Jigsaw Falling Into Place

LETJOG PEAK No 40: Whitehorse Hill, Oxfordshire (261 metres)

Walk Date: Friday 11 August 2023

At around 110 metres long, and comprised of crushed chalk within deeply-cut trenches in the overlying turf, the Uffington White Horse was created in the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age period between 1380 and 550 BC, and it has been described as a ‘masterpiece of minimalist art’: the work is by some margin the oldest of the ‘white horses’ of southern England (Stock image from the internet)

I may have mentioned in one of my earlier Blogs that when I was very young, certainly well before the re-designation of the English counties under the 1972 Local Government Act, I had a jigsaw comprised of thick wooden pieces cut into the shapes of the traditional English shires. Aside from the county name, each piece (where large enough) included images of the local industry or of products grown or made in that county: I can recall for example the footwear of Northamptonshire, the dairy cows in Devon, the lace of Nottinghamshire, and in the case of today’s county the car works in Oxford. I guess that might be where my interest in travelling our land whilst bagging County Tops might have originated! Well, on that note, my LETJOG Peaks venture is coming together quite well now: with 40 peaks under my belt I am into the last fifth of my task, and aside from the summits themselves I am also passing some note-worthy statistical landmarks. On today’s walk I took my millionth step of the challenge, and somewhere upon my planned foray next week to Merseyside, Lancashire and North Yorkshire I expect to pass the 500-mile marker, to reach a total time of 200 hours on the trail, and possibly also to exceed a cumulative total of 20,000 metres climbed.

Starting in Wantage, today’s walking route set off south-westwards along footpaths and lanes through the villages of Letcombe Regis and Letcombe Bassett, ahead of a steep climb up to the Ridgeway path: along the top of the ridge the walk followed this grassy undulating track for around six miles up to the County Top at Whitehorse Hill, before descending into Woolstone village

A walk of two halves: the profile of this ramble shows the lower first few miles then the steep ascent up to the Ridgeway path and the higher level section along to the summit of Whitehorse Hill

Today though was certainly less about facts and figures, and (appropriately enough given my comments on my childhood activities above) more about a most pleasant day spent rambling on the pastoral uplands of Oxfordshire with Tim, my younger brother. Walking from Tim’s front door we took a meandering tour of the fine market town of Wantage before making our way through some of Oxfordshire’s most verdant countryside and through the Letcombes, Regis and Bassett, two rustic villages of stone, brickwork and thatch that must rank amongst the county’s finest, before heading up onto the North Wessex Downs and along the ancient Ridgeway path to the top of the county at Whitehorse Hill. Here we spent an hour or so exploring the earthworks of the early Iron Age hilltop fort of Uffington Castle and the hummock of Dragon Hill (where legend has it that St George slayed his foe), whilst admiring the prehistoric hill figure of the Uffington White Horse itself. Here’s how we got on:

The West Saxon King, Alfred the Great, stands proudly in the market square in Wantage, the place of his birth in 819 AD: the plaque beneath the statue declares that ‘Alfred’s Name Will Live As Long As Mankind Shall Respect The Past’

And this statue is to another erstwhile resident of Wantage, Sir John Betjeman

The Church of St Peter and St Paul dates from the late 13th century

Now converted into premium flats, The Old Mill in Mill Street sits astride the Letcombe Brook . . .

. . . a clear chalk-stream that is home to kingfishers and (as we observed) also to many fish, including trout

The sarsen stones in the Betjeman Millennium Park, on our path out of the town

Like many other older buildings, The Greyhound pub in Letcombe Regis is built of Oxfordshire ‘Nettlebed’ bricks, laid in a Flemish bond . . .

. . . with courses of alternating stretchers and glazed headers

Whilst the thatched community shop includes panels of flint

Heading out through the nature reserve on the chalk grasslands of the Letcombe Valley . . .

. . . once more alongside the Letcombe Brook, close to the spring where the stream has its source near the village of Letcombe Bassett

Whilst the lower lands beneath the North Wessex Downs are known as the ‘Vale of the White Horse’, the area to the southwest of Wantage, including Lambourn and the Letcombes, has been re-branded by some locals as the ‘Vale of the Racehorse’

After our steep climb up the lanes we joined the ancient Ridgeway path . . .

. . . turning westwards to follow the grassy tracks along the top of the North Wessex Downs: and what skies!

We were joined briefly by this small frog . . .

Several more miles of the glorious Ridgeway path led us over pasture and alongside golden fields of wheat . . .

. . . with far-reaching views to our right over the extensive Vale of the White Horse

Eventually we arrived at the County Top of Oxfordshire, Whitehorse Hill, at 261 metres of elevation

Exploring the earthwork ramparts of Uffington Castle, a hill fort dating from early Iron Age times

Looking across the chalk incisions of the Uffington White Horse . . .

. . . and starting our descent past Dragon Hill

Climbing another smaller ridge we managed an oblique view of the White Horse . . .

. . . but we had to wait a few minutes until our arrival in Woolstone village to get the full picture

With our 15-mile trek completed a late lunch was certainly in order, if only to mark the conclusion to a fine summer day of walking. It has been super to have your great company today Tim, and many thanks for arranging my tour of your home patch and for booking such a fine venue for our lunch – it has been great to see this corner of Oxfordshire in all its glory. Thanks also to Ridgeway walkers Sarah and Nathan who I ambushed on the top to take our photo – we ended up chatting for a few minutes, comparing walks, and I have just seen their kind contribution to the British Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal that my LETJOG Peaks challenge is supporting. Thank you both very much – the JustGiving link for those others who may be interested in donating is on my Home page, or it can be accessed directly by clicking on the following button.

DONATE to the British Red Cross’ UKRAINE CRISIS APPEAL

Thank you all! And as for the jigsaw, I really must check sometime as to whether our parents still have the box stashed away somewhere in the back of a cupboard!

Re-fuelling after our exertions, at The White Horse in Woolstone

Since their formation in 1985 in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Radiohead have become one of the country’s foremost rock bands, culminating perhaps with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The five-piece group features lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Thom Yorke, raised and schooled in Oxfordshire, who has been described by Rolling Stone magazine as ‘one of the greatest and most influential vocalists of his generation’. The song ‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’ was written by Yorke and his colleagues in the band, and the number appeared as a single from their seventh studio album ‘In Rainbows’, released in 2007. Adopting this song title for today’s Blog heading seems an apt way of describing the current progress of my LETJOG Peaks challenge, as I plan my ten final climbs.

Jigsaw Falling Into Place

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