Chiltern villages, meadows and woodland trails, River Chess. Expect some steep ascents and descents and stiles. Bring poles if you use and there are some scratchy sections so shorts not suitable and walking boots essential.
Buy OPDR Chalfont & Latimer (Within Freedom pass zone).
Dep. Marylebone 09.27, arr Chalfont & Latimer 9.58. Bring packed lunch, snack and water. Drink stop at Sarratt, OS EX181 or LR172.
Leader Sunita .
Photo: The_Boot_pub_Sarratt_geograph-6163127-by-Mark-Percy.jpg
After a short tour of historic Rye, we strike out across salt flats to Camber Castle built by Henry 8th, continuing along the coast, through fields of sheep to the village of Winchelsea. Relatively flat, one flight steep steps. Buy OPDR to Rye. Dep. St Pancras 09.40 change Ashford International 10.18/10.24 arr. Rye 10.46. High speed javelin train so freedom passes cannot be used. Bring packed lunch. Refreshment stop at pub in Winchelsea. EX125. Leader Mary King
For the second year in a row, our trip to the Norfolk coast coincided with a heat wave in the south east, so we were delighted to hear reports from the early arrivals that Great Yarmouth was positively chilly in the evening. The town was clearly struggling economically but has a rich maritime history and those who managed to visit the Time and Tide museum were impressed. On the first evening most of the group gathered in the Alexandra restaurant for an excellent meal.
The next morning was hot as forecast, but we need not have feared as sea breezes came tumbling over us as we stepped onto Happisburgh beach. The cloudless sky had turned the sea a Mediterranean blue. A vast, white swathe of firm sands, damp from the retreating tide, made the going easy as we strode out to the sound of the waves. Continue reading Norfolk Coast Path: Happisburgh to Hopton on Sea 26-28 June 2026
A select group of five Poly Ramblers met at Berwick Station to begin our final stages of the Vanguard Way. We crossed fields following the line of a Roman Rd, passing through the village of Berwick we entered the South Downs national Park. We stopped at Berwick Church to admire the Bloomsbury group paintings by artists Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, and Quentin Bell. The murals were commissioned in the hope that there would be a golden age for painted churches.
Continue reading Berwick to New Haven 13 miles Section 9/10 of the Vanguard Way – 6 June 2026
On another hot day, nine members met at Mill Hill East station for a circular walk of just over five miles in the London Borough of Barnet. After a stop at a nearby Waitrose for use of their facilities, we headed along a suburban road to the thirteen arch Northern Line viaduct, the highest point above ground level on the London Underground network. As it towered above us, we joined the Dollis Brook trail for a pleasant shaded walk through woodland. Soon we branched off left through a golf course for a stretch of road walking. After a small altercation with a driver who appeared to be unaware of pedestrian priority at a turning, we reached an enclosed track with horses greeting us in an adjacent field. This took us in due course to Totteridge Green with its delightful duck pond. After skirting some cottages and large houses, we reached the Orange Tree Inn. Here we stopped for drinks and where some of our number ate a picnic lunch at the lovely pond opposite. Refreshed we headed up to the attractive village church where we joined another track down the long slope of the Totteridge valley. Extensive views opened up as we left woodland with the Mill Hill medical research institute dominating the skyline. Passing a cricket match in progress, we headed uphill to the Adam & Eve pub where the group split. Some headed down Bittacy Hill to complete the walk while the rest delayed their departure down the hill to partake of drinks in the pub. Fortunately there were no transport delays returning home, unlike my recent Alton walk.
Danny
Photos courtesy of Les Filby.
