Walking Wiltshire’s Chalklands: Circular Walks in the Wiltshire Downlands
Sixteen walks. Countless stories. One extraordinary landscape.
After completing the White Horse Trail and the Sarsen Way together, award-winning writer David Clensy and his teenage son Charlie set out on a new adventure: to explore the rolling chalk downlands that define the Wiltshire landscape.
From the ancient earthworks of Barbury Castle, Scratchbury Hill and Oliver’s Castle to the timeless beauty of Savernake Forest, Avebury, Wilton Windmill, White Sheet Hill and the abandoned village of Imber, they discover a landscape shaped by thousands of years of history.
Each chapter combines a carefully described circular walk with fascinating stories from the past. Along the way are Iron Age hillforts, prehistoric burial mounds, medieval churches, military memorials, forgotten battlefields, Victorian engineering marvels and some of the finest views in southern England.
Part travel memoir, part local history and part celebration of the British countryside, Walking Wiltshire’s Chalklands is filled with humour, curiosity and the unique father-and-son dynamic that readers loved in Walking the White Horses and Walking the Standing Stones.
Whether you are a keen walker, a lover of Wiltshire, or simply someone who enjoys discovering the hidden stories behind remarkable places, this book will inspire you to lace up your boots and explore.
Inside you’ll discover:
• 16 enjoyable circular walks across Wiltshire’s chalk downlands
• Detailed historical background and local stories
• Ancient sites including hillforts, long barrows and prehistoric landscapes
• The Ridgeway, Wansdyke, Salisbury Plain and the Vale of Pewsey
• Wildlife, folklore and the changing countryside
• A warm, engaging father-and-son walking adventure
Perfect for readers of Robert Macfarlane, Peter Ross, Richard Jefferies, Edward Thomas and anyone who loves walking, local history, archaeology and the English landscape.
Sometimes the greatest adventures are waiting just beyond your own front door.
Out October 30, 2026. Preorder for Kindle now: https://getbook.to/Chalklands
