Westbury White Horse and Imber Range Path

Westbury White Horse and Imber Range Path is a 3.7 mile loop trail located near Westbury, Wiltshire, England that features a river and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round.

Length3.7 miElevation gain597 ftRoute typeLoop

Description

Waypoints (6)

Getting There

The walk follows a mix of quiet country lanes and grass hillside paths, some of which will be a little muddy and slippery after wet weather. There are several climbs and descents and one of the climbs is quite long and steep. Some sheep can be contemplated grazing in Bratton Camp. There are some kissing gates and one stile, which is quite high and is surrounded by wire mesh fencing, so most dogs will need a lift over. There are no toilet or refreshment facilities on the route, but you do pass quite close to the village of Bratton and, if you're lucky, there may be an ice cream van at the car park at the start. Overall, it's a beautiful trail and a great place to enjoy nature.

Start to White Horse

Leave the car park, cross the access lane and go through the entrance kissing gate into the Bratton Camp site. Note sheep are grazing here so dogs must be on a lead. Immediately through the entrance there is an English Heritage information site explaining some of the history of the site. Continue straight ahead on the obvious path across the field. Within 100 yards you will be able to enjoy the magnificent views to the north over the valley below. As you reach the top of the ridge, veer right down a few shallow steps and go through a kissing gate. Go on the path ahead and the Westbury White Horse will be on the slope to your left. It is thought that the horse was originally cut in the late 1600s, probably to commemorate the Saxon victory of the Battle of Ethandun, thought to have taken place at Bratton Camp in 878AD. Cut into the chalk, the horse originally had to be scoured regularly to keep it white. The last recorded scouring took place in 1853. In the late 1950s the horse was preserved by covering it in white-painted concrete.

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White Horse to Bridleway

Continue ahead on the ridge top path, passing the horse on the left, and then following the path as it swings right. Over to the right are the mounds of Bratton Camp. The earthwork defences of this Iron Age hill fort were built at Bratton Camp more than 2,000 years ago. The settlement within the mound included round houses, granaries, stores and workshops. The double banks and ditches would have been formidable obstacles to enemies. Around 3,000BC, a Neolithic long barrow had been built on this same site. As the earthworks end, go ahead through a kissing gate and continue straight on marked as the mid-Wiltshire Way, keeping the valley slopes to your immediate left. Follow the path down a narrow chalk slope and then ahead following a fence now on the left. Follow the grass path sloping downhill. Cross over the stile ahead (dogs may need a lift) and then just a few paces later, turn sharp right heading back up a bridleway. At the T-junction with the lane, turn left heading downhill. Continue until you reach a bridleway off to the right.

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Bridleway to Church Path

Turn right onto the bridleway, a narrow path with hedgerows each side. After a little distance the bridleway becomes a tarmac lane and curves left and downhill. Continue until you reach a crossroads of tarmac tracks. Go straight ahead, uphill, for just 15 metres to reach a point where footpaths are signed both left and right. Turn right here to join the path signed to the church.

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Church Path to Longcombe Bottom Bridleway

Follow this surfaced path between fences, heading first steadily downhill and then more steeply downhill via some beautiful old cobbled steps. At the bottom, keep ahead as the path crosses a stream and then climbs another set of pretty cobbled steps. At the top, go through the gates into the church yard of St James'. Follow the path which passes just to the right of the church and then leave the churchyard via the metal gates at the front. Go straight on along the tarmac lane ahead. After some distance you'll pass through a pair of stone columns (the outer entrance for the church). Immediately afterwards turn sharp right onto a bridleway signed for Longcombe Bottom.

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Longcombe Bottom Bridleway to Imber Range Path

Follow this woodland track heading steeply uphill. Pass through a metal gate and continue ahead up the steep grass/chalk path, with the fence on your left. At the very top of the hill take time to enjoy the views and collect your breath! Go through the metal kissing gate to your left and follow the field edge path, keeping the hedgerow to your right. At the end of the crop field, go straight on past a small woodland on the left. Follow this wide clay fenced track now climbing more gradually uphill to reach a gate across the track.

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Imber Range Path to End

Go through the gate and turn right onto the Imber Range Perimeter Path. Enjoy this now easier stretch of walking along the wide level tarmac track. This stretch of the Imber Path is also part of the Wessex Ridgeway, which runs from Marlborough in Wiltshire to Lyme Regis in Dorset. Over to the left is the Imber Range live firing Ministry of Defence facility on Salibury Plain. The range is named after the now uninhabited village of Imber which sits within the facility. The village was evacuated for the use of American troops during World War II, but after the war the MoD kept the village buildings for training purposes. Access to the church, St Giles, is granted to local people twice every year - on the Saturday closest to St Giles day and for a carol concert around Christmas. After some distance you will pass a small collection of farm outbuildings on the right. Immediately afterwards you'll come to a complex junction of paths. Take the public footpath marked to the right through the gap in the fence. Go ahead onto the grass meadow, keep right and then left and you'll reach the car park on the opposite side.

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The walk starts from the Westbury White Horse car park, a large stone car park on Port Way, south west of Bratton. Approximate post code BA13 4SP.

Weather

UV Index

Daylight

Reviews (45)

Photos (127)

Activities (42)

Completed (86)

Rich Kho

April 3, 2021

Hiking

Great walk with kids

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Natasha Clayton

February 27, 2021

Walking

Great views from the top!

Molly D

January 31, 2021

Hiking

Muddy in places but a really lovely walk and a good loop

Lou-Lou van der Land

January 30, 2021

Hiking

really enjoyed it!

David Lowe

January 22, 2021

Hiking

Stunning walk although a little muddy in places.

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Becca Tamin

December 28, 2020

Hiking

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Oliver Wright

October 25, 2020

Hiking

Muddy sections. After rain make sure you have boots!

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Bex Smith

October 22, 2020

Hiking

Didn't expect this to be quite as hard as it was but it has been a long time since I did a serious walk longer than an hour

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Nick Ward

September 20, 2020

Hiking

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ash farmbrough

September 12, 2020

Hiking

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James Edwards

September 6, 2020

HikingGreat!

Lovely, easy to follow. Coffee and an ice cream van at start/ end

Andrew Ford

August 28, 2020

Hiking

Turned out a longer walk than we thought, but some good views along the way. We parked the car in Elm Hill near to Warminster Golf Club and set off up the road. The White Horse itself is a little disappointing as it seems to be of concrete construction rather than the chalk we had imagined.

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Peter Doel

January 30, 2020

Hiking

Varied a little from the map, as I do this route quite often! A steady climb to the tip of the white horse, and the n around the the path at the back of it and down the hill. There's a footpath (muddy!) through the top of the village and into stradbrook where I picked up the trail again. I would have mapped the whole route but the GPS gave up on me twice! But a good walk

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Mike Crawley

September 1, 2019

HikingOff trailScramble

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Shaun Kavanagh

July 15, 2019

Hiking

Beautiful trail - the white horse is a bit of a surprise when you see it. I was amazed how close this trail gets to it too. It’s a shame you don’t see it again on the trail. If you don’t see it while driving up to the car park i recommend driving back the other way out of the car park. One bit was a little steep of about 100m and may be a challenge for some. But footing was good.

Dag Gie

May 19, 2019

Hiking

Lovely varied walk moderate with one long stretch uphill. Amazing views, lovely church in secret valley. Opportunities for dogs off the lead.

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Claire Robinson

May 27, 2017

First to Review

The river can no longer be accessed but you can follow the path to the left a bit further up. ADMIN RESPONSE: Thank you for letting us know. We should be in the area next month, so will check the details and make some updates. ADMIN UPDATE JUNE 2017: We were in Wiltshire this week so visited the site and corrected the directions and the GPS map. The new version avoids the stream, heading to the church along the cobbled village path instead.