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Our latest walk began at Burnham Beeches, a popular starting point for hikes for any local walking groups including ourselves. The area is characterised by a diverse mixture of ancient woodland, wood pasture, coppice, ponds and streams as well as grass and heath land. Much of this we could see today.
We gathered at the main car park on Lord Mayor’s Drive. A decent turnout of sixteen was supplemented further by the addition of three friends of the walk leaders. It was Jack’s first time taking on walk leading responsibilities so nice that so many people came to provide their support.
I have been on walks here before and was slightly anxious thinking it might be a little muddy underfoot but thankfully despite much precipitation falling the previous weekend we had mild dry weather leading up to our walk so the ground was generally easy to negotiate.
The route took us to the village of Hedgerley, home to one of my favourite pubs as well as a nice setting for scenes in Midsummer Murders and in film. We had our picnic lunches here, splitting into two smaller groups to make use of two benches available. The walk leader’s choice was to have the prerequisite pub stop later in the walk so I had to be patient for my alcohol intake for a while yet.
We left the village via the local church through one or two awkward and aging kissing gates. We continued ahead towards Fulmer passing through fields that had one or two inquisitive horses coming over to say hello. Eventually we arrived in Fulmer for our pub stop. I remembered walking past here a couple of years back and seeing the post box painted in gold honouring Paralympian Gold Medallist Sophie Christiansen. Inside the hostelry a few of us spotted a well known celebrity (clue – think of a number?).
Suitably refreshed we continued on our walking earnest enjoying the splendour of the heathland that is Stoke Common, a site of special scientific interest. The autumnal sun was starting to set making for a rather relaxing and peaceful environment to enjoy.
Understandably our walk leader was keen to make good progress as the car park was due to shut at 4.30pm. However, progress was such when we arrived back at our cars most of us took the opportunity to have a hot drink and a slice of cake at the conveniently located café. All in all, a very enjoyable day out and having accomplished leading without a hitch Jack has already submitted further walks to our programme!
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For one or two long time members in the group, much of the walking routes in our immediate vicinity have been well covered over the years. However, that does not mean that we can not come up with something new, or a least a twist on a previous led walk. I decided to revisit my Hungerford walk from eighteen months ago. In doing so, I decided to extend it a little to start at the previous railway station on the line at Kintbury so that we could include a stretch along the canal and increase mileage to ten miles.
Weeks earlier, we had agreed to exchange walks with our sister group, the Berkshire Weekend Walkers and with them having done “their bit” a few weeks earlier it was our turn to invite them along. Unfortunately despite the fine weather we only had a couple from their group join us. However, with twenty of us from our group it did not matter and indeed if we had too many more it would make leading the walk bit trickier.
As in effect the hike today was a linear walk the majority of people took the rail option while another couple decided to leave their cars at the end point in Hungerford and train it to where we were gathered at the start at Kintbury. We headed off for a good couple of miles alongside the peaceful Kennet and Avon canal. In all my years with the group it was a stretch I had never done previously but with the lovely autumnal sun in the sky it was rather pleasant. We passed a couple of locks along the way, the second of whom we had a convenient pause to stop and observe the two minutes silence with time heading towards 11 o’clock on Remembrance Sunday.
As we approached the end of the canal stretch we were greeted with a many Anglers in our way spread out at regular 15 metre intervals or so. They were generous and ensured they pulled their rods out of the way to let us through. We thought there had to be a competition of some sort. We left the path and followed a short tarmac road before heading back over soft ground over Hungerford common. It was here we picked up the route that I had did some eighteen months ago. Passing through hamlets/farmsteads at Cold Harbour and Anvilles we had then stretched into the rural countryside of south west Berkshire with some lovely views of wood and farmland to envelop us. Following short muddy bit through some woods we stopped briefly as we thought we found a suitable spot for our lunch. However, as the nice spot had been home to some cows recently for whom had left their mark in the territory we headed on to a more favourable spot next to an unmarked obelisk.
Lunches completed we sauntered on through more woodland passing one or two tricky stiles and out through Kiln Copse and paused briefly as we had to cross over the busy A338, a major primary route which ultimately links Poole in Dorset with Besselsleigh in Oxfordshire. Turning to our left we could see the Wiltshire sign in front of us so we were traversing the county boundaries briefly.
At this stage I was beginning to assess the options and think whether we would be able to make the planned return train. In these parts the service is every two hours. As we got to Standon Manor with maybe 2.5 miles still to go I advised the group that it would not be possible so we had to be prepared for longer time for refreshments in Hungerford at the end.
The final stretch of the walk took us past some inquisitive cows and pigs, a rather large pile of leaves which one person had fun running about in amid absolutely gorgeous mid to late afternoon sun. Seriously, being out walking around 3-4pm at this time of year when it is sunny is rather delightful to say the least.
We took care crossing the railway line before completed the route along back along another stretch of the Kennet and Avon Canal, which in total is an 87 mile stretch of navigable waterway. Arrival in Hungerford meant decisions had to be made. No problem for one lady who lived in Hungerford but those who were relying on the train had 90 minutes to wait. A few went to a nearby teashop while the majority marched on to the pub where opportunities for a second beverage where inevitability seized upon by most of us.
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Our most recent hike was one of our rather popular walk social ideas. The social aspect of our group is very important to us as we tend to find it helps people to get to know one and other better and improve peoples engagement with the group. One ways of doing that is of course the obligatory pub or tea stop during a walk. However on occasions over these past few years we like to bolt on a optional separate social to the conclusion of a walk. This means we usually have people out who may not necessarily have joined us for a social. We tend to keep the events informal so no tables booked and ensure that the hostelry is suitable for large numbers.
The walk we did this time was a route that was new to myself; a 6 mile linear walk starting from Martin’s Heron railway station and ending up at a pub in the centre of Bracknell. The fast majority of people arrived by train although we were scattered about in small groups throughout the carriages it seemed. Our arrival at just after 1pm we met our walk leader Alex and gathered for the regulatory introductions. It was great to see such a good turnout – eighteen, although that would become nineteen later – with a couple of new faces and another couple of people who were coming back for a second time.
The route took us to Swinley Park which partly makes up Swinley Forest which comprises of over 2,500 acres of woodland across gently undulating hills. It was slightly muddier than I anticipated but the small muddy bits were easily overcome. Many of the footpaths were well made so we made good progress having taken great care along a fairly busy road section. We arrived at Englemere Pond where we stopped to admire the view for a while at a conveniently placed viewing platform. Shortly before we arrived at this point we met another member of the group who had caught us up. Unfortunately they had missed their planned train due to ticketing queues.
We continued on to the rather lovely Lilley Park which is home to many oak and beech trees that were displaying their lovely autumnal colours. Within the park we saw a number of unusual pieces of carvings from the woodland. One or two of us took the opportunity to clamber about while I utilised a perfect opportunity to take a group photo. We also walked past what is supposedly England’s longest picnic benches made out of a single piece of wood. It would certainly have made for a perfect lunch stop if we ever had 100 of us on a walk!
Without further ado we cracked on, stopping again for a water stop at Longhill Park before concluding the lovely afternoon stroll at the pub. We said cheerio to a couple of people at this point but most of us took the opportunity for some refreshments and many staying for dinner and then on into the evening. A cracking afternoon out and lets hope for more of these walk social events as we move into the New Year.
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Our latest walk took us on a route that was possibly new to the Berkshire Walkers; certainly, as far as I was concerned we had not previously completed it in my lengthy time with the group. We were due to meet in Whitchurch (the Hampshire version) and partake in a linear hike finishing at Overton, the location of one of my circular walks in 2015. It was another good opportunity to make use of the public railway as both the start and end points were on the Basingstoke to Salisbury line. Those that had driven had sensibly opted to park at Overton and board our train so that they had their vehicle waiting for them at the conclusion.
The weather forecast for today was not great to say the least but nonetheless we had a reasonably good turnout of 10 which included members of three other walking groups as well as ourselves. We stood in the light rain for a bit at Whitchurch station waiting for the official start time of 11am to hit us. As soon as it did and the usual speech done we were off on our nine miler.
We headed in a southerly direction on hard surfaces for the best part of a mile, passing a church before we took to the footpath that hugs the River Test. It was a very tranquil setting with some shelter which allowed some folk who hadn’t already put on their waterproofs to do so. Rather than head on towards and past Fulling Mill we took a sharp left down the weir and out onto the edge of Whitchurch. We paused again as further waterproof clothing was required for some people. In fairness despite the forecast it was only for a couple of minutes here that we had more heavy rainfall, it generally remained light albeit fairly persistent.
We soon carried on past a grocery shop and out onto a recreational park continuing to snake our way across the footpaths picking up the River Test again and another weir. We had a nice quirky bit that took us on a small incline which rewarded us with some views of the valley on the eastern side of the small town. Two miles in and we still hadn’t left Whitchurch! However, it was not long before we took a more direct route along the Test. A planned water stop was postponed briefly as I hadn’t anticipated a herd of cattle to be in our way. We liked this lot though as they very much kept themselves to themselves and let us proceed without a care in the world.
Continuing in an easterly direction I was thinking on my feet as to where would be a good lunch stop given the indifferent weather conditions. In the end I chose my original planned spot, there was an element of tree cover and a bench for some of us to sit on. The rain had pretty much stopped at this point anyway although not for long.
We carried on over soft farmland taking a left turn near Manor Farm and out to the village of Laverstoke most notable perhaps for having a mention in Richard Adam’s Watership Down. When I did the recce what grabbed my attention here was the number of thatched roofs in the vicinity over some almshouses, a couple of wells and even on two bus shelters standing either side of the road. I don’t think I had ever seen that before on a walk. We did not linger too long and so preceded past one of two churches built in the immediate vicinity.
The group carried on at a fairly brisk pace heading northwards passing a farm. We then turned easterly again, soon picking up the Harrow Way which we traversed for maybe three kilometres. The Harrow Way forms the western part of Old Way which is reputably an ancient track way that dates back to the Neolithic period. It was mentioned by one or two in the group that this stretch was rather monotonous to a point – I tended to agree – but with good tree cover it allow us some shelter form the elements. In the hot blazing sunshine it would also allow good respite from penetrating sun rays, something always worth considering for any would be walk leaders out there.
The final stretch of our route took us down a path that I hadn’t previously done but it was easy to navigate albeit we had to duck our heads at one point from some rather inconveniently placed branches. We had further obstacles to encounter as we clambered over what can only be described as some of the largest steps I have seen on a walk in the south of England. Having safely negotiated the railway crossing we arrived at our destination, Overton. The quickest route to the train station, where the walk would conclude, was ignored as it would have meant missing the pub stop! Refreshments drunk we made our own way back to the station some twenty minutes later.
Note – this can be described as a wet walk. The photos therefore were taken from the recce.
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Our latest escapade into the great outdoors took us to the North Hampshire village of Ashmansworth, located somewhere between Newbury to the North East and Andover to the South East. For me, it is a location that I had never been to before so it was nice to try something fresh. The village is the highest in Hampshire standing at around 240 metres above sea level.
The 12 mile trek was being led by one of our regular walk leaders over the years, Alex and he decided to make it a joint event with our neighbours from the Hampshire 20-30’s group with whom he has been walking with occasionally. It is always nice to welcome fresh faces on our walk; we also had someone trying our group for the first time. In total we had fifteen of us which is a nice number to manage. I noted that the majority of the boys including myself were dressed in blue. No, we didn’t phone each other up in the morning to discuss our fashion plans for the day!
I was not originally planning to write a blog for this walk so apologies that details of the route we took are quite vague. We gathered near the war memorial in the centre of the village observing an imaginatively cut hedge in the process. We then headed in a northerly direction and out on the Wayfarer’s Walk. This trail totals seventy miles and links Portsmouth in the south to Inkpen in the north just over and into the Berkshire border.
For the most part we were walking through splendid countryside with a number of inclines to test our muscles on what turned out to be a very warm day. The views at times were rather pleasant with a number of rolling fields greeting us. On other occasions it was a little overgrown and we had to battle through some undergrowth although the sting in the nettles was not as bad as it has been earlier in the summer. Or so I was reliably informed, I was wearing long trousers. Blue of course.
Lunch was taken observing the peaceful views of one of the valleys that we would traverse frequently. In the afternoon we hesitated for a moment as we stumbled across the Crux Easton titt wind engine located at Crux Easton. We saw that it was open to the public so we decided to make further inspection and we were then greeted by a very knowledge man. He showed us around the structure providing us with both history of the building and surrounding land and the mechanics of the machinery. We wondered upstairs where there was a small informative display. The wind engine was built in 1891 to pump water out from the well as well powering a saw and a pair of millstones producing bags of flour. The working lifespan of the structure was not long and fell out of use in the 1920’s.
This stop was unexpected but I certainly found it very rewarding. It goes to show you never know what you might come across when out and enjoying our beautiful countryside.
The trek continued at a good pace it must be said. The route concluded via the Highclear estate where we could see views of the castle before we returned to Ashmansworth and our cars. We said cheerio to the people from the Hampshire group but most of us in the Berkshire gang decided to head to a public hostelry a short drive away in Highclear. To our surprise as we sat outside enjoying our refreshing drinks and resting our weary limbs the barman came out with a plate of left over roast potatoes for us to tuck into completely free of charge! That is surely a first for our group. Needless to the say they all soon disappeared.
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Our latest walk was lead by Sam and was inspired by the worlds largest outdoor art collections; a number of fibre plastic cows were on display within the Surrey Hills a display referred to as Cow Parade, more of which later. We were back to a similar location where Sam had lead her first walk for the group earlier in the year, Guildford but the route this time was very much different.
The majority of people made use of public transport with many getting on at Reading (including myself who had initially boarded the wrong train, only realising when I saw a few of the others sat on the other train), others joining us at Wokingham and more unusually a few people boarded at North Camp. We gathered outside Guildford station to be met by the others, in all we had a mightily impressive twenty five including a few people who joined us for the first time and a couple of familiar faces from our sister group the Berkshire Weekend Walkers. With such a large group we required a back marker and I volunteered my services for this role.
What is Cow Parade all about? Well it is the world’s largest public art event that has already been staged in a number of cities around the world including Paris and New York. The idea in principle that individuals, schools or companies would sponsor a life sized cow and either decorate it themselves or arrange for an artist to do it on their behalf. The enterprise was brought to Surrey and the cows were subsequently located in the splendid countryside of the Surrey Hills. The thing is; we had been informed we would hope to see five or six according to our walk leader but by the end of the walk we reckoned we may have seen eight or nine. It was certainly a very random as to where we might find them and something we all enjoyed viewing.
Our first cow was actually spotted in Guildford itself before we had left the town. It would be a little while later before we spotted the rest. The route took in the River Wey which was familiar to those who attended the walk in May. This time we headed west along the North Downs Way rather than East through some lovely rolling farm land. We saw another group of ramblers behind us and while we stopped for one of a number of water stops on what was a very warm day we let them go on ahead of us.Due to numbers we decided to postpone our planned lunch stop for a while and had our break instead at a wood near a planned visit to a café where we could make use of a couple of picnic benches. A sensible option as it ensured we entered the café in smaller numbers and minimised the potential queues and waiting time in the kitchen. Most of us enjoyed a refreshing drink and in many instances a slice of cake before we were lead to a pair of cows just round the corner.
Moving on, we headed towards a village of Compton. I always thought Compton was in West Berkshire but there is another one (and probably many more elsewhere) in Surrey. We stopped to have a brief walk round St Nicholas Church, a Norman structure dating back to the 10th century.
Not long and we took to the rural footpaths and fields and were greeted with a number of painted cows spread throughout a lovely rolling field with the cows well spread out across our planned route. We stopped to marvel and take a few photos of the splendid fibre plastic creatures. We were quite glad that the live cows were keeping their distance some way off.
The walk continued on to a 16th century pub were we stopped to slack our thirst. It was a lovely public house with a large beer garden with many tables well laid out with tablecloths. We also noted the bar staff were well dressed, polite and more than willing to serve us. Happy days all round.
The conclusion of the walk took us back to Guilford over more peaceful fields passing Loseley House to our right. This magnificent building was constructed during the 16th century and along with the adjacent walled garden it is open to visitors. We returned alongside the River Wey and one or two of us took advantage of a convenient located ice cream vendor before we made our return journey.
It was a fantastic day out as always and with the painted cows it was certainly something unique for us to reflect and look back on
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Our latest walk was something a little different to the usual. Yes, we had our usual hike; this time being a generally easy 5-6 miles stroll from Shiplake station but we were also planning to arrange to meet up with our friends from Oxon and also Chilterns groups for an extended picnic and participate in some games perhaps. The event was the brainchild of the Walks Co-Coordinator from the Oxfordshire 20-30’s group. Along with the Chilterns 20-30’s group we were approached earlier in the year about arranging this get together, all of us were enthused with the idea. Possibly due to numbers it made sense to try to arrange two walks. After some debate in deciding a location, we considered Henley-on-Thames as a great location for meet point of the event. There are plenty of fields for us to retire to by the river along with toilet and ice cream options nearby as well. It was decided that the Oxon and Chilterns groups would meet up from Mill End car park near Hambleden while we would do a little shorter walk from Shiplake and both groups would meet to share our picnics at around 12.30am.
The Berkshire Group had sixteen attendees today, with some people driving to start point and others caught the train. Around half of us had contributed something to the picnic, collaborating ideas via the use of social media.
Today’s route took us out of Shiplake past what I have dubbed “Creosote Alley” in the past as the fence posts we go past always seem to absolutely pong of the stuff. It didn’t today though. We eventually arrived at the busy A4155 and having safely negotiated the crossing we headed towards Upper Bolney House and towards the hamlet of Mays Green. Unusually for me I had not completed a recce of the walk but I had done it before in the opposite direction and also led other walks on some of these paths we walking in familiar territory.
Having stopped for a drink stop it was soon becoming a very warm morning. We had to be patient briefly while we crossed Henley Golf Course. As I hadn’t done a recce I was a little uncertain of the precise location of the footpath but headed in the general direction as indicated by the way marker and everything was fine.
I had graded the walk easy but I failed to take into account of a fairly steep but brief hill that we had to descend through beach woodland down to Harpsden Bottom. We were greeted with a short road section where we had to be mindful that there were a number of cyclists whizzing by (they were taking part in the Henley triathlon). Once we arrived in the rural village of Harpsden we left the tarmac and made a steepish climb, stopping at the top for water stop and take in some lovely views. We continued on to Henley via Harpsden Heights. I checked my phone to see that I had a missed call and text message from the walk leader from the Oxon group. The others had arrived.
We joined the Oxon and Chiltern groups, exchanged hellos, settled down and started to tuck into our picnics sharing our food amongst the large group. It did become bit like pass the parcel at times. Hard to say, but it looked like total numbers were approximately around 40 between the two groups; too many ideally for a single walk.
We had originally planned to join forces in a game of cricket or rounder’s perhaps. Unfortunately the necessary equipment was left behind but have no fear as we had a back up plan up our sleeves. A couple of us included myself and brought along a Frisbee/aerobie so once we had finished stuffing our faces a few of us started throwing both about with varying degrees of success. On the odd occasion we had to delve into the nettles to rescue our toys while at times some of us (well, me) were completely unnecessarily diving about. Before long we had enough of that and a proper semi competitive game broke out of what can be best described as Frisbee-Handball. We split into two teams, hat wearers v non hat wearers. About 14 of us took part with the others sitting down observing our efforts. With the good use of some fine interchanging of quick passing the non hat wearers clinched the game possibly 3-1 (no-one was really counting). I sent much of the game in goal, keeping a clean sheet. A resolute defensive performance by the team it has to be said.
We retired back to the others and sat down and chatted amongst ourselves for maybe a further twenty minutes or so. A few took advantage of the ice cream option nearby. Having decided this picnic/games meet up was a success we hope to repeat event next year.
Before long the groups said cheerio. Our return journey was not too long, maybe one and a half miles along the Thames Path, passing through Henley Lock that was fairly congested on this glorious summer day. We arrived back in Shiplake in time for the 3.11pm train back to Reading. A decision had to be made and most of us decided to skip that train departure and head to the nearby pub instead. It meant I could have two pints today’s.
We made our respective homebound journeys reflecting on a lovely day out socialising with our friends from some of our surrounding counties.
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We had two walks over the late May Bank Holiday; a short five mile stroll over in Goring on the Saturday followed on Monday by a longer eleven mile hike starting from the car park in Pinkneys Green. This was located a short distance from the urban settlement of Maidenhead. The morning didn’t start too well for me as I overslept and when I woke up at 9.15am I was more hurried than I would have preferred to be. However, the drive to the start point was not long and we all gathered together in the car park in plenty of time as it so happens. Unusually, the make up of the group today consisted of six females and me, the solitary male representative! Amongst the six ladies we welcomed a member of the Berkshire Weekend Walkers.
We soon set off through the woods to the west of Pinkneys Green passing a number of signs to a nearby café. Despite one person’s eagerness, it was too early for tea and cake so we marched on passing Stubbings farm at Burchett’s Green. I helped our walk leader with the recce and then it was here when we had to put our rain jackets on. Rather oddly, we felt the presence of a few rain droplets again in the very similar spot but thankfully it did not come to anything.
The walk took us into more open land over some uncut grassland towards and passing to the edge of Berkshire College of Agriculture at Hall Place. This is a magnificent Georgian House built in 1728 which had remained in the East family until the house was requisitioned by the Government in 1939 and subsequently sold to Berkshire County Council soon after who set up the College. We walked through the peaceful estate, stopping briefly to view at the some of the animals that included alpacas, possibly a lama, donkey a number of rabbits and the rare red squirrel. During the recce we heard monkeys shrieking but today it was very quite. No one knows what happened to them today. No one asked.
We strode on leaving the safari behind us and headed towards the village of Hurley via the unimaginatively named High Wood. More animals were spotted to our right as we descended the hill soon after departing the woodland. Lions? Rhinos? Giraffes? Sadly not – how fun would that be? – but a herd of cows sitting down in a field instead.
The village of Hurley was soon reached which is home to a public house that is considered to date back to the twelfth century. As we had not had our picnic lunches it was too early to slake our thirst here. Instead we had to carry on through more agricultural farmland before picking up the Thames Path where we had perhaps reached the half way mark and so the return journey began. We spotted further wildlife on the river with a number of young and cute ducklings swimming merrily away next to their mummies.
We arrived at Hurley lock where we sat down on some well cut grassland and tucked into picnic lunches. We were observing the behaviour of a couple of Mallard ducks who we didn’t think were being terribly kind to a female duck trying to look after her young. Mallards can be rather aggressive creatures to say the least to other ducks.
Clare our walk leader had pointed out a nearby café where we were able to sample a few liquid and food delights. Most of us took advantage and delved into a slice of delicious cake and warmed up on what was a slightly chilly May day with some hot liquid refreshment. Before long we were off, passing a campsite located nearby and continuing along the Thames Path where we witnessed a number of small groups of people gathering to have private barbeques. It was noted how everyone was wrapped up in fleeces as it was by no means perfect barbeque weather.
The group left the Thames Path at Frogmill Farm and having safely negotiated the crossing of the main A4130 we ascended a short hill and took a left turning where we picked up the Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit and saw a couple of friendly horses being ridden. It was not long before we found the prerequisite pub stop. On the recce we were disappointed to find the establishment temporarily shut but we were not greeted with any such misfortune today. As there were only seven of us we all managed to congregate on one table sampling either a large, cider, ale or soft drink.
The walk was now approaching its final stages. A short road section was followed by brief period traversing along the Chiltern Way on soft ground. We retraced our footsteps briefly from earlier in the walk at Stubbings Farm. The conclusion took us through the beach woodland of Maidenhead thicket and finally through the Common at Pinkneys Green. We were then back at our cars having enjoyed another great day’s walk.
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As much as the group enjoys walking in our very own county of Berkshire it always pays from time to time to try to go slightly further afield and explore new territories. Our latest walk from Guildford railway station was one of these. We may have walked some of the route last year but it is highly likely that the precise route – just like last week perhaps – was new to the group. Another theme that runs from the previous walk was that we were being led by a first time walk leader again, this time Sam took the reigns.
A few of us met up on the train at Reading and our numbers were soon boosted by the appearance of the Wokingham enclave. The journey was only around 35 minutes for those starting from Reading. When you think it can take far longer than that to locate a remote car park in the outer regions of Berkshire that was not bad at all.
We met up with maybe another four or five people outside Guildford station. The usual greetings and walk leaders speech completed, we set off along the peaceful River Wey observing a number of rowers out enjoying the spring sunshine as well as a swan quietly nesting out of harms way. It was not long before we picked up the North Downs Way. One of our walks last year picked up this trail but in the opposite direction so this stretch was completely new to me. We starting to encounter a number of small groups of youngsters along the way who we expected were participating in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. We also stopped to take a photo of the bluebells at Chantry Woods. They were certainly very spectacular at this time of year.
We continued on. This part of the North Downs Way that we were traversing is also know as the Pilgrims Way. Starting from Winchester and ending up at the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, this is supposedly the historic route which many pilgrims would have made to worship Thomas Becket who was the Archbishop that was supposedly murdered in 1170 and considered somewhat a martyr by the Catholic and Anglican Churches. Our route took us up a fairly steepish incline to St Martha’s Hill where we stopped to have our picnic lunches taking in the breathtaking views of the village of Chilworth and way beyond. If you’re lucky it could be possible to take in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, London as well as Surrey of course. It is safe to say that I consider this one of the most lovely lunch spots that we have had. Well picked by our walk leader.
Perched on top of the hill was St Martha’s Church which must surely occupy one of the most striking settings of any place of worship in Britain seeing as it is standing on top of a hill at altitude of around 200 metres but with no road leading to it. A church has existed here for over a thousand years or more but the current design was inspired by the Victorians after the building was left in ruins. A couple of us popped inside to have a look.
We could not possibly get bored by the views but we had to move on. We soon picked up the Downs Link for a brief period. You will not be surprised to learn that the Downs Link connects the North Downs Way with, you’ve guess it, the South Downs Way. We stopped briefly to look back at St Martha’s Hill where we could see the church standing proudly dominating over the Surrey landscape.
The walk took us through Blackheath and continued on mainly flat surfaces. Towards the end there was a small nature reserve where a wooden boardwalk had been built together with space for a couple of picnic benches. To the relief of our weary legs we sensibly made good use of these and replenished ourselves with water and a snack.
The hike concluded alongside the River Wey past St Catherines Lock where the occupants of a narrow boat were struggling to handle their vehicle. They seemed to be in good spirits though so we shared a laugh and a joke and moved on. Guildford soon came into view and we knew we were reaching the conclusion when the footpath was becoming far busier. At the conclusion itself a few people headed straight for the train that was due to depart in a few minutes while the rest of us took advantage of an ice cream vendor nearby.
The day’s event was by no means over as we those left remaining headed to a nearby pub where an informal social begin. Most of us remaining stayed for a few drinks and a bite to eat before making the 7pm train back to Berkshire. A great day out and if you were unable to make it you missed an absolute treat.
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Today our hike was led by Richard, who along with Cherry, Tom and Sam have all contributed walks to our programme for the very first time this year. Great news for our group and lets hope first walks will lead to second walks!
The turnout today was surprisingly high considering mileage had double figures, seventeen in all which included one person from another group and four people trying us out for the first time. As Membership Secretary I was caught unawares as I didn’t have enough Membership Forms to go round, I had left them at home. Still, if you’re reading this it is always easiest to join our group online.
The start point of the walk was unfamiliar to me, a side street just off the A4074 in Benson. On arrival it was clear that this was a good meeting point as there was amble room to park up without causing too much obstruction and the bus service, which three people took advantage off, had a stop point the opposite side of the main road.
Hellos exchanged and walk leader speech completed we were off. The route took us across the A4074. Thankfully at this point this main road artery that takes traffic north out of Reading had a 30mph limit in place so it was easily negotiated. We soon picked up the Thames path that leads us towards and just beyond Shillingford Bridge located, oddly enough at Shillingford. As always, it was very peaceful along the waterway and allowed the group to be sociable with whoever we were walking with.
We soon had to cross back over the A4074 which all off a sudden had become rather busy so we had to be patient for a number of minutes. We suffered no alarms and continued on along the Thames Path. Weather was holding up nicely so much so that one or two of us took to applying sun lotion while another had decided to bare his legs. Is this a sign that summer is on its way?
Soon we were to arrive at a fairly familiar site to some long standing members in the group, Wittenham Clumps although today’s complete route had not been devised before, as far as I am aware. Today we approached these two wooded chalk hills from the north. Having made a short steep ascent we stopped at the top to marvel at the surrounding views and try to assess the various settlements that we could locate. We walked onto the second of the clumps where we settled down to have our picnic lunches. I observed the many varieties of crisps that the group was tucking into. I deduced that a picnic lunch is not complete without a packet of crisps. I really should cut back and try to be healthier I know.
We strode on traversing over easy soft footpaths, passing chickens, the odd horse and sheep en route. Did we see cows? Yes, just before lunch prior to our ascent of Wittenham Clumps but for once they were sitting on the ground apparently completely oblivious to our presence.
The walk took us to the edge of the unusually named Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell where we had to carefully navigate a main road before we soon approached the historic town of Wallingford for some well earned liquid refreshment. Wallingford is a town well worth spending a couple of hours looking around as there is quite a bit of history attached to it. At the pub we managed to break down into smaller groups and enjoyed our drinks overlooking the River Thames.
The final stretch of the walk, perhaps a couple of kilometres or so took us back along the Thames Path over Benson Lock and returned to where to have left our cars. Another fine walk completed with the Berkshire Walkers.
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