Seventeen walkers gathered at Chalfont and Latimer station on a mild but wet and miserable Saturday morning for the last walk of the year. After a circuit of Chalfont Nature Park, waiting for two late arrivals to catch us up, we continued down country lanes with impressive properties and picked up a path along field boundaries above the Misbourne Valley. We passed close to but didn’t see Beel House, once owned by the Mason family who made their wealth from the slave trade in the 18th century, and later by such luminaries as Dirk Bogarde, Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Kilroy-Silk. Eventually we reached Stanley Hill Cemetery where we paused to view the memorial to the Polish soldiers who were stationed in the area in World War II. Later we passed the Martyrs Memorial to the six men and one woman who were burnt to death in the early 16th century for being Lollards and wanting to read the bible in English. We headed through the woods to Amersham and lunch.
Twelve walkers continued for the afternoon circular walk in the Chess Valley, passing Latimer House. The weather had brightened slightly but conditions underfoot were difficult with slippery mud which slowed us down a bit. After a number of climbs and descents we finally emerged from the final wood as the sun set and did the last mile on tarmac back to Amersham station in the dark.
I only learnt recently about the link of Reading and Caversham as centres of pilgrimage with Reading Abbey (founded by King Henry I in 1121) which possessed over 230 relics including the hand of St James and Caversham where the shrine of Our Lady of Caversham was situated. 12 Poly Ramblers joined me on a sunny but cold day to learn about the history of Reading and Caversham. Continue reading READING HISTORY AND ST JAMES WAY- 6 December mid-week walk→
Thirty one Polyramblers including one new member, welcome Shola, joined me in near freezing conditions for a gentle walk through the streets of the City of London. This square mile is the oldest part of London dating back to AD50 when the invading Romans established a settlement they called Londinium. Continue reading MITHRAEUM AND CITY WALK – 2 DECEMBER→
Looking up at the departure board at Waterloo Station our train appeared with the unexpected word CANCELLED! Oh no! I enquired at the information desk; ‘a faulty train’. They were sorry. The next service to Witley would be a full hour later. I had previously realised that an 8.8 mile walk from Witley might be an issue because of sunset at 16.04 so this was bad news indeed. Continue reading WITLEY TO HASLEMERE 25TH NOVEMBER→
In spite of the wet conditions and a discouraging forecast, 15 Poly Ramblers gathered at Ruislip station for a walk through woodland, open countryside and canal towpath. The rain had largely stopped by the time we set off but the sun failed to make an appearance all day. Even without the sunshine the woodland of Bayhurst Country Park and Ruislip nature reserve was lovely, although the HS2 works we had to divert around were a little less lovely and some of the stiles were in poor condition. Eventually the route took us to woodland above Harefield Parish Church and a peal of bells heralded our arrival (or maybe they were for the wedding). We made our way uphill to Harefield Village and then down, up and down again to reach the Grand Union canal towpath. We headed north and stopped at the Coy Carp pub for lunch. After refreshments we continued north on the towpath to Rickmansworth where the majority of the party went in search of tea. Having searched in vain for an independent tea shop we ended up in one of the chains.
It was lovely to see Julie again on a visit from Brisbane. She enjoyed the weather if no-one else did.
Gillian. Photos from Joyanna, Hilary, Melida and Gillian
The Polytechnic Rambling Club – Walking with friends
