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TheBerkshire Downs are a range ofchalkdownland hills in southernEngland, part of theNorth Wessex DownsArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Berkshire Downs are wholly within the traditional county ofBerkshire, although split between the current ceremonial counties of Berkshire andOxfordshire. The western parts of the downs are also known as theLambourn Downs.
The Berkshire Downs run east–west, with theirscarp slope facing north into theVale of White Horse and theirdip slope bounded by the course of theRiver Kennet.Geologically they are continuous with theMarlborough Downs to the west and theChilterns to the east. In the east they are divided from the Chilterns byGoring Gap on theRiver Thames. In the west their boundary is generally taken to be the border between Berkshire andWiltshire, although the downs in Wiltshire between the Berkshire border and the valley of theRiver Og are sometimes considered to be part of the Berkshire Downs.
English downland has attracted human habitation since prehistoric times. The ancient track known asthe Ridgeway runs along the Berkshire Downs. Prehistoric sites in the Downs includeWayland's Smithy (Neolithic), numeroustumuli (Neolithic orBronze Age),Uffington White Horse (Bronze Age),Liddington Castle andUffington Castle (Bronze Age andIron Age), andSegsbury Camp andGrim's Ditch (Iron Age).
It is generally thought that inAnglo-Saxon times the downs were known asÆscesdūn or Ashdown, and that it was here that theBattle of Ashdown was fought in 871.[1]
In 1915, after a brief stint as a hospital orderly at theBritish hospital for French soldiers in Haute-Marne,John Masefield moved to his country retreat atLollingdon Farm. The setting at the foot of the Downs - Masefield's "Lollingdon Downs" would inspire a number of poems and sonnets.
Downland pasture is firm and well drained, suited to grazing sheep and grazing and training horses.Horse racing is a major business in the area, with much of the downs covered with training areas, andstables centred on the village ofLambourn.
The Berkshire Downs can be accessed from various cities via theGreat Western Main Line and its current single operator runs localised stopping trains as well as the high-speed trains along theVale of White Horse calling at major stopsSwindon andDidcot Parkway. FromReading toNewbury trains run along theReading to Taunton Line in the River Kennet Valley to reach Devon on the quickest route from London. FromReading there are the scenic Thames Valley stations ofPangbourne,Goring & Streatley andCholsey (linked to theCholsey and Wallingford Railway).
