Check into your comfortable accommodation in Avebury and spend the rest of the day exploring the world’s largest prehistoric stone circle which partially encompasses the pretty village.

Archaeologist Alexander Keiller excavated here in the 1930s, and there is a museum bearing his name.

Avebury Manor, on the edge of the village, was transformed in a partnership between the National Trust and the BBC, creating a hands-on experience that celebrates and reflects the lives of the people who once lived here.

From the start of the Trail at Overton Hill The Ridgeway climbs gradually to Barbury Castle Iron Age fort. Along this section there are characteristic sights of small clumps of beech woodland planted by the Victorians as landscape features and to give sheep some shelter. Some clumps are even planted on top of Bronze Age round barrows, frowned upon today because of the damage tree roots do to ancient monuments.

The countryside is a mixture of arable land, changing colour with the seasons, and areas of sheep or cattle grazed grassland. Some of the best views are from Smeathe’s Ridge as you descend from Barbury Castle to Ogbourne St George.

The pretty village of Ogbourne St George in the valley of the River Og contains many lovely cottages some of them built out of blocks of chalk with thatched roofs.

There’s an initial fairly steep climb out of the Og Valley on a narrow, sunken, tree-lined track after which The Ridgeway remains reasonably level until the M4 is crossed and you shortly reach Foxhill.

27km / 17 miles

This is probably the most remote section of The Ridgeway, with some wonderful views and prehistoric monuments to enjoy.

From Foxhill the Trail undulates fairly regularly making this a relatively strenuous section along a mostly hedge-lined track.

This is a completely rural section. You’ll find yourself mostly surrounded by large fields stretching into the distance planted with crops, but some with sheep, cattle and on occasions pigs.

There is frequently a clay cap on top of the chalk along this stretch, and because of this and the fact that The Ridgeway is a relatively narrow track here, you’ll find that quite a lot of this section has been surfaced with limestone. However in many places where it’s wide enough, the grass verge is mown and provides an alternative to the surfaced strip.

Small villages are strung out below to the north of The Ridgeway at the spring line where water seeps between different geological layers. Many of these settlements are worth a visit to enjoy the local vernacular architecture which includes cottages built from chalk blocks quarried from the downs.

Your day ends in the attractive market town of Wantage, the reputed birthplace of Alfred the Great.

19km / 12 miles

Rolling open downland to the south, punctuated in places by small woodlands, and fine views north into the Thames Valley are typical of this section.

On a clear day you can see the hills in the distance behind which nestles Oxford and, further east, the Chiltern Hills through which The Ridgeway later travels.

This is horse racing country and an early riser will encounter strings of racehorses exercising on the numerous gallops, long ribbons of well managed grass tracks, adjacent to The Ridgeway. The turf of the downland drains easily through the chalk just below creating excellent going for horses.

The Ridgeway along this section is a broad track for a considerable distance, mostly with a natural surface and few hedges. Here the sky dominates but it can be particularly exposed in wet, cold or hot weather. Beyond Bury Down The Ridgeway negotiates the A34 north-south trunk road by an underpass. The noise of the traffic is counteracted to some extent by the colourful mural depicting local historical scenes painted on the walls of the underpass by people from nearby villages.

Your walk ends in Goring, a historic riverside village.

23km / 14.5 miles

Depart after breakfast.