The idea for a long-distance path along the line of the Wessex Downs and Chilterns goes back to the
Hobhouse Committee of 1947. The present route was designated by the Government in 1972, and opened as a
National Trail in 1973. One of fifteen long-distance National Trails in England and Wales, the Ridgeway travels for northeast from Overton Hill within the
Avebury World Heritage Site to Ivinghoe Beacon near
Tring. At
Marlborough it meets the
Wessex Ridgeway, a footpath opened in 1994 which follows the southwest section of the ancient track into Dorset, as far as
Lyme Regis. At Ivinghoe Beacon the Ridgeway meets the
Icknield Way Path which continues northeast towards Suffolk. The Ridgeway meets the more recent (1997)
Thames Path National Trail at the
Goring Gap, where the trails use opposite banks of the River Thames between
Goring-on-Thames and
Mongewell; the Thames Path follows the western bank and the Ridgeway the eastern. The total height climbed along the path is . The official guide to the trail divides The Ridgeway into six sections. It is possible to join or leave the trail at other locations with public transport links, including
Avebury,
Swindon,
Wantage,
Wallingford,
Princes Risborough and
Tring. The Ridgeway is one of four
long-distance footpaths that combine to run from
Lyme Regis to
Hunstanton, collectively referred to as the
Greater Ridgeway or Greater Icknield Way. The Ridgeway passes near many Neolithic,
Iron Age and
Bronze Age sites including
Avebury Stone Circle;
Barbury Castle,
Liddington Castle,
Uffington Castle,
Segsbury Castle, Pulpit Hill and Ivinghoe Beacon Hill, all Iron Age and
Bronze Age hill forts;
Wayland's Smithy, a Neolithic chieftain burial tomb; the
Uffington White Horse, an ancient chalk horse carved into the hillside near Uffington Castle; and
Grim's Ditch, a section of earthwork near
Mongewell created by Iron Age peoples as a possible demarcation line. Other points of interest include the
Blowing Stone and Victory Drive, the private drive of
Chequers (the British Prime Minister's country retreat). The Ridgeway's surface varies from chalk-rutted farm paths and green lanes (which have a propensity for becoming extremely muddy and pot-holed after rain) to small sections of metalled roads. Designated as a
bridleway (shared with horses and bicycles) for much of its length, the Ridgeway also includes parts designated as
byway, which permits the use of motorised vehicles.
Local restrictions along many byway sections limit the use of motorised vehicles to the summer months. Under the
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, many public rights of way in England and Wales that authorities had not explicitly classified as bridleways or byways defaulted to the classification "restricted byway" which precludes the use of motor vehicles at all times, except authorised vehicles and where required for access. As a result, much of the Ridgeway remains prohibited to motor vehicle use by the general public year-round. However, the Ridgeway is the only means of access for many farms, especially in the more remote parts of the Downs. In 2024 the Ridgeway National Trail comprised of public footpath, of public bridleway, of byway (much of which has seasonal restrictions on motor vehicles), of restricted byway (all in Oxfordshire and Berkshire) and of public road. The of the Trail to the west of the River Thames has no sections of public footpath and is therefore open along its entire length to cyclists and those on horseback. The remaining of National Trail to the east of the River Thames contains the of public footpath in many noncontiguous parts, making it impractical for cyclists and those on horseback to follow this half of the Trail. The Ridgeway Partnership is currently in the process of creating a Ridgeway Riding Route. Despite the Ridgeway's artificial creation, the TV programme
Seven Natural Wonders featured it in 2005 as one of the wonders of the South. == Places along the Ridgeway ==