Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow – Uffington Castle Hillfort loop from Ridgeway

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow – Uffington Castle Hillfort loop from Ridgeway

Hard

hikers

Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow – Uffington Castle Hillfort loop from Ridgeway

08:02

29.9km

370m

Hiking

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: May 26, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

North Wessex Downs National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

7.03 km

Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow

Highlight • Historical Site

Wayland's Smithy is a Neolithic chambered long barrow. The site was once believed to be the home of Wayland, the Saxon god of metalworking, hence the name. Excavations have revealed that 14 people were buried in an earlier structure on the site. Between 3460 and 3400 BC a second, much larger barrow was constructed on top, which is what you can explore today. The site is managed by English Heritage.

Tip by

7.45 km

Beech Forest Path

Highlight • Trail

Turn into the small wood from main path and you can hike through beautiful high trees

Tip by

11.1 km

Uffington White Horse

Highlight • Climb

The white horse at Uffington, carved out of the hillside and coloured with white chalk is believed to be the oldest in Britain, and of a much simpler style than the other chalk horses that it inspired since. Historians date it to the Iron or Bronze age, and at over 100 metres long (over 328 feet) is heralded as an incredibly early example of minimalist art.

Tip by

11.5 km

Uffington Castle hillfort

Highlight • Historical Site

Uffington Castle is an early Iron Age (with underlying Bronze Age) univallate hillfort in Oxfordshire, England. It covers about 32,000 square metres and is surrounded by two earth banks separated by a ditch with an entrance in the western end. A second entrance in the eastern end was apparently blocked up a few centuries after it was built. The original defensive ditch was V-shaped with a small box rampart in front and a larger one behind it. Timber posts stood on the ramparts. Later the ditch was deepened and the extra material dumped on top of the ramparts to increase their size. A parapet wall of sarsen stones lined the top of the innermost rampart.
Excavations have indicated that it was probably built in the 7th or 8th century BC and continued to be occupied throughout the Iron Age. Isolated postholes were found inside the fort but no evidence of buildings. Pottery, loom weights and animal bone finds suggest some form of occupation however. The most activity appears to have been during the Roman period as the artefacts recovered from the upper fills of the ditch attest. The ramparts were remodelled to provide more entrances, and a shrine seems to have been built in the early 4th century AD. Two oblong mounds, one containing 46 Romano-British burials and one containing eight Saxon burials, lie nearby.
An ancient track passes by the northern entrance to the hillfort; it is known as The Ridgeway. It links to the Icknield Way at the Goring Gap, and passes close to Avebury before heading south across Salisbury Plain. It also passes very close to a Neolithic chambered long barrow, Waylands Smithy, about a mile to the west.

Tip by

11.8 km

Uffington White Horse

Highlight • Monument

Uffington Castle is an exceptionally well-preserved example of an Iron Age hill fort. The White Horse is the oldest chalk-cut hill figure in Britain, too; perhaps over 3,000 years old. From the summit, you are afforded wonderful views.

Tip by

12.1 km

Uffington Castle Hillfort

Highlight • Summit

On White Horse Hill, this large hillfort dates back to the Iron Age and lies next to the extraordinary Uffington White Horse, a prehistoric chalk figure. Combined, they make for a wonderful site to ramble about. The fort lies on the ancient Ridgeway, Britain's oldest road and numerous other hillforts reside in the area.

Tip by

20.9 km

The Ridgeway Trail

Highlight • Trail

Here you will trail a section of the famous Ridegway, which is thought to be one of Britain's oldest roads! You'll be traversing along the exact route that has been used since prehistoric times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers - a real fascinating piece of history!

Tip by

21.4 km

Segsbury Camp Iron Age Hill Fort

Highlight • Historical Site

Segsbury Camp is an Iron Age hill fort in the Vale of White Horse. You can explore extensive and well-preserved ramparts and gateways in the fort. Historians believe this site was occupied between the sixth and the second centuries BC and was used as a communal centre for many activities.

Tip by

29.9 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

27.3 km

1.23 km

734 m

384 m

229 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

17.0 km

9.28 km

2.33 km

1.04 km

152 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (260 m)

Lowest point (200 m)

Weather

Tuesday 14 July

28°C

15°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 20.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

Want to know more?

Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Edit route

Download GPX

Move start point

Embed on a website

Report an Issue

Report restricted access

Nearby routes

Easy

4.5

372

Burford and River Windrush Roman Way

01:55h

7.15km

80m

Moderate

4.8

302

Minster Lovell to Crawley loop

01:33h

5.97km

40m

Moderate

4.6

208

The Archaeology Trail & the Ridgeway loop from Avebury — North Wessex Downs

02:19h

8.69km

90m

Easy

4.7

163

Goring-on-Thames to Hartsford loop

01:32h

5.93km

30m

Easy

4.7

Oxford Historic loop via The Thames Path

01:49h

7.14km

20m

Moderate

4.7

160

Wittenham Clumps and Thames Path Circular

02:43h

10.2km

110m

Moderate

4.7

202

Donnington Castle and Snelsmore Common

01:40h

6.17km

80m

Moderate

4.7

201

Uffington White Horse & Wayland's Smithy loop — North Wessex Downs

01:41h

6.24km

80m

Moderate

3.8

109

Burford to The Fox at Barrington loop

03:10h

12.2km

90m

Moderate

4.7

136

Great Bedwyn and Wilton Canal Loop

02:12h

8.42km

60m

Moderate

4.9

136

Faccombe & Ashmansworth loop — North Wessex Downs

02:39h

9.46km

180m

Moderate

4.8

Elvendon Lane and Hartslock Nature Reserve loop from Goring and Streatley railway station

03:29h

12.9km

180m

Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow – Uffington Castle Hillfort loop from Ridgeway

Wayland's Smithy Long Barrow

Beech Forest Path

Uffington White Horse

Uffington Castle hillfort

Uffington White Horse

Uffington Castle Hillfort

The Ridgeway Trail

Segsbury Camp Iron Age Hill Fort

Nearby routes

Sign up or log in to keep exploring this route

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️