{"id":"69847975533dbb4b73118c2a","title":"Walk 13 Wayfarer S Walk And Watership Down","path":"walks/scrapbook/by-year/2012/volume-2-oct-to-dec-2012/walk-13-wayfarer-s-walk-and-watership-down","contentMarkdown":"# 🥾 Walk 13 - Wayfarer's Walk and Watership Down\n\nOn Saturday 6th October, our thirteenth walk was held jointly with the Berkshire Walkers 20s & 30s group and was another figure-of-eight walk, with an option to finish after 8 miles instead of the full 13½. We had eleven people on the first part of the walk and five on the second.\n\nThe weather was sunny with clear blue skies, although heavy rain the previous night had made it wet underfoot in places.\n\n![Watership Down - Gallops on the left and 'Cannon Avenue' on the right](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/watership_down.jpg)\n\nThe walk began at the White Hill car park and headed west along the Wayfarer's Walk across Watership Down, Nuthanger Down to Ladle Hill. The hill-fort at Ladle Hill is believed to be an example of an 'unfinished' hill-fort on the site of an earlier Bronze Age settlement. It also seemed to be a popular spot for the sheep and gave a commanding view of West Berkshire to the north, Beacon Hill to the west, and North Hampshire to the south.\n\nWe followed the Wayfarer's Walk a bit further south-west before leaving it for a footpath heading north down the hill to Wergs Farm. From there we walked through Sydmonton and back up hill to Nuthanger Down, stopping off for our picnic lunch on the way.\n\n![View from the edge of the hill-fort at Ladle Hill looking down on to Old Burghclere](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/ladle_hill.jpg)\n\nWe then headed back the way we came along the Wayfarer's Walk, across Watership Down, to the car park where we had started. At this point those that only wanted an 8 mile walk left us.\n\nThe second half of the walk continued along the Wayfarer's Walk until we reached North Oakley, where we left it and took a footpath to Hannington. We stopped off at The Vine public house for a refreshing drink before carrying on into Hannington village.\n\n![A brief stop on the route from Ladle Hill to Wergs Farm](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/wayfarers_walk_stop.jpg)\n\nWe passed the village green and All Saint's Church before leaving Hannington on a footpath and then a lane that took us to Cottington's Hill, which is dominated by a television transmitter mast. Then we descended back to the car park having covered just over 13½ miles with a total of 629 metres of ascents. Quite a good workout! See our route on Google Maps.\n\n![Tree-lined private lane through Sydmonton](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/sydmonton.jpg)\n\n## 📸 Back to Volume 2\n\nReturn to volume index","contentHtml":"<h1>🥾 Walk 13 - Wayfarer&#39;s Walk and Watership Down</h1>\n<p>On Saturday 6th October, our thirteenth walk was held jointly with the Berkshire Walkers 20s &amp; 30s group and was another figure-of-eight walk, with an option to finish after 8 miles instead of the full 13½. We had eleven people on the first part of the walk and five on the second.</p>\n<p>The weather was sunny with clear blue skies, although heavy rain the previous night had made it wet underfoot in places.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/watership_down.jpg\" alt=\"Watership Down - Gallops on the left and &#39;Cannon Avenue&#39; on the right\"></p>\n<p>The walk began at the White Hill car park and headed west along the Wayfarer&#39;s Walk across Watership Down, Nuthanger Down to Ladle Hill. The hill-fort at Ladle Hill is believed to be an example of an &#39;unfinished&#39; hill-fort on the site of an earlier Bronze Age settlement. It also seemed to be a popular spot for the sheep and gave a commanding view of West Berkshire to the north, Beacon Hill to the west, and North Hampshire to the south.</p>\n<p>We followed the Wayfarer&#39;s Walk a bit further south-west before leaving it for a footpath heading north down the hill to Wergs Farm. From there we walked through Sydmonton and back up hill to Nuthanger Down, stopping off for our picnic lunch on the way.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/ladle_hill.jpg\" alt=\"View from the edge of the hill-fort at Ladle Hill looking down on to Old Burghclere\"></p>\n<p>We then headed back the way we came along the Wayfarer&#39;s Walk, across Watership Down, to the car park where we had started. At this point those that only wanted an 8 mile walk left us.</p>\n<p>The second half of the walk continued along the Wayfarer&#39;s Walk until we reached North Oakley, where we left it and took a footpath to Hannington. We stopped off at The Vine public house for a refreshing drink before carrying on into Hannington village.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/wayfarers_walk_stop.jpg\" alt=\"A brief stop on the route from Ladle Hill to Wergs Farm\"></p>\n<p>We passed the village green and All Saint&#39;s Church before leaving Hannington on a footpath and then a lane that took us to Cottington&#39;s Hill, which is dominated by a television transmitter mast. Then we descended back to the car park having covered just over 13½ miles with a total of 629 metres of ascents. Quite a good workout! See our route on Google Maps.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume2/images/sydmonton.jpg\" alt=\"Tree-lined private lane through Sydmonton\"></p>\n<h2>📸 Back to Volume 2</h2>\n<p>Return to volume index</p>\n"}