11 of us arrived at Maze Hill station, right next to the entrance to Greenwich Park hoping to visit the Queen’s Orchard but, unfortunately, it was shut. Then, passing the herbaceous border, we went to the Queen’s House. The architect Inigo Jones was commissioned to design a new palace for Queen Anne in 1616. Supposedly, the manor of Greenwich had been a gift from King James I as an apology for losing his temper after Anne had accidentally shot one of his favourite dogs while hunting.
A walk from Cookham to Maidenhead, where we ‘had the weather for it’. Cooler and much more tolerable for a longish walk.
16 arrived on the shuttle between Maidenhead and Cookham, Geoffrey (our back marker) and I by car, and Pam joined us at the pub near Bourne End.
The walk is a figure of 9 – a circular walk back to Cookham High St and then linear down to Maidenhead – much researched and recce’d and Chris had his trusty app just in case. Continue reading Cookham to Maidenhead – 22 August 2026→
I had been concerned that following recent high temperatures in London the walking conditions might have been uncomfortable especially as there was no shade. But I needn’t have worried. The temperatures were already on the way down after the latest heatwave and the gentle sea breeze made the conditions just perfect for walking.
12 Poly Ramblers assembled at St Pancras and made the journey down to Rye. After the briefing, we began with a short tour of the main highlights of the town. Rye is a very old town with evidence of existing since Anglo-Saxon times. It is one of five ports (including Winchelsea) or ‘Cinque Ports’ on which were conferred a special status and tax privileges by the Crown in medieval times in return for defending the coastline from invasion. After admiring the old buildings, particularly in Mermaid Street, we made our way out of Rye and along the extensive salt flats that lie between the town and the sea two miles away. It’s hard to imagine that, until a succession of massive storms between the 13th and 16th centuries, both Rye and Winchelsea were on the coast. Continue reading Rye Circular via Winchelsea – 15th August 2026→
After a safety briefing 15 Poly Ramblers set off promptly to join the Chess Valley path toward Latimer, first of four villages on today’s ramble. After a brief stop at Latimer Village Green we headed for Flaunden through Badwin Wood. We stopped to admire the church designed by Sir Gilbert Scott with beautiful stained glass window. We were a bit early for the 16 Century pub, The Green Dragon, with its own Wikipedia entry. Jennifer shared some of history and names of some of the men who drank here. We joined the Chiltern Way heading towards Sarratt, our lunch stop. We had some tricky stiles to contend with as well country lane walking made difficult by big, modern cars. Again we were grateful of the shade in Dawes Common and Sandfield Woods. After our refreshments and topping up our water bottles we descended to Chess valley with its ponds and water meadows and made our way to Chenies and on to Chalfont Latimer Station.
This was an interesting walk with lots of history and I would go back to churches at Latimer and Flaunden and stop for a drink at The Green Dragon.
