The Hampshire Highlands from Ashmansworth

The far north west corner of Hampshire is dominated by a stretch of high chalk downland tumbling across the Berkshire border close to Walbury Hill, the highest chalk hill in England at 947ft (315m). Often referred to as the 'Hampshire Highlands' but more commonly known as the North Hampshire Downs, it's a remote and peaceful area, with an impressive chalk ridge that affords a magnificent panorama north across Newbury and Berkshire, and west into Wiltshire. South of this lofty escarpment lie rolling hills dotted with ancient woodland, hidden combes and seemingly unchanging isolated communities.

Venture west away from the busy A34 and the A343 and you'll find yourself on lonely single-track roads, heading through undisturbed hill country, with glorious views unfolding across Hampshire, to villages with such delightful names as Faccombe, Combe, Linkenholt and Vernham Dean. The area must be one of the few areas in the county that you can pause and enjoy the peace and quiet that surrounds you, without being rudely interrupted by the intruding roar of car engines. Sheep dot the pastures, in high summer the cotton reels of hay, fresh from harvesting, line the fields, and the mewing of buzzards fills the air.

You begin your walk in the long straggling village of Ashmansworth, which at 770ft (233m) is the highest medieval village on chalk anywhere in England. There's a well-spaced mix of farmhouses and cottages, built of typical Hampshire flint, brick, timber and thatch. Take a stroll down to the totally unspoilt 12th-century church to view medieval wall paintings and the memorial to the composer Gerald Finzi, and, if you've time, savour the highest pint in Hampshire at the friendly Plough, before setting off for Pilot Hill. Reached via an ancient ridge track, formerly a sheep-droving route, Pilot Hill is, at 937ft (312m), the highest point in Hampshire. As you leave the Wayfarers Walk, pause to absorb the view across the Berkshire Vale into Oxfordshire. Just a few paces further on, you'll find the view south, across the heart of Hampshire, equally impressive.

Faccombe, the most northerly village in the county, is a classic example of an unspoilt estate village. Centred around a large Georgian manor house, it boasts a typical village pond, attractive brick-built cottages and a welcoming village inn, also estate-owned. Named after the Saxon chieftain Facca, the village was once known as Faccombe Upstreet to distinguish it from Faccombe Netherton, now simply Netherton, 1 mile (1.6km) to the west. The latter was at one time the the main centre of population, once having a 13th-century church. It is only in the last 160 years that the bulk of the population has moved up the hill to Faccombe, where the Church of St Barnabas was built in 1886 to serve the village, and where you will find the decorated Norman font and several 17th-century memorials from the original church.

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