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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday, 18 May 2025

Sunday Walk - Pewsey Circular: North Wessex Downs, a Chalk Figure, some stunning views across the Vale of Pewsey

Length: 27.0 km (16.8 mi) [shorter walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 380m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 6 out of 10
 
Take the 10.30 Paignton train from Paddington (11.01 Reading, 11.16 Newbury , 11.25 Hungerford), arriving Pewsey at 11.37 
Return trains : 16.58 (73 mins), 19.01 (70 mins) or 22.14 (79 mins).

Split Tickets and Network Railcards: All return trains stop in Newbury and Reading and all but the last one also in Hungerford, so a split ticket London – Hungerford and Hungerford- Pewsey will give you the best prices (unless you are planning to take the last train back, in which case split the ticket at Newbury). The Network Railcard is valid to Hungerford, so split the ticket there AND take a return train no later than the 19.01.

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 options are 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), or The Barge Inn (20.0 km, open all day), also in Honeystreet, plus one other en route and several others in Pewsey; check the walk directions pdf.
 
For summary, walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.127

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