Milk Hill, Wiltshire

A fine walk taking in a lot of historical sites near Marlborough. Starts off at the car park near the Sanctuary, heads south through a Ear Kennet then along tracks, paths and woodland. Eventually cross then follow the Wansdyke heading westward before heading south again towards Knapp Hill. Before you reach the road, take a right towards Adams Grave and follow the path up and over the Alton Barnes White Horse. The expansive views open up over the Vale of Pewsey and towards Salisbury Plain. Follow the path around Milk Hill, Wiltshire's tallest hill and the second largest Chalk Down in the UK. Head onto Tan hill following the Wansdyke once more. From there, it's worth taking a slight detour by continuing on the Wansdyke downhill for a bit to get great views of the defensive earthwork winding its way towards Morgan Hill (see photo). Head back up the hill and take the path to West Kennet, with expansive views towards Cherhill Down all the way. After a while, the West Kennet Long Barrow comes into view, the site of our next diversion. When you reach the country lane, head left along a track and into the field until you reach the path the leads up to the Long Barrow. A short climb will take you the barrow which you can enter to see the first 6 chambers. Once explored, retract your steps back to the lane with the option of first visiting Silbury Hill. Finally, when back at the lane, follow the paths back through the fields back to East Kennet and then the car park.

There's loads of wildlife to look out for along the way including Red Kites, Ravens, Kestrels and Buzards. If your luck is in, you may also spot a Merlin or Brown Hare.

This is a good winter walk as the ground wasn't too muddy depsite prolonged periods of rain beforehand. The muddiest bits were near the start and finish but these can largely be avoided if you park near Adam Grave instead. If you wanted to extend the route, you could easily include Silbury Hill, Averbury or West Woods/Knapp Hill for more views and variation. Whilst this does make a good winter walk, it would also make an excellent spring/summer walk especially when the wild flowers start to bloom and the fields are awash with butterflies and bumblebees.