The National Cycle Route 544 is a

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...

regional route in the North Wessex Downs of southern Oxfordshire, linking

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

and

Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, eas ...

. The route is long, and overlaps with part of the ancient

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, wi ...

and frequently links to

The Ridgeway 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 ...

National Trail.

Route

The starts in the east of Didcot and passes between

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and West Hagbourne as a traffic-free bridle-way and track, partly using a disused railway embankment. The path continues through Upton, merging with the Icknield Way as it continues west, behind Harwell and

East Hendred East Hendred is a village and civil parish about east of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse and a similar distance west of Didcot. The village is on East Hendred Brook, which flows from the Berkshire Downs to join the River Thames at Sutton C ...

, through the

Harwell Science and Innovation Campus The Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is a 700-acre science and technology campus in Oxfordshire, England. Over 6,000 people work there in over 240 public and private sector organisations, working across sectors including Space, Clean Ener ...

. The route then follows a quiet country lane through the Lockinge Estate, including

and West Ginge, and

and

West Lockinge West Lockinge is a village in Lockinge civil parish, about east of Wantage. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 local authority boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The village is included within the North ...

. The route finishes in Wantage near

Letcombe Brook Letcombe Brook is a stream in the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire, England. It rises at the foot of the Berkshire Downs in Letcombe Bassett and flows through Letcombe Regis, Wantage, Grove and East Hanney to join Childrey Brook, which is ...

. The route is frequently used by commuters between Wantage, Didcot and the Harwell research centre. There is an art trail between Didcot and Upton. File:544 sign.jpg, Cycle Route 544 signage near

References

External links

Sustrans.org.uk Route 544Vale of the White Horse District Council: Cycling in the ValeSouthern Oxfordshire cyclingHarbug.org.uk Didcot to Wantage cycle map PDF

GPS Cycle and Walking Routes: Didcot to Wantage
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