I warned them it would be muddy but 22 Poly Ramblers joined me on this circular walk to the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, which has one of the best-preserved Roman town defences in England. Calleva Atrebatum was a flourishing Iron Age fortified town, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain. Unlike most major Roman settlements in southern England, Calleva Atrebatum was never re-occupied as a substantial settlement or built over, but instead became a small medieval village until it was deserted around the 5th century, possibly because of the black death plague that devastated medieval England. The museum of Reading in Reading Town Hall has a gallery devoted to Calleva, displaying many archaeological finds from the excavations. Continue reading THE SILCHESTER TRAIL FROM BRAMLEY – 24 FEBRUARY →

After meeting at King George V DLR station, we walked to Woolwich Ferry North Terminal for our (free) cruise across the Thames.  It was over too soon; we disembarked and continued along the river to Woolwich Arsenal which has been nicely renovated.  We passed Woolwich Market and the former imposing home of the Woolwich Equitable Building Society before our first climb to reach Plumstead Common.  After the wingless windmill situated above the Old Mill Public House, we continued on Winn’s Common which we crossed. We went down the valley and up the other side to Bostall Woods where we had our picnic in a clearing on tables and benches conveniently placed there. Continue reading MID-WEEK WALK: PART THREE OF THE GREEN LONDON WAY – 5 OCTOBER →

I walked up to the station and when the train arrived before 11:00, 11 Poly Ramblers alighted, making up a party of 12. There had been a considerable amount of rainfall during the previous week. I thus advised the party of a Claggy field and a Squelchy track, during the final third of the ramble. Setting off beside Tesco’s car park and some residential roads, we continued along a straight tarmacked track, tree lined to the left and grassy on the right, leading off to several other residential areas until we reached an open area with a Motte and Bailey at one end. This led us to Dewpond Road and the Dew Pond itself featuring some aquatic birds.  A left turn and right fork from here led us onto Church Road, being a narrow lane, where we passed the side of the Manor behind trees, and then the Parish Church.  A little further down the lane we reached the main entrance gates to Flitwick Manor, where to one side of its driveway were carpeted in a bright white of snowdrops, Time here for some photoshoots! Continue reading FLITWICK RAMBLE – SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY →

Seventeen walkers gathered at Chalfont and Latimer station on a mild but wet and miserable Saturday morning for the last walk of the year. After a circuit of Chalfont Nature Park, waiting for two late arrivals to catch us up, we continued down country lanes with impressive properties and picked up a path along field boundaries above the Misbourne Valley. We passed close to but didn’t see Beel House, once owned by the Mason family who made their wealth from the slave trade in the 18th century, and later by such luminaries as Dirk Bogarde, Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Kilroy-Silk. Eventually we reached Stanley Hill Cemetery where we paused to view the memorial to the Polish soldiers who were stationed in the area in World War II.  Later we passed the Martyrs Memorial to the six men and one woman who were burnt to death in the early 16th century for being Lollards and wanting to read the bible in English. We headed through the woods to Amersham and lunch.

Twelve walkers continued for the afternoon circular walk in the Chess Valley, passing Latimer House. The weather had brightened slightly but conditions underfoot were difficult with slippery mud which slowed us down a bit. After a number of climbs and descents we finally emerged from the final wood as the sun set and did the last mile on tarmac back to Amersham station in the dark.

Happy New Year to all Poly Ramblers

Gillian.  Thanks to Ida and Chris for the photos