Twelve Poly Ramblers met at Kings Cross Station for a meander through lesser-known places between Kings Cross and Camden Lock. We began with Keystone Crescent, the houses built in 1846 consisting of charming and compact houses. The London Canal Museum was our next stop, a fascinating exhibition of the history
of canal life in London and the Victorian ice trade that once kept London supplied with ice for chilling food which arrived by canal boat. We made our way through Barnsbury, a fashionable district with well-kept Victorian houses and passing a famous pub completely obscured by greenery, the Hemingford Arms. Continuing down Wheelwright Street we were confronted with the massive
bulk of Pentonville Prison.
We eventually arrived at Caledonian Park where there is a plaque announcing ‘Copenhagen House famous tavern and tea garden stood here from early 17c to 1855. The Caledonian market was held here from 1870s to 1939.’ Caledonian market was the result of a long overdue decision to move Smithfield market with its thousands of cattle, sheep, pigs geese etc. driven from all parts of the country. The sounds and smells of this open air abattoir was finally too much for the City corporation and the market closed permanently in 1939 and became a Bric-a -Brac market.
We stopped for lunch at the Tolpuddle Café. The clock tower there marked the place where a massed march and petition was held in 1834 in support of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, imprisoned for belonging to an early trade union.
After lunch we followed a long straight cobbled mews with an eclectic mix of old and new buildings before ending our walk at Camden Road station.

Hilary .  Photos by Hilary and Nita

Nine determined Poly Ramblers set off from Pangbourne Station despite warnings of storms and heavy rain. Our route took us through Whitchurch. Passing on a toll bridge over the river, built in
1792 to replace the ferry to bring your sheep or lambs across the Thames! The present iron bridge of 1902 replaces two previous wooden toll bridges. Today, pedestrians cross the bridge toll-free although there is still a charge for cars.  We walked past St Mary’s Church, in Whitchurch dating from the twelfth century. St
Birynius is said to have landed at the ferry crossing at Whitchurch and, on seeing how fine the place was, decided to build a church there.

The route continued along part of the Thames Path National Trail (which opened in 1996) past Coombe Park, to a wood with lovely views down to the Thames before climbing through a nature reserve and Great Chalk Wood.  The rain held off for most of the morning and as the clouds darkened we took a short cut to Hill Bottom and the Sun Inn where they very kindly allowed us to sit in their conservatory and eat our packed lunch as they had only limited food options for sale.   We all bought drinks and some of us did so after lunch so we could sit in the main pub and enjoy the fire whilst the heavens opened. Fortunately the rain had eased a little when we left and proceeded through a small park before re-connecting with the original route to go through woods and fields, then back down through Whitchurch. We retraced our steps over the bridge to Pangbourne Station  to catch the train home. By which time we were all a little soggy but agreed it was a beautiful walk and would be a perfect addition to a summer programme another year!.

Rochelle, with many thanks to Les for the photos.

 

We set off from Waterloo on a fast train to Guildford and more walkers joined us at Clapham Junction.  I was really pleased there were 18 of us on what was an overcast day in late November.    I was worried about completing the walk before it got dark (sunset at 15:58) and perhaps I may have overdone it a bit during my short briefing in which I stressed that we needed to keep up a good walking pace. 

The station isn’t far from the river Wey which we followed south out of Guildford.  It wasn’t long before we were out in the countryside walking by a very full river with a weir to our right, noisy with rushing water.   The water meadows on the other side of the Wey were heavily flooded.   It was a relief to me to be back in nature and away from the traffic of the busy town.

After a while we left the banks of the river,  heading west, up a steep short hill and over a railway bridge to get to Sandy lane.  We then branched right and followed the North Downs Way climbing through a pleasant rural valley which headed towards Compton and lunch at the Watts Gallery.   It was not raining and we were quite warm so we stopped for a brief water break and to remove a layer of clothing.   Everyone was chatting and seemed happy and I was surprised to get to Watts Gallery about 20 minutes early.   So I need not have worried after all!

Most people had brought there own lunch and sat at the picnic tables outside. This was just as well since it was very busy in the tea room.   It’s a delightful place with a lovely shop and many of us enjoyed a pot of tea or cup of coffee after lunch.   This was originally a part of the Arts and Crafts movement and a pottery was opened here in the early 20th century by George and Mary Watts.  Currently there is a resident artist here and an art gallery which unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore.  After an hour we left and headed for Watts Chapel which is less than a 10 minute walk away.   Watts Chapel and the cemetery were well worth visiting.  The chapel is quite stunning and beautiful both inside and out.  It was built by Mary Watts with the help of the local villagers from Compton.   We paused to view Aldous Huxley’s grave before continuing on our walk.

We passed through a stud farm and then through a wood.  The path through the wood was very muddy in places but nowhere near what it had been like on my walkover a few days before.   Then there had been a stream running down the centre of the path!  Emerging from the wood I suggested we have a drinks break and various people said they would like either a brandy or a gin and tonic.  So witty!  None of which I had of course.  We then walked up a country lane to Polsted Manor and then forking right we headed up to Loseley Park.   There is an imposing and historic Mansion house here set in a big estate.  It is perhaps now more famous for Loseley ice cream but the house itself was once visited by Queen Elizabeth I.  The park is closed at this time of year so we skirted around it and passed by an ornamental lake which had recently been dredged.  We then continued east on a well marked path back to the river Wey and from there it was only a mile to Guildford.   We crossed over an attractive bridge and then walked between the river and the flooded meadows before arriving back at the A3100 on the outskirts of the town.

We had made good time and I needn’t have worried.   Some of us headed back to the station, others went for tea and cake and I joined a group who went to the White Lion for a well earned drink.

Leader: Chris

Photos by: Ida, Joyanna, Patricia, Lois and Hilary

Six intrepid walkers braving the cold met at West Ruislip Station, in bright sunshine and maybe for the first time the men outnumbered the women for this adventure. We crossed  the road to turn left into a quiet cul-de-sac, signed Ruislip Golf Centre, where the walk leader gave the safety briefing.

Proceeding past a barrier we followed a footpath signposted R145 to join the Hillingdon Trail (HT), leading us onto a footbridge over the river Pinn to cross a field. Then via a shady footpath we reach the gates of ‘Old Clack’ Farm. We turned left to follow the lane passing some houses, the first of which had a striking horse head mounted on the front wall. At a T-junction we crossed a busy road to another stile in the hedge signposted ‘public footpath U41’. Walking now via wet grasslands, farm tracks and fields we make our way towards a challenging boggy section just before a quiet road. The leader, having done a recce only a few days before, anticipated this muddy and watery impediment and came equipped with thick cardboard and wooden blocks, so we all landed on the road with thankfully dry boots! Going over and beyond the call of duty.

The walk now followed a diversion due to the ongoing work for HS2 and we eventually proceed via towering manned gates, controlled  by courteous HS2 staff. We continue to follow the U35 route to a wooden gate, leading us into a very  autumnal Bayhurst Wood Country Park. At an open space with picnic tables, we crossed diagonally to the far side to follow a narrow bramble-lined path, which led us once again to the well established HT. We continued to follow the HT via  leaf strewn woods, a bridle way and then vast open fields. Negotiating  kissing gates and stiles and an abundantly leaf strewn wood we reach a metal stile leading onto the St. Mary’s Church access road, Church Hill road, Harefield.

St Mary’s has an important connection with ANZAC. This is explained on the Church’s website as follows:

Anzac Day has been commemorated at this church on the 25th of April every year since 1921. It commemorates the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps(ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli Campaign. After World War 2, Anzac Day was broadened to include all members of the armed forces of Australia and New Zealand serving in all conflicts and peacekeeping operations. The Churchyard in St Mary’s has a war cemetery that holds the poignant graves of 112 ANZACs who were treated in Harefield on the site of the current Harefield Hospital. The war cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

Then thanks to Andrew, instead of a noisy road and a steep uphill climb, he led us on a welcome diversion which took us into grasslands and provided a panorama  of the impressive HS2 viaduct nearing completion and other related works. We rejoined the original HT into a field with views of the Grand Union canal. Descending we crossed over a humpback bridge and followed the scenic canal tow path towards the Rickmansworth Aquadrome Cafe, where the walk ended after 8 miles for a slightly late lunch. Afterwards in fading sunshine a short walk took us up to Rickmansworth Station and then home.

Carol d’S and Les

Photos by Les.

A fair number of the club were away for the weekend in the New Forest so I offered this at short notice, hoping it might appeal to those at a loose end. Unfortunately, engineering works meant that there were very few trains to Crystal Palace, so all credit to Melida and Rob for keeping Sandra and myself company.

At 5.4 miles, it’s a short walk but passes through some quite hilly parts of South London and so it is not a stroll. It follows much of the route of a disused railway which ran from Nunhead to Crystal Palace, which opened in 1865 to serve the Great Exhibition building after it was relocated in 1854. The building was destroyed by fire in 1936.

The route is easy to follow, with regular signposts. You can also follow it on Go Jauntly which has useful historical information.

We started off walking the length of the Exhibition Hall. There are only low sections of wall that survive but one is still impressed by the scale of the building. Passing the athletics stadium and the amphitheatre we exited the park and after a bit of road walking got to the attractive Sydenham Wells park. In Crescent Wood Road, we passed a substantial house where John Logie Baird stayed during his experiments on an early TV system in the 1920’s. 

We descended on to the route of the old railway, now in dense wood, soon crossing London Road, to enter the Horniman Museum and Gardens. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it’s worth a visit in itself. Apart from the restored museum, which won the Art Fund’s museum of the year in 2022, there are extensive gardens. From the terrace you can see Dawson’s Heights, a large social housing project dating from the 1960’s occupying a ridge to the north. It was designed by a young architect Kate Macintosh with the purpose of giving most of the flats, views in two directions.

We were soon passing through Camberwell Old Cemetery then a final lung busting climb to One Tree Hill with its famous view across to the north. Descending to Camberwell New Cemetery, a level stretch through Victorian terraced housing took us to  Nunhead Cemetery, one of the Magnificent Seven and a train back to London.

Thanks to Melida for most of the photos. 

I’ve added one or two of my recent trip to Sikkim India, subject to the Editor’s say so. [Ed – that’s ok I will put the Indian photos at the end]

Mike C

Photos by Melida and Mike C