Ramsbury and Littlecote

Ramsbury

Today's walk is from Ramsbury to Littlecote, beloved of the local Nordic Walkers and guided by one of them. I was astonished to discover that Ramsbury is a bishopric and has been since 909 when Aethelstan became the first bishop.

We parked by the pub and walked east to turn right and cross the Kennet. It was full of water after recent rain, but the main delight was the beginnings of green on the willows.

Shortly after this we turned left onto a track running parallel with the river and with a ridge over to the right.

At the end of the track we passed this lovely house with an unusual circular structure on one end.

We continued along the same line and soon reached Littlecote, with its Roman remains.

The mosaics, nowadays protected by a wooden canopy are absolutely excellent. They date from 360 AD.

This is the Orpheus mosaic which was rediscovered by Steward of the Littlecote Park estate in 1727.

Beyond the mosaics you can see the former manor house now a hotel. The first house was built in the 14th century and replaced in the 1590s.

We headed uphill and turned right with a wonderful line of trees on our right. We were now walking on a line broadly parallel with the one we had followed from Ramsbury.

Some of these trees had graffiti written by American soldiers stationed at Littlecote during the War. I couldn't decide whether these were poignant memorials or damage to beautiful trees.

The end of one of the trees seemed to have started in a controlled fashion and ended in a rush.

We passed an information panel telling us we were now in the Ramsbury Estate and bore right through woodland to follow a pleasant path which brought us back to the edge of Ramsbury.

Conditions: grey, cool.

Distance: about 4 miles.

Map: Explorer 157 Marlborough & Savernake Forest and Explorer 158 (Newbury & Hungerford).

Rating: four stars. A delightful walk.