On a day when two walks were offered to alleviate the excesses of Xmas consumption, twelve members chose the shorter option and gathered at Lower Sydenham station for a waterside walk through south-east London.

Initially, the group followed the Pool River through a green corridor until it joined the River Ravensbourne on its journey to the Thames. Passing under the South Circular Road, we entered the site of the old Catford Greyhound Stadium, now replaced by blocks of flats. Continuing through Ladywell Fields and past University Hospital Lewisham, we looked at St Mary’s Church before stopping for lunch. Some of our number sampled the beer and cuisine at the Ladywell Tavern while others had a picnic or went to a local cafe.

Suitable refreshed, we headed uphill to the 174 foot high peak of Hilly Fields for its wide-ranging views of London. This green area, once a farm, was saved in the late-nineteenth century by the intervention of Octavia Hill, the co-founder of the National Trust. Back down in the back streets of Lewisham, we rejoined the Ravensbourne and wended our way through Brookmill Park and Broadway Fields to Deptford Bridge, the site of a 1497 battle in the Cornish Rebellion against Norman taxes.

Finally, we headed for Deptford Station, via a bustling market and a distinctive post box artwork, where a few of us made a detour to a renowned pub the Dog & Bull pub for some fortifying mulled wine before heading home.

Danny

Photos courtesy of Patricia Burbidge and Kim Chowns

Looking up at the departure board at Waterloo Station our train appeared with the unexpected word CANCELLED!  Oh no!  I enquired at the information desk;  ‘a faulty train’. They were sorry.  The next service to Witley would be a full hour later.   I had previously realised that an 8.8 mile walk from Witley might be an issue because of sunset at 16.04 so this was bad news indeed. Continue reading WITLEY TO HASLEMERE 25TH NOVEMBER →

Rain, cold and grey skies for weeks before; rain, cold and grey skies predicted for weeks after but, on the day of the walk, the weather was wonderful. Warm – for November-  with a few feathery clouds in an otherwise perfectly blue sky.

We were lucky enough to have attracted two potential new members who met us at Haslemere station. The walk goes straight up onto a lovely path and then into the woods so there was no trudging through outskirts before the real walk begins.  A  lot of the day was in woodland but light enough that the sun shone through and lit up the crimson and gold of the fallen leaves and it wasn’t as muddy as had been predicted so it was really the most perfect autumn walk. Continue reading HASLEMERE CIRCULAR 11TH NOVEMBER →

It rained heavily during most of the walk but our small group of 8 polyramblers were all geared up for it!  We walked through many parks and woods, Coney hill Park, Sparrows Den, Spring Park woods, Shirley Heath, Cheyne wood, Three Halfpenny wood, Addlington Hills (we had our lunch stop under trees near the viewpoint there), Bramley Bank, Littleheath woods, Selsdon wood, Farleigh Common (where the weather picked up). Happily, the sun stayed out for us on the final hour of our walk and it was a short wait for the 403 at Hamsey Green.

Jackie McCartan

Photos by Hilary and Rochelle

Eleven Polyrambers set off from Westhumble rail station on a six mile circular walk including the village of Mickleham, woodlands making up Norbury Park and the Druids Grove with its fine specimens of ancient Yews.

The weather was unexpectedly fine with only a couple of quick showers passing through.  The only pub on route was closed when we passed by, but we were later afforded fine views of the Mole valley including Box Hill from where we picnicked.

The final leg of the walk became a bit of a challenge as the previous day’s wet weather had made sections of the chalky path slippery, but by using poles or holding somebody’s hand everyone managed to stay upright!

Near the end we encountered a large herd of Jersey Cows requiring navigation around certain deposits in the grass using a heads down rambling technique!

Finally, the leader perfectly timed the return to the rail station so that fellow ramblers only had a couple of minutes to wait for a train back to London!

Kim Chowns 

Photos by Ida and Patricia