Thirteen Poly Ramblers and Yvonne B’s dog Daisy met at Chorleywood station on Sunday morning in bright sunhine but below freezing temperatures. We were five minutes up the road when Geoffrey phoned for directions as he had been held up parking his car. Eventually he caught up with the group and we headed across fields with the sun low in the sky. Normally it would have been a seriously muddy walk but the ground was frozen over which made the going much easier. We passed the old site of Newlands College and Hilary remembered she was once a student there. Soon we reached the Vache Estate and the site of the Captain Cook Monument. This was built in 1781 by Sir Hugh Palliser, then owner of the Vache Manor house. Sir Hugh had many distinctions including Comptroller of the Navy and Lieutenant General of Marines but is best known as the man who picked Cook out for high command. The monument is accessed via a moat and steps to a tower. After viewing and eating chocolate we headed down the road to the village of Chalfont St Giles where the group divided for lunch between sandwiches by the frozen village pond, Costa Coffee and Merlin’s Cave, a rather upmarket (but very nice) pub. After lunch Yvonne and Daisy left us and the rest of the group headed on to Little Chalfont via the Chiltern Way, passing a field of birds similar to but not quite the same as ostriches. We decided they were rheas. Avoiding the black ice near a ford we headed up the edge of Harewood Down golf course and out onto the one of the desirable estates of Little Chalfont.
The club was offering two walks on the same day, so a turnout of seven for this the longer one was respectable. The cold snap of the preceding week had given way to much milder weather, though it was somewhat misty as we got off the train at Kings Langley. We had just passed under the M25 before the station so there was a real sense of being in the country, rather than in London. Continue reading Saturday 7th January: Kings Langley to Hemel Hempstead→
A sunny but chilly day for the first walk of the year through woodland and fields in the beautiful county of Hertfordshire. 11 Polyramblers turned up to walk off the excess of Christmas . We walked along country roads before going through fields and woods (muddy but not too much), the outskirts of a quarry and more quiet lanes. We reached the Cowper Arms in Cole Green, where we were lucky to find a table in a bay window. Feeling invigorated after our Continue reading Monday 2 January 2017: Bayford to Hertford North via Letty Green (linear walk)→
On a frosty but sunny morning, ten ramblers gathered at Totteridge & Whetstone Station for a leisurely walk along a section of the Dollis Valley Greenwalk. It links areas of public open space alongside the Dollis Brook initially and then the Mutton Brook. Both join up to form the River Brent which flows all the way to Brentford. Refreshment opportunities are limited enroute so after a couple of miles we made a short diversion to a BP Service Station with a Wild Bean Cafe for a hot drink …… but
After a rather foggy train journey down, we were rewarded with the sun breaking through just as we crossed the Medway from Strood. The land between the railway and the river has been cleared prior to residential development and we made our way along the river wall with atmospheric views of glistening mud, decaying boats and wharves. Continue reading Sunday 18th December: Rochester and the Medway→
The Polytechnic Rambling Club – Walking with friends
