This was the second stage of the Norfolk coast path. We walked the first stage from Hunstanton to Wells next the Sea in April 2023. This stage took us eastwards from Wells to Sheringham. We based ourselves in the seaside town of Sheringham split between the Youth Hostel and an excellent B&B. Following uneventful train journeys on a Friday afternoon in late June we convened at the friendly Crown pub on East Cliff for our pre-ordered dinner. As it was a balmy mid summer evening we were able to watch the glorious sunset from the cliff top after our meal.
Eight hardy walkers met bright and early at Marylebone Station ready to board the 09:07 train to Beaconsfield and then take the rail replacement service to Great Missenden. Unfortunately, the train had a technical fault, and was cancelled. We then boarded the 09:37 (in theory a faster service so all appeared to be going well). Once again, a technical fault prevented this train from leaving the station!
Third train lucky, Yay, we were finally on our way. On arriving at Beaconsfield, after a short wait, we boarded the rail replacement service, arriving an hour later than anticipated and met up with two more ramblers at Great Missenden Station. Thankful they waited and hoped that we would make up the time and provide a walk worth waiting for. We gave the safety briefing and walk details and finally set off with the sun on our backs.
The walk began, through Great Missenden to find the South Bucks way path leading to fields towards Cobblershill Farm. There were several school groups taking their Duke of Edinburgh award training also following some of our route.
The South Bucks way led us to Dunsmore. Walking through fields and woodland we arrived in Little Hampden, at the seat, a bench with a crown dedicated to HRH Queen Elizabeth on her Accession to the throne in 1952.
After a short water/snack break, we carried on following the Chiltern Way towards Great Hampden, Hampden House. Opposite Hampden House at the church of St. Mary Magdalene, we walked through the church yard and left by the back gate following a footpath straight ahead leading to fields. There would have been a prize to the person who guessed the breed of sheep in the field. However, the vegetation was so overgrown, following the rains that the sheep were barely visible!
The sheep had white faces and light brown woolly coats. Any suggestions?
The exit from the fields led us across to a tarmac access road leading to a crossroads and open fields. This was our lunch spot with the option to picnic in the fields or head to the Hampden Arms for refreshments.
After lunch our walk continued towards Bryant’s Bottom. Finding the path leading to Bryant’s Bottom we encounter our first stile, and the old oak tree planted to commemorate HRH Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. We continued through the common and into Great Hampden common, leaving the common via another stile. At the end of the common we turned right, into the gate marked Denner Farm, and followed the driveway, which led to another stile and into undulating fields. Crossing another field, we turned left, through a gate to a road, where we picked up a gravel track, to double gates leading to a house. Behind the house, we followed a footpath leading to a field to another highish stile, into fields with grazing horses and another gate. Once through the gate a right turn led to an overgrown narrow path., which we managed to negotiate by walking in single file, until we came to the road. Crossing the road, we accessed another gate into a field which climbed towards another gate. Through this gate a short woodland walk brought an exit into the first of three fields which eventually led to the Wycombe Road. Some residential walking followed, through Sixty Acres Road, Honor Road and Nairdwood Lane and a path to New road. Here we heard a kite whistle, looking up into the trees we saw a kite perched and then soar into the sky, beautiful & graceful. At the end of New Road, we picked up the Chiltern Heritage Trail along the verge, admiring the topiary snail and other shapes at a local house, before turning left by Andlows farm. We followed the path which led to Angling Spring Wood, keeping to the main path, walking down hill until we met the road. Here on turning right we headed downhill towards Great Missenden Station, just in time to see the rail replacement bus pull up. We said farewell to two ramblers and boarded the bus to Beaconsfield Station. Our return rail service to Marylebone was on time and thankfully uneventful.
Nine intrepid ramblers, after the inevitable transport delays we seem to get nowadays, set off from Hildenborough station in search of the Club’s recently (well, fairly recently!) donated kissing gate located not far from the station.
Inscribed plaques in memory of past members to be added to the gate were still stuck in the post. Despite this disappointment we were able to pose for photos of the gate and the pleasant surroundings on what was a very sunny day. The occasion even afforded a chance by Danny, on one of his rare excursions outside suburbia, to explain to a small group of walkers coming in the opposite direction who we were, the gate donation and the toll they had to pay to go through it!
Pleasantries over, we headed off to Leigh (pronounced Lye by local wurzels) for a tea break and the opportunity to eat the local church’s biscuits left to feed pilgrims like us and for the leader to leave behind his map of the walk! Fortunately, having done the recce only days earlier the leader remembered the rest of the route with only the odd referral to the OS app.
We dined in Haysden Country Park on the banks of the River Medway before heading off along part of the Eden Valley Walk to the Plough and Barn Inn which we had to reach before it closed at 2.30pm to host a wedding. Arriving 15 minutes late the leader pleaded, nay, begged bar staff to allow us to have a quick pint/coffee. They eventually caved in, but we had to finish before the bride arrived. Returning empty glasses with the groom’s entourage already at the bar, my inquiry about a tab was met with a ‘get lost’ smile!
Refreshed, we set off for the station, walking through the countryside, arriving in good time for the hourly train back to London thanks to Sandra’s earlier calculations that the pub was a 45 minute walk from the station!
After a truly horrible final walkover two days earlier – torrential rain, gales, thunder and lightning – the day of the walk was beautiful. It was warm with a pleasingly gentle breeze and the world seemed a different place in which it was a pleasure to be out walking. We gathered at Stonegate station and set off along paths that were on the map but clearly not, or very rarely, used. There were some rough fields which must have been left for years and were completely overgrown but which had probably once been ploughed and so were ankle-twistingly but invisibly uneven. We are skillful and experienced walkers of course, and we navigated our way through with no problems. There were many stiles that were in a disgraceful state and in some cases so completely overgrown that they had to be hacked free to have any possibility of getting over them. Others had so many bits missing that they were a challenge to even the most long-legged among us but, again, we all managed and eventually were rewarded by a view of the lovely Bewl Water. Continue reading STONEGATE TO WADHURST – 7 SEPTEMBER→
Thank you to the team of Poly Ramblers who turned out to accompany the London Blind Ramblers on this refreshing and cheerful day. We had to change the date of the walk because of engineering works on the line which affected the numbers of participants from both groups. However, we were lucky in that the weather was extremely favourable and we enjoyed sunshine with a slight breeze as we strolled along the grassy path by the muddy banks of the Benfleet Creek where the occasional gull wandered about wondering where all the water had gone. We tasted aniseeds. I hope they were aniseeds or were they fennel? We mostly avoided the many cow pats. The cows were resting up in a field of dry straw over to our right, which didn’t look too appetising to me, which we debated as we went along! Perhaps I too would find it tasty if I had three stomachs! We passed Two Tree Island (a good place, depending on the time of year, to hear, observe and describe visiting Brent Geese, avocets and other birds as well as the gulls, if you don’t mind the noisy model aircraft or drones!). The tide was coming in, so by the time we arrived in Leigh-on-Sea we could hear the water lapping on the pebbles of the beach which was covered in adults and children making the most of possibly the last day of summer! On arrival in Old Leigh we went our various ways, some to the pub for food and drink where they were joined by Valerie, the LBRs group leader, some queuing for cockles, mussels, shrimps or crab, some to a seaside bench to eat our sandwiches in the sea breeze wafting gently across the River Thames from Kent. We still had time to queue for an Italian ice cream or two before carrying on along the narrow path, between the railway and the beach and sailing boats, to Chalkwell where Valerie and some others peeled off for the train. Continue reading Benfleet to Leigh-on-Sea / Southend, 21 September with the LBRs.→
