Our Scrapbook of Previous Walks

Walk 631 - Basingstoke Canal Figure-of-Eight

The Easter bank holiday weekend is a tricky one for our walking group, you never know whether to expect a big or a small turnout on a walk, as many people will be spending time with their families. We chose to lead our walk on the Saturday (30^th March) rather than Easter Sunday itself, to help people do both.

Thirteen of us turned up at Odiham Wharf for a figure-of-eight walk, designed to offer a choice of either a 6½ mile walk or an 11 mile walk. This was based on walks I'd led before, but adjusted to avoid the most muddy parts of the original routes, as we've had an unusually large amount of rain so far this year.

We started by walking alongside the Basingstoke Canal, heading north-east on the towpath. After passing under Broad Oak Bridge, we left the towpath and walked along the muddy path by Wilks Water to Odiham Hunting Lodge. This 18^th century folly with its elaborate façade of three gables is tucked away in the woodland of Odiham Common and is also known as King Henry's Hunting Lodge.

We had planned to walk through a woodland footpath here, but the ground was so waterlogged, we took a small diversion and followed a track to Bagwell Lane.

We followed Bagwell Lane out of the woodland and then took a footpath across farmland, back to the canal, crossing it at Sandy Hill Bridge. Back on the towpath, we continued clockwise around the Dogmersfield Loop, passing Winchfield before leaving the canal and entering Dogmersfield Park.

Here we stopped for lunch, sitting on higher ground to avoid the waterlogged footpath by Tundry Pond. When sitting on the ground in this weather, it's worth investing in a Sit-Mat (or just bringing a plastic carrier bag to sit on) so you don't get a wet bottom!

After lunch, we crossed Sprat's Hatch Farm and rejoined the canal towpath going the other way, heading back to Odiham Wharf. Although this walk is similar to one I've led several times before, the return to the wharf was via the towpath this time rather than my normal route of Dogmersfield Lake and Broad Oak as these paths were so wet and muddy as to be practically impassable.

At Odiham Wharf, we said goodbye to six of our group who just wanted to do the first loop of this figure-of-eight walk, while the remaining seven of us continued along the canal towpath, heading in the direction of the Greywell Tunnel.

Soon after passing by North Warnborough, we crossed the canal at the lifting bridge and left it for a footpath through farmland, emerging onto Deptford Lane. We followed this quiet lane as it crossed over the River Whitewater and led us into Greywell village.

We rejoined the canal towpath by the Greywell Tunnel, which is home to tens of thousands of bats of various species. We crossed the River Whitewater again, which goes under the canal near Odiham Castle. This is technically an aqueduct, but it's not that obvious so you could walk over it without even realising.

We stopped to look around Odiahm Castle (also known as King John's Castle). There was a perspex panel with the outline of how the castle would have looked in the 13^th century. If you look through it at the right angle, the sketch lines up with the ruins. I took a photo through it, but didn't quite get it lined up.

Here, we left the canal and crossed the River Whitewater yet again - this time at a ford. There is also a foot bridge over it, luckily for us. Crossing through Warnborough Green and into farmland, we crossed the Whitewater for the last time, then rejoined the canal (also for the last time) and followed it back to Odiham Wharf, where the walk finished. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Emma and Rob for leading this walk.

Walk 630 - Curridge and Hampstead Norreys

On the 23^rd March on a sunny and blustery morning, fifteen walkers met up in the car park of The Bunk Inn to set off on a ten mile walk.

The footpath passed alongside some of the fields of Curridge occupied by horses before we branched off along Crabtree lane to exit the village. Denison Barracks on the edge of Hermitage seemed very sleepy in comparison to the hustle and bustle of the upgraded Hiller's Garden centre which we skirted around.

The path across fields into the woods just below Oare Common presented the first muddy challenge which some managed better than others. Certainly the mud has reduced but it was still very squelchy and a fun obstacle.

The walking became easier once we reached the disused railway line between Hermitage and Hampstead Norreys and fast progress was made to the path leading off the railway and up to a lovely viewpoint looking back over the valley.

When we reached the beautiful, historic village of Hampstead Norreys we took a little break, grabbing some hot drinks and homemade cakes and basked in the sun for a few a few minutes.

We left Hampstead Norreys and disappeared into the woods, passing the Motte and enjoying the crunch of beach nut shells underfoot. Unfortunately as we exited the wood and entered the exposed path on the way to Eling, the hail started and soon gave way to some good old fashioned heavy rain. This made for a fairly chilly and wet half an hour and made the motorway which had to be crossed (via a bridge) sound extremely loud for a while.

The rain eased up and stopped after we reached the shelter of Parsons Piece so we took the opportunity to have another quick break for some lunch.

A few fingers were turning rather numb so we set off at a pace to try and warm up and by the time we reached Pheasants Hill the sun was again making an appearance.

The last part of the walk took in the magical woods behind Hermitage which reminded some of the Narnia Chronicles. Finally we emerged back in Hermitage, close to their Church and had a very easy walk back to Curridge.

Goodbyes were said before a few of us sampled the delights of the lovely Curridge pub, The Bunk Inn. Certainly the weather gave us four seasons in one day and some muddy boots but overall everyone seemed to have a smile on their face by the end.

Thanks go to Anne and Hazel for leading this walk, to Anne for writing it up, and to Emma for the photos.

Walk 629 - Burnham Beeches and Egypt Wood

On Saturday 16^th March, nineteen of us met up by the cafe in Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve for a walk that should have been eight miles long. However, when Mike (the leader of this walk) did the recce, he found part of the route impassable due to flooding.

It was hoped that the waters would have receded by the day of the walk, however there had been a lot of rain in the previous week, so we were warned that the walk might be shortened to six-and-a-half miles.

We began the walk by following Halse Drive through the largely beech woodland, soon turning right onto Dukes Drive. These drives are tarmacked lanes, which were much easier to walk on than the muddy path that would come later.

At the end of Dukes Drive, we left Burnham Beeches for Egypt! Not the place with the pyramids, but a Buckinghamshire village. We followed Egypt Lane through Egypt Woods, leaving it for muddy footpaths taking us towards the village of Hedgerley.

Mike's original plan was to go into the village of Hegerley and stop at the pub, but when we got to Kiln Lane, the flooding Mike had seen during the recce had not receded enough for us to get through. I tried to wade through, but it was up to the top of my boots before reaching the middle of the flooded section.

We headed the other way along Kiln Lane, back into Egypt Woods and stopped at Healy's Gorse for our lunch break. The ground was surprisingly dry here, considering how wet everywhere else was, and there were tree stumps and logs to sit on.

After lunch, we continued on a path that got gradually more soggy before following a lane to Littleworth Common. It was not just mud to contend with - a tree had fallen over the path, creating an interesting obstacle to deal with.

Next we took a very muddy path from Littleworth Common to Dorney Wood. This was possibly the trickiest part of the walk, but we all remained upright. Those with walking poles had a distinct advantage here.

The path through Dorney Wood took us to the far end of Halse Drive and we were back in Burnham Beeches. We followed this drive back to the cafe from where we had started the walk. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Mike for leading this walk.

Walk 628 - Ascot Heath and Great Pond

On Saturday 9^th March, twenty-seven of us met up outside The Duke of Edinburgh pub in Woodside, Winkfield for a six-mile walk followed by (for those who had booked) a pub lunch. Light rain began to fall as we gathered together, but it stopped about ten minutes into the walk and held off for the rest of the walk.

We started by following a footpath by some woodland and then joined a road. Due to the recent wet weather, Ann (our leader) had to include more road-walking than originally planned as some footpaths were just too wet and muddy. We followed Hodge Lane, Hatchet Lane and Forest Road, passing through gates into Coach Road.

A woodland path took us into leafy North Ascot and then into Ascot Heath - the grounds of Ascot Racecourse. We followed the public footpaths through the heath, crossing the racetrack itself at one point.

Leaving the heath and racecourse, we followed a muddy footpath that took us to Cheapside Road, which we followed for a while before leaving it for a track into woodland. We stopped at Penslade Bottom for a coffee/snack break, where there was a convenient place to stop and a fallen tree to sit on.

Refreshed, we resumed our walk through the woods, passing Great Pond and Lower Farm as we headed north. Soon we reached Wood End and then emerged onto Windsor Road. We crossed this main road and joined the much quieter Woodside Road, which we followed back to The Duke of Edinburgh pub where we'd started. See our route on Google Maps.

We got there soon after 12:30 and our table for lunch was for 1pm, so some of the group that weren't staying for lunch had time to join us for a post-walk drink. After the main course, I received a pleasant surprise - a chorus of Happy Birthday and tray of chocolate cakes appeared, complete with a few candles. I blew out the candles and we shared out the cakes. Jane knew it was my birthday in a few days and thoughtfully organised this. I'm still smiling about it as I write this!

Thanks go to Ann for leading the walk and to Jane for organising the birthday surprise.

Walk 627 - Kingsclere and Hannington

Sunday 3^rd March was a bright and sunny day, in stark contrast to the preceding days of heavy rain. Today we were leading an eight-mile walk for both our group and the Pang Valley Ramblers. Twenty-seven people (plus a small and friendly dog) in total.

There was a bit of a hiccup at the start of the walk as roadworks in Swan Street meant that we had to find an alternative route to get to the car park. This wasn't helped by diversion signs taking people a very long way around it. I knew the area, so found a much shorter route and was giving out the details of it to everyone that phoned me.

We started the walk some twenty minutes late due to the road closure. Two of the Pang Valley Ramblers decided to not to wait and set off after I'd shown them the route on their map. They'd said they were slow walkers and we'd catch them up, but we didn't.

So twenty-five of us set off along Cannon Heath Down heading towards Watership Down. We then crossed the gallops and descended on a diagonal path down the side of Watership Down, through farmland and into Kingsclere.

As we reached Kingsclere, it became apparent that one of us was experiencing boot trouble - the sole of one of his boots had broken away, making it quite impracticable to continue with the walk. Luckily, we weren't too far from the car park, so he decided to walk back to it along the road.

Twenty-four of us carried on the walk along Hollowshot Lane, which was quite muddy, and then across a large field towards Cottington's Hill. We stopped for lunch on the slopes of Freemantle Park Down, enjoying north-facing views. We could just make out the water tower at Tilehurst and some recognisable landmarks around Newbury.

After Lunch, another one of our members (and his dog) left the walk early, taking a shortcut back to the car park. The remaining twenty-three of us followed a roller-coaster path to Hannington village. We would have stopped for a drink at the The Vine pub, but it has sadly ceased trading.

Passing the church, we followed a footpath through farmland that joined with the Wayfarer's Walk - a long-distance path from Emsworth on the south coast to Combe Gibbet at Inkpen. This we followed, back to the car park, getting some good views of Watership Down just before the end of the walk. See our route on Google Maps.

This muddy and slippery walk also included over 1,100 feet (335m) of ascent in total, making it quite hard work, but even with the delayed start, we finished before 3pm.

Thanks go to Emma & Rob for leading the walk and to Kerry & Dave for back-marking.

Walk 626 - Sneslmore Common

On Sunday 25^th February, we met up in Snelsmore Common for a six-mile walk around the common and the surrounding area. This was one of the joint walks we've been doing with the Pang Valley Ramblers this year. We had twenty-six people on this walk, which was led by Janet from the PVR. We may just have had more BWWs than PVRs on this walk, which started from a very soggy Snelsmore Common.

Some muddy paths led us through the woodland of the common to the tiny hamlet of Winterbourne, where their only road was closed due to flooding.

A bit further on, we stopped at St James the Less church, by Winterbourne Manor before continuing our route via Lower Farm, Borough Hill and Mudhall Cottage. (A very apt name for today's path conditions.)

We then headed south across farmland to Bagnor, where we passed the Watermill Theatre and stopped in the village briefly for a snack break. (Being only a six-mile walk, no lunch-break had been planned.) The River Lambourn was very high, and had entered Rack Marsh along the footpath. (See picture.)

Then it was uphill and past a golf course to get back to Snelsmore Common, where the paths were as muddy as ever. A couple of times, some shallow wading was required to cross flooded paths.

We made it back to the car park without incident, despite the slippery conditions, having enjoyed a good and varied walk. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Janet of the Pang Valley Ramblers for leading this walk.

Walk 625 - Whitchurch, Thames Path and Chiltern Way

On Sunday, twelve of us (including visitors from the Pang Valley Ramblers and Loddon Valley Ramblers groups) met up in Pangbourne for a 7½ mile walk around Whitchurch-on-Thames, Great Chalk Wood and Cold Harbour.

The walk started by crossing the River Thames on Whitchurch Bridge, following the Thames Path signposts past St Mary the Virgin Church in Whitchurch. Here we were met by a latecomer, who had been delayed the temporary traffic lights in Pangbourne. Thirteen of us now followed the High Street as it ascended, gently at first and then gradually more steeply, through the village.

We turned left into a lane called Hartslock Bridleway, still following the Thames Path signposts. There were a number of large houses along the lane, some with alarming amounts of security. A few of us were speculating who and what was behind the high, spiked, metal security fences.

The lane ended and the Thames Path became a muddy footpath that made its way through Hartslock Wood. The path ran along the contours of a steeply sloping bank, giving us an almost aerial view of the River Thames.

We left the Thames Path as it emerged from Lower Hartslock Wood and we headed up Hattonhill Shaw, a small but steep hill. We stopped at the top to take in the view of the Thames as it passes by Lower Basildon and Goring-on-Thames.

Once we'd got our breath back, we continued our walk on a narrow, stony path that gradually ascended before joining the Chiltern Way. This took us along a lane to Upper Gatehampton Farm and then into Great Chalk Wood. Here the paths became really muddy! We found a suitable spot for lunch, just off the muddy path and with fallen trees to sit on while we ate our packed lunches.

After lunch, we left Great Chalk Wood, passing Bottom Farm and Blackbird's Bottom on our way to Cold Harbour. Here we saw a great number of snowdrops on the verges of the paths and lanes.

We returned to Whitchurch on a long footpath that passed Furzemoor Plantation, Beech Farm and Stoneycroft Plantation before joining the B471 road into Whitchurch. It was then a matter of retracing our outward route, past the church and over the bridge back into Pangbourne. See our route on Google Maps. According to my GPS, we had done 7.6 miles with a total ascent of 1,900ft. Quite a workout!

Thanks go to Emma and Rob for leading this walk.

Walk 624 - Horsenden Hill and Northala Fields

Our original walk for Sunday 11^th February was to be a joint walk with another walking group, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the walk had to be cancelled. Luckily for us, Chris came to the rescue by offering to lead a walk based on one from a book called Hillwalking London, but extended.

This was a linear walk, starting at Ealing Broadway station and finishing at Southall station. Both stations are on the new Elizabeth Line, making the walk easily accessible from Reading, Twyford and Maidenhead in Berkshire.

I was unable to attend this walk, but Chris has provided these pictures and a brief description of the route that they took.

After making their way out of Ealing, they crossed cross the River Brent and Grand Union Canal before climbing Horsenden Hill, an ancient monument surrounded by 100 hectares of nature reserve.

Then they descended and crossed some playing fields to pick up the canal towpath towards Northolt, where they stopped in Belvue Park outside St Mary's Church.

The route then passed under the A40 to reach Northala Fields, featuring a café, ponds and a viewpoint on one of several man-made mounds. From there, they continued along the canal to Southall, where the walk ended.

A surprisingly green walk for one in West London.

Thanks go to Chris for leading this walk at such short notice.

Walk 623 - Calleva Atrebatum, Pamber Forest and Silchester Common

Twenty of us (including some regular guests from other groups) met in the free car park at Wall Lane on Saturday 3^rd February for a 7¾ mile walk around Silchester.

We started the walk by heading over to the remains of the walls that once enclosed and protected the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum. It is believed that there was an Iron Age settlement on this site before the Romans built their town here in ~43 AD.

It always amazes me that so much of the city wall is still standing after nearly two thousand years. Some sections of the wall have ancient oak and yew trees growing out of them! The Romans clearly new a thing or two about civil engineering.

About half way round, we arrived at the 12^th century church of Saint Mary the Virgin, built within the Roman wall and believed to be on the sight of an earlier Roman temple.

Our next stop was the Roman Amphitheatre, built just outside the city wall in around 70/80 AD. We stood in the centre of this arena, trying to imagine what might have taken place here to entertain the thousands of spectators that would have looked down into it from wooden seating, now long gone.

Once our circumnavigation of the wall was completed, we headed off towards Pamber Forest, stopping off in nearby Early Bridge Copse for lunch. There were a number of fallen trees that provided seating for us while we ate our packed lunches.

We entered Pamber Forest on a very muddy bridleway before following a much better forestry path towards the west of the forest. Here we joined the Brenda Parker Way, which we followed north-eastward, back through the forest, leaving it just after crossing Silchester Brook. We followed a stream before heading northward and uphill, through mixed woodland and into the gorse-covered heathland of Silchester Common.

We emerged from the common by the junction of Pamber Road and Kings Road. Briefly following Kings Road, we turned north again into the pine plantation at Aldermaston Soke and Benyon's Inclosure. We followed a well made forestry track through the plantation, turning east towards Pond Farm.

Snowdrops lined the path as we approached Church Road, which we followed briefly before taking another footpath across a field of sheep and joining a track that took us back to Wall Lane, right opposite the entrance to the car park. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Emma and Rob for leading this walk.

Walk 622 - Eversley and the Bramshill Plantation

On Saturday 27^th January, eighteen of us (plus a small dog) met up in Eversley for a seven-mile walk around Heath Warren Wood and the Bramshill Plantation. This was described in our programme as an easy walk, as it was mostly flat with only a couple of gentle inclines, so a good walk for people who haven't been walking for a while.

After the walk leaders introduced themselves, we set off by walking through the grounds of St Mary's Church, Eversley, on a footpath that continued westward past Warren Farm and through Heath Warren Wood, which is mostly tall pine trees.

Stopping to cross Bramshill Road, we were soon entering the Bramshill Plantation. Initially, we walked past a section of young fir trees, carefully fenced off to allow them to get established before the local deer could get at them.

Next, we wove our way along a twisting path through mature pines and silver birch trees. We stopped by a small pond (the first of several ponds of varying sizes that we would pass) for a drink. Some of us had bought flasks of hot coffee.

We continued with our circuit through the plantation, walking on a mix of long, straight gravel paths (used by the forestry workers) and twisting (and often muddy) public footpaths. We stopped by a couple more ponds along the way.

Our lunch stop was taken when we found a number of fallen trees in the woods, near the path. There were enough for all eighteen of us to sit on. When out walking with us, it's a good idea to bring a "sit mat" (or an empty plastic carrier bag) to keep yourself dry when sitting on potentially damp ground or, in this case, mossy trees.

After lunch, we left Bramshill Plantation by the way we'd come in, crossing the road again, back into Heath Warren Wood. We headed south along a footpath through a patch of tall pines and then into an open and slightly marshy area.

Soon we joined a long footpath also known as The Welsh Drive, a drove road along which cattle from Wales were herded to the markets south of London in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. This section passed through Warren Heath and crossed the Three Castles Path, where we switched tracks. This long-distance path connects Winchester Castle to Windsor Castle, via Odiham Castle, but we only followed it as far as the car park from where we'd started. See our route on Google Maps.

Thanks go to Emma and Rob for leading this walk.

Walk 621 - Turville, Pishill, Maidensgrove and Stonor

Our third walk of the year was led by Phil on Saturday 20^th January. Thirteen of us gathered in the picturesque village of Turville, for an 8½ mile walk that promised hills and mud. Although it was cold, it was also dry and so not as muddy as it could have been. Luckily, we avoided Storm Isha, which blew in on the Sunday.

The walk started by heading upwards and to the north-west along a footpath through fields and woodland. This took us to Park Wood and St Nicholas Church, Ibstone. Then it was downhill in a southerly direction to Turville Wood. Leaving the wood, it was uphill again, to Turville Heath. (Uphills and downhills were a feature of this walk.)

Here we came across another walking group, going the other way. Some friendly waves and greetings were exchanged as we passed each other.

Now there was a bit more uphill and downhill though open fields on our way to Pishill. We stopped for a group photo on one hill with a view of Stonor behind us. We would be passing through Stonor Park later on this walk.

On reaching the church at Pishill, we stopped for lunch. There were plenty of benches in the church grounds for us all to sit and eat our packed lunches in comfort.

After lunch, we walked up the road to Pishill House and joined a footpath (the Oxfordshire Way) descending towards Pishillbury Wood. It was uphill again along the path through the wood, taking us to Maidensgrove.

Almost doubling back on ourselves, we turned left and joined the Chiltern Way, which descended through Park Wood and then through a couple of fields into Stonor.

Passing through a very tall (deer-proof) swing-gate, we followed a path through Stonor Park, getting a good, almost aerial view of Stonor House. We left the park through another tall swing-gate and were soon in the hamlet of Southend.

After a slight wrong-turn, we were soon back on the Chiltern Way, heading north-east and downhill back to Turville. This path varied from well-made with a gentle slope to steep and slippery, but we all made it to the bottom without incident.

Joining School Lane, we were soon back by the village green from where we had started. See our route of Google Maps. A few of the group stayed on for a drink at The Bull & Butcher before heading home.

According to my GPS, we had covered almost 9 miles with 1,875 feet (570m) of ascent in total. That should help burn off some of the Christmas calories.

Thanks go to Phill for leading this walk.