Hillforts of the Ridgeway | Hidden History

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Hillforts of the Ridgeway

5 days

from £1195 per person

Stride around spectacular ancient monuments with tremendous views while a professor from Oxford University guides you through the latest research and excavation in one of England’s most significant ancient landscapes.

Highlights:

The spectacular Iron Age hillforts of the Ridgeway.
Guided by an expert from Oxford University.
Get off the beaten track into an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Uncover the real story of the famous Uffington White Horse.
Explore Danebury and the Museum of the Iron Age.
Stay in the picturesque Thames-side town of Abingdon.

Dates & Prices:

02 – 06 June 2026. Only £1295. Booking open.

Single supplement only £225.

Early booking is recommended.

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What’s Included:

Four night’s accommodation at the Cosener’s House Hotel.
All breakfasts and a 3-course evening meal on the first night.
Daily excursions with all transport, entrances and expert guiding.
All Hidden History tours include a host of fully guided excursions and interesting talks to create an enriching travel experience.

Tour Overview

Get off the beaten track to enjoy panoramic views and a strong sense of England’s past in an area of immensely rich archaeology. In this unique tour we focus on the spectacular Iron Age hillforts which dominate the landscapes of the Ridgeway and the Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Based in a delightful hotel beside the River Thames, we enjoy short walks along the Ridgeway, one of the oldest trackways in England, as we explore a series of hillforts associated with the famous Uffington White Horse, an iconic symbol of England’s past. In the Wessex Downs we visit Danebury, the most extensively excavated hillfort in Europe with an excellent Museum of the Iron Age.

See the ‘Itinerary’ tab above for more details.

: The Uffington White Horse [1]

: Liddington Castle Ramparts [2]

: Barbury Castle [3]

Your Tour Director

Emeritus Professor Gary Lock

Gary is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, where he has taught and researched for many years. He is an acknowledged authority on Iron Age hillforts, and co-directed the recent ‘Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland’ project. He has directed fieldwork and led tours in the UK, Spain and Italy, and has encouraged much community involvement in his excavations and post-excavation work.

Activity Level

This tour requires a good level of mobility and reasonable fitness to reach the hillforts by walking of about a mile or so on rough paths and open, hilly ground. The pace is always gentle and stops are frequent. Our itineraries are focused and well-paced, without being too intensive. Please feel free to ask us for more details. Click here for more about what to expect generally from our tours.

Location

Make your way to the picturesque Thameside town of Abingdon near Oxford. See the ‘Location’ tab above for more details.

How To Book

Tours have minimum and maximum numbers of participants, so you will benefit from booking early; it secures your place and enables us to confirm your tour earlier. We keep our group sizes small, so tours can quickly fill but it is always worth checking for late availability.

Reservations & Enquiries: To reserve your place or enquire further simply click the “Book This Tour Now” button on the relevant tour page, and submit your details. You can also call us on (UK) 0121 444 1854, or email enquiries@hiddenhistory.co.uk.

There is no commitment and no payment at this stage; reservations are purely provisional until we have confirmed availability and proceeded with booking and payment.

Booking & Payment: Once we have checked availability, a deposit is required to secure your booking (£100 for UK tours, £250 for non-UK tours). We will email you a payment link which enables payment by credit card, debit card or bank transfer. Card payment can also be made by telephone (UK) 0121 444 1854.

Places and prices are guaranteed only with a deposit. Full payment is usually required 2 or 3 months ahead of the tour.

Financial Protection: Hidden History Travel is a member of the Travel Trust Association with membership number Q2398. This means that we provide you with the strongest consumer protection available in the travel industry. Any payments you make are 100% protected by the association to pay for your holiday or to reimburse you if we fail to provide it. Hidden History Travel also holds ATOL licence number 12463. This means that if you book your flights with us you will be protected if we or your airline cease trading.

See our booking conditions for further details.

BOOK THIS TOUR NOW

Image Attributes

[1] Adobe Stock (Free), Source

[2] Philipjelley, CC BY-SA 3.0, Source

[3] Geotrekker72, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

[Hero image] Adobe Stock (Free), Source

Day 1: Arrivals.

Make your way to the charming Thameside town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Check-in at the Cosener’s House Hotel and meet your tour director, Professor Gary Lock, for an introductory lecture followed by an included 3-course evening meal.

Day 2: Danebury and the Museum of the Iron Age.

Our first day sets the scene for our exploration of the Iron Age by visiting the famous hillfort at Danebury and its nearby Museum of the Iron Age. Danebury is one of the most extensively studied sites of the Iron Age in Europe, and has played a major role in our understanding of the period. Excavations during the 1970’s and 80’s revealed 500 years of intense activity, with massive earthworks, numerous buildings and an enormous quantity of artefacts.

In nearby Andover, the Museum of the Iron Age was created to tell the story of Danebury Hillfort and its important excavations. Using real artefacts alongside reconstructions based on the discoveries, the museum brings the hillfort to life, exploring how the people lived, farmed, fought, worshipped and died here over two thousand years ago.

Day 3: Cherbury, Segsbury, White Horse Hill and Uffington Castle.

Today we focus on the Ridgeway and the Vale of the White Horse, beginning with Cherbury Camp on the northern edge of the Vale. We have special access to this hidden gem which is normally closed to the public and is off the beaten track, a 20 minute walk from the road. Unusually for Iron Age forts, it is sited on low-lying ground and is larger than many forts on the Ridgeway.

A short drive then takes us up onto the Ridgeway and, first, to Segsbury Camp, also called Letcombe Castle, where excavations by your tour leader revealed evidence for a substantial Iron Age settlement and communal centre. Stop for lunch in the village of Woolstone, where the White Horse Inn has been serving local fayre since Elizabethan times, and then enjoy the afternoon walking on White Horse Hill in the company of your tour leader, who excavated here. Explore the famous chalk-cut figure and the Iron Age hillfort known as Uffington Castle, with great views in all directions.

Day 4: Alfred’s Castle, Liddington Castle and Barbury Camp.

Just off the Ridgeway, on lower ground, Alfred’s Castle is a small enclosure where excavations by your tour leader showed intensive Iron Age occupation, and re-use in Romano-British times as a farm-villa. There is limited evidence for Saxon period activity although King Alfred is thought to have defeated the Danes in battle near here, hence the castle’s name.

Liddington Castle is perched on some of the highest ground on the Ridgeway, with extensive views across the Thames Valley and the Marlborough Downs. Like Uffington, its ramparts were begun early in the Iron Age and it was occupied for many centuries. It is often regarded as the site of the Battle of Mount Badon, c.500 AD, where the Saxons were defeated by the Britons, possibly led by King Arthur. After stopping for a pub lunch we visit our final hillfort, Barbury Castle, undoubtedly one of the most impressive with its double ring of ditches and ramparts and spectacular setting on the Ridgeway.

Day 5: Departures.

To complete your tour we include a final morning’s guided walk around the historic Thames-side town of Abingdon, discovering its delightful architecture and many centuries of intriguing history before dispersing for home.

The Cosener’s House Hotel occupies a picturesque Thames-side position in the grounds of the medieval Abbey of Abingdon, just 8 miles from Oxford. It takes its name from the Cuisinier or Kitchener (the official responsible for providing food for the Abbey).

The oldest part of the present building is the central portion which dates from the mid-eighteenth century.

The hotel is one of the hidden gems of Abingdon with 50 bedrooms and a restaurant with beautiful views overlooking private gardens and the River Thames.

Address: The Cosener’s House, 15 – 16 Abbey Close, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3JD.
Website: www.thecosenershouse.co.uk
Tel: 01235 523 198

Abingdon is located about 10 miles south of the city of Oxford. The Oxford Bus Company operate a regular bus service (every 10 minutes) between the two, with a journey time of about 20 minutes. There are equally regular train services to Oxford from London Paddington and Marylebone stations with a journey time of about 1 hour, and Oxford is also well served by rail from other parts of the country. The Cosener’s House Hotel is in the centre of Abingdon, a short walk from the bus stop.

Use the + and – buttons on the map below to zoom in and out.

: The Uffington White Horse [1]

: Liddington Castle Ramparts [2]

: Barbury Castle [3]

: Uffington Castle Ramparts [4]

: Segsbury (a.k.a Letcombe) Castle Ramparts [5]

: Close-up of the White Horse [6]

Image Attributes

[1] Adobe Stock (Free), Source

[2] Philipjelley, CC BY-SA 3.0, Source

[3] Geotrekker72, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

[4] Chris Andrews, CC BY-SA 2.0, Source

[5] Matthew Prior, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

[6] Rosser1954, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

Mr & Mrs Cordingley, July 6, 2022

We absolutely loved this tour.
September 2021

Mrs Merrill, July 6, 2022

I’m really glad I went; I learnt a lot about hillforts & they were in such lovely locations.
September 2021

Mr & Mrs O'Laighin, July 6, 2022

Well planned tour focussed on a particular aspect of pre-history led by the wonderful Gary Lock who shares his knowledge with great clarity and humour. It met our expectations.
September 2021

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