Ridgeway - Goring to Princes Risborough (★★★☆☆)

Recently I have decided that I should focus a bit more on ticking off the National Trails. And whilst completing a selection of the National Trails has been a goal for some time, it has to compete with my desire to explore any bit of countryside that takes my fancy (and all the major canals as well).

This does create something of a scheduling problem, but I have adjusted my plans, bumped up the priority for walks along National Trails - and decided that the best way to start ticking off more National Trails is to start a new one.

And so today, the new one in question is the Ridgeway - which is fairly short at 87 miles, but also one that looks particularly interesting at it's western end (as it crosses the North Wessex Downs).

Today I'm not planning on doing that western end, which I will instead pick up later in the year - but instead plan to walk the eastern end of the trail (from Goring to Ivinghoe Beaon) over two days.

The Ridgeway is a prehistoric route across southern England, that runs predominantly across chalk hills - and is known for being Britain's oldest road. Although when walking the North Downs Way I do remember that also was known for following Britain's oldest road (the Harroway), so there is a bit of competition there.

But in any case it is an ancient route that formed part of a longer trading link between the Dorset coast and the Wash in Norfolk (the bit around King's Lynn) - with the dry chalkland providing a reliable transport route in all weathers.

With the route being so old, it has artifacts dating back to Neolithic times, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age - and it is believe to have also been a common transport route for medieval armies, and for cattle drovers.

These days it has been a National Trail since 1973, and whilst we are walking the more wooded (and almost certainly less interesting) end of the trail over these two days, there should hopefully be enough to keep our interest along the way.

And so it is that I am today heading from Reading to Goring by train (having stayed in Reading overnight), before setting off along a walk that already feels very familiar.

This familiarity comes from having used Goring as a start/end point for my previous walks along the Thames Path, with walks from Reading to Goring, and on from Goring to Abingdon.

Goring itself is, however, a pretty village - with a lovely mix of excellent old houses, and very beautifully done gardens - but whilst also having a wiff of corporate London commuter about it. 

As we head out through Goring, we spend the first part of this walk passing some very big houses (that are being made even bigger) - whilst seeing a lot of Roses, Wisteria, and other garden delights.

But whilst it is a pretty village, deep down you do get the feeling that everyone here works in London - and are very important people who have a penchant for corporate buzz words, and possibly even enjoy work meetings. 

This does take away the vibe you normally get from a rural village, but it's a pleasant walk - and once we clear the houses we find ourselves walking along the banks of the River Thames (on the opposite side to that used when walking the Thames Path between Goring and Abingdon).

Passing Moulsford on the far side of the Thames

From here we have a section of Thames that is bordered by grasslands - and whilst these are a little bit plain in places, they are slowly being turned into more of a wild flower meadow (with patches of red clover providing the visual interest today).

In time, this route along the Thames takes us on to the pretty village of North Stoke - by which point we have moved away from the side of the Thames.

The church at North Stoke

And from here we start to head across the fields to Mongewell Park.

On the way to Mongewell Park

Mongewell Park takes an unusual shape on the map, and as we arrive the buildings are a lot more shabby than I had expected - but this stems from the park having a fairly unusual history.

During World War I the house was used as a hospital for sounded officers, then during World War II it was headquarters for a branch of the RAF, and after World War II it became a Jewish boarding school (by the name of Carmel College).

That school closed in 1997. But whilst the buildings have been used in a wide variety of films since then - it hasn't been used for much, despite it's prime location along the Thames.

There are plans to redevelop the area for housing, but this has led to a standoff between the potential developers (who are keen to build out), and local residents (who are very opposed to having new houses put in here).

But soon we are through Mongewell, and turn to head east along an earthwork by the name of Grim's Ditch.

Not a lot is known about Grim's Ditch - but Grim's Ditch as a wider entity is an old network of earthworks, where a trench has been dug out, and the spoil placed to one side of this ditch (with different parts of Grim's Ditch dating back to different eras of human history).

What makes them notable is that these are very old earthworks - with this section being believed to date to the late Iron Age or early Roman age - with others potentially dating as far back as the Bronze Age.

Beyond this not a lot is actually known - but it is this earthwork that we are now following, as we start to climb up into the Chiltern Hills.

View out from a gap in the trees

From the raised side

Now in the ditch

As a piece of human history, this ditch is certainly interesting, but as a walking route there isn't a whole lot to see other than a load of trees - and although the countryside is pretty, we don't get to see a whole lot of it (this walk might be best done in early spring before the leaves appear on the trees).

But we do eventually break out of the trees as we head round to the village of Nuffield, where the church has been kind enough to put in a very handy drinking tap (that is very appreciated on a warm day like today).

The church at Nuffield

From here the path heads straight across a golf course (with little regard for where the holes and tees are - so this is one where you need to wait for golfers to finish playing their shots as you move across).

But once safely across the golf course, the path crosses a busy road - before heading out across the fields.

Across the fields

From here we make our way round to Ewelme Park - which unlike Mongewell Park is far from abandoned - and a lovely, and very polished, country estate.

The gatehouse at Ewelme Park

The house itself (from it's property listing, and obviously not as viewed from the path)

If you are interested in living here, the house last sold for just shy of £10 million in 2024 - but for that money you do get an estate that has been excellently done, and it is a nice area to walk through.

From here we need to drop down off the ridge, where we will pass another manor house / village at Syncombe.

Dropping off the ridge

The church at Swyncombe - St Botoph's

From here we cut up past Swyncombe Downs to join up with what I believe is the Lower Icknield Way.

On the way to the Icknield Way

Having turned onto (what I hope is) the Lower Icknield Way, we are on that ancient trackway - with the name being of Celto-British origin - although in reality there were numerous parallel routes that made up this ancient trading route (with no one path being strictly the old trackway).

But still, on the map this section is marked as the Icknield Way.

Here we are walking on tracks rather than paths, and so this section is much tougher on the feet - but being a lane it has more the feel of walking a disused railway track, than a walk out over open chalkland.

As such, there isn't all that much to comment on as we make our way along this trackway (towards the M40), although the views are good when you reach a more open section of the trail.

Typically tree-lined

With views at intervals

Eventually we do make it past the M40 (passing underneath, at a point when the M40 is on a raised embankment)  - and here we pass by Beacon Hill - before continuing to spend our time on a predominantly tree-lined trackway.

And here the feeling of walking along a disused railway becomes more a reality than comparison - as we are now walking on the former trackbed of a railway that ran between Chinnon and Watlington.

Here we soon also pass by abandoned quarries (you can't see much of these from the path) - and pass the village of Chinnon, where a heritage line still runs steam trains between Chinnon and Princes Risborough.

But more notably for us, it is from here that we start to once again have more substantial views - as we move up onto the ridge, and get ready to head across the fields.

A brief view

Now across the fields at Bledlow Ridge

Looking back from further along

Next we get the highlight in the day, as we climb up onto Lodge Hill - with views out over the surrounding countryside.

Lodge Hill in front

From the same spot looking to the side

From Lodge Hill (the first part of)

From further along Lodge Hill

This section along Lodge Hill is very welcome, after a day that has (in my view) had too many tracks and tree-lined routes.

From here we drop down off this hill, cross over a road and then over the railway - before we start the final run into Princes Risborough.

The last fields of the day

Very soon this takes us to a minor road - and then continue on to follow a busy road (the A4010 toward Princes Risborough).

Here whilst the road has a pavement, the road is very busy and very fast - and so it's not the most enjoyable section, with cars passing well above the 50mph speed limit, as we walk along this narrow stretch of pavement (thank you drivers of southern England).

And whilst the odd car is polite, and slows a bit as they head past (genuine thanks to these), it is welcome to reach the 30mph speed reduction - and to not have to put up with cars speeding past (that said, I'm not sure many were actually doing anything close to thirty).

As the speed limit drops, and as we reach the first houses, the Ridgeway turns off to the right - but here we will complete the short walk to the train station, as I'm saying in Aylesbury for the night.

And tomorrow we will return to pick up the next section of this trail.

Total Distance: 26.2 miles (25.2 miles on the Ridgeway)

Total Ascent: 2,208 feet (2,195 feet on the Ridgeway)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★ / 5

Click for the next section along the Ridgeway from Princes Risborough to Ivinghoe Beacon.

Click for a connecting walk along the Thames Path from Reading to Goring.

Click for a connecting walk along the Thames Path from Goring to Abingdon.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 165, 174 (barely used) and 175 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Ridgeway guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in exceptionally well way-marked