North Wessex Downs National Landscape

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North Wessex Downs National Landscape

The North Wessex Downs is a nationally protected landscape.

18/06/2026

The humps and bumps we see today in downland fields along the Ridgeway National Trail are where people buried their dead more than 5,400 years ago.
On Ordnance Survey maps they are noted as Tumulus or Tumuli, Latin words for one or a group of small burial mounds of soil and stones over graves. There's a cluster of them on the north-facing escarpment of the downs at Sparsholt Firs.
Now, thanks to the Historic Ridgeway Project, an information board has been installed at Sparsholt Firs describing the Barrows in this area, and nearby at Seven Barrows, Hackpen Hill and Stancombe Farm. Thank you to Gordy one of the Ridgeway volunteers who installed this board recently.
The Historic Ridgeway Project is funded by Historic England and North Wessex Downs National Landscape

The Uffington Museum
Oxford Archaeology
Cotswold Archaeology
West Berkshire Heritage
Vale & Downland Museum

12/06/2026

It's been a great few weeks for spreading the word about the North Wessex Downs and our work with partners! We have been:

👉 Talking to BBC Wiltshire Radio about Farming in Protected Landscapes support for a Pewsey White Horse project with Pewsey Parish Council.

👉 Continuing a tour of the North Wessex Downs talking to ARK - Action for the River Kennet at the Stonebridge Wild River Reserve in Marlborough, also with BBC Wiltshire Radio.

👉 Featured on ITV News Meridian. Ruth Staples-Rolfe, Programme Manager for Mend the Gap, spoke about making the North Wessex Downs accessible and welcoming to all. Filmed at the stunning and iconic Wittenham Clumps, this was part of a national feature with Landscapes Association about ensuring everyone can enjoy the National Landscapes. Thanks to Trust for hosting us.

👉 Sharing our work at Open Farm Sunday on the Benham Estate, a great day with over 1,000 visitors.

Photos show Ruth Staples-Rolfe talking to ITV Meridian, our stand at the Open Farm Sunday event at the Benham Estate, Ben Prater from BBC Wiltshire Radio with Anna Forbes from ARK and chair of our council of partners Gill Haggarty, and BBC Wiltshire Radio visit to Pewsey White Horse (credit Ben Prater).

10/06/2026

👀 Did you catch us on ITV News Meridian last week?

Ruth Staples-Rolfe, Programme Manager for Mend the Gap, spoke about making the North Wessex Downs accessible and welcoming to all.

🎬 Filmed at the stunning and iconic Wittenham Clumps, this was part of a national feature with National Landscapes Association about ensuring everyone can enjoy the National Landscapes.

🙏Thanks to Earth Trust for hosting us.

Watch the full clip on the ITV YouTube or ITVX for the 3rd June, links in comments👇

26/05/2026

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟖 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲

Step into the world of Watership Down 🐇
Join us for a scenic 6-mile walk through the landscapes that inspired Richard Adams’ much-loved novel. Led by local guides from Whitchurch, where the author lived, this is a chance to experience the landscape that shaped the story.
🌿 Wildlife, sweeping views, and literary connections
🥾 Medium pace | undulating ground with a couple of steeper ascents
🎟️ FREE | booking essential (limited places)
🔗 Visit our event page for further details:
https://www.northwessexdowns.org.uk/event/exploring-the-watership-down-trail

22/05/2026

This week we spoke to ITV Meridian about our work with partners to ensure the North Wessex Downs is a place where everyone feels welcome. Thank you for hosting us Earth Trust.

👀Look out for this coming soon!

For many people, one of the barriers to visiting is simply not knowing how much there is to see and do close to home. Over the coming weeks we'll be posting some of the highlights.✨

🌞This sunny bank holiday weekend is the perfect time to enjoy the views. Here are just a few of the stunningly beautiful and tranquil viewpoints near to the surrounding towns.

Please help us spread the word and let us know your own favourite North Wessex Downs views.

👉Wittenham Clumps, where we were filming, is just a few miles away from Didcot

👉If you live in Swindon, try Liddington Hill or Barbury Castle

👉From Devizes, Roundway Hill or Knap Hill are stunning

👉Beacon Hill and Watership Down are within easy reach of Newbury, Andover or Basingstoke

👉And from Reading head west along the Thames Path, or travel by train to Pangbourne or Goring and Streatley and take in the river views.

Find out more on our interactive map - link in comments

Enjoy!

Photo credits: Barbury Castle by Great West Way, Beacon Hill and Knap Hill by David Hall, Roundway Hill by Andrew Perrott, Liddington Hill by Ann Shepley, Thames view towards Streatley by David Olinkski

20/05/2026

Do you enjoy working in partnership and want to make a difference to the recovery of two iconic chalk National Landscapes and a National Trail, especially for wildlife and heritage in the face of climate change?

Nature Ridge Landscape Connections project is funded by the The National Lottery Heritage Fund through the Landscape Connections programme.

This aims to put landscapes into recovery, supporting habitats and species alongside rich cultural heritage in better connected, working landscapes and to enable people to connect with nature and the environment. This phase will develop and explore ideas and opportunities, establish a wider Partnership and put together and submit the Development Application on behalf of the North Wessex Downs and Chilterns National Landscape and the Ridgeway National Trail to be submitted by late Autumn 2027.

There are two exciting Full Time posts to fill with talented people passionate about our chalk landscapes.

Link in comments.

National Trails

14/05/2026

Wonderful to see these lapwing chicks - showing how quickly this new wetland habitat is thriving.

24/04/2026

Our team enjoyed a wonderful walk this week from Wilton, taking in Wilton Water, Crofton Pumping Station, the Kennet and Avon Canal and Wilton Windmill. It was a beautiful day reminding us all of how lucky we are to work in the North Wessex Downs.

Spring was at its best with lovely cowslips and violets, butterflies including brimstone, peacock, common blue and orange tip, and birds including spring warblers and a beautiful grey wagtail spotted (and heard) along the way.

We also noticed the unusual skewed canal bridge number 99, thought to be the first of its kind built by canal engineer John Rennie.

The walk has recently been added to our website, find all the details here – highly recommended by our team! https://bit.ly/4e05Jm9

23/04/2026

As part of the successful Partnerships for Nature Programme, the Bucklebury Estate introduced a herd of Belted Galloway cattle to carry out vital conservation grazing of 257 hectares of wood pasture and restored heathland on Bucklebury Common – the largest area of rare lowland heathland remaining in the North Wessex Downs. The project also achieved:

🌳150 new trees pollarded

🌿56 hectares of wood pasture restored by removal of holly and trees

💦18 ponds created or restored

💧22 Leaky dams built

✅23 hibernacula created, providing habitat for adders

Congratulations to the Bucklebury Estate and the volunteers involved for all that they have achieved. There are already positive signs of the impact on priority species including adder, and internationally important ground nesting birds such as nightjar and woodlark.

Find out more on our website or follow the Bucklebury Estate page.

The project was one of seven in the Partnership for Nature programme. It was led by the North Wessex Downs National Landscape , funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Species Survival Fund and administered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

https://www.northwessexdowns.org.uk/our-work/our-projects/partnerships-for-nature/bucklebury-common-heathland-and-wood-pasture-restoration/

Photos include Belted Galloway cattle on the Common by Alex Cruickshank, heather by Freddie Marshall, and restored monastic ponds.

17/04/2026

Celebrate World Heritage Day tomorrow (18th April) with a visit to Avebury.

The complex of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age monuments around Avebury is of such global significance that it has been inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In total, there are 479 Scheduled Monuments in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape – one of the densest concentrations in the country.

Find out more about historic places to visit on our interactive map on our website: https://bit.ly/4sHa69s

Address

Denford Manor, Lower Denford
Hungerford
RG170UN

Telephone

+441249706101

Website

http://www.northwessexdowns.org.uk/

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