“Little Imber on the Downe, 7 miles from any
towne.” [Westbury to Warminster (via Imber Range)]
Length:
30.3 km (18.8 mi)
Ascent/Descent:
553/494 m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 7 hours
Toughness:
8 out of 10
Take
the 09.37 Paignton train from Paddington (10.02 Reading, 10.17
Newbury, 10.37 Pewsey), arriving Westbury
at 10.54.
Return trains: You can return back
to Paddington via Westbury or to Waterloo via Salisbury. Buy a
Warminster return, or Advance Singles.
Fast walkers should be able to catch
the 18.30 to P’ton via Westbury. After that, there are the 19.02 (P’ton), 19.13
(W’loo), 19.33 (P’ton), 20.02 (P’ton), 20.13 (W’loo), 21.14 (W’loo).
Ticketing: both stations are outside the Network Southeast area, an Off-Peak Return
at full price is £59.10, less with eligible Railcards. With a Network Railcard,
you have to split tickets at Newbury. Cheap Advance Tickets may be available.
Bookended by indifferent, tarmac-heavy urban stretches
through Westbury and Warminster, this walk is a fascinating journey across the Imber
Live Firing Range on Salisbury
Plain, an accidental wilderness due to having been MoD property since
1898, and out-of-bounds for most of the year, apart from short stand
downs over Christmas and Easter and for some days in August (most years). Imber village itself was
abandoned in 1943 at five weeks’ notice to be used for training house-to-house
combat in preparation for the invasion of Continental Europe and is one of the
most haunting and evocative places visited on any SWC walk. [St. Giles Church, Imber
will be open today during 11.00-16.00
hours]
Either side of the Plain the route conquers five
hills, three of which with notable remnants of Iron Age hillfort sites: Bratton Camp, Scratchbury Camp
and Battlesbury
Camp, and also passes Wiltshire’s largest White
Horse, at Westbury. You get superb views across Salisbury Plain
and of the surrounding countryside of Wiltshire and Somerset.
Shorter
walks, starting from Bratton or Edington, or finishing in
Heytesbury, involve short taxi journeys, due to the buses not running on Holidays.
Note
1:
Before embarking on this walk, please read the chapters on Public Safety and
Access Rights on Salisbury Plain/Imber Range and on General Health & Safety
Rules for military areas and ranges on page 2 in the walk directions pdf.
Note
2:
The rare Open Days on the Imber Range are very popular; we may be the only
walkers in Imber when we get there, but there will be lots of other people
coming by car or bike. Please stay out of the cordoned off areas, even if
others don’t! The MOD have threatened to stop Open Days completely if people
keep straying into those areas.
Lunch: Picnic (although there will
be hot drinks and biscuits sold at Imber Church (14.4 km/9.0 mi). Cash only!
Tea: check page 2 of the
walk directions. T=swc.286
For the walk directions, a map, a height
profile, gpx/kml files and photos click here.
8 comments:
Keen observers will realise that 2 West Wiltshire walks on consecutive days give you an option for a mini-break and get 2 walks for the price of 1 (plus accommodation). Warminster has some options, Salisbury many. Advance tickets to Westbury are available, Warminster to Salisbury and Salisbury to Tisbury are cheap tickets anyway, and for Tisbury to London all Railcards are valid.
On the government link, it says there will be firing during the day in the Imber on Friday 15th unless I am reading the wrong column?
Hi Celine.
Not sure where you're looking, but this is what the SPTA Newsletter says, as far as I can see (which is also repeated in the 'St Giles Church, Imber' newsletter):
"Imber Village and the routes running through it, will be open to the public between: 6pm Thursday 14 April 2022 and 6pm Sunday 17 April 2022 inclusive.
The public are reminded that they are to obey all safety signs. They are not permitted into any buildings in Imber Village except the Church when it is open and they are not to leave the carriageway either on foot or in their vehicle."
The range is unusually NOT open on Easter Monday, as a live firing exercise (Wessex Storm, or somesuch) will commence then.
This is where I was looking: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salisbury-plain-training-area-spta-firing-times/salisbury-plain-training-area-spta-firing-times-april-2022
There are several columns with several localities, the one that says Imber (Warminster) says firing on Friday...
Ok, I see.
That conflicts with the SPTA Newsletter: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salisbury-plain-training-area-spta-newsletter/salisbury-plain-training-area-spta-newsletter-april-2022
And with the Imber Church Newsleter, which is from 2 days ago: "St Giles Church will be open from Good Friday 15th April until Easter Sunday 17th April inclusive between 1100 hours (11am) and 1600 hours (4pm) daily. The Church will be Closed to visitors on Easter Monday as a live-firing exercise commences on that day."
And with the Wiltshire Tourist Info site: https://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/whats-on/imber-open-days-p2531933
So, I can only assume it's a clerical error.
But if the red flags are indeed flying when we get to the Vedette Post, we'll do an impro route omitting the Range. I got a map, and a plan.
same info on imbervillage.co.uk: open from Thursday evening
There is, of course, a scenario where all of it could be true at the same time: There is some firing somewhere on the range tomorrow, but away from the four permitted routes through it, and at fixed targets, without troops or equipment moving about. And the range can therefore be open to the public. I have fired off (!) an email to the Imber Church volunteers about the situation, and here's their reply this morning: "I cannot explain this except it might well be that there is firing well away from Imber village as the MoD has confirmed public access Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Further it could be that the MoD has not updated its website, though it should. However, I am planning on going to Imber today and for the next three days. I will let you know if there is anything different but presume public access will be allowed on those three days."
We started 15 mins or so late, as the busy train had picked up some unexplained delay from Bedwyn onwards, in bright sunshine. Through Westbury (incl. a peek into the pretty All Saints Church) and up on to the Downs to the White Horse, where hundreds of other people were milling about (there is a car park nearby). The views were magnificent, all the way to the Alton Barnes White Horse across Pewsey Vale. The route through the Imber Range was not as busy as on past Outings, as families were probably saving their trip for tomorrow or Sunday, when there will be an Easter Egg Hunt at Imber Church.
We spent quite a bit of time at the church, which has new and enhanced information panels and the usual hot drinks and biscuits.
On along the completely quiet 'American Road', through the high part of the Plain, with surround views. As before, we were accompanied by plenty of bird song, mainly ground nesters in the forever undisturbed chalky grassland.
Eventually out of the Range and back in 'civilisation' (ie with car noise from the A36), we still had 4 hills to do, including 3 magnificent iron age hillfort sites, before descending into Warminster.
2 turned right for the station and the next train to Paddington, 4 turned left for a drink, a train to Salisbury and an overnight stay to join tomorrow's Tisbury walk.
Amazing scenery, splendid company, superb walking weather.
N=6 w=sunny-with-a-cooling-breeze
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