The Perimeter Path reveals the endless variety of Salisbury Plain and its immediate surroundings: white horses, purpose built army villages, ancient forts and beautiful all round views can be discovered in this 30 mile long circuit.
Some people where I live question in their safe haven on the Isle of Man why anyone would want to leave it for the corvid strewn wastes of Britain. “It’s not the same”, they cry. “The queues, the masks, the social distancing! “
Yes, they probably have a point if they want to sit in a pub or join the queue for loo paper but it does have some plus points. Under big lonely skies the expansive chalk downs of Salisbury Plain are far removed from everyday mundane corona virus cares and offer a unique experience at any time.
This is why one travels, the thrill of the new amidst the beautiful natural landscapes of this wonderful world. In the wide open spaces how insignificant I feel: they remind me of how irrelevant we are in the grand scheme of things. The world will endure long after we have gone and indeed would flourish without our foolishness.
Such thoughts come easily as we traverse the surprising undulations of the plain on horseback until the pounding rhythm of an endless gallop over the old turf leaves just the white light of pure exhilaration.
Anti clockwise from Gore Cross
We had started the ride slightly late in the day at 11 am, parking the truck at Gore Cross. This gave us a lovely introduction to the ride with lots of grassy canters until we came upon more tracks as we approached the Westbury white horse.
The perimeter path is supposed to be 30 miles long, but I suspect somewhat longer on a horse as there are a couple of major detours from the pedestrian route. Walkers recommend taking 3 days – it took us 10 hours in the end with a leisurely stop for lunch and tea.
The army has been involved with Salisbury Plain since 1897 and now owns about 38,000 hectares or 1\9th of Wiltshire. The many ancient monuments and hillforts attest to long occupation of the area whilst the chalk uplands are a haven for rare flora and fauna; recently the great bustard was reintroduced successfully to the region.
The perimeter path is a superb introduction to this popular place and you will see many dog walkers and hikers en route. The Westbury white horse dates back to 1778 although it is thought that it is imposed on an older one and gives a bird’s eye view over the country beyond, stretching all the way to the Welsh hills.
This was the only really busy spot on our circuit. Skirting the bustling ice cream van we decided to go on a little further for our picnic lunch, taken in a grassy field amidst numerous bobbing flowers.
Around Warminster
Our track led on to the outskirts of Warminster, skirting a scenic bowl next to the golf course and edging around the army barracks to continue below the great iron age ramparts of Battlesbury. Here any walkers are more fortunate as their route actually goes right over the top of the fort, whereas we didn’t ascend until later and had to be content with the smaller nipple of Cotley Hill.
From there our route largely followed the plain back to our starting point, with a detour for the picturesque little village of Chitterne. Crossing the road took us back around Copehill Down German village, an artificial village built for army manoeuvres. It has gone through many transformations from Northern Irish to Middle Eastern, complete with downed helicopter and old freight trains.
By the light of the moon
Heading on towards Tilshead, the lights of Porton Down, the famous chemical warfare base, were now coming into view in the dusk and by the time we reached the village it was very dark indeed. Treading through a narrow avenue of soaring beech trees, the horse was just a darker blackness before me.
Our final stretch back to Gore Cross was under a beautiful night sky, Ursa Major brilliant before us whilst a red crescent moon rose over the horizon to our left – the Californian wildfires casting their net wide in the atmosphere. Riding at night can be just as atmospheric as in the day.
NOTES
The path is easy to follow, initially signposted as the Perimeter Path with a cannon logo, interspersed with the Imber Range Path.
There are pubs and accommodation in Heytesbury, Chitterne, Tilshead, Westbury, Warminster and Upton Scudamore.
OS Landranger sheets 183 & 184 (1:50,000)
OS Explorer Sheets 130 & 143 (1:25,000)
Grid reference for starting point:
51°15′25.72″N 01°59′37.78″W
