Uffington Castle

Lovely morning walk, took just under 2 hours to walk all the way around and over the place. Not a good one for dog walkers, too many livestock. National trust parking, £2-2 hours, £4-all day. Cash or online ticketing. Disabled car park located further on from main car park closer to the castle fort. Lots of up hill walking, loved it.

Beautiful place for visiting, if it's nice weather try to take a kite with you as it's very uphill. No castle walls just site where it used to be.

A phenomenal walk across sheep land and up to the once was castle. We had seen the sign and assumed there would be a castle or at the very least remains of one. Unfortunately, its just a field of grass and thistles. That said, the walk across the field past all the sheep and up the hill was relaxing and the views quite simply stunning. There was ample car parking in the one car park, annoyingly you have to pay. (There is also a disabled car parking area the other side of the field nearest to the castle). There were no facilities that we could see, that being toilets & coffee shop which was a shame. There is no cost other than the car park to visit.

Uffington is absolutely beautiful and so relaxing. The views are gorgeous and the weather is lovely. No ticket needed to enter and parking is pretty cheap (£2 for 2 hours).

My wife and I really enjoyed the hike up Whitehorse Hill. We came primarily to see the chalk horse but discovered it was more akin to the Nasca lines; in other words, the horse was very oblique and really not visible except from the air. Nevertheless, climbing the hill was exhilarating, views of the surrounding countryside were spectacular, the castle was interesting (for a history buff) and it was great seeing the sheep. I should add that the people we met there, being English, were all very friendly and kind. One lady explained the fort while another explained the story of St. George and the dragon. At the dragon mound, we encountered to rough looking bikers who proved to be wise cracking lads and we all had a good laugh. All in all, we had a great time and I would highly recommend visiting.

Great walk from the car park up to the white horse, uffington castle (hill fort) and dragon hill. Also 1.5 miles along the ridgeway path from here is Wayland’s Smithy. Great place to come for panoramic views and a picnic. Can get a bit windy up here to bring a coat. Dogs must be on leads as sheep grazing.

Fantastic site with a deeply enigmatic history buried in an important historical landscape. There is so much to see here. Assuming you parked in the national trust car park and paid the rather high fee, you will walk along the ridge towards the uffington white horse with a hillfort behind and the enigmatic dragon hill below. You will be treated to spectacular views across the Thames valley all the way to the Cotswolds. The horse itself, which has become iconic was built in the bronze or iron age, no one actually knows. It's made of crushed chalk placed in trenches on the hill side in the shape of a horse There are bags of chalk nearby for the annual rechalking of the horse. On the side of the hills are ridges possibly made by old ploughing and the strange little mound that forms dragon hill far below where legend has it a dragon lies buried. What the horse was used for remains unknown but it was likely a ritual site. Today it remains hugely impressive to see from afar and provides the finest views of the historic region around.

Breathtaking views of the surrounding areas and the famous prehistoric White Horse easily accessible (though a good 15 min walk uphill) from a nearby National Trust car park- free for NT members. Unfortunately no toilets at the car park but there were two ice cream vans instead ;) Disabled parking roughly half way through to the Horse. The ruins of the castle 5 min walk above the Horse and 10-15 to Dragon Hill below. Absolutely stunning but obviously very windy! Below there’s a beautiful village of Uffington, with St. Mary’s Anglican Church dating back to 1250 (at certain times during the day, possibly between 2-5pm, some lovely ladies serve delicious cream teas there) and right opposite there is a chocolate box cottage with a thatched roof and wooden animals on top.

NO IDEA if the map is right here so directions given Wantage (12km ENE) A place of legend and a good day out if you combine it with the other places in the area..see my Wayland's Smithy. Picnic here..spend the day..the views are beautiful. We have to speculate here. It is called a horse but is it really a dragon? Only you can decide. The area would be quite difficult for the disabled. The Uffington white horse can be seen from up to twenty miles away in good conditions. It can be seen close up from the top of nearby Dragon Hill, but is perhaps best viewed from three or four miles away The steep combe below the horse is known as the 'manger'. The ice-cut terraces to west are the 'Giant's Stair'. 'Dragon Hill' a natural outcrop with an artificially flattened top is just to the North. While the great expanse of 'Uffington Castle,' a hillfort dating from 700 bc, guards the southern approaches. Further a-field are the 'Blowing Stone' and 'Wayland's Smithy'. It is the largest of the horses being some 374 feet in length and 110 feet in height, constructed of trenches which are 5 to 10 feet in width and 2 to 3 feet deep and filled with chalk, this is a few feet above the natural chalk of the hill. The horse is in excellent condition being maintained by the National Trust. The edges are well defined partially consolidated with concrete (although well hidden) and the top edge reinforced with polypropylene netting. The Uffington white horse, one of only four that face to the right, is high on an escarpment of the Berkshire Downs below Whitehorse Hill ten feet or less wide, and its length of around 365 feet makes it over twice as long as the longest of the Wiltshire horses The horse can be found 1.5 miles due south of Uffington village on the Berkshire downs ( now in Oxfordshire). It is situated facing NW near the top (at approx. 800 ft) of a very impressive steep escarpment below the Ridgeway long distance footpath, Whitehorse hill and the Saxon hillfort of Uffington castle and above Dragon hill. There is convenient parking nearby at Woolstone hill and at Whitehorse hill. This high locale makes the horse difficult to view from close quarters it is seen rather better from most areas of the Vale of the White Horse. The White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill figure, 374 feet (110 m) long, cut into the turf of the upper slopes of White Horse Hill The figure has been shown to date back some 3,000 years, to the Bronze Age. The horse is thought to represent a tribal symbol perhaps connected with the builders of Uffington Castle. The Uffington Horse is the symbol of Wessex Hall at the University of Reading, adopted in 1920 and still in use. Dragons Hill A bare patch of chalk upon which no grass will grow is purported to be where the dragon's blood spilled. Dragon Hill and is said to be the site where St. George, England's patron saint, slew the dragon. The blood from the dying dragon so poisoned the ground beneath that grass never grows there leaving the chalk scar we see today. Pillow Mound.Between the castle and the Horse lie a number of burial mounds, the most obvious being the Pillow Mound. These date from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages and are unusual in that they were reused for Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon burials. The Giants Stairs are a reminder of how the valley was created by scouring melt-water during the retreat of the last Ice Age. A terrace along the lower edge of the western slopes is thought to be the remains of medieval farming practice.

Went to Uffington's National trust white horse hill, 6 miles fro faringdon yesterday! and the views from this English land mark are fantastic on a clear day! you can see Swindon city, Faringdon and all the oxfordshire village's, and oxford. and on the way up you see the chalk horse embedded into the hill side, and you also see dragon mound were it is thought that st George slayed the dragon! and on top of the hill are the remains of Uffington Castle, and a short walk from there an ancient burial ground. Car park £1 for two hours £2 for 4 hour's A great place to take a picnic.

Beautiful views over Berkshire Downs, a favourite with families who want to picnic, fly kites, go for a walk or take in the nature surrounding them. Also popular with paragliding and drone flying communities. The landscape consists of the famous White Horse, Uffington Castle, Dragon Hill and Wayland's Smithy. Pay and display National Trust car park (free for NT and EH members) and a very small blue badge car park near to the White Horse on Dragon Hill Road. No onsite toilets and expect to do a lot of walking mostly up hill. An ice cream van occasionally visits the NT car park during summer. Sheep do roam wild most of the year so please be mindful with your dog and remember to close gates.

Great place to explore. I'd say the map shows you where the car park is and the start of the footpath up to the horse - which seems as good a place as any to mark. The hill is steep and often windy so be prepared. It is a fascinating site. Uffington Castle is an iron age fort so the only thing you see are the mounds and the ditch but when you think about how these were built with only iron age tools and you see the size you have to be impressed. Once you are standing next to the horse it is a bit of a disappointment. You can't actually see it from the hill. Because it is so low down and the hill curves it is impossible to work out which bit is which and how it all fits together. You get a far better view from further away. Children love the story of Dragon Hill. You can actually see the spot where St George killed the dragon. Its blood was so deadly that nothing has ever grown on the spot where the blood dripped! Honest. Older children may be enticed to visit what might be considered to be oh no not another boring walk territory if they are Terry Pratchett fans. Tiffany from A Hat full of Sky, The Wee Free Men and Wintersmith lives on the chalk and wears a silver copy of a white horse around her neck. They may well find other things from the books in the surrondings and they could always try looking for small, blue men wearing kilts.

I have visited this site quite a few times and used to go running down the ridgeway. A good day out if the weather permits and lots of fun if you are lucky enough to go there when it snows. I have also been on the ridgway on my mountain bike and the trail is easy.

After spending four nights in London, we wanted to do something different. White Horse Hill fit the bill perfectly! It is a bit steep getting to the top, but it is worth the effort. The views are spectacular! It is easy to see why this location was/is so important. Note: we saw too many people walking near the horse, and one little girl was actually walking on it! It is not well marked, but it is pretty obvious where the horse is. Please give it the room it deserves!