Buy the OS Route Map and instructions for this route

Believe it or not, there really is a place called Watership Down. And while it seems to be a bit short of articulate and bright-eyed, democracy-seeking rabbits, it does carry a few excellent trails, and offers some enjoyable fat-tyred fun on the Hants/Berks border — a part of the country that would be so easy to overlook.
This is a simple little route, starting in the small town of Kingsclere, close to Newbury, and making a straightforward crossing of the aforementioned chalky down, taking in a bit of everything from sinuous and slippery singletrack to steep field-edge bridleways. The opening leg follows tarmac all the way — an easy warm-up and a quick way to gain the eastern end of the ridge. But the final climb up onto it is no pushover. Instead, it’s a semi-technical, hedge-lined singletrack that will have most riders reaching for the small ring. A large cairn marks the top — not a common sight on the hills around here — and the trail that leads from it makes no demands for the next few kilometres.
The ante is upped at the road crossing, and from there on to Watership Down it’s narrow, slippery and off-camber — lovely! The singletrack soon gets swallowed up by a broader, better-surfaced lane that cruises alongside some gallops and this, in turn, drops easily to another road. Some fun singletrack follows — definitely one of the highlights of the whole outing — and then a short road stretch seeks the start of the last trail.
This one feels a bit like the Ridgeway; broad and open, with enough dips to keep things interesting. Then it’s a left fork back into the trees, and some more straightforward singletrack to finish.