Berkshire Downs

The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk hills in southern England, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. They lie entirely within the historic county of Berkshire, though today they stretch into Oxfordshire. The western section is sometimes called the Lambourn Downs. Geologically they join the Marlborough Downs to the west and the Chilterns to the east. The River Thames cuts through the hills at Goring Gap, separating them from the Chilterns. The Downs have drawn people since prehistoric times. The Ridgeway, an ancient track, follows the high ground. Neolithic tombs like Wayland’s Smithy and Bronze Age earthworks such as the Uffington White Horse mark the landscape. Anglo-Saxon records call the area Æscesdūn, where the Battle of Ashdown was fought in 871. By the Middle Ages vast flocks of sheep grazed here, enriching the soil for arable farming. Large capitalist farms appeared from the 15th century onward, creating some of England’s biggest farmsteads. Poet John Masefield lived at Lollingdon Farm and wrote about the Downs. Today the Downs remain open pasture, ideal for sheep and racehorses. Lambourn is the heart of British horse training, with stables and gallops spread across the hills. The Great Western Main Line links the area to London and beyond. Trains stop at Swindon and Didcot Parkway, while scenic stations like Goring & Streatley serve the Thames Valley. Nearly all of the Berkshire Downs—97 per cent—falls within the protected North Wessex Downs landscape.