![wessexridgeway1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Wessexridgeway1.jpg)
The Wessex Ridgeway is a
long-distance footpath
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...
in southwest England. It runs from
Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
to
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, via the northern edge of
Salisbury Plain and across
Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The area is dominated by, ...
AONB. The footpath was opened in 1994.
At Marlborough, the footpath meets the
Ridgeway National Trail
The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countryside
The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk r ...
which continues into Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Two further long-distance footpaths extend to
Hunstanton in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
; together, the four paths are referred to as the
Greater Ridgeway
The Greater Ridgeway, also known as the Great Chalk Way, is a 362-mile (583 kilometre) long-distance footpath crossing England from Lyme Regis in Dorset to Hunstanton in Norfolk. It is a combined route which is made by joining four long-distanc ...
.
Landmarks
*
Bell Hill
*
Coney's Castle
*
Lambert's Castle
*
Pilsdon Pen
Pilsdon Pen is a 277-metre (909 ft) hill in Dorset in South West England, situated at the north end of the Marshwood Vale, approximately west of Beaminster. It is Dorset's second highest point and has panoramic views extending for many m ...
*
Lewesdon Hill
Lewesdon Hill is a hill in west Dorset, England. With a maximum elevation of , it is the highest point in Dorset.Muir, Johnny, ''The UK's County Tops'', Milnthorpe: Cicerone, 2011, p. 26.
Geography Location
Lewesdon Hill stands about 4&nbs ...
*
Waddon Hill
*
Scratchbury Hill
External links
*
*
1994 establishments in England
Footpaths in Wiltshire
Long-distance footpaths in Dorset
Protected areas of Dorset
Protected areas of Wiltshire
Wessex
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