Having to abandon my Shiplake ramble, where I was told by a local that the river path was under 6 inches of water, and seeing a whole school playing field submerged, I found an old favourite walk in the area which I could take “off the peg”.  As I set out on the day it was quite cool and overcast, but after a first mile of travel a hazy sun gradually appeared. At Paddington station I was greeted in dribs and drabs by 11 other Polyramblers, and we all boarded the 0942 train for Twyford. This is one of the wizzy new electric stopping services to Reading, which accelerated very swiftly and quietly out of the station. What a revelation at long last, I thought!!  Continue reading HENLEY ON THAMES CIRCULAR:14 April →

I’ve led this walk in the past and did a walkover in February expecting it to be straightforward. Unfortunately a combination of a wet winter and construction traffic for a new water main meant that large sections of the afternoon walk were verging on the impassable. I devised some slightly less glutinous deviations and hoped for  drier weather in the intervening weeks. No such luck. A respectable 15 of us got off the train at East Grinstead on a dry morning with promise of occasional sunshine later. Passing through the town centre with its interesting mix of historic buildings, we headed east, through mostly woodland. Continue reading Saturday 7th April. East Grinstead circular →

Danny kept up his usual standard for Easter Saturday, attracting a crowd of 24 walkers to Langley in spite of very uninviting weather.  After a short walk along the canal we headed into the vast Langley Park Estate, once home to the Duke of Marlborough, with a lake designed by Capability Brown, an arboretum and rhododendron gardens. Admittedly it wasn’t the best type of day to appreciate these features but the weather gradually improved and the walking was easy with only muddy paths to contend with.  After five miles we left the park and headed for lunch at the Crooked Billet at Iver Heath which provided good, reasonably priced food and friendly welcoming staff.  By the time we left the pub the sun was out.  Nine walkers left to get the bus back to Langley, fortified by chocolate eggs (thanks Danny) and the rest carried on for the last two or three miles through the Park Estate, passing some exotic waterfowl and an impressive display of daffodils.    On the last stretch our path was impeded by a fallen tree which took a bit of team work to negotiate without crawling on the muddy trunk.  A very pleasant day.

Gillian

It was a grey day that threatened rain but 17 Polyramblers turned up. We started our walk in the conservation area, stopping briefly in the Vestry House museum before continuing through Walthamstow village and its pretty shops. We passed the Nag’s Head and the Ancient House before going in St Mary’s church where we had a nice welcome and were told about the history of the church. We saw the Continue reading Saturday 10th March. Walthamstow village and wetlands. Linear. →