We had a lovely summer’s day for this Chilterns walk with 14 Poly Ramblers. After an hours delay having been ‘detrained’ at West Ruislip we set off from Saunderton up Smalldean Lane and through fields to the foot of the Chilterns Hills, with views across the valley to our return route.  We had a short stop at Bradenham Church where a couple of walkers took advantage of the generously provided tea and coffee. The walk then took us through woods up to Naphill Common where we had lunch on a convenient tree trunk.

The route to Hughenden Manor passes between Flagmore and Common wood with some lovely views before climbing up to the Manor House. There was time for a cup of tea and a quick look around the gardens of Disraeli’s former home, with gardens filled with colour.

Then we headed down through the woods and across fields, skirting around Downley. We crossed Downley Common, sadly having to miss out on the pub because of our late start. The path down from close to Cookshall Farm passed through a field of maize higher than all of us and then opened up to some lovely views of our next stopping point, the Dashwood Mausoleum on the site of an ancient fort and the current St Lawrence Church.

We broke the climb up from near West Wycombe at the Hellfire caves, where the loo and the ice creams were very welcome A small group who needed to get back a bit quicker peeled off here and successfully got a bus to High Wycombe. A steep but short slog got the rest of us up to the mausoleum and some gorgeous views. The last 3 miles or so took us along the ridge and then down through Hearnton Wood, coming down to Smalldean Lane again on the other side of the railway. The party made it back in time for our train.
Thank you everyone for coming along and to Ida for the photos.

Jo

“This train has been cancelled please disembark!” was announced as fifteen polyramblers sat waiting on the 10.20 train from Waterloo to Sunningdale. Oh no!  When I asked the guard, he said there had been an incident further up the line and investigations were in progress.   Thankfully we caught the next train half an hour later (which terminated at Woking instead of Reading to avoid the problem).

Continue reading Sunningdale to Windsor – 31st August 2024 →

15 Poly Ramblers met at Wadhurst Station and our path followed the undulating Sussex Border Path to The Old Vine pub in Cousley Wood, where we stopped for a welcome drink and comfort break. We then descended through the woods to reach Bewl Water Reservoir. The shore being open and unfenced unlike many other reservoirs made the perfect spot for a picnic with fine panoramic views across the water. Continue reading Wadhurst via Bewl Water circular – 13 August →

Ten Poly Ramblers were on this walk which followed part of the Royal Military Canal. The notes for this walk say: ‘The canal was hastily constructed in the early 19th century to protect England from a threatened Napoleonic invasion which never came. The project was soon being condemned as an extravagant military folly. Napoleon whose armies had crossed the Rhine and the Danube was hardly likely to be deterred by this innocuous waterway.´ The canal is 28 miles long and goes from Hythe, Kent, to Cliff End in East Sussex. Continue reading HAM STREET CIRCULAR VIA APPLEDORE -10 AUGUST →

Sixteen of us were on this sunny evening walk around Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. From Bermondsey tube station, we made our way to the Thames which we followed for a short while. We learned about Dr Alfred Salter, his wife Ada and daughter Joyce. Alfred and Ada became involved in local government in an attempt to improve conditions for the poor of the area. There is a statue group of the family by the Angel Inn. Opposite are the remains of a 14th century manor built for Edward III. 

We walked to The Ship pub, passed the mortuary building which is now used by the Time and Talent Association, Hope Sufferance Wharf, the Watch House and the former parish school with the figures of two schoolchildren. We went into St Mary’s churchyard where there is a memorial to Captain Jones, master of the Mayflower. There is also Prince Lee Boo’s grave in the churchyard. I had forgotten to check who he was so could not enlighten the group. But after asking Google, I found out that: “Prince Lee Boo was one of the first Pacific Islanders to visit Great Britain.  His life and untimely death from smallpox, only five months after his arrival in London, captured the imagination of the British, and wider European and American, audiences.”

We passed the Mayflower pub and the Brunel Engine House which was designed by Marc Brunel with his son Isambard Kingdom to be part of the infrastructure of the Thames Tunnel. It held steam-powered pumps used to extract water from the tunnel. It was originally used as a boiler house during the construction of the Thames Tunnel between 1825 and 1843. 

We rejoined the Thames to look at a statue of a Pilgrim Father reading a child’s comic. We left the Thames and made our way to the quite bland Library and Finnish Church and the pretty Norwegian church of St Olav. Both churches were built to serve sailors from Scandinavian ships who delivered their timber cargo to Rotherhithe and Surrey docks.  Then we made our way to Southwark Park.  It was a lovely summer evening, and the park was busy with people relaxing or having a picnic.  We went through the Ada Salter Garden and along the lake.  After a toilet stop by the nice new cafe, we exited the park and went through King George’s Field, passing the former Dock Manager’s Office before reaching Canada Water station where the walk ended. All the pubs mentioned in this report have been patronised by Danny. After the walk, eight of us took the overground to Surrey Quays to go to the Surrey Docks Wetherspoon pub for dinner.  Get in touch with me if you want the details of this walk.

Dominique

Photos by Nita