Walking in the North Wessex Downs. Steve Davison

picturesque Yattendon was mentioned in the Domesday Book, when the manor was held by ‘William son of Ansculf’. Inside the 15th-century Church of St Peter and St Paul is a memorial to Sir John Norreys (d.1466), a distinguished soldier in the reign of Elizabeth I and lord of the manor who built the present church; the Norreys family, and their descendants, held the manor of Yattendon until the 19th century. On the north wall of the nave there is a tablet (Latin inscription) commemorating Harriet Molesworth, her son Robert Seymour Bridges (1844–1930) and his wife Monica Waterhouse. Robert Bridges, a doctor by profession, became poet laureate in 1913; his works include ‘London snow’ (1879).

      The village is also home to the award-winning West Berkshire Brewery, originally established in 1995 in a barn at the Pot Kiln pub (Walk 1). The brewery and shop is located 400m south of the church along Church Lane and then left along Chapel Lane (SU 554 741).

      Keep left past The Royal Oak, and shortly after passing the village hall turn left at the footpath sign. There are two paths here; follow the second option through the churchyard, passing just left of the Church of St Peter and St Paul before leaving through a gate in the far corner. The first path stays outside the churchyard and then turns right, rejoining the other path at the gate.

      Continue north-eastwards between trees (left) and a hedge (right); the woods have a good display of bluebells in late spring. At the end of the wood keep ahead through the field for 600m following the right-hand boundary to a crossing track; Calvesleys Farm is to the right. Keep ahead, now with a wood on the left and open field to the right. At the corner follow the field edge round to the right (marker post) for 250m. Shortly before the next field corner, turn left at the marker post and head north-east down through the trees to a track. Turn right (east) along the dip in the field to a crossing track – Pinfold Lane.

      Turn left up the track back to Ashampstead, later following Church Lane past St Clement’s Church and turning right at the crossroads to get back to the start.

WALK 3

      Aldworth

Start/Finish	Ridgeway car park at end of Rectory Road off the A417 at Streatley (SU 567 812)
Distance	8.8km (5½ miles)
Ascent	170m
Time	2½hrs
Maps	OS Explorer 159 and 170
Refreshments	The Bell Inn (01635 578272) at Aldworth
Public transport	Streatley (off route, accessible by following the waymarked Ridgeway for 2km) has bus links to Reading (excluding Sundays); Goring and Streatley station has good rail links (3.5km off route)

      This easy half-day walk follows a short section of the Ridgeway, meandering through the Berkshire Downs just west of the River Thames with views of the Chilterns. The high point of the walk is the picturesque village of Aldworth, a place where giants sleep, before a gradual descent leads back to the start.

      From car park, head west up the track following the Ridgeway for 1.7km to a track junction. Turn left along the track, with a view to the west across Streatley Warren to the Chilterns, and then follow the track as it swings right to a surfaced lane. Turn left along the lane for 250m and then right down a track, following it as it swings left at the trees to pass Dumworth Farm to join a road beside St Mary’s Church in Aldworth.

      Picturesque Aldworth, mentioned in the Domesday Book, is home to St Mary’s Church, which dates back to Norman times. Inside the church are the ‘Aldworth Giants’, nine larger-than-life effigies of the de la Beche family dating from the first half of the 14th century (see box). The churchyard is the final resting place of the poet Laurence Binyon, especially remembered for the lines from his poem ‘For the fallen’ that are quoted at Remembrance Day services.

      Inside St Mary’s Church is the large effigy of Sir Nicholas de la Beche

      THE ALDWORTH GIANTS

      The influential de la Beche family, many of whom were warders of the Tower of London and Sheriffs of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, had come to England in the wake of William the Conqueror and built the long-since vanished ‘castle’ of de la Beche nearby. A silver seal bearing the name Isabella de la Beche was found in 1871 and is now held in Reading Museum.

      According to tradition four of the family effigies, or giants, in the church were known by other names – the largest was known as John Long, and the three others as John Strong, John Never Afraid and John Ever Afraid. The last of the three, whose effigy has disappeared, is said to have promised his soul to the Devil in exchange for worldly riches, ‘whether he was buried inside or outside the church’. However, at his death he tricked the Devil by being buried in the wall, neither in nor out of the church. The arch where the statue lay is on the outside of the south wall.

      Although the effigies have suffered some damage over the centuries, probably during the English Civil War, they are still an impressive sight and constitute the largest number of medieval memorials to a single family in a parish church.

      Turn left and keep right at the split to reach The Bell Inn. Opposite the inn is a canopied well said to be one of the deepest in England at 111m. Turn right for 20m, and then go left along the enclosed path. Keep ahead across two fields separated by a hedge. Turn left along the track for 250m, then turn right through a gate.

      After passing through Aldworth the route heads back towards the Ridgeway, with distant views of the Chilterns

      Follow the track downhill, go through the hedge into the next field and keep right to follow the field edge with Westridge Copse on the right, heading east. Later, stay in the field and head north towards Kiddington Cottage. Turn right through a gate and then left (north) along the track past the house. Keep to the track heading north-east between fields. Later fork right to follow a parallel path through the trees and then rejoin the track. Keep ahead to a lane (Ridgeway), and turn left for 900m back to the car park (right leads to Streatley).

WALK 4

      Shillingford, Wittenham Clumps and Dorchester on Thames

Start/Finish	Henley Road (A4074) in Shillingford, just north-west of the roundabout (SU 595 928); limited roadside parking
Distance	13.2km (8¼ miles)
Ascent	190m
Time	3¾hrs
Map	OS Explorer 170
Refreshments	The Red Lion (01491 837373) at Brightwell-cum-Sotwell; pubs, tea room and shop at Dorchester on Thames
Public transport	Daily bus services to Shillingford from Oxford and Reading

      From Shillingford the walk soon crosses the River Thames to call in at Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, with its picturesque thatched cottages. From here it’s off to the distinctive twin tree-crowned tops of the Wittenham Clumps, tucked in the far north-east corner of the North Wessex Downs, from where there is a great view. The walk then drops down to historic Dorchester on Thames before heading back alongside the River Thames.

      Head north-west from the lay-by in Shillingford to the crossroads and turn left along Wharf Road (Thames Path). Near the end fork left along the enclosed Thames Path, keep right, cross the drive to Shillingford Court, and later bear left along the surfaced track to a road. Turn right across the River Thames, then right again just before the Shillingford Bridge Hotel. Continue through the car park, follow the track towards North Farm for 50m and turn left up through the trees. Continue across two fields, passing a wooden electricity pole, and at the bridleway junction bear left towards the trees. Continue down through the wood (sunken route) for 300m, and then fork right on a path with a fence on the left. Then follow the left-hand field margin to the corner.

      With care, cross the A4130 and follow the path opposite through the narrow field, then down steps to a road in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell. Go straight on down Bell Lane, then keep right at the first junction and straight