The Norman church of St Michael’s and All Angels, around which the village was centred, sits close to the south bank of the Thames.
Shortly after passing the church, go through the small gate just to the right of the house driveway and keep close to the fence before continuing over the field. Cross the stile, footbridge and track leading to Lower Farm, go over the stile in the fence opposite next to the wooden pole and follow the fence on the left. Continue across the open field, aiming for the small gate in the hedge to the left of the larger gate. Cross the footbridge and go through another gate to keep ahead past an area of scrub on the left. After the next field cross stiles either end of a footbridge, and continue through three more fields, crossing at stiles and passing Camden Farm over to the right, to reach a small old windmill. Continue past the pond, cross a stile and follow the left field edge; cross another stile and pass to the right of a large pylon. Keep ahead through the field, and at the field corner cross a stone stile to join the road (A4095).
Radcot boasts the original three-arched bridge, claimed to the oldest bridge on the Thames. The smaller single-spanned bridge, closest to the Swan Hotel, was built in 1787 along with the new river cutting and takes the river traffic.
4 SU286994 Turn left towards Radcot and after crossing the second bridge the Swan Hotel is to the right; turn left through the gate along the Thames Path, signposted ‘D’Arcy Dalton Way and Kelmscott 3’. Continue along the riverside path for about 3 miles (4.8km) and just before Kelmscott, where the Thames Path goes left off the gravel track, keep ahead along the track towards the village, later joining a tarred lane. Go past the entrance to Kelmscott Manor and at the split bear left to reach The Plough Inn.
Kelmscott is famed for its connections with the founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris (1834–96). The pre-Raphaelite designer, interior decorator, writer and painter is best remembered for his still-popular furnishing designs, rich with flowers, leaves and birds. Morris worked with other great pre-Raphaelite artists such as Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Kelmscott Manor, which dates from 1570, was bought by Morris in 1871 as his summer retreat and contains many examples of his work. The house, now owned by the Society of Antiquaries of London, is open on Wednesdays and some Saturdays through the summer (01367 252486 for details). When he moved to Kelmscott, Morris wrote:
What better place than this, then, could we find,
By this sweet stream that knows not of the sea,
That guesses not the city’s misery,
This little stream whose hamlets scarce have names,
This far off, lonely mother of the Thames.
Morris is buried, with his wife and daughter, at Kelmscott’s 12th-century St George’s Church (short walk off-route).
Turn right and left following the lane round the pub, passing the stump of an old village cross. Take the enclosed footpath on the right of the house driveway and shortly turn left with the field boundary on the left through the next field, now with the fence on the right, to reach the river.
Old Father Thames at St John’s Lock
5 SU247986 Turn right and continue along the Thames Path (shorter walk rejoins here), later passing Buscot Lock. Near St John’s Bridge, ignore the alternative Thames Path that turns away from the river, but instead cross the river via the new bridge. Turn right following the left-hand riverbank under the bridge; The Trout Inn is on the far side of the river, accessible via the road bridge. Continue past St John’s Lock and Old Father Thames statue, and immediately after Ha’penny Bridge turn left up to the road and cross the river, retracing the route back to the Market Place.
St John’s Lock, the first lock on the river, is named after a medieval priory dedicated to St John the Baptist, built where the Trout Inn now stands. The first bridge over the river here was built in 1229, though the present structure is much more recent. Overlooking the lock is the recumbent figure of Old Father Thames, originally created for the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in London. The statue was later used to mark the source of the river before being moved to St John’s Lock in 1974.
WALK 2
Wiltshire Ridges and Liddington Castle
| Start/Finish | Parking at lay-by on B4192, 3 miles (4.8km) northwest of Aldbourne towards Liddington (SU230786) |
| Distance | 11½ miles (18.5km) |
| Grade | 2 |
| Time | 5 hours |
| Maps | OS Explorer 157/Landranger 174 |
| Refreshments | Aldbourne – The Blue Boar (01672 540237); Crown Hotel (01672 540214); Masons Arms (01672 540124); village shop |
| Transport | Thames Down buses between Swindon and Hungerford/Marlborough stop at Aldbourne |
| Note | This walk may also be started from Aldbourne (SU265756). |
The walk starts out in rolling countryside, where the Berkshire Downs become the Marlborough Downs, and follows a broad ridge down to the picturesque village of Aldbourne with its village green, duck pond and thatched cottages.
The return leg passes the site of the village of Snap, deserted just over 100 years ago, and the Iron Age hillfort of Liddington Castle. The hillfort, with its commanding position on the highest hill along the Ridgeway National Trail, offers some great views. The area is also rich in Neolithic long barrows, and several can be seen during the walk.
1 SU230786 From the lay-by walk down the road for 100m towards Aldbourne, and turn left through the gate. Go along the track signed ‘byway to Peaks Down’, following the left-hand fence through a gate and continue uphill. Go through the gate next to the byway sign and follow the fence on the left. Just before the gate leading into the trees, turn right and follow the track signposted ‘byway to Aldbourne 2’, keeping the trees on the left. After about 500m there is a well-defined tumulus on the right. Continue along the track and through a gate to reach Four Barrows – a collection of Neolithic burial mounds.
Three of the Four Barrows are bell barrows, built with a gap between the mound and the ditch; the fourth barrow is a bowl barrow, shaped like an upturned bowl. These types of burial chamber are characteristic of the early Bronze Age (2300–1200BC). During archaeological excavations two skeletons and two cremations were found along with amber beads, a grooved dagger, a stone axe and flint arrowheads.
The track passes to the right of the first three and then goes left before the last one to reach a gate. The route now follows the track down the broad ridge for ¼ miles (2km) to Aldbourne (alternative start point).
The name Aldbourne is derived from the Saxon word for stream – bourne, and a former local chief – Ealda. The interesting Church of St Michael, on the village green, was rebuilt in Gothic style but incorporates many Norman features from an earlier church. Inside there are some fine memorials, including one to Richard Goddard (d. 1492) and his wife Elizabeth of Upham House. There are also two old fire pumps, known locally as Adam and Eve. Originally bought after a disastrous fire in 1777 which damaged many houses, the pumps were last used for a barn fire in 1921.
The village has had several local trades including straw and willow weaving, though it was best known for its bell foundries. The first foundry was opened in 1694 by the Cor brothers, William and Robert. In 1760 a relation, Robert Wells, opened a second foundry which continued operating until the 1850s. It was once said that there were few places in north Wiltshire that were out of earshot of a bell cast in Aldbourne; the local church has three bells cast in the 18th century.
Interestingly,
