Berkshire Downs facts for kids

The Berkshire Downs are a beautiful range of hills in southern England. They are made of chalk, which is a soft, white rock. These hills are part of a special area called the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This means the area has amazing landscapes and wildlife that are protected.

Even though they are called the Berkshire Downs, these hills are found in both the modern counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The western part of the downs is also known as the Lambourn Downs.

Where are the Berkshire Downs?

The Berkshire Downs stretch from east to west. One side, called the scarp slope, is quite steep and faces north towards the Vale of White Horse. The other side, called the dip slope, is much gentler and slopes down to the River Kennet.

These hills are connected underground to other famous hills. To the west, they join the Marlborough Downs. To the east, they connect to the Chilterns. The River Thames creates a gap, known as the Goring Gap, which separates the Berkshire Downs from the Chilterns.

A Look Back in Time

People have lived on the English downs for thousands of years, ever since prehistoric times. An ancient path called the Ridgeway runs right along the Berkshire Downs. Imagine walking the same path people used long, long ago!

You can find many old sites here:

• Wayland's Smithy: A very old stone tomb from the New Stone Age.
• Burial Mounds: Many ancient burial hills from the New Stone Age or Bronze Age.
• Uffington White Horse: A giant horse shape carved into the chalk hillside, also from the Bronze Age.
• Liddington Castle and Uffington Castle: These were hill forts, used for protection in the Bronze Age and Iron Age.
• Segsbury Camp and Grim's Ditch: More Iron Age sites, showing how people lived and defended themselves.

Many historians believe that the downs were once called Æscesdūn, or Ashdown. It's thought that a very important battle, the Battle of Ashdown, was fought here in 871. This was a big fight during the time of the Anglo-Saxons.

Horse Racing and the Downs

The land on the downs is perfect for grazing sheep and training horses. It's firm and drains water well. Because of this, horse racing is a really big deal here! Many parts of the downs are used as training areas for racehorses. There are lots of stables (places where horses live) in the village of Lambourn, which is a major centre for horse racing.

Getting There by Train

You can reach the Berkshire Downs by train. The main train line, called the Great Western Main Line, runs through the area. You can catch local trains or faster trains that stop at bigger stations like Swindon and Didcot Parkway.

If you're coming from Reading, trains also run along the Reading to Taunton Line through the River Kennet Valley. This route is the quickest way to get to Devon from London. From Reading, you can also visit pretty stations along the River Thames like Pangbourne, Goring & Streatley, and Cholsey. Cholsey is even linked to the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway, a heritage railway line.

Images for kids

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  The Downs near Goring-on-Thames

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  Eastbury Down, Eastbury

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  Racehorse on farmland in Lambourn

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  The Ridgeway (Uffington Castle hillfort in distance on left)