There was a group of 6 Poly Ramblers and myself who met outside West Drayton station on the day leaving around 10.15am. Unfortunately it was a wet and dismal day but nevertheless we did the walk there and back, rain not being so heavy although it did not brighten up until we finished it and ended up at my house for tea. One of the walkers cut the walk short at Hayes to get his train back but the rest of us continued to the end.

The walk was largely uneventful but I gave the background to the park which has no toilets and café facilities there as the council had demolished the old manor house which stood there around 1945 after the end of the last war as the council could not afford to keep it under repair. The old coach houses are still there and the clock above it and I told the group that lottery funding had been given during lockdown to refurbish the coach houses and cellars beneath and hopefully the toilets and café/visitor centre, which was all closed and neglected, would be reinstated. We were lucky to do the walk the day we did for as we entered the park the council had put a sign up saying the renovation works would start on 9th May and then there would be no access to that main part of the park where the seats, coach house site and other things were. We took our picnic lunch in the area on the seats in front of the coach houses. I told the group that during lockdown 2021 when I had done the first walkover an archaeology group had excavated the area near where we were sitting to find the remains of a former manor house there and had found historical remains going back to 17th century or earlier. This was the same group which has been excavating the grounds in Marble Hill House, Twickenham.

I showed the group where the community orchard still is and the placards showing the large number of different varieties of apples and pears. The blossom had largely fallen from most of the trees due to warm spring and now the rain. It was noted on these that the trees remaining now had been planted by someone in the community in 2003 but these replaced several earlier orchards going back as far as 17th century similar to the original remains found on excavation to find the earlier historic house.

We got back to my home around 4pm for tea and home-made fruit cake (delicious cake – Editor). Geoffrey and Chris  left the earliest to get back to West Drayton station where Geoffrey had parked his car  but Stuart, Gillian and Andrew  left to get back by bus and other routes.

Val Evans.  Photos by Stuart and Gillian

Twenty four Poly Ramblers met at Richmond station and crossed the Green to reach the first of our historic houses, the remains of Richmond Palace. Sandy recounted that Elizabeth 1 died here necessitating a courtier to ride to Scotland to inform the future James I of her demise and consequently the union of the Scottish and English crowns.

We then followed the Thames towpath upstream through Petersham Meadows, entered Richmond Park and walked onward to the Isabella Plantation. It is a gamble to choose the date of a walk based on seeing flowers but we were lucky and the rhododendrons were spectacular. After picnicking close to the Silent Pond we left the Plantation and Park and walked through Ham Common Woods. Passing between Ham House and a polo match we returned to the riverside and took the ferry to the other bank of the Thames.

Patricia, who is a resident of the area, led us to Orleans House named after Louis Philippe, Duc d’Orleans where we admired the extravagant baroque style Octagon Room. After looking across to Eel Pie Island, famous in the 50s and 60s for its jazz and blues sessions, and reading the quotes from Twickenham’s favourite son Alexander Pope engraved on surrounding benches we entered the riverside gardens of York House home to the rockery and water cascade known as the “Naked Ladies” or “Oceanides”. Our walk finished alongside the Palladium villa, Marble Hill House, built for Henrietta Howard the official mistress of king George II, not currently open to the public.

A huge thank you to Patricia for sharing her local knowledge and providing tea and flapjacks in her garden and to Ida and Stuart for the photos.

Sunita and Jennifer.

What was the Hippodrome Racecourse , potteries and piggeries in a notorious slum area, is now a world-known neighbourhood with beautiful and colourful houses alongside council estates.  Notting Hill Gate is known for its carnival, Hugh Grant film and the Portobello Road market which began in the 1860/70s.  Ten of us set off from Notting Hill Gate tube station to explore the area.  From Pembridge Gardens, we went to Portobello Road.  The beginning of the road is lined with very pretty, colourful houses with nice front gardens.  We passed a few mews, but their entrance was not as impressive as the arched entrance to Pencombe Mews.  We made a pit stop in the purpose-built toilets in Westbourne Grove then headed towards All Saints Notting Hill & St Michael’s North Kensington.  The church has an interesting history and the Reverend Dr Samuel Walker who began its build, had very ambitious plans, intending to crown the tower with a spire as lofty as that of Salisbury Cathedral.  The marshy ground put a stop to his plans.  We would see this church a few more times on the walk to the amusement of the walkers.  We continued towards the Tabernacle – a Grade II-listed building built in 1887 as a church – and Vicky persuaded us to go in.  We received a warm welcome from two QPR and Fulham supporters who told us about the history of the church and its impact on the community and the carnival.  We passed the Ledbury but did not stop for dinner (tasting menu £185 and matching wines £120).  We headed towards Elgin crescent.  As we walked west along this street, the houses became more luxurious.  We went up and then down as we were in a hilly area, passing the street where Andrew used to live as a child and continued towards Portobello Road, passing the blue door from the film Notting Hill.  Then I got mixed up and, as it was getting late, we headed towards Westbourne Park tube station where the walk finished.  Five of us went in search of food. We were walking along a small industrial estate when we saw the words ‘Restaurant’ and ‘Bar’ and a few people outside one of the units.  We were told to come in and did not know what to expect but people at the Portuguese Sporting Clube de Londres welcomed us with open arms and we had an excellent meal accompanied by three nice bottles of wine.

Dominique.  Photos by Ida

Our weekend adventure formally began in Marriott’s Warehouse, on the historic waterfront of King’s Lynn. My husband Neil’s first introduction to the world of polyrambling at the evening meal was a jolly affair and everyone made him feel welcome as we ate dinner together to fortify us for the challenge ahead.

We had arrived into the town earlier in the day and the Russet House hotel looked comfortable and in a great position near the park. We spent a lovely afternoon exploring the medieval streets and old buildings near the Quay. We popped into the museum to see the Bronze Age timber circle discovered at Holme-next-the-Sea, the very destination of our weekend walk, so that made us even more excited about hiking to that part of the coast.

To start our walk on Saturday morning, we all took a very smart public bus (double decker, with tables) to the town of Swaffham and then rambled 1.8 miles, mainly along a road, to join the trail. At that point the sign pointed 24 miles ahead to Holme-next-the-Sea and 23 miles back to Knettishall Heath. We took the path to the sea.

It was an easy trail, a baked earth path skirting the fields until we saw the village of Castle Acre on the horizon, complete with ruined Priory and ancient church, and pretty river running by. As we walked up the main street towards the portcullis, Stuart was most excited to spot Melbourne House and he felt very at home. We stopped for lunch and as a resting point it had everything – convivial benches under the village sign on the green, an atmospheric pub and a tea room with cakes. (I am not going to mention the antique shop in which I could have lingered for hours.)

An hour or so after lunch, we realised a rucksack had been left behind on a grass verge so the group was split for the rest of the day while steps were retraced and the bag safely retrieved. We then had a choice of routes off the Peddars Way and chose the one that covered more of the trail. This made the journey later from the trail to the bus stop longer but had the advantage of avoiding walking along the road. So under the leadership of Dominique and Geoffrey, we followed the OS map across country as the sun came out, away from the Peddars Way and heading at an increasingly rapid pace for the last bus back, due to leave the village of Gayton at 17.16. We made it with at least 5 minutes to spare, to everyone’s huge relief.

Another group meal followed (Grants restaurant) with apparently enormous portions, while Neil and I nipped off to the beautiful King’s Lynn Minster, for a choral and orchestral evening concert of Durufle and Poulenc, a glorious experience and a wonderful way to end an epic day.

Sunday morning we could hardly move our legs, never having knowingly walked 16 miles before. A generous breakfast at the hotel fortified us, however, and we headed back to the bus station for the only bus on the tarmac, which took us to Dersingham. We walked east to pick up the Peddars Way near Anmer, about 3-4 miles north of where we had left it yesterday. This was a prettier initial route passing colourful fields with hares running, red kites hovering and pheasants shedding their feathers for Stuart to collect.

Once on the trail and into the Sandringham Estate, we passed field after field of enormous pigs enjoying the sunshine and we stopped very close to some metal pig houses to watch them as we ate our picnic lunch. I spotted two battered land rovers on a track ahead and wondered if they contained Royalty as several members of the Windsor family were at Sandringham for the Queen’s birthday. Although sunnier today there was still a stiff breeze and when not sheltered by hedges, it was nicely chilly.
We reached the village of Ringstead mid-afternoon and it was a delightful place to stop and have a drink, before the final push to the coast. We reached Holme-next-the-Sea in good time and bade farewell to the group at the bus stop on the main road. They were heading back to King’s Lynn railway station, and then home.

Neil and I continued down Beach Rd another mile, to see the rolling sand dunes, the enormous expanse of beach and the sea shimmering in the sunlight. It was a beautiful evening and we could see four horses on the horizon, being exercised and galloping through the water. We explored the silent nature reserve and imagined the Seahenge timbers being exposed there at low tide, and the excavations in the mud 20 years ago which revealed the prehistoric burial ground (from 4,000 years ago!). It was a perfect way to end a really lovely weekend, thanks to leaders Gillian and Stuart for organising everything for us and to everyone for their companionship along the way.

Jill Forgham (photos by Ida, Stuart, Jill and others)