Tisbury Circular via Alvediston walk

An Iron Age hill fort, pretty coombes, and plenty ascent: the Vale of Wardour and West Wiltshire Downs AONB with views to the Cranborne Chase and all the way to the coast

Backview down Church Bottom, Prescombe Down NNR (II) SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston
Backview down Church Bottom, Prescombe Down NNR (II)

SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston

Sep-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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View from a Down SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston
View from a Down

SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston

Apr-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Along Swallowcliffe Down (westerly view) SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston
Along Swallowcliffe Down (westerly view)

SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston

Sep-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Sheep on Descent from Elcombe Down SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston
Sheep on Descent from Elcombe Down

SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston

Sep-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Sheep and Tumulus, Sutton Down SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston
Sheep and Tumulus, Sutton Down

SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston

Sep-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Walker in Field, Swallowcliffe Down SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston
Walker in Field, Swallowcliffe Down

SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston

Apr-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Cloudscapes over Middle Down SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston
Cloudscapes over Middle Down

SWC Walk 250 Tisbury Circular via Alvediston

Apr-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Length 26.0 km (16.2 mi), with 628m ascent/descent. For a shorter walk see below Walk Options.
Toughness 7 out of 10, with 6 hours 30 minutes walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 11 hours.
Walk Notes

This walk heads south from the Vale of Wardour through the southerly parts of the West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is spectacular walking country with some breathtaking views. The walk reaches the hilltop boundary with the Cranborne Chase AONB (with views all the way to the coast, around Bournemouth and Poole). You’ll find picturesque villages and atmospheric pubs in the beautiful undulating countryside, as well as a wooded Iron Age hill fort site and plenty of dry chalky U-shaped downland valleys.
The middle part of the walk especially leads through – or around the rim of – several very pretty coombes. The walk starts ascending pretty much straight from the platform and features a few short and sharp ascents as well as three more prominent ascents, spread out through the day, followed by a gentle descent across fields back into Tisbury, a remarkably unspoilt village.

As the former recommended lunch pub, The Crown Inn in Alvediston, has been shut for a while and currently operates as a seasonal tea room only, on the full walk your pub lunch options are: the very early Royal Oak in Swallowcliffe, an earlier train (or doing the walk in reverse) to reach The Horseshoe Inn in Ebbesbourne Wake in time for food service.
The reverse walk in a clockwise direction is available in a separate pdf.

Walk Options

A Shortcut around lunch reduces the walk by 5.0 km (3.1 mi) and the ascent/descent by 146m. This reduces the effort to 6/10.
The number 29 bus (Shaftesbury to Salisbury) stops outside the lunch pub in Ebbesbourne Wake and in Alvediston (Mon-Sat only, approx. every 90 mins), it gets you to Salisbury Bus Station (a 10 minutes’ walk from the train station) in just short of an hour.

Maps

OS Explorer: 118 (Shaftesbury & Cranborne Chase)
OS Landranger: 184 (Salisbury & The Plain)

Travel

Tisbury Station, map reference ST 945 290, is 20 km west of Salisbury, 145 km south west of Charing Cross, 94m above sea level and in Wiltshire. It is on the London Waterloo to Exeter St. Davids West of England Main Line. Journey times are 106 minutes Monday to Saturday (hourly) and 114 minutes on Sunday (hourly).

Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take the train closest to 9.20 hours.

Lunch

The Royal Oak Swallowcliffe, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP3 5PA (01747 870 211). The Royal Oak is located 4.5 km (2.8 mi) into the walk.
The Crown Inn The Street, Alvediston, Wiltshire, SP5 5JY (01722 780 203). The Crown Inn is located 9.7 km (6.0 mi) into the walk. As of 05/23, this pub is closed after a fire.
The Horseshoe Inn The Cross, Ebbesbourne Wake, Wiltshire, SP5 5JF (01722 780 474). The Horseshoe Inn is located 16.3 km (10.1 mi) into the full walk and 11.1 km (6.9 mi) into the short walk.

Tea

Plenty of options in Tisbury. See the Walk Directions pdf for details.

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By Train

Out (not a train station)

Back (not a train station)

By Car

Start SP3 6JT Map Directions

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Help

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Version

Apr-22 Thomas G

Copyright © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml

Walk Directions

Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.

This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk