Pewsey - White Horse Trail - Kennet and Avon Canal - Circular
You need to log in as a member of Walkingworld to access the details for this walk and have an active subscription. Please join, or log in above if you are already a member.
The walk starts at a popular spot on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Pewsey and passes through the village of Oare, on its way to climbing steeply up on to the Wiltshire Downs to join the White Horse Trail. There are fabulous views to the south. After crossing Knap Hill and Walkers Hill, you drop down to the villages of Alton Priors and Alton Barnes on your way back to the canal at Honeystreet. The small church in Alton Barnes has stood for more than a thousand years with Saxon walls still in evidence; its timber roof itself is 500 years old.
As you approach Honeystreet, a look back over your shoulder will reveal the largest white horse in Wiltshire. It is said that the painter commissioned in 1812 to set out the horse ran off with the £20 he was paid in advance.
The Barge Inn offers a refreshment break here. From Honeystreet the walk continues east along the Kennet and Avon Canal past Picked Hill and the village of Wilcot, back to Pewsey Wharf.
The canal is guarded by numerous pill-boxes and tank-traps. They formed part of the GHQ Line (General Headquarters Line), a defence line built during World War II to contain an expected German invasion.
After falling into disrepair in the 1950s, it was restored in the 1990s. After a period of water supply problems, it's now a very popular holiday and leisure destination, with lots of colourful boats to be seen, both hired and privately owned. There is little or no commercial traffic – but watch this space! Will some heavy goods traffic return to the inland waterways?
England - South England - Wiltshire - Vale of Pewsey
Features
Ancient Monument, Birds, Church, Flowers, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Industrial Archaeology, Pub, Public Transport, Wildlife, Woodland