Ridgeway National Trail celebrates 50th anniversary

This year is the 50 th anniversary of the Ridgeway National Trail, which runs for 140km from Overton Hill near Marlborough to Ivinghoe Beacon. Wendover and its residents have played important parts in the Trail’s history, so it was fitting that the anniversary was celebrated on 29 September by a ceremony on Coombe Hill, with its panoramic views over Ellesborough and Wendover.

There was a gathering of exhibitions and demonstrations showing the 5,000 year history of the Ridgeway itself as well as activities along the modern trail such as off-road bikes and the work done to make much of the Trail suitable for disabled access.

Lee Niven from OTEC Bikes in Halton, together with Graham Wallace, showed some of the world’s first off-road bicycles, which were developed by Geoff Apps from Aylesbury in the late 1970s, as well as a modern electrically-assisted off-roader. They are working with Cycling UK on a project to complete the eastern end of the Ridgeway Riding Route for cyclists.

Gavin Casperz, a mobility scooter user, together with James Spratley, showed how they and others in the Disabled Ramblers have been surveying and mapping routes and rating them for disabled access. This includes using scooter mounted cameras to produce Google Streetviews of the complete routes.

John Adkin and Chris Patterson demonstrated sand casting of a Bronze Age sword, a replica of an ancient original found near

Ivinghoe Beacon. Brett Thorne showed a selection of locally-found archaeological artefacts from the Discover Bucks museum in Aylesbury.

The ceremony at the base of the Coombe Hill Monument was attended by guests including Dame Fiona Reynolds and Patricia Birchley, chair of Buckinghamshire Council. The first Ridgeway Officer Jo Burgon and an attendee at the 1973 opening event and Chris Hall were there, together with current Ridgeway officer Sarah Wright. There were also representatives from Buckinghamshire Scouts, Thames Valley Police, The National Trust, Natural England, British Horse Society, Tring Running Club and more.

Marking the anniversary, a new illustrated map and visitor leaflet for the Ridgeway trail has been published on the National Trail Website, here: https://bit. ly/48RbhdH