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The River Thames: a familiar feature to everyone in our little county of Berkshire. Some of us may live or work close by to it, and very likely walk, run, drive or cycle along it. Indeed it formed the basis of how most of the towns in our neck of the woods were built hundreds of years ago. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Thames London wouldn’t exist!

The national Thames Path which runs alongside it should also be very familiar to most of us. My very first walk with the Berkshire Walkers 9 and a half years ago involved it, where the group walked from Maidenhead where I lived at the time, to Marlow along the Path. Various walk routes since then have incorporated sections of it in one way or another. Indeed it is probably one of the most famous National Paths in the country. 

This year, Angela and I will be attempting to do something for the group that has never been done before. Some of you may recall a few years ago that we planned a 30ish mile route along the Thames from Reading to Windsor. It eventually became 14 miles from Marlow to Windsor after Angela picked up an injury during our recce but this time round we thought, why not go further and try do the whole 182 miles of the Path?

So starting towards the end of January, we will be leading a series of walks from the start of the Path at the Woolwich Tunnel in London and hope to eventually arrive at the Source of the Thames just outside Kemble. A chance to see the Thames in all its glory, from the landmarks that accompany it in London to the very big riverside houses that we all dream to live in if we had the money. 

To add some fun to our Thames Path adventure, we will be encouraging everyone to buy a Thames Path passport, where you can collect stamps at over 30 stations along the Path and once you have got them all, you will be emailed a certificate for completion of the Thames Path. The link to buy the passport is here and will be included in all our walk descriptions: https://walkthethames.co.uk/thames-path-passport/

On a personal note, this series will be a special one for Angela and me as once concluded, we will be stepping back from regular walk leading with the group as we look to begin a new phase of our lives after tying the knot last year (we hope to still lead the odd walk every now and again, and come on other walks and socials when we can!).

So whether you are planning on doing the challenge of the entire Thames Path, or a few sections here and there, we look forward to everyone joining us on 24th January as we begin our Thames Path adventure!

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Published: 21 January 2026

At the BW AGM on 15^th November, the committee said goodbye to some familiar faces and hello to many new ones!

Committee presentations highlighted a very successful 12 months, including the 25^th Anniversary Ceilidh, the 3 Peaks Challenge in Yorkshire, and a Summer Solstice overnight walk.

• Tom presented the Walks Leaderboard showing which leaders had led the most walks in the last year – no surprises there, with Michael at 45, more than twice as many as anyone else.
• Chris presented the membership statistics, showing that membership has dropped very slightly, but was still looking good.
• I reminded everyone of the 5 very successful trips we had (Exeter, Swanage, Weston-super-Mare, Ingleton and Penzance), and the 25^th Anniversary Celebrations – thanks to the subcommittee for all their hard work!
• Michael summarised the many socials he’d organised, and which ones were most popular.
• Despite having promised to do so, our treasurer did *not* share his review of the finances in the form of interpretive dance, but thankfully our accounts were still looking good, so perhaps we can forgive him.

Stepping down this year, a huge thank you goes to Zak for his 7 years on the committee as Membership Secretary and then Walks Coordinator, Grant for his four years as group Chair, and Andrew for his 5 year contribution – mostly as Social Secretary, as well as Georgia after 3 years as our Publicity / Marketing Officer, and Will after successfully completing our new website, and 2 years as Website Officer.

We then welcomed Dan P as our new Membership Secretary, Alex as joint Walks Coordinator with Tom, and Caroline and Mark as Ordinary Members.

The new committee 2025-26:

•  Chair: Shannon 
•  Secretary: Ed
•  Treasurer: Paul
•  Website: Chris
•  Membership Secretary: Dan P
•  Social Secretary: Michael
•  Walks Coordinators: Tom H & Alex
•  Trips Advisor: Shannon
• Ordinary Members: Caroline & Mark
• Publicity Officer: Vacant (someone has already volunteered to take this on and be co-opted on to the committee at the next meeting!)

I’m personally very sad that Zak will be moving on, after his huge contribution - he assures me we can all count on him as our unofficial consultant, though he has moved on to pastures new as an ordinary member on the BWW committee!

We’ll all miss Grant’s steady leadership – and we presented him with a personalised BW tankard at the AGM stating affectionately that he’s “Always the Boss”.  And we’d like to say a huge heartfelt thank you to Georgia, Andrew and Will for their contributions.

I’m looking forward to supporting our new committee this year as Group Chair! I can’t wait to see what fantastic ideas everyone has for the year ahead 😁.

Shannon
(now Group Chair 2025-26!)

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Published: 02 December 2025

Walk leaders, as I once heard a wise man say, are the lifeblood of the group. Without members prepared to volunteer to give up their time to lead walks for others, we - quite literally - wouldn’t have a walking group. 

Because the group needs a greater range of walk leaders, I am organising a hands-on walk leader training day in the Aldermaston area on Saturday 11th October. We’ll meet at the tea rooms for an introduction, and then split into groups to first, plan a walk route from Aldermaston, and then actually go out and recce it.

When I led my first walk, I had been in the group about eighteen months, and wanted to give back and do my part. I really did start with the attitude of “wouldn’t it be good if I could just lead one walk?”. I was nervous before my first walk, but I planned and recced my route, wrote my description and waited for the day. It went alright, and I wanted to do another, longer walk - and to do it better than the first one. It wasn’t long before I was relishing the process of planning and leading walks. 

It also didn’t take long before I noticed that my confidence in talking to large groups and planning and organising events had risen - in all areas of my life. When I applied for my current job last summer, one of the interview questions was “what are you most proud of?”. It wasn’t a question I had expected, so I had to give the first answer to come to mind, which was...walk leading, and how I had been nervous before my first walk but it had become something I really enjoyed doing. As it turned out one of the interviewers was also a keen walker, so this answer set us on a short tangent about our favourite walks. This went a long way towards breaking the ice and was a big reason I got the job! 

If you’ve ever been on a BW walk and thought “could I be a leader?” (or even “I could do better than this!”), why not take the first step and sign up for the training? You never know where it may lead...

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Published: 24 September 2025

Event details
When: August 2, 2025 @ 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Where: Pangbourne Village Hall, 6 Station Rd, Pangbourne, Reading, RG8 7AN
Cost: £15 per person
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We hope you’ll join the Berkshire Walkers for our grand SUMMER SPECTACULAR Ceilidh on Saturday 2^nd August. It will be an evening of ceilidh dancing, with Scottish Country Dance Band Strathallan providing the live music.

We hope to see as many past and present BW members as possible, as well as friends and family, and ramblers from our neighbouring groups.

To purchase your ticket, please complete the Google Form and transfer the ticket cost (£15 per person) to the BW bank account. Also show your interest via Meetup.

Doors will open at 18:30 for a 19:00 start.

If you’re planning on driving, there’s a car park with limited spaces for those using the village hall on hire. Alternatively, there’s a larger public car park opposite the village hall, where a parking fee of £1 applies. There are also regular train services from Reading and Didcot, with the station being roughly a 5-minute walk from the station.

For those of you new to ceilidh dancing – don’t fear! We’ll have a ‘caller’ – a person who will teach us the dance moves and shout out the moves we need to do next, making it easy for anyone to join in, no matter how much ceilidh dancing experience you have. We’ll have two sets of dancing from approximately 19:00 to 20:15, and 20:45 to 22:00.

To keep costs down, we won’t be providing food and drink, but you are encouraged to bring your own on the night. There’s also a Co-op down the road.

This event is being organised by the Berkshire Walkers 25th anniversary subcommittee team: Andrew, Ed, Georgia, Michael, Paul and Shannon.

Terms & conditions. The Berkshire Walkers account is used only to streamline payments to suppliers. In the event of a supplier failure Ramblers and Berkshire Walkers are not liable for reimbursement. We are not able to offer refunds for this event. By signing up for this event, you are accepting these T&Cs.

As far as we are aware, the BWs first hosted a ceilidh to celebrate the group’s 10^th anniversary. This proved popular, so the group has held several ceilidhs since. We also held a ceilidh for the National Young Ramblers (NYR) weekend when we hosted it in Berkshire, which, in part, led to a ceilidh being a regular feature on NYR weekends. We therefore thought a ceilidh was the ideal way to celebrate the group’s successful 25 years!

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Published: 20 June 2025

Order your BW-branded clothing by Monday 7th July.

This year, we are ordering our standard BW t-shirts, vests and long-sleeved tops as well fleeces and hoodies, all thanks to DaisyChain Merhandise. These limited edition clothes will all be branded with the BW 25th anniversary logo.

View the catalogue here for photos, prices and colour and fit details.

Once you have decided, please submit your order by completing the google form here.

Once you submit, you will receive a confirmation email with the total cost of your order and details on how to pay from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please check your spam folder if you can’t see it.

The clothes should be ready at the start of August, and you’ll need to collect them on a BW walk or social.

Any questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Terms and conditions. The Berkshire Walkers account is used only to facilitate payments to suppliers. In the event of a supplier failure Ramblers and Berkshire Walkers are not liable for reimbursement. All orders are subject to availability from the supplier. Once the order is placed refunds will only be given where the supplier is unable to fulfil the order and returns the funds to our account.

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Published: 17 June 2025

Want to get away for a bit? Go for a hike somewhere different? Don’t worry: we’ve got you covered. With two trips already on the calendar for 2025, and another two in the works, we have plenty for you to choose from. Have a read and sign up for the trips which interest you now!

1. Rocks, Swans, and a Castle – Exploring the Isle of Purbeck

May 9, 2025 – May 12, 2025

We’re going to the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, an area rich in natural beauty, history, and geology.

Despite the name, Purbeck is not an island (although with the sea on two sides and Poole Harbour on a third, it sometimes feels like one). The area’s unique geology makes it a magnet for fossil hunters and part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The UK’s longest National Trail, the South West Coast Path, passes around Purbeck and forms the backbone of two of the planned walks. We’ll arrive in the seaside resort of Swanage, the largest town in the area, on Friday night, for three days of walking on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Read more on the event page here, or jump straight to the sign up form here.

2. Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside! A weekend in Weston-super-Mare

July 4, 2025 – July 7, 2025

For this long weekend away, we’ll be travelling to the Somerset seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. Some of these walks will be based in the Weston area, but some of them will also be in nearby towns that are in travelling distance. Like with some of the walks we do in Berkshire, some of these walks will pass other stations along the way, and so there’ll be options to drop out any of the walks if needed.

Read more on the event page here, or jump straight to the sign up form here.

3. Yorkshire Three Peaks in Three Days

August 7th, 2025 – August 11th, 2025

On this trip, we’ll be heading to the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales, home to spectacular hillsides, waterfalls, dry stone walls, Wensleydale cheese, and more! We’ll be staying at the YHA-affiliated Ingleton Hostel for four nights and climbing one of the “Yorkshire Three Peaks” on each of the full days.

Read more on the event page here, or jump straight to the sign up form here.

4. A Long Weekend in Penzance

September 11, 2025 – September 14, 2025

Finally, we have a long weekend trip in Penzance planned for mid-September, which was given the go-ahead by the committee last week. This will be a book-your-own-accommodation trip with stunning views from the South West Coast Path, including Land’s End. Again, more details will be coming very soon!

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Published: 27 March 2025

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Published: 15 January 2025

We know that there are many people who are keen to bring their dogs on group walks, and are not always clear whether this is allowed in general or for a particular walk.

In line with Ramblers policy, dogs are welcomed at the walk leader’s discretion (and assistance dogs are always welcome).

To avoid having to ask the walk leader every time, we’re encouraging leaders to indicate on their walk listings whether non-assistance dogs are welcome, and whether they need to be kept on a lead at all times or only when necessary or requested (though they must in any case be under control at all times and not cause a nuisance).

We’d still ask you to let the walk leader know that you’re planning to bring a dog, but this should allow you to know in advance on which walks they’ll be welcome.

Please be aware that many of our walks involve stiles and similar path furniture – it is your responsibility to ensure that your dog is able to negotiate these as necessary.

Please see our dogs policy page for full details.

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Published: 02 January 2025

This year’s Christmas meal was preceded by a walk from Twyford to Reading, as led by myself, along the River Thames, during which we had some fantastic weather. As the 12 of us arrived into Reading earlier than expected, we ended up with some spare time to get ready for the Christmas meal at Bill’s.

Once at Bill’s, 29 of us had our own room to enjoy our meal as well as the awards, with the whole afternoon being an absolute laugh. A few people also did a Secret Santa, with a wide range of gifts that worked well for everyone. Also as per the tradition, we had our annual walking awards. Each of the winners received a BW branded rosewood and marble coaster as well as a certificate, which went down really well with both the committee and winners.

The winners of this year’s awards are as follows:

• Best Trip(s) of the Year: Hugh – Lake District Trip. Hugh’s Cairngorms trip was only one vote behind, meaning that Hugh got 75% of the overall vote.
• Most Original Event: Robyn – South Downs Way.
• Best Walk Title: Tom – Flower Power 2: Revenge of the Rhododendrons.
• Best Repeat Event: Shannon – A trip to the Seaside.
• Best First Walk: Caroline – Charlbury, Chadlington, Waterfall and Bluebells.
• Most Walks Led: Alex – 19, followed by Michael – 15 and Dave – 14.
• Best Event Series: Alex – Sunday Stroll series.
• Walk Leader of the Year: Joint between Dave and Michael – tied on 7 votes. Alex came very close behind with 6 votes.
• Best Company on a Walk: Jason – We had 20 different nominations for this, making it too close to call. Therefore, we put the name of everyone who was nominated into a hat (with people who were nominated multiple times having multiple names in the hat), and the winning name (Jason) was pulled out of the hat by Grant.
• Special thanks: Paul and Michael – I was honoured to receive a special thank you award for all my hard work over the last year. Paul also received a special thank you present for all the time and effort he spent wrangling the BW finances.

Overall, the Christmas meal and awards were highly successful. This was also the last event that Andrew organised as the social secretary before I took over the role, so a big thanks to him for planning it and many other fantastic events over the last 3.5 years. I’d also like to give a huge thank you to everyone who made 2024’s awards possible by donating to the prize fund, and thanks to Shannon for her tireless organising and planning of the awards, certificates and prizes.

With the annual Winter Staycation drawing to a close, the BWs now have plenty of new walks and trips planned, including my walk series based around the Elizabeth line. Lastly, the BW committee would like to wish everyone a fantastic 2025!

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Published: 02 January 2025

For some time, the group has used a system of walk grades (easy / moderate / challenging) which is slightly different to the standard Ramblers system. This can lead to confusion for those who walk with multiple groups, and makes it difficult for us to use the standard Ramblers Walks Manager for handling walk submissions.

To reduce confusion and allow us to streamline the walk admin process, we are moving over to using the standard Ramblers grades for all new walk submissions.

The Ramblers system has six grades:

• easy access – easy – leisurely – moderate – strenuous – technical

However, neither of the extremes is generally applicable to our group, and most of our walks fall into the “leisurely” or “moderate” category – this does make the system less fine-grained that our old one, however the precise grading often varied between leaders and the length and descriptions should provide the extra detail where needed.

In most cases, the walks we used to call “easy” or “easy/moderate” would now be graded “leisurely“, while those we used to call “moderate” or “challenging” would now be graded “moderate“.

The Ramblers “strenuous” grade is intended for walks beyond anything we generally do in Berkshire, even what we used to call “challenging” – although may apply to some walks on trips away to the mountains.

Conversely, the Ramblers “easy” grade is intended for walks on better surfaced terrain than most of what our group used to call “easy“, although this may apply to a few walks that stick to well-surfaced paths.

The full range of grades is explained on the Ramblers website, and our walk grading page has been updated.

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Published: 03 December 2024