Nine determined Poly Ramblers set off from Pangbourne Station despite warnings of storms and heavy rain. Our route took us through Whitchurch. Passing on a toll bridge over the river, built in
1792 to replace the ferry to bring your sheep or lambs across the Thames! The present iron bridge of 1902 replaces two previous wooden toll bridges. Today, pedestrians cross the bridge toll-free although there is still a charge for cars.  We walked past St Mary’s Church, in Whitchurch dating from the twelfth century. St
Birynius is said to have landed at the ferry crossing at Whitchurch and, on seeing how fine the place was, decided to build a church there.

The route continued along part of the Thames Path National Trail (which opened in 1996) past Coombe Park, to a wood with lovely views down to the Thames before climbing through a nature reserve and Great Chalk Wood.  The rain held off for most of the morning and as the clouds darkened we took a short cut to Hill Bottom and the Sun Inn where they very kindly allowed us to sit in their conservatory and eat our packed lunch as they had only limited food options for sale.   We all bought drinks and some of us did so after lunch so we could sit in the main pub and enjoy the fire whilst the heavens opened. Fortunately the rain had eased a little when we left and proceeded through a small park before re-connecting with the original route to go through woods and fields, then back down through Whitchurch. We retraced our steps over the bridge to Pangbourne Station  to catch the train home. By which time we were all a little soggy but agreed it was a beautiful walk and would be a perfect addition to a summer programme another year!.

Rochelle, with many thanks to Les for the photos.

After a truly horrible final walkover two days earlier – torrential rain, gales, thunder and lightning – the day of the walk was beautiful. It was warm with a pleasingly gentle breeze and the world seemed a different place in which it was a pleasure to be out walking.  We gathered at Stonegate station and set off along paths that were on the map but clearly not, or very rarely, used. There were some rough fields which must have been left for years and were completely overgrown but which had probably once been ploughed and so were ankle-twistingly but invisibly uneven. We are skillful and experienced walkers of course, and we navigated our way through with no problems. There were many stiles that were in a disgraceful state and in some cases so completely overgrown that they had to be hacked free to have any possibility of getting over them. Others had so many bits missing that they were a challenge to even the most long-legged among us but, again, we all managed and eventually were rewarded by a view of the lovely Bewl Water. Continue reading STONEGATE TO WADHURST – 7 SEPTEMBER →

Thank you to the team of Poly Ramblers who turned out to accompany the London Blind Ramblers on this refreshing and cheerful day. We had to change the date of the walk because of engineering works on the line which affected the numbers of participants from both groups. However, we were lucky in that the weather was extremely favourable and we enjoyed sunshine with a slight breeze as we strolled along the grassy path by the muddy banks of the Benfleet Creek where the occasional gull wandered about wondering where all the water had gone. We tasted aniseeds. I hope they were aniseeds or were they fennel? We mostly avoided the many cow pats. The cows were resting up in a field of dry straw over to our right, which didn’t look too appetising to me, which we debated as we went along! Perhaps I too would find it tasty if I had three stomachs! We passed Two Tree Island (a good place, depending on the time of year, to hear, observe and describe visiting Brent Geese, avocets and other birds as well as the gulls, if you don’t mind the noisy model aircraft or drones!). The tide was coming in, so by the time we arrived in Leigh-on-Sea we could hear the water lapping on the pebbles of the beach which was covered in adults and children making the most of possibly the last day of summer! On arrival in Old Leigh we went our various ways, some to the pub for food and drink where they were joined by Valerie, the LBRs group leader, some queuing for cockles, mussels, shrimps or crab, some to a seaside bench to eat our sandwiches in the sea breeze wafting gently across the River Thames from Kent. We still had time to queue for an Italian ice cream or two before carrying on along the narrow path, between the railway and the beach and sailing boats, to Chalkwell where Valerie and some others peeled off for the train. Continue reading Benfleet to Leigh-on-Sea / Southend, 21 September with the LBRs. →

A select group of six Poly Ramblers assembled at Brighton Station for a five and a half mile walk exploring the riches of this city and its seafront. We headed into the vibrant North Laine area of narrow streets full of colourful independent shops, pubs and cafes. We passed the Royal Pavilion which was built for the Prince Regent, later George 4th, between 1787 and 1822 in a distinctive Indian style. We crossed into the Lanes with its many antique shops and soon reached the seafront. Past the Palace Pier, we boarded the Volks Railway which runs alongside the beach. Opened in 1883, this narrow gauge heritage tram is the oldest operational electric railway in the world. Alighting at the Marina, we stopped for refreshments in a pub before starting on the Undercliff Walk. This is a five kilometre concrete and granite seawall running eastwards beneath the chalk cliffs. Its primary function is a defence against coastal erosion. As we sauntered along, we saw a a couple of seals and avoided spray from breaking waves. There are three breaks in the cliffs enroute and at the second of these we left the walk at Rottingdean. We found a quirky cafe in its high street and enjoyed an excellent late lunch whilst the heavens opened outside! We finished the day by taking a bus ride back to Brighton Station for trains home.

Danny
Photos courtesy of Pam Beach and Hilary Abbey