The Friends of The Ridgeway is an Association of people committed to preserving The Ridgeway as an ancient greenway for quiet enjoyment by the public.

Welcome to our Website, where we hope you will find all that you need to use and enjoy The Ridgeway.  Use the links in the side menu to locate topics of interest, or simply search below.

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Winter on The Ridgeway

After a cool, wet summer, which relented only just in time to save the harvest in many areas, we were blessed with an autumn that was one of the mildest and longest on record.  The leaves were still on the trees and still colourful at the end of November, and walking The Ridgeway was pleasurably dry underfoot, even in the leafy Chilterns stretches.  What a contrast to last year’s experience when the snow lay already heavy at that time, and temperatures were at record lows.  This year, sales of barbecues and their supplies were reported to be higher in October than in August, and it was a pleasure to be out and about in November, at least in the south of England.  What lies in store for the rest of the season remains to be seen! The pattern, if there is one, seems to be of storms of wind and rain interspersed with calm, cold and sunny spells, more like North America than our familiar damp winter weather.  Is this something to do with climate change?  If so, perhaps it has something to be said for it!  At least, if the snows do come and the weather closes in, the birds will benefit from the wonderful crop of berries still clothing the hedgerows all around.

Winter is still a great season for bracing walks along The Ridgeway, well wrapped up against the wind if necessary, to blow the cobwebs away and to work up an appetite for Christmas cheer, or to work it off, as the case may be!   The vales are clean and fresh under the plough, and the sparse grasses and hedgerows along the downs have their own, reticent beauty, whether in the sparkling light of a winter noon, or the pearly haze towards tea-time that warns us to seek a warm fireside for the evening.  Already in January, the first signs of spring can be seen as the buds start to form and the first spears of snowdrops appear at the roots of the hedges.  The days are starting to lengthen, and spring will soon be on the way.

The Great Stones Way

Our main concerns during the autumn have focussed around our plans for an environmental impact study (EIS) of the whole route, and the consultations with our Consultative Group and others concerned over terms of reference and suitable consultants to undertake the studies.  After a great deal of time and much discussion, we eventually asked for proposals from six well-qualified firms, of whom four responded and three closely-matched and impressive offers were considered in the final selection.  We now have a preferred candidate, with impressive credentials in countryside management, access and conservation, and have sought approval for funding of the exercise alongside the resources donated by you, our members and supporters.  We hope to be able soon to announce the commissioning of the exercise and to request the active participation of the community as well as of all the organisations concerned with the natural, heritage and social environment along the route. 

Meanwhile, we have been pressing ahead with preparations for the works in the southern section of the route, and are about to seek approval for the variation of our LEADER grant from Plain Action, to permit the amended route through Amesbury instead of Stonehenge, the inclusion of the EIS in the project and a revised budget.  We are aiming to complete the works on this section in time for the launch of the path in concert with the festivities planned by Amesbury and the Avon parishes for the Jubilee week-end.  We hope that this Plain and Avon section of the route will be available to walkers from the start of the 2012 walking season. 

See also our new Great Stones Way web-site.