Sarsen Way

Wiltshire

A walk through the evidence of ancient history across rural Wiltshire linking Barbury Castle with Salisbury Cathedral. It passes the Alton Barnes White Horse and The Sanctuary, then crosses the medieval defensive earthwork, Wansdyke, and passes Adam's Grave, Casterley Camp and Old Sarum, the site of an ancient settlement. En route it meanders along the Avon Valley, passing through Amesbury, and it visits the edges of Salisbury Plain.

This Sarsen Way route is mainly across open, rolling downland under wide skies. There is visible evidence of ancient earthworks - such as tumuli and burial mounds - as well as past agriculture in strip lynchets near Woodborough and Upavon. Part of the route is along the Ridgeway. The route ends in Salisbury at the Cathedral.

It is part of a family of routes under the Great Chalk Way umbrella, that are established walking and riding routes linking the Dorset and Norfolk Coasts across central southern England, following the ancient trading route along the chalk ridge, together forming a coast-to-coast route of around 400 miles. The Great Chalk Way comprises the Wessex Ridgeway, Cranborne Droves Way, Sarsen Way, Ridgeway, Icknield Way and Peddars Way. More information on the Great Chalk Way is on its website below and on the Friends of the Ridgeway website.

Some of the northern part of the Sarsen Way route lies within the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. Most of the National Landscape is farmland. Over half of this area is cropped and some is grazed, the rest is mostly woodland and set aside land.

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Details:

Path Type:	Other Paths
Waymark:	Three Saresen Stones within direction arrow on brown background
Attributes:	Other Paths Average Gradients Horse Ride (Multi User) Agricultural land National Landscape Downland/Wolds Urban
Start:	SU176827 - Coate Water Country Park, Wiltshire
Finish:	SU142295 - Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire
Open Date:	2022
User Group:	Friends of the Ridgeway Friends of the Ridgeway
Web Sites:	Great Chalk Way - Sarsen Way Sarsen Way - John Bowen (Youtube Video) Great Chalk Way

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Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Guidebook	Sarsen Way and Cranborne Droves Way  (Cicerone Press  - 2024 )
Route Description - PDF	Sarsen Way - North to South - route description  (Tim Lewis  - 2026 )
Route Description - PDF	Sarsen Way - South to North - route description  (Tim Lewis  - 2026 )

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