Walbury Hill is a summit of the

North Wessex Downs The North Wessex Downs are an area of chalk downland landscapes located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The North Wessex Downs has been designated as a National Landscape (formerly known as Area of ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, 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, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

. On the hill's summit is the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

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 station is usually set up by a map ...

, 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 The North Wessex Downs are an area of chalk downland landscapes located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The North Wessex Downs has been designated as a National Landscape (formerly known as Area of Ou ...

section of the North Wessex Downs, flanked to the west by

Inkpen Hill Inkpen Hill is a summit in Berkshire, England, with a maximum elevation of . The hill is about southwest of Newbury on the Hampshire/Berkshire border and is part of the north-facing scarp of the North Hampshire Downs, a chalk ridge within the ...

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), England. Location The gibbet is located at , on the Test Way close to the Berkshire-Hampshire bor ...

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, and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 5,869. The Kennet and Avon Can ...

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 (North 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, macadam, ho ...

across the hill between these two points, but a byway open to all traffic connects them, passing some north of the summit. The westerly car park at Walbury Hill is the starting point for both the

Test Way The Test Way is a long-distance trail, footpath in England from Walbury Hill in West Berkshire to Totton and Eling, Eling in Hampshire, which follows much of the course of the River Test. The northern end of the trail, footpath starts in the ...

and the

Wayfarer's Walk The Wayfarer's Walk is a long-distance footpath in England from Walbury Hill, Berkshire, to Emsworth, Hampshire. The north-west end is at the car park on top of Walbury Hill, near the landmark Combe Gibbet, and the south-east end is Emsworth ...

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, on the south coast of England near the border with West Sussex. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet from the English Channe ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. 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 Inkpen is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, southeast of Hungerford, most of the land of which is cultivated fields with scattered woodland once part of a former forest of Savernake. Inkpen has boundaries with Wiltshire and Hamp ...

and West Woodhay, all of which are within the unitary authority area of

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. It is 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 Newbur ...

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 sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...

. Before the use of satellites was commonplace, Walbury Hill was occasionally used by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's List of ...

. 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