Hungerford 2, Berks

From the front of the Bear Hotel turn right continue along High Street crossing at the pedestrian crossing and continue to the John O'Gaunt Inn. In the Inn car park (on your left), there is a footpath between two walls; take this footpath and continue to the bridge over the canal. Cross the bridge and turn right and continue along the canal tow path passing under a road bridge, Hungerford Lock, and the Parish Church of Saint Lawrence. Do not cross the canal at this point but continue to the next lock.

Hungerford Marsh Lock. Cross the canal lock bridge and take the footpath across the field (A)which leads to a bridge over a stream. Continue across the open area towards the river and the path will then follow the course of the river bank. Join the made-up footpath and continue to the gate. After the gate take the path to the left under the trees and immediately turn right. This new path will lead through the trees to a vehicle track at the rear of some houses. Continue ahead along the vehicle track until the main road. (A)The area you will be crossing is a Site of Special Scientific Interest the site consists of unimproved meadows, marsh and reed bed. It is an important site for over wintering, migratory and breeding birds and supports many varieties of flora which are scarce in Southern England. It is located in the floodplain of the River Dun, a small tributary of the River Kennet and is bordered by the Kennet and Avon Canal.

On reaching the main road turn right and follow the footpath until you are just past the junction of the B4192. At this point cross the road so that you are on the righthand side of the B4192 with the Herongate Leisure Club in front of you. Remaining on the footpath continue along the B4192 (direction Swindon) crossing Charnham Park road - continue to follow the main road and after some 650 metres you will see a gap in the hedgerow with steps leading down to the right. You will be crossing a busy main road then walking beside another for about 1/2 mile. There is a tarmac footpath but it is narrow in places. Fortunately the footpath in on the oncoming vehicle side.

Take the steps down to the right and follow this footpath. This will lead you over a number of bridges and ultimately to a row of 5 identical semi-detached thatched cottages (B) on your right. At the end of the row of cottages you will reach a cross roads - turn right and continue up the hill until reaching a cross roads at the top of the hill. Here there is a sign post and a footpath sign - turn right and take the footpath which runs parallel to the road but behind the hedge. (B)The 5 semi-detached cottages were originally houses for the estate workers.Chilton Lodge, and part of its parkland, are within the parish of Chilton Foliat. The house itself, built in 1800 and Grade II* listed, is now in West Berkshire. It replaced an earlier house on the Wiltshire side of the county boundary, which was demolished. The visable large walled garden at Leventon was the subject of a BBC2 13 part series produced in 1987.

Taking the footpath behind the hedge will lead down hill with good views across the Kennet Valley on your right. The path ultimately runs behind some houses and having crossed a green space comes to a road leading down to more houses on the right. Follow the road down hill and between the two cottages is an alleyway. Take this alleyway which leads to a bridge over the river. Cross the bridge and immediately turn left and continue along the footpath until you reach a road [Oxford Street] and an equipment hire establishment in front of you.

Turn right and cross the bridge and continue to the roundabout. At an appropriate point cross the road leading to Charnham Park and continue along Charnham Street A4 (passing an electrical sub-station on your right). The road bends to the right and after the corner you will see the Bear Hotel in front of you and the start point.