Wessex Ridgeway
The Wessex Ridgeway is a 221 km route from Marlborough in Wiltshire to Lyme Regis on the Jurassic Coast — following the ancient chalk ridge roads of Cranborne Chase, Dorset and the ridgeway system used by travellers for millennia.
This route has no official waymarking. Serious navigation experience is required — do not rely on GPS alone. Carry OS 1:25,000 maps and study the line before you go.
About Wessex Ridgeway
The Wessex Ridgeway follows the prehistoric ridge tracks of southern England from the Ridgeway at Marlborough south through Cranborne Chase AONB and the chalk plateau of Dorset to the Jurassic Coast at Lyme Regis. It is a route through the most ancient of English landscapes — Iron Age hill forts, Roman roads, medieval drove ways and the chalk downland that was the heartland of early Britain.
For trail runners it is a three to four day challenge on firm chalk paths and farm tracks. The Cranborne Chase and Dorset sections are the finest — big skies, long views and the sense of a much older England.
The route
Marlborough to Salisbury (~70 km): Through the Vale of Pewsey and across the chalk plateau.
Salisbury to Blandford Forum (~55 km): Through Cranborne Chase — one of the finest AONB landscapes in the country. Yarnbury Castle, Grovely Wood.
Blandford to Lyme Regis (~96 km): Across the Dorset chalk and through the downland to the Jurassic Coast.
Getting there & logistics
Start: Marlborough. Bus from Swindon (train from London Paddington).
Finish: Lyme Regis. Bus to Exeter; train to London Waterloo.
Best time: Year-round. Chalk drains quickly.
Safety
Low-hazard route throughout. Excellent mobile signal across most of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Jurassic Coast cliffs near the finish are eroding — stay on the path. In an emergency: call 999 or 112.
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