Who built The Ridgeway?

THE Ridgeway is the oldest continuously used road in Europe, dating back to the Stone Age. Situated in southern England, built by our Neolithic ancestors, it's at least 5,000 years old, and may even have existed when England was still connected to continental Europe, and the Thames was a tributary of the Rhine.



People Also Ask

The Great Stones Way and its extension will complete the ancient Ridgeway route across Wessex, and its epicentre at Avebury and Stonehenge, from the north Norfolk coast to the Channel coast in Dorset.

MORE DETAILS

The Ridgeway: Avebury to Goring It travels in a northeasterly direction from its start in the World Heritage Site of Avebury. From Avebury to Goring, The Ridgeway is a broad track passing through the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is often quite a distance from villages or towns.

MORE DETAILS

About the Trail Popularly known as 'Britain's oldest road', The Ridgeway still follows the same route over the high ground used since prehistoric times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers.

MORE DETAILS

While wild camping is technically not legal in most parts of England, the National Trails website suggests that most landowners along The Ridgeway won't mind you camping as long as you're a respectful camper (ask the landowner for permission, pitch near sundown and depart by sunrise, start no fires, leave no trace).

MORE DETAILS

Walking the Ridgeway is an absolutely magical experience—the trail feels so remote and removed from normal life. It's like this liminal place that exists out of time, which is easy to imagine due to the wealth of ancient sites along the route. The Ridgeway is a modern National Trail, established in 1972.

MORE DETAILS

From west to east, the four Iron Age hillforts along the Ridgeway are: Barbury Castle, Liddington Castle, Uffington Castle, and Letcombe Castle. Before you get too excited at the idea of visiting these ancient “castles,” remember: these are earthworks, not stone constructions.

MORE DETAILS

Originally built in 1819 by Ethan Allen Crawford and his father, Abel, Crawford Path is the oldest continuously used and maintained recreation trail in America. Its appeal derives from the fact that its 8.5 miles of mountainous ridgeline travel converges with the famed Appalachian Trail.

MORE DETAILS

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail — commonly known as the Appalachian Trail or simply “the A.T.” — is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, measuring roughly 2,190 miles in length.

MORE DETAILS

Enter the Trans-America Trail. The TAT is a 4×4 vehicle route that stretches 5,000 miles across the lower 48 while avoiding paved roads as much as possible.

MORE DETAILS

King's Highway was built from 1650 to 1735 decades before the United States became a country, making it the oldest road in America. The Texas Department of Transportation notes Kings Highway as the oldest highway in the United States.

MORE DETAILS