Our Scrapbook of Previous Walks

Walk 774 - In the footsteps of Jane Austen

On Sunday 31st May, a lovely group of 25 BWW met in Overton to walk ‘in the footsteps of Jane Austen’.

Jane Austen lived in this area for 26 years, and had connections with the four villages we visited. We know that Jane loved walking and our route would no doubt have been familiar to her.

Our walk started along the High Street in Overton and then turning off to cross the River Test we paused by Overton Rectory and Court House. Jane’s brother James was curate at Saint Mary’s Church Overton and lived in the rectory before moving to Court House.

Heading away from Overton, we walked beside and crossed the River Test several times before reaching the official source at Ashe. The River Test is a beautiful chalk stream and flows 40 miles south to Southampton Water. In the grounds of Holy Trinity and St Andrews church Ashe, we found the graves of the Lefroy family who were great friends with Jane.

Following a lovely scenic footpath, we soon arrived at Deane and the Church of All Saints. We were lucky enough to meet the church warden who let us visit inside. Jane’s father, George, was rector here but sadly the original church and parsonage were destroyed in the 1800’s and the current church was built in 1818. Our route then took us in front of the imposing Deane House where we gathered for a group photo.

From Deane we joined the Wayfarer’s Walk for about 1.5 miles passing Cheesedown Farm, where we know that Jane‘s father was allowed to farm to supplement his rectors income. Passing through fields filled with ripening crops we arrived in Steventon, the village where Jane was born. An added bonus to our walk was an archaeological dig being carried out on the site of Steventon Parsonage, the home of the Austen’s. A member of the dig very kindly gave a talk about the dig and the items that have been found so far. For more details visit www.archaeobriton.co.uk. We then had our lunch stop at the Church of St Nicholas Steventon. Jane was baptised here and her father, two brothers and nephew were rectors. Inside the church is a plaque in memory of Jane.

The final leg of the walk took us to Upper Ashe, skirting Berrydown Copse and farm, then back into Overton where some of the group visited the 15th century White Hart for refreshments.

Thank you all for joining Anne and me on our walk.

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

Walk 768 - Finchampstead Evening Bluebell Walk

Our first midweek evening walk of the year was on Wednesday 29th April. Starting at 6.45pm from the NT Simon’s Wood car park in Finchampstead, sixteen Ramblers set off in search of bluebells and they weren’t disappointed. Heading south from the car park, we took the path down to Coalpit Copse, where the woodland on both sides of the path was a carpet of blue.

At the bottom of Coalpit Copse, we turned right onto Ambarrow Lane in the direction of the Moor Green Lakes. After skirting around the edge of Horseshoe Lake we joined the Blackwater Valley Path past Grove Lake, following the meandering Blackwater River. On leaving the Blackwater Valley Path, we headed north through the nature reserve past Colebrook Lake, which is popular for bird watching, the small islands in the lake being named Snipe, Sandpiper, Tern, Goose and Plover Islands.

On reaching the road, we continued east along Lower Sandhurst Road and then north along Drift Lane, admiring attractive thatched cottages on the way, before entering the NT Finchampstead Ridges. Walking through woodland, we then made a short, relatively steep ascent up to the ridge, Wellingtonia Avenue and back to the car park through Simons Wood, finishing the 4 mile walk at 8.15pm.

Half of the group then enjoyed visiting the popular Hive Craft Beer and Coffee Shop opposite Crowthorne Station, with a few indulging in delicious pizzas - the perfect way to end a lovely evening! Here’s a link to the route.

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

Walk 763 - Nuffield Place Circular Walk - Easter Weekend

We set off from the Nuffield Place car park just after 10am, the day beginning with a light drizzle that soon lifted to brighter skies. Two gentle loops of around 5½ miles each took us through a classic Chiltern mix of rolling fields, quiet lanes, and spring woodland.

We started with 25 people, including two newcomers, for the first section. We started north past Huntercombe Prison and through the Ewelme estate, skirting woods, and open downs before returning along the Chiltern Way. Early bluebells were beginning to show, hinting at what is still to come later in the season.

A very unexpected Easter surprise came in the form of some giant rabbits spotted along the way, raising plenty of smiles.

Lunch was a highlight – enjoyed picnic-style in a bluebell wood, perched on a fallen tree, with the sun finally making an appearance.

14 of us continued the second loop after lunch, heading south through across Huntercombe Golf Course, woods, and fields, with impressive long-horn cattle a safe distance away.

Shortly afterwards, a flock of guinea fowl scuttling across a field provided another memorable wildlife moment. The walk looped back via the village of Nuffield, passing the graves of Lord Nuffield and Sir David Frost, before finishing back at Nuffield Place.

A few of us were also able to pop into the Maker Space café for some refreshments (and cake) at the end of the walk.

A damp start, a bright finish, spring flowers, good company, and plenty of surprises along the way – a walk to remember.

Download our route here.

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

Walk 762 - Ringing the Bell at Aldworth

Nineteen hardy people turned up for our walk on Good Friday starting from Goring station. It was a nice to see a number of people making use of the availability of public transport option that was available, it is also a very sociable method of attending a walk. Today's route was estimated twelve miles in distance with a fair amount of ascent making it a good work out for us all.

Leaving Goring station behind we picked up the path next to the old Youth Hostel in Streatley. My memory failed me a little here as I made the group take a road crossing prematurely, not that it caused any issue. This was the only steep climb of the walk, pausing for breath at the top to take in the expansive views. I offered a seasonal treat at this point and the little bit of chocolate was accepted by most in the appreciative group.

Our route snaked through a number of footpaths through a various copses enjoying the spring flowers that greeted us including the spectacular yellow gorse and the bluebells and starting to bloom. A member of the group pointed out a permissive footpath that I had not been aware of and to avoid walking on some tarmac we took advantage of that.

We paused in some coppiced woodland to sit and have our picnic lunches before heading on to Aldworth for a further stop to take on liquid refreshments. A number of people in the group popped into the local St Mary's Church, home to some Giant Effigies of the De La Beche family. It's worth popping in for a visit if you have not been before. Whilst I didn't visit the church this time, I took rest of the group to the iconic pub, "The Bell" for a slightly extended pub stop and the church visitors would meet us here soon enough. Undoubtedly one of my favourite pubs in the area The Bell was rewarding with winning the prestigious national CAMRA pub on the year award in 2020. After an hours pause here we cracked on with rest of the hike. It was noted by someone at one point that the path we were on looked familiar to them. I hadn't cottoned on that we were making a small part of the return journey on same footbath as we had earlier in the day albeit in the opposite direction!

The walk concluded following a nice woodland stretch, a sharp descent and the final mile on the tarmac through Streately and back to Goring. I have to say it was very enjoyable day leading a very friendly group made of people I hadn't met before and people I have known from all the way back since I joined the Ramblers in 2008. Thanks to you all and special mention to Barry for helping me out with carrying out back marking duties.

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