Twin Peaks
The Wittenham Clumps are two adjoining chalk peaks called Round Hill and Castle Hill that can be seen from miles away.
The site of an iron age hill fort on the Sinodun Hills, 18 miles west of Wallingford, south Oxfordshire, these two Clumps, or peaks are marooned in a sea of Thames Valley loveliness. They offer far-reaching views over the River Thames, towards the Chiltern Hills to the north east, westward across south Oxfordshire and south to the Berkshire downs. A third rise, Brightwell Barrow is nearby.
“…grey hallowed hills crowned with old trees, Pan-ish places down by the river wonderful to think on full of strange enchantment—a beautiful legendary country haunted by Old Gods long forgotten.
Paul Nash 1911
Looking for a stonking view?
Surrounded by the pretty villages of Long Wittenham, Little Wittenham, Clifton Hampden and Dorchester-upon-Thames that all have a relationship with the Thames. Sitting on a flat Thames Valley plain, it’s easy to see why this site was chosen for security and dominance - a place to command the landscape.
Each peak is topped by a grove of beech trees, the lower of the two enclosed by an earth ditch and embankment engineered in the iron age. They sit over the river from Dorchester on Thames, a town with origins in Roman Britain whose abbey contains a wonderful tomb figure of a knight, much admired by 20th century modernist artists, Henry Moore, John Piper and Paul Nash, who considered the effigy one of the greatest icons of Englishness as the pose was so unusual. Included on this list are Stonehenge and a sliver teapot!
I walked around the perimeter to get a feel for the dramatic upwards slant of Round Hill. All around was bright hot sunshine, a deep blue sky and puffy clouds off-set the vivid and fresh May colours. The air was thick with flying insects and as we puffed our way up the steep slope, the views got better and better.
It was cooler beneath the tree canopy, when in full leaf, give the clumps their distinctive domed feature. The initials carved on the tree trunks have over the years grown out of reach, surrounded at this time of year in delicate cow parsley.
Another Victorian Vandal
I have often commented on the extent of Victorian vandalism, evident in so many Chilterns churches. Today it’s the turn of the ‘Poem Tree’ made famous by Joseph Tubb, who over the course of two weeks in the summer of 1844, scratched onto the beech trunk his 20-line musings on the view. The tree collapsed in a pile of decay, but sadly for us, his rambling poem lives on in the little monument nearby.
Unlike Twin Peaks the mini-series, full of unfathomable plot twists, these twin peaks have an air of mystery because the signs and symbols previous inhabitant and visitors left behind are all around you. It just takes some quiet and your imagination.
Photography remains the copyright of Mary Tebje and can be used with permission.
Thank you everyone for the lovely comments that you share by email, I wonder though if anyone will post publicly here?
Links you will need
Located in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, bookings are open for the very enjoyable walking festival from May 31st - June 9th 2024.
The Thames Path National Trail is near and an excursion from that Trail is a short detour accessible from Little Wittenham Bridge.
Throughout his career, artist Paul Nash (1889-1946) had a special affinity for Wittenham Clumps. First encountering them in his late teenage years, he was immediately caught by their atmospheric shapes and mystical associations. The Clumps became a rich source of inspiration and he returned to paint them many times during his life. There’s all sorts of walk and talks here.
Keeping things old school with a visit to Pendon Museum to enjoy their model village.
The Tate has an excellent archive with paintings of the area by Paul Nash and other artists who painted the landscape around the Clumps.
Thanks, that brought back some lovely memories. We used to stay with my wife's family, across the Thames from the Clumps. For years we intended to walk to them, finally achieved, just before lockdown. Magical place.