Whilst we may dream of the Appalachian Trail, for many a nice day’s walk is as good as it gets. The Wansdyke Path offers a great combination of scenery and history; stretching through 13 miles of Wiltshire’s finest downs, it can be covered in one satisfying day. 

I often think Wiltshire is a very underrated county. A favourite area encompasses the chalk downs to the west of Marlborough where the ancient landscape reveals a smorgasbord of delights: the pyramidic mound of Silbury Hill and the Avebury stone circle, chamber tombs and neolithic camps and the scattered, ubiquitous, burial mounds. 

People have flourished here for millenia, and though many monuments are impressive, they are so old that their story is lost. 

The Wansdyke 

One such is the Wansdyke, a huge earthen embankment with a ditch on its northern side, suggesting that was the area from where the threat came. Late Roman coins have been found and some believe it is indeed Roman built, a last gasp defence of their failing empire in the late 4th century.

Others say it was raised by the native Britons, protecting themselves from the Anglo Saxons and dating it back to the late 5th or early 6th century. This theory is backed up by the Battle of Badonicus which is believed to have happened near the eastern Wansdyke in 519 when King Arthur himself may have defeated the Saxons. 

Ultimately it is thought to have been more of a statement than a true defensive structure as it would have required an enormous army to man it effectively for any length of time. Strategic roads would have enabled taxes to be levied on goods but by the 9th century it appears to have been obsolete. 

The Wansdyke Path

Whatever its origin, today’s Wansdyke Path is a lovely walk, a mini long distance track that leads through some of the best scenery in Wiltshire. Although it is believed to have stretched some 50 miles from Marlborough to the River Avon at Bristol, it is the eastern section from Marlborough to Morgans Hill that offers the most impressive remains along the high ridges of the downs with breathtaking views.

The path starts along a rather insignificant back lane on the western side of Marlborough but this is soon left behind and there is a gentle grassy climb to the top of Granham Hill, with welcome benches from which to enjoy the fine view over the town. The mound of the old motte and bailey castle is clearly visible within the college grounds.

It is a gentle wander on through cultivated farmland, the downland big skies ahead. First however, the path drops down to follow the edge of a valley, before disappearing into a narrow wooded track. Bluebells appeared all around us and suddenly I caught my first glimpse of the actual Wansdyke.

It was camouflaged amidst the trees but briefly I followed the deep declivity before veering off slightly into West Woods, an area of dense woodland that has recently been identified as home to all bar two of the Stonehenge sarsen stones, which were moved from the area in around 2500 BC.

Famous for its superb bluebell display, grassy tracks led around to intercept the dyke again. The path leads on through the wood with tall beech trees to each side, lovely in the spring with wild daffodils, wood anemones and buttercups as well as bluebells.

In Stonehenge days, the area was probably treeless but now I enjoyed the forest walk. Squirrels scampered about, reactivated by the sunshine, and blossom bloomed in the hedgerows, spring bursting out in 3D, shiny and new after a long corvid lockdown.

Past Shaw to the downs

Emerging from the woods, I followed field edges and skirted copses to the site of the old medieval village of Shaw. It was a fairly insignificant village in its heyday with between 12-20 inhabitants, and by 1377 it could only muster 3 people, making it the smallest village in Wiltshire.  It has totally succumbed to time:  a few small earthen banks are the only visible remnants, rough grass and scrub shrouding anything that lies below. However, one of the church windows may still be found in the nearby St Mary’s Church in Alton Barnes.

A narrow track leads to a metal gate by a couple of sarsen stones and finally the downs start to emerge.

Expansive views open up as the path drops down to cross the busy Lockeridge road. To the south can be seen the distinctive pimple of Adam’s Grave, a neolithic long barrow; just beyond is the Alton Barnes white horse, one of Wiltshire’s famous equine hill carvings.

A short climb up from the road leads to a meeting of ways and suddenly I was back on the Wansdyke. May blossom weighed down a hawthorn thicket then abruptly all fell away to reveal the wide open spaces of the downs. A metal gate led directly onto the top of the dyke, the northern views particularly fine.

The following sections of the path are the most impressive with large ramparts and well defined ditch. In many places the track follows the very top of the earthwork, with flints and chalk scattered amidst the rabbit burrows. Sheep keep the upland grass close cropped and skylarks sing in the skies above. There is a glorious sense of open space and few people; it is hard to imagine the work that was required to build this thing.

Sweeping views revealed the course of the Wansdyke as it snaked over the downs into the distance, vivid with late afternoon shadows. Lonely barns stood in vast fields where the white stones created the effect of a hailstorm. I passed a couple of men on mountain bikes but was otherwise alone.

Crossing a rough cement road, the track dropped steeply into the ditch where hardy blackthorns cling to the sides then undulated on, descending through rough grass to the busy Devizes road. It was less obvious on the other side. I climbed up to cross the Wessex Ridgeway, stepping over rough tree roots within a little copse to emerge once again on the high downs.

Fields of yellow rape were vivid within the greens and a banked enclosure was outlined amongst them, another ancient scar on this old landscape: I wondered if it were once a Roman camp as it appeared so perfectly square.

Morgan’s Hill

There was another fine stretch of dyke which rose to the flat topped Morgan’s Hill with its distinctive pair of radio masts on top. Suddenly I was surprised by superb western views as the downs fell away in the distance and flatter lands prevailed.

The path then dropped gently down beside a golf course and emerged on a byway which was once a Roman road leading directly to Silbury Hill. A short stroll led to the Smallgrain Plantation with its fine beech trees and the end of the Wansdyke Path.

NOTES

Start of the walk in Marlborough: 51°24′52.87″N 01°43′59.55″W

End of the walk just beyond Morgan’s Hill, where there is a car park: 51°24′10.98″N 01°58′24.44″W

Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 157. Marlborough and Savernake Forest.

For more detailed maps and instructions:

https://ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Wansdyke+Path