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The Great Chalk Way (GCW) is a family of established walking and riding routes linking the Dorset and Norfolk Coasts across central southern England following an ancient trading route along chalk ridges. It forms a coast to coast route of getting on for 400 miles. The six trails that comprise the GCW are -

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• Wessex Ridgeway

• Cranborne Droves Way

• Sarsen Way

• The Ridgeway

• Icknield Way

• Peddars Way

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The GCW starts at Lyme Regis in Dorset and finishes at Holme-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It's also referred to as the 'Great Ridgeway'. It was officially launched by the Friends of the Ridgeway in conjunction with the Icknield Way Association as the 'Great Chalk Way' in October 2024, although the idea of it was first muted back in 2007. Taken as one trail it is England's 5th longest trail.

 

The Friends of the Ridgeway is a voluntary organisation set up in 1983 with a primary aim to preserve and maintain the special nature of The Ridgeway National Trail, mainly in response to its abuse west of the Thames by off-road vehicles. In 2009 the Friends of the Ridgeway’s constitution was changed to apply its principal objective to any extension of the ancient Ridgeway trackways along the chalk downs of southern England. As a result, the Friends of the Ridgeway were determined to create a coast to coast trail from the Dorset Coast to The Wash. It was decided to name the new trail the Great Chalk Way.

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As each component trail already had its own distinctive waymarker, there was no need to create one for the route as a whole. However, to promote the GCW and advertise its existence to the walking public, it was agreed that information boards should be placed at the start and finish of each component trail, showing the route of the GCW and giving pictorial and factual information about it. Sadly, the Friends of the Ridgeway were not able to get permission from Norfolk Council to install one at Holme-next-the-Sea. Similarly, at Win Green the National Trust would not allow a board. As of September 2025 there are 6 GCW information boards along the route I took as my photos below show. I find it particularly upsetting that there isn't one at Holme-next-the-Sea because if you've walked getting on for 400 miles along England's 5th longest trail,  there is nothing there to suggest what you've actually achieved; maybe one day, even if the board has to be erected at Hunstanton(?).

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As a personal challenge for 2025 I plan to walk the entire trail, setting off from Lyme Regis at the end of April 2025. Living in Northamptonshire and staying overnight in pubs and hotels, I'll probably do a week at a time before coming home for a few days. All being well I'll complete my challenge before the end of summer. I'm not daunted by the distance to walk but what concerns me a little is the area covered by the Wessex Ridgeway in particular, which is quite remote in places. Public transport & accommodation haven't been the easiest to sort out during my planning stage but I'm sure it'll all work out!​

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Looking at the very high-level map of the trail you’ll see that the Wessex Ridgeway (in light blue) meets The Ridgeway (in dark blue) near the World Heritage Site of Avebury in Wiltshire. However, there is an alternative route that peels off to the right at Win Green, continues to Salisbury on the Cranborne Droves Way (in yellow) and then continues towards Avebury on the Sarsen Way (in orange). It’s clear just by looking at the map that this alternative route is shorter than just continuing on the Wessex Ridgeway; it also looks more interesting to me as it takes in the city of Salisbury as well as passing close to Stonehenge. For these reasons I have decided to walk the alternative route via Salisbury.  However, for the sake of completeness I expect at some point in the future I'll walk the Wessex Ridgeway from Win Green to Overton Hill; in fact I've already pencilled it in for 2026!

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