduce the walk by 3.5 km (2.1 mi) or 3.4 km (2.1 mi) and the rating to 6/10; or to 5/10 when walking both Shortcuts (19.2 km/305m height gain)." How is that not below 13 miles? Puzzled...
Thomas G, 25-Apr-16
AND with a very late start! How is that NOT a relaxing day out? Even more puzzled...
Marion, 27-Apr-16
There are lots of people who want the security of walkng within a group and are not confident about tackling a short cut on their own. Last week one of the attendees for the Ullapool trip had just bought a compass but needed to be shown how to use it! This army range walk is a complete nightmare if you don't have a compass and map to back up the walk directions as there is no signage to guide you. And yes lots of people prefer shorter organised walks at a relaxed pace that they can tackle with friends or with physical stamina issues!
Anonymous, 27-Apr-16
very brave of you to promote a walk with no bluebells and no lunch pub on a may bank holiday monday. could we not at least have some anemones to feed the soul. ta very much
Thomas G, 28-Apr-16
Well... of course I can't guarantee that there won't be the odd blue ish bell or wood ish anemone, as there are some small stretches of woodland en route, but they certainly aren't the main draw of this outing.
'tis a walk for the often very vocal army of long sleepers/extended breakfasters (this late train only runs on Sundays/Bank Holidays, and I don't have slots on Sundays), for the picnicers, the far viewers and the walkers. Just a good walk, in stunning, remote countryside, with plenty of refreshment options late on. That's all there is to it. But no less than that.
Anonymous, 02-May-16
9 w= selection of all four seasons including high winds and torrential rain on the ridge. A cracking day despite some afore mentioned awful weather. loads of bluebells. Strenuous but not lethal hilly bits and some nice views. All washed down with pre walk alcohol, picnic lunch, good cake, beer and picnic on train home
Sat, 10-Oct-15 8

Thomas G
Saturday Third Walk – Fully Revised: The Solitude of the Vale of Pewsey and the Marlborough Downs



SWC Walk 127 – Pewsey Circular
Length: 26.1 km (16.2 mi) [shortcuts possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 444 m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
First posting of this former map-lead walk, which has now been enlarged and fully written up.
We will take the opportunity to check the walk directions.


Take the 08.18 Exeter St. David's train from Paddington (08.48 Reading), arriving Pewsey at 09.39

Pewsey suffers from an infrequent train service, explaining the very early start (the next departure is at 11.06...)
Return trains: 16.25 hours (86 minutes journey time) or 20.23 hours (69 mins journey time)
Buy a Pewsey return ticket. !! But as Pewsey is just outside the Network Southeast Area: if you are using a Network Railcard, buy a discounted Reading return ticket and a separate full-price Reading-Pewsey return, which saves you about £10 vs the full return price!!
Exhilarating excursion through the solitude of the Vale of Pewsey, which separates the chalk upland of the North Wessex Downs to the north from that of Salisbury Plain to the south, including an ascent up the southerly hill chain of the Marlborough Downs, from where there are stunning far views in all directions over this land of wave-like hills, with its scarps, ridges and valleys. It is a mysterious landscape, full of pre-historic earthworks and hillforts as well as barrows – burial mounds of kings and warriors.
After a scenic descent back into the Vale of Pewsey, the lunch options come very late in the hamlet of Honeystreet, but food is served all afternoon. Finally, an undemanding stretch along the Kennet & Avon Canal leads back to Pewsey with its many tea and dinner options.
Two Shortcuts are possible: they reduce the walk by 3.5 km (2.1 mi) or by 3.4 km (2.1 mi) respectively and the ascent/descent by 73m or 67m respectively. Taking one shortcut reduces the rating to 6/10; taking both reduces the rating to 5/10 (resulting in a 19.2 km/305m height gain-walk).
For more details and for the walk directions click here.
For a map, a height profile, gpx/kml files, and some photos click here.
The lunch cafe is The Honeystreet Cafe (18.8 km/11.7 mi), the lunch pub is The Barge Inn (19.2 km/12.0 mi), it markets itself as ‘Crop Circle Central’ and attracts plenty of folk that are interested in all things otherworldly (plus some weary walkers).
For the tea and dinner options in Pewsey check page 2 of the walk directions.

For anyone having been on the other Pewsey walk (SWC 255) on Sep 26 and considering walking this as well: this walk overlaps at the start (3 km to close to Oare), for a short part of the ridge walk (1.5 km), the stunning stretch from Milk Hill past the White Horse to Adam's Grave (1.5 km) and the final stretch along the canal and into Pewsey (2.8 km).
T=swc.127
L=swc.127
DAC, 07-Oct-15
Intend going.
Karen, 11-Oct-15
8 overcast+and+dry+and+pleasantly cool

8 off the train at Pewsey. One was along for a short walk and parted ways with us a couple of hours into the walk to catch an early afternoon train to London. This is a very nice walk with lots of interesting ancient features and fine views. In my opinion, you get a lot of great views for what felt like not too much effort, with the steepest climb early on in the walk. I found the section through Pewsey Downs National Reserve really lovely.

Picnic lunch for 4 and 3 for lunch at The Barge Inn where the food was decent. Unfortunately, but not a surprise given the amount of paranormal activity in the area, one walker disappeared at this point. Remaining 6 backtracked to the Honeystreet Cafe for very nice cake and tea (worth doing) and then took it easy on the final stretch along the canal. As we had lots of time, stopped for refreshments at the Golden Swan in Wilcot (320m off route). Very pleasant along the canal with the leaves on the trees beginning to turn colour and nice reflections in the still water.

The group enjoyed a few scoops of ale and cider at the Shed Alehouse (worth visiting) in Pewsey. Followed by further refreshments at the Crown Inn. Caught the 20:36 back to London. A very good walk that was worth the trip from London and the early start. Recommended.
Karen, 11-Oct-15
Argh. Messed up the weather report.

overcast and dry and pleasantly cool
Paul A, 11-Oct-15
The otherworldly artefact spotted in a field near Oare Hill can be located by the shadow it casts in this aerial view. It does not however appear on any official maps. An extensive search of the internet has revealed that Robert Hiscox privately commissioned a "millennium arch" from sculptor and "environmentalist" Andy Goldsworthy reputedly made from 90 tonnes of sandstone, with half of it constructed in 1999 and the other half in 2000. The purpose of the structure is unknown.
Anonymous, 14-Oct-15
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Wed, 13-Jul-11 Pewsey Circular