Chiseldon, Wiltshire

DISTANCE 21.5km (13.4 miles) CLIMBING 295m (968ft) TIME 1hr to 2hrs

Start/ inish Car park on The Ridgeway, Chiseldon (grid ref SU 192/793, postcode SN4 0HT) Route summary Good tracks take you up into the hills for great views and a long descent, followed by a short, sharp climb and a fun descent to the pub, before another good track leads you back to the start.

Turn left on The Ridgeway and continue over a crossroads. A few hundred metres further on, bear o onto a singletrack road (ahead/right) as the main road bears left. Climb gradually to a T-junction with a better road and go left on it. Bear right at the fork, onto a singletrack road, which becomes a gravelly track around the foot of Barbury Hill. Turn left at the crossroads, then left again. Continue through a gate to climb the grassy track over Barbury Hill. Follow the path straight ahead, down past Barbury Castle car park. Turn right on the road, past the farm buildings. Then go left, through a gate, onto the Ridgeway bridleway. Bear right and then left (at the signpost at the end of the white railings) on the grassy track. Then continue straight ahead, down to a road. Turn right on the tarmac. Shortly after, when the road bears left, keep straight ahead on the Ridgeway byway. After 800m, fork left and follow a good track downhill, past some houses, to the A346. Go straight across this and join a track opposite. Cross a cycle path and climb uphill, crossing a minor road by a house. Climb some more, then bear right, to a wide track crossing at the top. Turn left here. After 600m, just past a bridleway on the right, turn left onto a narrow bridleway, which takes you back on yourself, downhill. Keep right to follow a better track past the quarry works. Turn right at the crossroads, to join National Cycle Network route 45. Go left at the T-junction, under the bridge, then immediately turn right, onto the cycle path (or keep ahead to the pub). Follow this cycle path parallel to the A346, keeping straight ahead all the way, until you reach the road from the start. Turn left and then left again, back into the car park.