Description
The Ridgeway is often called Britain's oldest road, and its bike-legal western half makes a classic two day off-road ride. The route runs point to point for 43 miles (69km) along the Ridgeway National Trail from Overton Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire to Streatley on the River Thames, following wide chalk downland tracks and byways past Barbury Castle, the Uffington White Horse and Wayland's Smithy. It is free to ride, signposted, open all year and rated as roughly a blue route in mountain biking terms, so it suits riders with basic off-road skills on a mountain bike, and it is ridden on gravel bikes too. Mountain bikers typically take two days, and the route can also be broken into day rides using the railway stations and cycle routes that link to it. The eastern half of the trail, from Goring towards Ivinghoe Beacon, includes public footpath where cyclists have no right to ride.
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The Route
The Ridgeway National Trail is 87 miles (139km) long in total, from Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. The western half, from Overton Hill to Streatley-on-Thames, is the part promoted to cyclists and horse riders, and it is the part described on this page. The official trail information page describes it as a marvellous off-road route for horse riders and mountain bikers through scenic and tranquil countryside.
The Ridgeway follows a ridge of chalk hills that has been used since prehistoric times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers. West of the Thames it is a broad track through the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, often a long way from villages and towns, with wide views over rolling downland. Prehistoric monuments line the way, including the Avebury World Heritage Site, Iron Age hillforts and the white horse cut into the hillside at Uffington. Wantage, the birthplace of King Alfred, lies just off the route, and the trail's highest point is 267m at Liddington Castle.
The National Trails website hosts the official Ridgeway pages, including an interactive map that shows which parts of the trail are open to cyclists, where the busy road crossings are, and where to find cycle hire shops, accommodation with secure cycle storage, and campsites. A GPX file is available from the trail information page, but it is labelled as a walking file for the whole trail, so use only the Overton Hill to Streatley half. The trail is well waymarked, but download a route or use GPS navigation before you set off.
Terrain by Section
- Overton Hill to Ogbourne St George (about 14.8km): The trail climbs gradually from the start beside the A4 to the Iron Age hillfort at Barbury Castle, past small clumps of beech planted on the downs, then drops along Smeathe's Ridge to Ogbourne St George, a village with pubs.
- Ogbourne St George to Sparsholt Firs (about 25.6km): The most remote stretch. It climbs out of the Og valley on a narrow, sunken, tree-lined track, then follows a mostly hedge-lined track across big arable fields, crossing the M4, and undulates fairly steadily beyond it. Parts of the narrower track are surfaced with limestone.
- Sparsholt Firs to Streatley (about 27.9km): A broad, mostly natural track with few hedges, running along open downland with views north over the Thames Valley, close to Lowbury Hill. It is exposed in wet, cold or hot weather, passes racehorse gallops, goes under the A34 through a decorated underpass, and finishes at the bridge between Streatley and Goring-on-Thames, where the Thames Path crosses the river.
Between the tarmac stretches, the off-road sections have a hard stone surface or a natural surface of chalk, earth or grass. The surface can be slippery and muddy during and after wet weather, and you will meet wheel ruts left by vehicles in places.
Planning Your Days
- Two days: The official guidance says mountain bikers complete the 43 miles between Avebury and Goring-on-Thames over two days on average. The interactive map shows accommodation along the way.
- Three days: The official cycling page suggests two or three days as a popular and straightforward weekend break, and a third day leaves time to stop at the hillforts, the white horse and Wayland's Smithy.
- Day rides: The trail is easy to join and leave, so it also works as a series of out and back or circular day rides. Official circular rides and pub walks that use parts of the trail start from villages such as Avebury and Broad Hinton.
For the best surface conditions, ride between May and November. The trail can be ridden all year, but the natural surface holds water and cuts up in winter, and riders cover fewer miles on unmade ground than on tarmac. Alerts about poor surfaces and flooding are flagged on the interactive map.
Bike Choice and Gravel Riding
A mountain bike is the right tool for most riders. The National Trails team says most of the Ridgeway would be graded a blue route in mountain biking terms, needing good health, basic off-road riding skills and a basic mountain bike, and that riders on touring bikes may struggle on some surfaces. The track between Avebury and Goring is predominantly wide, so groups can ride side by side. Riders after technical descents, jumps and berms will find the Ridgeway tame and are better served by a purpose-built venue such as Aston Hill Bike Park or Swinley Forest Mountain Bike Centre, both of which the National Trails site suggests for a bigger challenge.
Gravel bikes are used here too. Glorious Gravel runs the Ridgeway Gravel Epic, a gravel sportive over sections of the Ridgeway National Trail in Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, and describes the route as designed for gravel bikes, although a hardtail mountain bike will be fine, with a mix of grass, dirt trails and old school gravel. In practice a gravel bike suits riders who are happy with rough, chalky going in dry weather, while a mountain bike is the more comfortable choice in wet weather, when the surface turns slippery and muddy.
Resupply and Accommodation
The trail is often a long way from villages on the western half, so carry enough food and water and plan your stops. Small villages lie along the spring line to the north of the trail and Ogbourne St George has pubs, and the interactive map shows food and drink, water points, campsites, hostels and bed and breakfasts. Wild camping without the landowner's permission is not legal along the Ridgeway, and camping on or near scheduled monuments can damage them, so use a campsite or ask permission.
The interactive map lists cycle shops, repair shops and cycle hire, and some shops will arrange for hire bikes to be stored at train stations ready to collect. Carry tools, spares, weatherproofs and a basic first aid kit, and know your exit points before you set off.
Hire, Luggage Transfer and Guided Trips
Electric bicycles and baggage carrier services are used by riders who want to make the going easier, and the official trail holiday pages list companies that offer bookable trips and baggage transfer. Cycle hire shops around the trail are marked on the interactive map, and guided bike rides and challenge events on the Ridgeway are listed on the official events page.
Riding Responsibly and Route Status
The Ridgeway is a shared use route. You will meet walkers, horse riders, dogs, event runners and people on mobility scooters, and on bridleways cyclists are legally obliged to give way to walkers and horse riders. Slow down as you approach, call out a friendly hello when coming from behind, close gates, and take your litter home. Please stay on the worn track. The trail is rich in archaeology and wildlife, and includes scheduled monuments and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, so keep erosion and disturbance to a minimum.
Signs along the trail show whether you are on a footpath, bridleway, restricted byway or byway open to all traffic. Some stretches are byways, so you may meet motorbikes and four wheel drive vehicles. Permanent restrictions on motor vehicles apply on parts of the trail, and any temporary changes are posted on the trail's news pages and social media. Sections of the trail are subject to periodic closures and diversions. Always check the official Ridgeway trail information page and the trail's Facebook page for current information before travelling. To report a problem on the trail, contact the Ridgeway Officer at ridgeway@oxfordshire.gov.uk.
Beyond Streatley and the Chilterns
The 22 miles of the Ridgeway between Goring and Ivinghoe are public footpath in places, and cyclists do not have a legal right to ride footpaths, so riding them is trespass. The Ridgeway Partnership, working with Cycling UK and the British Horse Society, has been developing a signed Ridgeway Riding Route to bypass the footpath stretches, and the interactive map shows alternative routes for cyclists, such as Swan's Way. Use the map to check what is open before you ride east of Streatley. The Chilterns are also part of off-road cycling history, and Chilterns Mountain Biking is a separate listing for riding in the Chilterns.
The western half is also part of two longer routes. The 350km circular King Alfred's Way uses the Ridgeway between Avebury and Streatley-on-Thames, and Badbury Clump Mountain Bike Trails is a separate venue nearby that is not on the Ridgeway.
Getting Here
The route is point to point, so plan how you will get back to your start. Train stations at Swindon, Great Bedwyn, Chippenham and Goring and Streatley connect to the trail by bus or cycle routes, and Traveline has journey planning for local buses.
- Start, Overton Hill: The Ridgeway and Sanctuary Car Park, West Kennett, Marlborough SN8 1QG, is beside the A4 at Overton Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire. There is a direct bus from Swindon to Avebury. National Cycle Network routes 45 and 482 link Swindon station to Marlborough, and route 403 links Great Bedwyn and Chippenham stations to Marlborough and Avebury.
- Finish, Streatley and Goring-on-Thames: The trail meets the Thames at the bridge between Streatley and Goring. Goring and Streatley station is about a five minute ride from the trail.
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