It was a walk of contrasts; we began walking along a two hundred year old canal and finished close to a 21st century eco power station at Hoddesdon. In between we walked along three rivers: the Stort, the Lea, and the New River, taking in pleasant meadows, and the odd nature reserve at Hunsdon. The New Inn at Roydon was our pub Continue reading Saturday 18 July: Harlow Town to Broxbourne (Herts) →

The Hicca Way starts right next to Arlesey station and we followed the lovely river Hiz through nature reserves and meadows full of butterflies.  We crossed Arlesey Common via a footbridge over the river.  The path cut across arable fields of wheat and barley and Ickleford and Whitsun Commons before arriving in the village of Ickleford via the Icknield Way.  We had lunch in two different pubs or a picnic in the churchyard.   Continue reading Saturday 4 July: The Hicca Way – Arlesey to Hitchin →

12 Polyramblers joined Anna and Martin on this beautiful sunny and hot day.  We left Cockfosters station and entered Trent Country Park, once the home of the Sassoon family.  We then walked along the farmland of Enfield Chase and Hilly Fields Park.  This area was once Enfield Chase, a 12th century royal hunting forest.  Enfield’s woodland was described in the Domesday Book as providing food for four thousand swine! This was a measure of the woodland’s great size.  From the hill, we could see the Shard and other skyscrapers in the distance.  We stopped for a break at a small bridge where a sign advised us ‘No galloping’.   Continue reading Saturday 27 June: London Loop 12 – Cockfosters to Enfield Lock (zone 6) Linear →

Despite an unpromising start and even a few drops of rain, the walk turned out to be very enjoyable and refreshing.  Making our way along the Darent Valley with our blind rambling friends, starting at Otford, along footpaths where our guide dog, Paris, could sniff around, run to and fro excitedly and roll on the grass in ecstasy , via Shoreham where the Darent is not much more than a stream but ideal for a dog to make a splash, then on through fields of wheat and barley, past rows of hops and early blooming lavender to the Lullingstone Country Park visitor centre. Fortunately most of us had brought a packed lunch as the visitor centre microwave had caught fire in the morning and the use of the fire extinguisher had spread powder all over the food in the kitchen, making it unusable! Continue reading Sunday 21 June: Walk with London Blind Ramblers – Otford to Shoreham (Kent) →

After meeting outside a very noisy Borough tube station on a warm evening, 15 Polyramblers soon found themselves in the quiet street of Southwark.  We went around parks, garden squares, churchyards, community gardens and other green spaces, most of them maintained by Bankside Open Space Trust (BOST), and which are oases of calm in a busy London.  We started with the cottage-style front garden of Drapers’ Almshouses, then followed a mangy fox to All Hallows Church Garden where we were welcomed by a tortoiseshell cat.  After crossing Mins Street Park, we went to my favourite garden: Red Cross Garden.   Continue reading 17 June: A Walk in Bankside →