All posts by special correspondents

Saturday 14th September: Witley circular via hascombe

12 members plus Teddy set off from Witley station on a circular walk through the wooded hills of SW Surrey.  At several parts of the walk we traversed the Greensand Way.  We also walked on part of the Octavia Hill Trail named after the founder of the National Trust and passed an avenue of houses owned by millionaires.  The gardens were so large you couldn’t see the houses! We took our lunch break in Hascombe village at the lovely White Horse pub, which served some great beer and lovely, if slightly expensive, food or picnicked by the picturesque village pond with a Victorian church opposite. Continue reading Saturday 14th September: Witley circular via hascombe

31st August Lewes Circular

If I’m ever asked why on earth anyone would want to get up early on a weekend, put on heavy boots & walk up & down steep hills in high temperatures, Saturday’s walk provided the answer – because it’s wonderful! We had perfect weather, apart from the last hour, & the South Downs are beautiful. Amazingly sculpted chalk hills with steep escarpments & views to the sea from the top. The expenditure of energy required for us to get up & down three times was well Continue reading 31st August Lewes Circular

Sunday 28th July Victoria Park Jazz

Nine Polyamblers met at Stratford, despite the drop in temperature and pessimistic weather forecast, for the stroll across the Olympic Park, past the stadium where Danny was watching athletics the week before, and along the thoughtfully renamed Greenway (formerly the Northern Outfall Sewer Cycleway!) to Victoria Park, met by a flock of mini-cyclists wearing yellow high-vis jackets and then through the Old English Garden, past the East Lake and the massive Burdett-Coutts Drinking Fountain to the grassy expanse of the East Park. Continue reading Sunday 28th July Victoria Park Jazz

Saturday 27th July. Cookham to Maidenhead

On a rather dull and drizzly morning I turned up at Paddington station and found no Polys waiting for me. As I was making my way to the platform, one turned up and another found us on the train. By the next stop our select group had become four and was joined by five who were already in Cookham. We set off, passing the house where the painter Stanley Spencer lived and worked for 15 years until his death in 1959, through Cookham Dene. We passed a large free-range turkey farm, but still being some time to Christmas, or maybe because of the weather, we saw no turkeys roaming around. Continue reading Saturday 27th July. Cookham to Maidenhead

Saturday 13th. Coulsdon circular

Nineteen Polyramblers set off from Coulsdon South station in search of real countryside in zone 6. Within minutes we reached a path through ancient yew trees along which we walked for almost a mile before entering Happy Valley. We climbed uphill and followed a terrace enjoying impressive views and the wild flowers before dropping back down into the valley bottom and continuing to Coulsdon Common. Crossing from Greater London into Surrey brought us to the North Downs Way and the Surrey Hills. We Continue reading Saturday 13th. Coulsdon circular