Walbury Hill is a summit of the

North Wessex Downs The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better kn ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

, England. With an elevation of , it is the highest natural point in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

. On the hill's summit is the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

of Walbury Camp, whilst the flanks of the hill lie within the Inkpen and Walbury Hills SSSI. The hill is one of three nationally important chalk wild grasslands in the

, the others being in the Rushmore and Conholt Downs SSSI and the Hog's Hole SSSI. The summit of the hill is marked by a

triangulation pillar A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

, but lies on private land with no public access, although public access is available to the north of the summit via a byway. Walbury Hill lies on the north-facing ridgeline of the North Hampshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs, flanked to the west by Inkpen Hill and to the east by Combe Hill and Pilot Hill.

Combe Gibbet Combe Gibbet is a gibbet at the top of Gallows Down, near the village and just within the civil parish of Combe in Berkshire (formerly Hampshire). Location The gibbet is located at , on the Test Way close to the Berkshire- Hampshire border, ...

stands to the west on Gallows Down between Walbury and Inkpen Hills. The town of

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...

is around northwest. The hill is accessible by minor roads at both its western and eastern sides, and there are car parks at the closest point of approach of each road. There is no

paved road A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cob ...

across the hill between these two points, but a

byway open to all traffic A byway in the United Kingdom is a track, often rural, which is too minor to be called a road. These routes are often unsurfaced, typically having the appearance of ' green lanes'. Despite this, it is legal (but may not be physically possible) t ...

connects them, passing some north of the summit. The westerly car park at Walbury Hill is the starting point for both the Test Way and the Wayfarer's Walk long distance footpaths. The Wayfarer's Walk utilises the byway across the hill, before continuing south and east to

Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, England, near the border of West Sussex and located at by the south coast of England. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet fr ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. The Test Way heads in the opposite direction, via Combe Gibbet and Inkpen Hill, before turning south to Eling in Hampshire. The hill lies within the civil parishes of

Combe A combe (; also spelled coombe or coomb and, in place names, comb) can refer either to a steep, narrow valley, or to a small valley or large hollow on the side of a hill; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through w ...

(which includes the summit), Inkpen and

West Woodhay West Woodhay () is a rural scattered village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. At the 2011 census it had 59 households. Geography The area is more elevated compared to the rest of the county of Berkshire and the district. It is un ...

, all of which are within the unitary authority area of

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Dist ...

and the ceremonial county of Berkshire. It forms part of the Kirby House estate, owned by the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled ...

. Before the use of satellites was commonplace, Walbury Hill was occasionally used by the BBC as a temporary relay station during events at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat ...

. There is a small low-level circular brick building, approximately 6 feet (1.8 metres) high, on the south side of the hill, which appears to be a disused reservoir.

Gallery

File:Downland, Combe - geograph.org.uk - 763929.jpg, View of Walbury Hill from Combe Gibbet to the west File:Walbury Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1895.jpg, The triangulation pillar, looking west towards Coombe Gibbet File:View over Southern Berkshire from Walbury Hill Car Park - geograph.org.uk - 171532.jpg, View looking north from Walbury Hill Car Park File:Walbury Hill - iron-age hillfort - geograph.org.uk - 1194117.jpg, The remains of the hill fort

Notes

References

{{Iron Age hillforts in England Hills of Berkshire Hills of Hampshire Hill forts in Berkshire History of Hampshire Marilyns of England West Berkshire District Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire Highest points of English counties