CROWBOROUGH CIRCULAR – 5 MARCH

Fifteen Polys set off from Crowborough station for a circular walk taking in fields and woodland on the High Weald. Two members had missed the train and departed one hour later, aiming to meet us at the lunch stop. Soon we crossed one of the many ghylls found in this area. Ghylls, with their steep sided valleys, create a microclimate with high humidity and low levels of frost. They support rare flora including ferns, mosses and liverworts.

The leader was keen to miss an extremely waterlogged section, which was managed after consulting the map, and we stopped in a field to consume our picnic. It was quite chilly and we were keen to move on but had received a message from the delayed members who had nearly caught us up. The couple of stretches along country lanes had been propitious for their energetic sprint and they arrived flushed but happy to have made it.

The afternoon offers the best part of this walk, although we did encounter quite a bit of mud. After crossing the bridge over the deep Crowborough Ghyll we proceeded over the fields towards the pretty woodland of the Ghyll Nature Reserve. As we were passing the ford on Palegate Lane a rather forlorn, skinny dog attached itself to our group. We were wondering what to do when a lady from Happy Pawz drove along and took it with her and was hopefully able to reunite it with its owner. We were very pleased to find that our train back was running, as we had had a negative experience with this line on a recent walk.

Susan (photos by Ida and Stuart)

RICKMANSWORTH AND CROXLEY GREEN CIRCULAR – 27 FEBRUARY

Twenty one Poly Ramblers gathered at Rickmansworth station on a glorious sunny Sunday morning in late February. We started by picking up the Chess Valley path and enjoyed a short stroll along the lovely River Chess at Scotsbridge before crossing the river and leaving it to head uphill towards Croxley Green, passing fields of sheep. From there the route took us uphill towards Chandlers Cross. This section caused some problems on the walkover but today the route seemed obvious and we easily picked up the right path towards Oak Farm and Harrocks Wood. Continue reading RICKMANSWORTH AND CROXLEY GREEN CIRCULAR – 27 FEBRUARY

Saturday 19 February 2022 – Thames Valley Estuary Path Part 1: Tilbury Town to East Tilbury

Even storm Eunice could not stop the Polyramblers. The day after the storm, 13 Polyramblers joined me ,Dominique, (a little late due to delayed trains) at Tilbury Town. We headed for the docks and the ferry terminal along a boring road to arrive at the cruise terminal. In 1948, it was at Tilbury Docks that the first post-war Caribbean migrants arrived on the ship ‘Empire Windrush’ from Kingston, Jamaica. We stopped to read the information about the history of the docks. We followed the sea wall, passed the Worlds End Pub and reached Tilbury Fort that Chris was afraid we had missed. Henry VIII built the first fort here and Queen Elizabeth famously rallied her army nearby to face the threat of the Armada. The building we saw is a star-sharped bastion fort built in the late 17th century. Leaving the view of Gravesend on the other side of the Thames, the walk continued at the foot of the sea wall that protected the former Tilbury Power Station site and other industrial buildings.

Continue reading Saturday 19 February 2022 – Thames Valley Estuary Path Part 1: Tilbury Town to East Tilbury

12 February, Chesham Circular

By the time I arrived in Chesham, 24 Poly Ramblers had assembled for a walk, which was a good turnout for a winter walk. Some, like me, had arrived on a combination of the Chilterns Railways and Met Line and others had driven directly to Chesham the start point for our walk. We had three new members and a number of members we hadn’t seen for a long time so it was really nice to welcome them to the fold. It took us a while to set off because I had to confirm numbers of people who were going to be eating at the pub and then phone through their orders to the pub who wanted to have some notice to be prepared for us. I wasn’t expecting to have to do this, so this created a bit of stress for me. But after the briefing, we were ready to get going. It was a very bright sunny day perfect for walking!

Continue reading 12 February, Chesham Circular

HEVER CIRCULAR – 5 FEBRUARY – A walk to be remembered

Despite the walk coming with a warning of unusual amounts of mud & waterlogging, 24 walkers gathered off the hourly – remember this detail- train, in the sun at Hever station, which is a long way from Hever village & is completely un-manned – remember this too!  I had the timings nicely worked out with time for a sandwich at Chiddingstone & a swift half in Bough Beech & back in time to catch the 16.05 train. However, we have a few prescient or maybe sensibly suspicious members who had checked & seen that the 16.05 train was cancelled so, having an extra hour, we set off at a more leisurely pace than usual. Continue reading HEVER CIRCULAR – 5 FEBRUARY – A walk to be remembered