So today should have been a trip to the Wye Valley but unfortunately one of the walkers had Covid so that ruled out two of the three of us! So left to my own devises I decided to try a walk nearer to home. When I walked the Ridgeway I reflected on the fact that it had been many years since I had driven up through East Hendred to Scutchamer Knob and also that I had never walked through Chilton which is quite close by.
I had got a rough idea of a route and knew I couldn’t be too long as I was setting off quite late. The afternoon was quite fine with some blue sky and I made my first decision to stay up on the Ridgeway for as long as possible. I knew whatever route I took would mean going down and coming back up again! So decision one was to continue until I had just gone under the A34 and then make my next choice.
So down to Chilton, Upton or maybe Blewbury? I chose the in between option and decided on a route I hadn’t previously walked which went straight from the Ridgeway through Alden Farm and down to Upton. This crossed the old railway line as it swept down to Compton on the way to Newbury. As it came off the escarpment there was a distinct cross roads of paths by some shrubby land and I made a note that this would be a good place to explore another day.
All was going well until I reached a very large metal gate, well over 6 feet(2 metres) high which was padlocked but did helpfully have a sign on it saying ‘Public Footpath’ , ‘Dogs on Leads’. The gap on the right had been wired up and on the left there were some very large lumps of concrete which just left a small gap. Nothing ventured …. ! Continuing on my route I walked through the farm and on down towards the village. Very clear views across towards Wittenham Clumps and to the few remaining remnants of Didcot Power Station – the familiar cooling towers now lost from the landscape.
Really strange coming out onto the main road as I had driven passed this lane twice a day at least, for over twenty years. Before I reached this point and after merging with the more main track down from the ridge I was pleased to see that the splendid and unique tree house built by a past parent was still intact. A platform and a round house high up in a tree – he was a set designer for shows like the ‘Lion King’ – great the year he helped us when we produced Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for a summer play!
Almost immediately it is time to turn away from the main road again, ignoring the obvious track and taking the gate that led to a footpath. Quite soon this joined the route of the railway line. Upton used to be the first stop out of Didcot as the train headed for Newbury and the coast. The track is set deep down in a narrow cut between to hill sides and it is difficult to tell what would have been natural and what carved out.
The cutting gets deeper and deeper, the path running along the top of the bank and over a well preserved brick bridge before it divers away to Chilton and the railway line sweeps round and down to Compton. This would have been a splendid trip.
The path comes into the village of Chilton which is now embraced by the A34, even separating the village from the school. There is a rather quaint little church and then the village hall. I’m sure I’ve been there for a party in the distant past! Now for the bit I didn’t much like – the footbridge over the A34 – I don’t mind heights or bridges but there is something about climbing the steep gradient up and over that road below which quickens the heart and promotes a sense of relief at the other side!
I have been to Chilton School both the old buildings and the rather splendid new one, many times in my professional career. I’d attend sports days, Year 6 leavers parties and much else but I’d never walked up the track alongside the school grounds which would lead me in a direct , diagonal route back up to the Ridgeway and only a short distance from my car. As the landscape opened out to my left an idyllic country scene emerged. To my right a lot of new housing built on the edge of the Rutherford and Appleton area of the Harwell site. This is now a business and Innovation Centre including the Diamond Light Source Synchrotron. When it was originally developed as the research area for UK atomic energy authority it brought a wealth of scientist to the area. It still forms part of Science Vale UK.
A straight forward a pleasant walk back up and my choice of taking this path which was a little more gradual than some possible ascents was validated. Back to the car and I decided to finish off by exploring the wood and the mound which is Scutchamer Knob – a possible burial site of a Saxon King. The sun hadn’t quite set – I should have waited but there was so much debris on the road on the way up to the hill that I preferred to drive down whilst I could still see !
Not quite 9 miles / 14 .4 km but a very enjoyable walk.
Marion's 50 Walk Challenge 