In this summer’s reliably hot weather, eighteen members set off from Banstead station for a circular walk of just over five miles in the countryside along the Surrey border. The group first crossed a busy road outside the station and shortly after the A217 dual carriageway, before reaching the calm environment of a golf course. Threading our way through the fairways, we came upon a junction of paths. Having only completed a recce a few days earlier, I was confident about which onward one to take.
Ten of us met at Hadley Wood train station and thought of Geoffrey when I pointed out the memorial plaque to Sir Nigel Gresley, designer of the famous ‘Flying Scotsman’ and ‘Mallard’ locomotives who used to live in Hadley Wood.
An elite team of 4 walkers arrived at Bentley station with no problems on the line, which was an unusual & auspicious start to the day. It was hot, 1 degree under the recommended ‘Cancel-the Walk’ temperature, but as we were going to be mostly in woodland, it was actually very pleasant.
It is said that some plants and trees give off volatile organic compounds (phytoncides) that protect them against attacking organisms such as bacteria or fungi. And that “after only a short amount of time in the arbour of a forest, stress levels are reduced. Walking among trees decreases the body’s stress response, which in turn lowers your levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. As a result, you feel calmer.” Well it worked! The group was very calm and friendly, walking through the autumn leaves and looking out for fungi. Continue reading EPPING FOREST CIRCULAR WALK – 25 OCTOBER 2025→
Twelve Poly Ramblers and two guests gathered at Berkhamsted station on the last shopping Saturday before Christmas. We would have been one more but Geoffrey was unable to find any parking and ended up going home. It was a lovely sunny morning and the first part of the walk took us on a loop through fields and woodland to the north of the town with beautiful views, returning through Berkhamsted Common. A few people peeled off to attend to Christmas preparations while the rest had a picnic or a quick drink and snack in the Boat pub on the canal. After lunch we did an easy, flat circuit on the canal towpath on either side of the town and we finished up following a Blue Plaque trail along the High Street of this historic market town. We saw old coaching inns, the impressive gothic style town hall and the childhood home of Clementine Churchill. We should have seen the birthplace of Graham Greene too but I managed to miss it in the fading light. Having had our fill of history we dispersed to the station or to tea and mince pies. Thanks to everyone who chose walking over Christmas shopping!
