Walking The Ridgeway - Marlborough Downs & Barbury Castle

Our Route

Very much looking forward to this leg of the walk , the penultimate one of our quest.
Another Iron Age Hill Fort, more racing gallops and potentially another White Horse to track down. What more could a rambler wish for?

We started the walk in the pretty village of Ogbourne St George this time . We walked through OSG on our last walk and got very muddy crossing the river.
According to the sigh the River Og is a 'winterbourne'. For the uninitiated as I was, a 'winterbourne' is a stream or river that is dry through the summer months. A winterbourne is sometimes simply called a 'bourne' from the Anglo- Saxon word for a stream flowing from a spring, although this term can also be used for all-year water courses. 

Winterbournes generally form in areas where there is chalk.  When it rains, the porous chalk holds water in its aquifer releasing the water at a steady rate. There was an awful lot of water flowing through the village from all the recent rain.

Up on the The Ridgeway the skies started brightly enough, however the forecast was a very mixed bag indeed. The chance of heavy blustery showers were forecast , with the threat of sleet and thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure. 

We are on Smeathes Ridge in the heart of the Marlborough Downs. Perfect horse racing country but not perfect weather I'm afraid. One of those blustery showers has blown in at rapid speed and hardly any time to get the waterproofs on .

What I love are the big open skies, the expanse is awesome and the rain doesn't matter.

It's one of those times when you feel alive and at one with the elements.   

Massive rolling skies

The rain arrives

We soon reached Barbury Castle Country Park and thankfully as quick as the rain blew in , it blew out again. I believe this part is commonly known as 'Cowpat Hill'. The White Horse Kite Flyers Club were out in force with some amazing designs. There was an Orca Killer Whale, a pair of footballers legs and a rather stunning Lionfish amongst others. It really was the perfect location to fly a kite for sure. 

Lionfish Kite

Barbury Castle

Kites in the breeze

Steep earthworks

In my opinion Barbury Castle is the best of the Iron Age Hill Forts seen so far on The Ridgeway. In perfect weather conditions The Cotswolds and River Severn can be seen.  It has two deep defensive ditches and ramparts. The Ridgeway runs right through it. The site was first occupied around 2500 years ago. Strategically placed on top of the hill there are great views across the Wessex Downs.

Barbury Castle in the distance

Our walk takes us right by the racing stables of Neil King Ridgeway Racing , and a very noisy guard dog. The yard has over 40 horses in training and is the former stronghold of Trainer Jim Old. 

It was here that Jim trained Collier Bay to win the 1996 Champion Hurdle and Irish Champion Hurdle, as well as the previous year's Imperial Cup.  

 We begin to loop back round and quickly Barbury Castle in long in the distance. It's very up and down as we make our way back towards Ogbourne St George. It's a long walk today at over 12 miles. We pass through the small village of Rockley with it's pond and Duck Island. 

It's a welcome sight though to see the Church spitre of OSG come into view. It's be a great walk , perhaps one o the most enjoyable so far.   

View looking back

 A welcome sight

Walking The Ridgeway - Ogbourne St George circuit

Back on The Ridgeway for the first time in 2020 ! Been a whole host of reasons for the delay,  not least illness on all parties involved and atrocious weather. It was a bit of an effort to remember where the last walk had actually finished

We started on the other side of our old friend 'Liddington Castle' The weather was much clearer today affording a better view of the site mentioned in my previous blog

The weather on the way down was mixed with some very heavy showers The forecast though was encouraging but still the chance of a shower or too.

It was only a short walk from the car parking space to get on to The Ridgeway , always prefer to get on it early really.

 There was some very nasty black cloud quickly moving our way , thankfully we only caught the edge. I was particularly grateful not to have to unpack all the waterproof gear.

Looking to our right we had views of Swindon in the distance. The track was particularly rutted and with all the recent rain very muddy. 

A path cut across The Ridgeway leading to 'Upper Upham' one way and you guessed it Lower Upham' the other . I find things like that mildly amusing. I chuckled to myself at the irony.

Another prominent landmark is the Radio mast at the 'Snap Crossroads'.

We avoided the first turn off to Ogbourne St George thankfully.The mud was horrendous although there was a particularly nice view of the Golf Course.

Our route took us around the Village of Ogbourne St George, rather than through it.
The  name refers to the River 'Og' and the Church of St George. We are about 3 miles north of Marlborough, Wilts.

There isn't much to see in the village , but apparently there is a pub somewhere.

Its a pretty little village though  and we actually walk past the old Manor House. This was built on the site of a Benedictine Priory dating back to 1149.

The house is Jacobean and the date 1619 is inscribed on one of its chimney stacks.

From there we cut through the churchyard, another Grade 11  listed building of possible Norman origin. 

Church of St George -Ogbourne St George

The footbridge over the River Og was just about passable but was flooded. The River rises near the hamlet of Draycot Foliat and flows through Ogbourne St George , Ogbourne St Andrew and Ogbourne Maizey , where it joins the River Kennet.

Quagmire by the bridge

I may have forgotten to report that we had three dogs in tow with us today. All impeccably behaved I'm pleased to report. As well as being flooded , the footbridge was also rotten and sinking fast.
I quick cut across a relatively dry by comparison field, took us on to the cycle or walking route along the now disused Chiseldon and Marlborough Railway line.

The path starts in Marlborough where you cross the River Kennet and head into the countryside. Passing through the pretty villages of Ogbourne St Andrew and Ogbourne St George before finishing at Chiseldon.

Its about 15 miles in total and nice and easy for cycling and walking.  We follow the path all the ay back to where we left the car. A very enjoyable walk and now just two legs left to complete our quest of walking The Ridgeway.

Gran Canaria Christmas Part 1

Nothing better than Christmas in the warm sunshine and blue skies of the Canaries. Our first  time in Gran Canaria and it won't be the last for sure. Total escapism from the awful commercialism and pressure to spend, spend spend. No endless rounds of the same songs repeated year after year. No hype, no fuss just people going about their day in a chilled out and relaxed way. Just perfect !    

It's a four hour flight to Gran Canaria off the Northwestern tip of Africa.

A decent flight helped by a stint in the lounge at the airport and a few settling Whisky and Gingers.As well as the odd Guinness of course.

The second most populous of the Canary Islands with a population of 846,717 and third largest in size terms.

We are in the south of the island , traditionally better weather but less green than the north. The journey from the airport late afternoon didn't look too encouraging.. Lots of wind farm activity and very barren. Thankfully the hotel was far more inviting. Up on the eighth floor ith fantastic views looking across the beach and up the coast towards Las Palomas and Playa del Ingles.

An open plan room which felt a bit strange to start with but we soon got used to it. The mini bar was handy  and it was soon time to test out the San Miguel.  It passed with flying colours I'm pleased to say!

A cracking hotel, gym, health suite, lovely swimming pool, and a private terrace with the large sunbeds. The food was a buffet style service and plenty of it with lots of choice.   

I did wake up with a bang though on the first night ... the leg fell off the bed!

Beautiful balcony views

Looking down from our balcony

Gran Canaria Christmas Part 2

 Every morning we were treated to a glorious sunrise. The early morning joggers were out and a few Germans had already laid out their towels and bagged their sunbeds for the day.

I did manage to get down into the sea a couple of times before breakfast. But being the Atlantic it was pretty cold until you got acclimatised to it.     

Something very special about  hearing the sea and the waves crashing. A very mindful experience. Laying in bed at night and just relaxing to the backdrop of the sea.  

Plenty of choices at breakfast I must say. I liked to balance the Pink Prosecco with  a smoothie each morning . Although the Prosecco generally won in the end.
Tempting as it was to hit the sunbed terrace I tried to get a good walk in after breakfast. There is a beautiful promenade in both directions.

Sand Dunes at Las Palomas

We tended to do a mixture of beach and promenade. It was a good walk to get right to the tip of the coast past the sand dunes. Lots of kite surfers in the water too .

Maspalomas

Maspalomas is a busy resort about 15 minutes walk away.  It’s known for its vast expanse of coastal dunes. These encompass the Maspalomas Dunes nature reserve.

The dunes are stunning, and it's not hard to let the mind wander a bit and imagine that you are in the deserts sands of Arabia or alike. There is also the Maspalomas Lighthouse, a romantic and historic landmark of the area. Strange though because I never actually saw the Lighthouse. You would expect it to be quite prominent now wouldn't you ?

I was never quite sure where Maspalomas ended and Playa Del Ingles (Englishmans Beach)began to be honest?   I do know that there was a lot of nudity around the sand dunes area (mostly males) and have since found out that there is also a gay beach too. I was oblivious to it all of course , happy just to take in the sea air and feel the sun on my back.

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Something else that seemed very popular was the sand carvings. The photos don't really do them justice.  At night time they were lit up with those little tea lights which created a nice effect.

A lot of effort goes into creating  such sculptures and it's good that people treat them with respect.

I'm not sure sure the same thing would happen in Margate or Clacton ??

Gran Canaria - Puerto de Mogán

Puerto de Mogán

Just a shortish bus ride from outside our hotel to the beautiful resort and fishing harbour of Puerto de Mogán.

Set at the mouth of a steep-sided valley on the south-west coast of the island. The canals and bridges of its seawater inlet have earned it the nickname "Little Venice."

Along the marina, you'll find an assortment of restaurants and bars, while the old town area is full of quaint, Mediterranean homes and cottages climbing up the hillside. Puerto de Mogan is a major stop for ocean yachts travelling from the Atlantic to the Caribbean.


When we arrived around 10:15 the sheltered sandy crescent shaped beach  was virtually empty. An hour or so later and it had become quite busy with sunseekers and bathers in the calm waters.


There are so many little alleyways to explore  and it is a most glorious location.

I had spotted a viewing platform high in the hills and made a mental note to try and find a way up after some light refreshment. Given the slightly upmarket location I was quite surprised to pick up a pint of ice cold beer for only 2 Euros. It went down very well with a few chips and a toasted sandwich.







This is the ideal place to chill out and just watch the world go by. If it wasn't for a few table decorations you would never know  that it was the festive season.






Some very pretty houses and plenty of Bougainvillea make a welcome  contrast to the heat of the beach front.

Bougainvillea

Perhaps climbing the 200 steps to the viewpoint after a couple of pints and some lunch wasn't the best idea? However once I got started there was no turning back. Amazing to see the houses that the locals live in being so incredibly steep. How they cart shopping up and down I have no idea???

It was a struggle but worth a little effort as always for the stunning views. The ocean seemed to be sparkling as though sprinkled with diamonds . 

Boats in the harbour