title Walking the Ridgeway: Chiseldon to Avebury, Wiltshire - 10th August 2026 intro Nosher, Isobel and Harry are off down to Jules' and Mark's walled garden near Chiseldon in Wiltshire, partly because it's a nice place to be and also because the Italians are over again for a few days and Isobel wants to meet up. We're only there for a couple of nights, and Isobel's technically working, so Nosher heads off on an epic ten mile hike from Burderop Park to Avebury, a route which follows part of the National 45 cycle path around Barbury Castle - an iron-age hill fort - before joining up with the Ridgeway, said to be Europe's oldest road. It eventually crosses the Wessex Ridgeway which heads into Avebury, where the final destination is the Red Lion pub and the sweetest pint of beer ever tasted. Later on, we meet up with the Italians again at the Royal Oak pub in Bishopstone imgp1414 The traffic on the M25 is hosed again imgp1417 Harry gets another photo of stacked M25 traffic imgp1420 We have lunch under the fig tree imgp1421 The walled garden is now full of plants imgp1422 The restored Victorian greenhouse imgp1423 Inside the Victorian greenhouse imgp1424 Isobel and Jules visit the new building imgp1428 Dog wants you to throw his ball imgp1430 The new library building imgp1433 Isobel and Jules in the walled garden imgp1434 A bistro table and chairs in the wildflowers imgp1435 A collection of homemade earthenware imgp1437 Jules hugs Elliot as Harry lurks imgp1438 Harry and Elliot chat at the table imgp1443 Luna boings in the air imgp1444 Mark's on barbeque duty imgp1446 Mark's dad and the Italians join us for dinner imgp1448 The terracotta pots make handy wine holders imgp1452 There's a big turn-out for dinner imgp1455 Bales of straw in a Wiltshire field imgp1456 Looking back down the road to Chiseldon imgp1458 A "God bless the NHS" mural on a barn imgp1464 Walking up part of National Cycle Route 45 imgp1466 Route 45 opens up imgp1468 The fields of Wiltshire imgp1479 A view from Barbury Castle - an iron-age hill fort imgp1480 Barbury Castle hill fort imgp1483 A solitary pile of straw bales in a field imgp1486 On the Ridgeway path imgp1492 A dead bush on the Ridgeway imgp1495 The chalk path is brutally hot imgp1498 The Wessex Ridgeway falls down into Avebury imgp1500 The Wessex Ridgeway has turned into a road imgp1501 Standing stones in Avebury stone circle imgp1503 Impressive hanging baskest at the Red Lion imgp1505 Jules, Isobel, Elliot and Harry have arrived imgp1506 Part of the Avebury stone circle imgp1507 Avebury's Red Lion pub imgp1509 A thatched building over the road from the pub imgp1513 One of Wiltshire's nine horse carvings imgp1516 Arkell's beers in the outside bar at the Royal Oak imgp1517 A pair of B-1B Lancers flies over the pub imgp1519 Helen Browning's Royal Oak pub imgp1520 Elliot checks his phone as Harry scopes the menu imgp1523 Mark and the Italians have joined us for dinner imgp1532 A pigeon wants what Harry's got imgp1535 The pub's outdoor kitchen imgp1538 Davide messes around in the undergrowth imgp1541 The downstairs bar of the Royal Oak, Bishopstone imgp1542 A nice thatched house next to the pub imgp1543 The Edwardian Royal Oak in Bishopstone imgp1545 A pair of nice Wiltshire thatched cottages imgp1547 Mark and Jules chat to a regular imgp1551 Harry helps to load up some plants imgp1553 The van is full of potted grasses imgp1554 Harry in action imgp1556 Harry reads his book imgp1558 Harry with Luna imgp1561 The Ravine part of the gardens imgp1562 Isobel in the woodshed imgp1563 Harry hangs around by the kitchen door imgp1571 We're back at South Mimms imgp1572 Harry returns from a mission to score road food