A lovely 5.25 mile walk to Segsbury Camp along the Ridgeway from Sparsholt Firs, passing by the Devils Punchbowl.
This afternoon we went for a lovely walk from Sparsholt Firs to Segsbury Camp, a total of 5.25 miles.
It never fails to amaze me how beautiful the countryside is around us and this afternoon was no different. Walking high up the Ridgeway you get to see some lovely views of the Oxforshdire countryside. You can see for miles and miles. Seeing the different shapes and forms of the rolling landscape, the texture and the patterns formed by the different fields, hedges, pathways etc.
It was so peaceful and quiet, not a sound to be heard, well apart from the clanking of Fudge’s dog tags.
The Devil’s Punchbowl
The Devil’s Punchbowl is a dramatic dry valley or coombe sculpted by the action of water in the past. Nowadays it is a great grassy amphitheatre and one of the largest expanses of unimproved chalk grassland in the area. Much of the area is a protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Segsbury Camp or Letcombe Castle
Segsbury Camp or Letcombe Castle is an Iron Age hill fort on the crest of the Berkshire Downs. The fort has extensive ditch and ramparts and four gateways. It was thought to have been a communal center for various activities between 6th and 2nd centuries BC, including sheep management and exchange.
It was also a secondary Anglo-Saxon burial, placed at the camp. Excavation at the site in 1871 discovered a cist grave on the south side of the hill fort rampart. The grave was floored with stone slabs and the sides were walled with flint. Finds included a shield boss and fragments of an urn or drinking cup and among other finds were human bones and flint scrapers.
Things keep getting better.
During the 5.25 mile walk, I managed over13800 steps at a nice steady pace of 2.6 mph. That’s an improvement from the summer months when it was around 2.1mph.
Fudge has been out for two walks today, managing over 46,500 steps. Mind you he does keep running backwards and forwards, so he has probably done twice the distance.