Exploring the Goring Gap on the Ridgeway & Thames Path

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One of the most dramatic locations along the whole length of the Thames is the Goring Gap, a deep passage between the villages of Goring and Streatley, giving magnificent views. The valley is situated between Oxfordshire in The Chilterns AONB and Berkshire in the North Wessex Downs AONB. It forms an intersection of three ancient trading routes: The Ridgeway, Icknield Way and River Thames.

There are two listed bridges over the Thames here, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Railway connecting London with Bristol.

The Goring Gap was created when the last Ice Age ended about 10,000 years ago. A 10,000 year-old mammoth’s jaw was found by bathers in the river in Goring relatively recently, which can be seen in the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock.

Walk the Thames Path National Trail Goring to Pangbourne