Report by Jill Forgham

We had a wonderful day  yesterday. According to Alison’s app she did 23 km, oof! It was beautiful weather with a good breeze and there were 17 of us on the walk. We boarded a very packed HS1 train to Ashford International (full of people heading to the beach at Margate) and then all crammed onto a tiny train 3 stops to Rye (I had to sit in the luggage rack as there was no room left to stand in the aisles).

We did a quick tour of the quaint streets of Rye (very pretty) and up to the castle for a viewpoint and then dropped down to start our hike through fields of corn (scenes very reminiscent of Paul Nash, who had lived in the town), picking blackberries along the way as we headed across country to Winchelsea. We arrived at the New Inn in time for lunch and explored the gorgeous, partly ruined church (where Millais did two paintings) and in the churchyard, found the gravestone of Spike Milligan.

We headed out through one of the ancient town gates (13thc) and then crossed vibrant green fields with hundreds of pristine lambs grazing, heading no doubt to be salt marsh lamb fairly soon. With Camber Castle ruins on the horizon, it was glorious.

Finally we got to Rye Harbour, a good 40 minutes schlep beyond the town and now part of a nature reserve and bird sanctuary. We could see across to Camber Sands and the silhouette of Dungeness power station on the horizon, and we all collapsed into the Discovery Centre for a very welcome cup of tea and cake.

Jill.  Photos by Jill, Stuart and Lan

Sixteen keen Polyramblers aligned at Rochford for the second challenging walk of the summer programme. This 13 mile walk was cancelled last year (can’t remember why) and we eagerly waited for the bus to take us to Canewdon to start the walk. The bus was late – which is not unusual – and we were not too worried until two ladies who were passing told us that, because of roadworks, the bus had been diverted and we had missed it.

This walk seemed to be doomed! After checking that there was a bus from Canewdon to Rochford at 17.00, I decided to do the walk in reverse. So we set off from Rochford, following the river Roach along the sea wall for a few miles while being buffeted by the wind. We turned inland at Bartonhill Creek and had lunch in the shade. We continued along Green Lane, passing a lake and walking along a path made of seashells. We reached Paglesham and stopped at St Peter’s Church to use the eco toilet. We passed a defunct pub and reached Paglesham Creek then walked along fields before reaching Lion Creek which we followed. We continued alongside the river Crouch on an overgrown path on the sea wall with the wind against us.

We finally reached Upper Raypits where we turned inland, crossing a meadow and then climbing the only hill of the day to reach Canewdon and the bus stop with half an hour to spare. No time for a drink in the pub but we headed to the local shop for a well deserved ice cream.

Dominique

This was a walk that nearly got cancelled due to a train strike and closure of parts of six TFL lines so we were delighted to meet nineteen polyramblers at Tring Station.

After a safety briefing we made our way towards the entrance to Westland Farm and joined the Ridgeway Path passing through Aldbury Nowers nature reserve. We had a few spots of rain before we started to climb but fortunately it stayed dry and sunny for the rest of the day. We reached the top of the ridge with Pitstone village in the distance. We walked through undulating grassy hillside, with a smell of camomile underfoot, before descending and a tackling a second climb to Ivinghoe Beacon.

It was very windy and rather busy at the top with walking groups and families. Obviously a few of us discussed how we had previously celebrated completing the Ridgeway Trail. We dropped down a bit to find a reasonable spot for a picnic amongst the meadow flowers. We then retraced our steps downhill and made our way towards the Bridgewater Monument and Ashridge visitor centre, our route taking us through a well stocked wood, part of the Ashridge estate. I saw several varieties of butterflies including Cabbage White, Cinnamon Blue and Peacock.

After a refreshment stop at the visitor centre we passed by the picturesque post office, village hall and church in the village of Aldbury arriving in good time to catch the 4:00pm train home.

Sunita

Photos by Ida, Jill and Chris

Lovely walk from Petts Wood to West Wickham, despite the drizzle, through wooded areas, meadows, a nature reserve and Elms Country Park where we stopped for lunch near the Green Roof Cafe there.

After lunch we traversed the site of a great mansion which had burned down in 1967 and, after a bit of climbing, stopped to view the remains of the Wilberforce Oak which has an interesting history (bill calling for the abolition of slavery discussed here)

Onwards to The Keston ponds which were teaming with life, including lots of cute ducklings being closely guarded by parents. As Hayes station didn’t have trains running, we stood under a bus shelter, dodging drips from leaks in the roof, until the 353 arrived and took us on the 15 min journey to Orpington station, a journey Geoffrey was quite familiar with, having lived in that area many years ago. After a short wait we were off on the train towards London.

Jackie.  Photos by Hilary and Ian

I am so thankful that the weather was no-where near as dire as predicted for my Henley walk on 15th July. We all assembled at Henley station (seventeen of us) via bus, car, the Liz line and GWR. I gave a short talk and then we set off over the bridge and then along the east side of the Thames. Most of the grandstands and hospitality tents and general what-not were still there after the annual regatta a couple of weeks before and were slowly being dismantled. Inwardly I am conflicted between feelings of resentment because I don’t belong to the privileged social class that goes to the regatta and the fact it looks like it was a lot of fun. Anyway it’s a lovely walk by the river, which is very beautiful and is surrounded by green fields. We pass swans fishing for breakfast and Canadian geese all in a line like we are! The weather is fresh and invigorating. We got to Hambleden Lock more quickly than I expected and after a group photo crossed over the river. This section of the river is very different, no longer gliding serenely along but roaring loudly as it rushes through the weir with us on the bridge a few feet above it. Ducks and geese are feeding happily in the midst of the rushing water. I love this sort of thing, it’s exciting! Continue reading HENLEY CIRCULAR – 15 JULY →