Our Scrapbook of Previous Walks

Walk 680 - Silchester, Bramley and Pamber Forest

On a damp Sunday morning ten of us gathered in the village of Silchester to set off on a 9.5 mile walk. Slightly after our scheduled start time, we struck off along the Brenda Parker way towards the Iron Age and Roman settlement of Calleva Atrebates.

Unfortunately, after recent rain the path was under a few inches (in old money) of water which we carefully negotiated before reaching the walls of the old Roman town. During the pre walk briefing it was discovered that all of the group had previously seen the amphitheatre at the North East of the settlement and so we then continued on Eastward through St Mary’s church yard to make our way down to the ford at Clappers Farm.

Continuing on our journey East, we passed under the Reading to Basingstoke branch line and eventually turned South to zig-zag our way into the village of Bramley. After recrossing the trainline at the level crossing in Bramley, a Westward walk along the main thoroughfare of the village brought us to our lunch stop, St James church, where by chance we met the vicar of the church, the Reverend Mark Anderson.

The Reverend very kindly gave the group an interesting tour of the church which has stunning Medieval wall paintings which had been covered up at the time of the Reformation and also told us the history of the baptismal font, bell tower and Brocas apse.

St James Church is located along The St James Way, a modern-day pilgrimage route in southern England. The route stretches approximately 68.5 miles (110 kilometres) between Reading Abbey in the North and Southampton and is part of the Camino de Santiago de Compostella which ends in North Western Spain. Many thanks to Reverend Mark for his hospitality and showing us round St James church, it was very much appreciated.

Buried in the churchyard of St James is a woman who Albert Einstein described as the ‘German Marie Curie’, a physicist by the name of Elise Meitner who was nominated for Nobel prizes both in Physics and Chemistry on forty nine occasions between 1937 and 1967 but was never awarded for her research and achievements. She is one of two women who have elements in the Periodic Table named after them, the other being Madame Curie and Meitnerium can be found in the Periodic Table of Elements with an atomic number of 109.

After lunch the rain stopped, which we were again most grateful for. With the appearance of some sunshine we then headed West towards Pamber Forest, a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its flora and fauna. Due to the approaching winter the forest was fairly quiet and much of the fauna may have been either hibernating or preparing to do so. We negotiated some more moisture as we approached the last leg of the walk, a slight incline on the way back into Silchester to arrive back at the start point. See our route on Google Maps.

After changing out of muddy boots, some of the group who were able to stay paid a visit to The Calleva Arms to enjoy an optional end of walk beverage. With Christmas approaching, and in the seasonal spirit, there was mulled wine available which was appreciated by some of the group.

On comparing distances travelled with various measurement devices, the walk measured approximately 9.58 miles which was fairly close to the distance plotted out beforehand. Thanks to everyone who came along, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did leading.

Thanks go to Stephen for leading this walk and for writing it up.

Walk 678 - Pangbourne, Sulham and Little Heath

On Sunday 17^th November we had our Annual General Meeting, where we elect our new committee who will look after the BWWs for the next year. We held the AGM in Pangbourne Village Hall and, as usual, we had a short (six mile) walk beforehand.

By chance, we'd chosen a good day for it, with blues skies, sunshine and very little wind. A welcome contrast to the gloomy grey weather we've had for the past few weeks. I don't know if it was the fine weather or the excitement of an AGM that persuaded 27 people to come out today. (I suspect it was the fine weather.)

The walk started by walking into the village and taking a lane that served a few cottages before becoming a footpath following the River Pang. Crossing a couple of fields brought us to Sulham Wood, with it's trees still bearing some golden leaves.

A footpath took us through the north end of the wood before we left it for footpath across open fields to Vicarage Wood. Another footpath took us close to Little Heath before doubling back at Hallplace Farm. A track took us past Sulham House and St Nicholas' Church and a footpath brought us back to Sulham Wood.

Here there were a number of fallen trees for us to sit on and have our packed lunches.

After lunch, we continued our walk along a footpath running along the lower edge of the wood, which brought us to the place where we'd first entered it. We then returned to the village hall, largely following our outward route, arriving at 1:40pm in plenty of time for our AGM which started at 2pm. See our route on Google Maps.

The AGM itself was fairly quick, finishing by 2:30, but included time for people to get tea, coffee or a soft drink and enjoy some of the homemade cakes and biscuits on offer, provided by volunteers from the group. Thank you to all the volunteers.

Thanks go to Emma and Rob for leading this walk and Rob for the write-up.

Walk 677 - Rotherwick and Sherfield-on-Loddon

On Saturday 9^th November, twelve of us gathered in Rotherwick for an easy-ish walk around the countryside that lies between Rotherwick and Sherfield-on-Loddon. I say "easy-ish", as the walk was quite flat, but one field we had to cross was waterlogged.

Setting off from Rotherwick, we headed west and then south, through a strip of woods separating two halves of Tylney Park Golf Course. Then our route went through farmland, turning north-west and crossing the Lyde River.

Next, we crossed some gallops and passed through a number of paddocks, mostly empty, but we did encounter two horses in one paddock who came to investigate us. The last paddock was waterlogged at the far end - by so much that it would have gone over the tops of our boots. This required us to take a detour around the wettest areas, but it was still quite squelchy underfoot.

Now on slightly higher ground, we passed by Long Copse and into Page's Copse, where we found some fallen trees to sit on while we ate our packed lunches. After lunch, we passed by Moulshay Farm where we saw some large new houses being built.

Following footpaths through Sherfield Oaks Golf Course, we joined the Brenda Parker Way, which we followed through Summerstead Farm and "The Rotherwick Patch". Two weeks ago this farm had fields full of pumpkins and an army of children choosing which ones their parents would be buying. The fields looked very bare now! Arriving back in Rotherwick, some of us stayed for a drink at the Coach and Horses pub while others went straight home. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Emma and Rob for leading this walk and Rob for the write-up.

Walk 676 - Old Windsor, Thames Path and Runneymede

On Sunday 3^rd November, sixteen of us met up in Old Windsor for a walk that would include a number of unusual art installations and many historic monuments. We started from the recreation ground car park and walked through a few roads before joining the Thames Path.

Unfortunately, one of our group hurt his leg after tripping on a tree root in the path. Feeling unable to complete the walk, he decided to go home. A few of us walked with him to the road and one of us waited with him until a taxi arrived.

The rest of the group continued along the Thames Path as far as the Magna Carta Tea Rooms at Runnymede. We stopped for an impromptu tea/coffee break while the others caught us up. By the cafe, there was a set of willow sculptures called Haymaking, and another set of tall figures nearby (also made from willow) called The Last Survivors.

We followed the Thames Path further into Runnymede, passing several plaques giving information about the Magna Carta, and a statue of Queen Elizabeth II. We left the Thames and doubled back across fields to the Magna Carta monument.

Our route then took us to a large concrete cylinder, which was an art installation called Writ in Water. It contained a circular pool of water below a circular skylight. We stopped here for a short while in this place of reflection.

Now came the first and only uphill section of the walk. We followed a stepped woodland path up Coopers Hill to the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial. We stopped here to look around and have our packed lunches in the grounds.

After lunch it was downhill back to the Magna Carta Tea Rooms, stopping on our way to look at the John F Kennedy memorial.

Technically we were on American soil, as an acre of land was given to the US by the UK in memory of the assassinated president, who powerfully championed the ideals of freedom.

The last part of the walk was to retrace our steps back along the Thames to Old Windsor. See our route on Google Maps. While returning, our leader got a phone call confirming our injured fellow walker had got home safely.

Thanks go to Kathy for leading this walk and Rob for writing it up.

Walk 675 - Wallingford and Fireworks

Ten of us set out from Wallingford for our 12 mile November hike. Crossing the bridge into Crowmarsh Gifford, our route took us across lanes and tracks towards Hailey. After a late morning break, we continued towards Ibstone Church, where a terracotta soldier was watching over us. There's also an impressive well mechanism.

We had our lunch just outside the church, sitting on some handy well placed tree stumps. Then on via Ibstone Farm to see some delightful chickens and a lovely strutting rooster with spiky hair.

Once in South Stoke we had a welcome break at the Pike and Perch Inn, returning to Wallingford via the South Side of the River Thames. It was lovely to have two walkers new to the group joining us, plus two visitors from Berkshire Walkers.

Six of us stayed on in Wallingford for the evening - we stopped for something to eat at The Boathouse by Wallingford bridge. Then on to Fireworks on the Kinecroft - joined by some more folk from Berkshire Walkers.

Lovely to see you all again!

Thanks go to Ruth for leading this walk and for writing it up.

Walk 674 - Cholsey to Goring - Linear

Saturday 26^th October saw a misty start for our linear walk from Cholsey to Goring. Folk were encouraged to park up in Goring and take the train to Cholsey.

This leader was already on the train, having travelled from beyond Reading. 'Twas a bit concerning when we couldn't see anyone on the platform at Goring. Oops - should have looked out the window on the other side! Indeed, we were 20 walkers in total, which is great and most unexpected for a linear walk.

We headed uphill in the morning, stopping at Breach Farm to look at the llamas... or were they alpacas?? We could also make out the hills of Wittenham Clumps in the distance.

Heading uphill through Unhill Wood, there were some decent views of Autumnal leaves. Lunch was on a grassy spot just beyond the woods - trying to ignore the beginnings of light drizzle.

Next stop was The Bell Inn at Aldworth - enjoying a pleasant break in the garden. Just as well we'd already had lunch, or we'd have been tempted by the yummy looking filled rolls.

Heading cross country, the rain got heavier.... time for waterproofs! Happily it was dry again by the time we reached Goring, where some popped into a cafe for take away coffee & cake before heading back to the station. See our route on Google Maps.

Lovely to see everyone today - and good to be joined by a couple of members from our sister group Berkshire Walkers too.

Thanks go to Ruth for leading this walk and for writing it up.

Walk 673 - Swinley Park and Swinley Forest

On Saturday 19^th October, eleven of us (a mix of regulars and visitors, including several members of the Berkshire Walkers 20s & 30s group) set off from Martins Heron station on a footpath that followed the line eastward into Swinley Park.

Having had significant rain the previous day and overnight, the ground was quite wet in several places along the route. In fact, leaving Swinley Park proved quite challenging, as the path was under several inches of water!

A short bit of road took us back into the woodland of Swinley Forest, near the Go Ape! outdoor activity centre. We could see people up above us, crossing from tree to tree along ropes and wires. They looked like maintenance staff, checking the ropes and fastenings.

Heading along more muddy and/or waterlogged paths, we came to a pond with a suitably dry shoreline where we could sit down to eat our packed lunches while admiring the view.

After lunch, we headed towards Bagshot Heath and then Lower Star Post before heading back to the outdoor centre and the Lookout Cafe, where we stopped for refreshments (and to make use of their facilities).

After that, we headed back to Martins Heron, not following our outward route, but taking a more urban route via roads and alleyways. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Chris for leading this walk and Rob for the write-up.

Walk 672 - Wargrave to Henley-on-Thames

Saturday 12^th October: Thirteen of us headed off from Wargrave Station on this Autumn Saturday. First up was a circuit of Wargrave Chalk Pit, a small nature reserve that's fairly hidden on the edge of the village, Then our route took us through open farmland - and a bit of mud - towards Crazies Hill.

Thankfully we didn't get the forecast thunderstorm at lunchtime, but the rain was getting a bit harder. So we combined 'late elevenses' with lunch, sitting under a vine-covered pergola outside the Velolife Café in Warren Row. Thanks go to the staff who were happy for soggy walkers to eat their picnics under cover outside. We all enjoyed their hot drinks, cakes or sausage rolls too.

Then it was downhill, passing Hurley Chalk Pit - one of BBOWT's (Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) first Nature Reserves. Spring and Summer visits are also recommended to enjoy the wild flowers and butterflies here.

After a stretch of the Thames Path, we were very fortunate to see the white deer at Culham Court close up. Including a stag with antlers. Often the deer are further up the valley, and it was a treat to have them so close by.

A bit of a climb rewarded us with views out towards Hambledon as we headed onwards to Henley. Pleased to say that we all made it to the station just in time to hop on the 15:30 train back to Wargrave. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Ruth for leading the walk and writing it up. Thanks go to Irina and Rob for the photos.

Walk 671 - Pyrford, Send and Old Woking

On Sunday 6^th October, Ann led a 7 mile walk around Pyrford, Send and Old Woking. Twelve of us assembled at the car park by Pyrford Common and set off through woodland and on local roads, passing Pyrford Court on the way to Pyrford Green.

At Pyrford Place, we crossed Pyrford Golf Course and joined the Wey Navigation near Walsham Lock and followed it as it passed by Newark Lock, where we got a view of the remains of Newark Priory, which dates back to the 12^th century.

We continued to follow the Wey Navigation from Newark Lock, passing Papercourt Lock and stopping for lunch at a picnic area near Broadmead Cut. This was a real find by Ann - it had proper picnic tables surrounded by a garden - much more civilised than the usual fallen tree to sit on.

After lunch, we followed the Wey Navigation a little longer before leaving it, heading north through Broadmead Cut and crossing the River Wey on a footbridge.

This brought us to Old Woking, where we visited St Peter's Church. One of our group was able to tell us quite a bit about the history of this 12^th century church.

After crossing a rather difficult road, we followed a footpath along the edge of Hoebridge Golf Centre, which took us back to the woodland of Pyrford Common and the car park from where we'd started. See our route on Google Map.

Thanks go to Ann for leading this walk and Rob for writing it up.