Walks from Newbury

Gentle climbs, heathland common, woodland, river meadows and canal.

Time: 5h30

Warnings: Swing bridge delays.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Great views back over the Goring Gap. A long, varied country route through fields, woodland and along a canal, with few road sections and those mostly quiet country lanes. Crosses the undulating North Wessex Downs, with a couple of hills; the steepest is Streatley Hill near Goring. Mostly easy underfoot in dry weather and though some sections can be tricky in winter and a few paths have brambles to push through. Crosses the North Wessex Downs AONB; passes close to a shooting range at Growcroft Copse where dogs should be kept on leads. Can be broken at Yattendon, roughly two-thirds of the way along.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 7h–14h

Lunch: There are also a convenience store at Yattendon and two pubs at Cold Ash, roughly a third of the way along.

Warnings: Cattle are present in fields along the route, including a field west of the Pot Kiln at Frilsham, where some walkers have been approached by a frisky herd; alternative footpaths can avoid this field.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, flat and very direct walk almost entirely along the Kennet & Avon Canal towpath, with very few road crossings. Surface is mainly paved or gravelled and suitable for wheels and with a couple of mile-long grassy stretches that get muddy after rain and narrow in places when vegetation grows. Also follows National Cycle Network Route 4. Kintbury makes a convenient break, with public toilets by the canal, pubs, a shop and rail and bus links. Several benches near the bridges and locks.

Waterway: almost all along the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Time: 3h30–7h30

Lunch: Various shops and pubs at Kintbury, the natural break point.

Warnings: Two mile-long grassy stretches get muddy and slippery after rain and in winter, and the path narrows where vegetation grows.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Gentle climbs, heathland common, woodland, river meadows and canal.

Warnings: Swing bridge delays.

Source: A variant of Newbury Racecourse to Woolhampton – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Gentle climbs, heathland common, woodland, river meadows and canal.

Source: A longer variant of Newbury Racecourse to Woolhampton – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).