Despite an early start, a very respectable 14 of us assembled at Holmwood Station. We were rewarded when, just before our arrival, the sun came out, lighting up the wonderful autumn colours. We made our way uphill to Coldharbour, enjoying views to the south. There we were greeted by the new landlady of the Plough Inn, who in the spirit of free enterprise was offering discounts to diners. I don’t recall having been there as a club – one for the future perhaps. Onward and upward past the cricket ground and to Leith Hill Tower and a cup of tea at the cafe. It was a lively scene, with walkers, cyclists,dog walkers and families with small children all enjoying the sunshine and views towards the South Downs. Turning north our walk took us largely through woodland to the Stephan Langton Inn, surely Surrey’s most remote pub, for an agreable lunch. Our afternoon route took us north and east to Dorking, through mixed woodland and farmland. Much of our walk was through the Wooton Estate, the former home of the Evelyn family. At Dorking, the majority headed for the station apart from Stuart, Gillian and myself who found a small pub where we raucously watched the rugby world cup final along with about 200 others. A grand day out, though perhaps not with the ending Stuart would have chosen.
Despite perfect weather, the day didn’t start auspiciously. Pam & Tim arrived at London Bridge in good time but without tickets, only to find the concourse filled with a snaking queue of hopeful travellers all trying to get tickets from the 2 functioning machines. The Ticket Office being likewise besieged, they managed to get through the Barrier hoping to throw themselves on the compassion of the person at the Excess Fares booth but that was similarly overwhelmed by confused families all trying, & presumably failing, to make sense of the Railway ticketing system. Pam made it onto the train but Tim, not having a Freedom Pass, didn’t which was sad as he missed a lovely day.
Ten walkers made the longish journey from Waterloo to Shawford in Hampshire on Saturday morning to meet up with leader Roy who lives in the area. Soon we were up on Shawford down and crossing the M3 to Compton Down. It was not an arduous walk, undulating rather than hilly, and Roy treated us gently, with frequent pauses for information about the history of the area.
He had certainly done his research – we learnt about the mizmaze (turf maze) on St Catherine’s Hill, the WW1 troop camps surrounding Winchester and the history of Richard Cromwell (son of Oliver) in the village of Hursley, where we stopped for lunch at the Kings Head. Roy raised the bar for leaders by providing a handout on the history of the area – which is proving a great help in writing this report! Either side of lunch we picked up the Monarch’s Way, a 615 mile footpath marking the approximate route Charles II took escape after defeat at the Battle of Worcester. All too soon we were going back under the M3 and into the prosperous commuter town of Shawford with some impressive properties. With a 50 minute wait for our train we stopped to look for fish in the Itchen Navigation and then repaired to the pub across the road in search of liquid refreshment. Unfortunately the service was so slow that most of the group gave up.
Thanks Roy for a very enjoyable and informative day. Gillian
Stuart and I met 13 walkers at Luton station on a warm, sunny Saturday morning for stage 2 of the Icknield Way. A 15 minute trip on the guided busway took us back to Dunstable where we finished in May. A long green lane took us to steep steps to cross the A5 and we continued north, stopping briefly to try some delicious cultivated blackberries growing just above a sewage works. Later we had to negotiate the diggers starting work on the A5/M1 link road. Soon Continue reading Saturday 8th August Icknield Way Stage 2 Dunstable to Streatley→
Five walkers turned up for the short walk on Sat. Solvig, Nigel, Roberta, myself and Louise – a friend of mine.
The weather was wonderful. We took the walk gently and went first on to Eel pie Island, then to York House, Orleans house and Marble Hill House for lunch. We didn’t go in the houses – just lovely to walk around the gardens and watch the boats going by on the river. The gardens at York House were originally designed by a famous Indian industrialist Sir Ratan Tata who lived there long ago. After lunch, we went on the little ferry crossing and no one fell overboard. Then, on to Richmond by the river.
We finished up naturally at Costa Coffee and guess who was first in the queue for coffee and comfy sofas? Yes, you’ve got it and the rest of us were right behind! I think we all enjoyed the day.
Rosie.
photo by Cristian Bortes
The Polytechnic Rambling Club – Walking with friends
