As you leave the old market town of Newbury, now a hi-tech centre on the western end of Silicon Valley, and pass beyond Speen, the A4 opens up to the west along the Kennet valley. After crossing the A34 Newbury Bypass you reach Marsh Benham.

The A4 heads west with a turning left for Kintbury, an attractive village in the Kennet valley, and on to Inkpen, the highest point in Berkshire.

Kintbury station on the main line from Paddington via Reading and then the Kennet valley to Somerset and Devon & Cornwall.

Long views from Hungerford Common to Inkpen on the horizon.

Back on the A4 near Froxfield, the old trunk road is very quiet early on a bright Sunday morning.
Savernake Forest introduces and air of mystery to the route to the east of Marlborough.

Polly Tea Rooms are a particularly attractive refreshments place for morning coffee or a cream tea - the Polly is located on the south side (right in the scene above) in the middle of the wide high street.


The road opens up again and a few miles on you approach Overton Hill - ahead is the Ridgeway (crossing the A4 from south to north) and the distant mound of Silbury Hill.

Avebury Stone Circle is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Europe dating back to around 3,000BC. The Great Stone Circle is roughly a quarter of a mile across, enclosing part of the village.
Car parking on the southern edge of the village is expensive and it gets busy, so a visit early in the day is wise.

Lacock Abbey, just south of Chippenham, was founded in 1232 and became a country house around 1540. The medieval cloisters, a sacristy, chapter house and monastic rooms of the Abbey have survived largely intact. There is also a beautiful Victorian garden.


Castle Combe Circuit - competitors' entrance to the Paddock.

Castle Combe Circuit paddock and race control buildings.

Towards Quarry Corner from the edge of the competitors' paddock area. You can walk right round the circuit on race days.

The White Horse on the green in Biddestone is a welcome sight for lunch. There is plenty of parking near the village pond alongside the stone built pub which serves a selection of ales with lunches and bar snacks - what a way to end a Memorable MG Route! But of course you might also stop off at The Polly Tea Rooms on your way home!

The A4 opens up to the west along the Kennet valley, here approaching the hamlet of Halfway.

To the south is the attractive Kennet & Avon canal running through the picturesque village of Kintbury.

Inkpen way to the south across the Kennet valley from the A4.

Hungerford Common with cattle grazing in the early morning sunshine.

Kennet & Avon Canal passes through Hungerford.

The A4 passes though some magical scenery with the downs to the north with hills like Stitchcombe, east of Marlborough.

Marlborough, a longstanding market town with a royal charter in 1204, has a majestic feel. It is on the old coaching route midway between London and Bristol.

As you leave the town you pass Marlborough College.


Even from the roadside, Silbury Hill is a stunning sight standing 130ft above you alongside the A4 before you reach Beckhampton. Recent collapses of tunnels made by archeologists in the Hill over the last 300 years have required stabilization works, so access may not be possible whilst they are in progress. There is a convenient layby on the south side of the A4.

Long view northwest from up on the Marlborough Downs near Wroughton is stunning with RAF Lyneham in the far distance.



The picturesque Castle Combe village has the accolade of the "the prettiest village in England" and is much photographed by its many visitors. For refreshments at this stage the White Hart is a welcoming pub but you will find you have to park well outside the village and walk in.

Plan Castle Combe Circuit on a sign in the paddock.