On a grey Sunday before Christmas, 13 Polyramblers met at Victoria tube station for a walk passing four cathedrals and attending a carol service at a fifth.  The first was Westminster Cathedral, or the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ,  the largest Catholic church building in England and Wales and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.   Continue reading Sunday 23 December 2018: London Cathedrals Walk and Carol Service →

It snowed the day before the Christmas lunch but, thankfully, this bad weather was in Scotland and the north of England and it did not reach the South East.  Around 20 Polyramblers met at Hyde Park Corner tube station for a pre-prandial walk.  We passed under Wellington Arch to go into Green Park, went to the Bomber Command monument and walked to Buckingham Palace.  Danny had ordered a band for us or perhaps we were there in time for the Continue reading SUNDAY 16th: CLUB XMAS LUNCH: FREEMASONS ARMS, COVENT GARDEN →

Nine walkers met at Uxbridge station in the sunshine, sadly minus our main leader who had succumbed to the ‘flu, get well soon Sunita. We learnt that Valeria was still en route, and Gillian kindly decided to wait for her eventually catching us up just before the lunch stop.

We walked through the crowds of Christmas shoppers and found our way to the Grand Union Canal tow path which we followed for around four miles. Various barges and locks were seen en route Continue reading Saturday 8 December 2018: Uxbridge, Grand Union Canal and Hillingdon Trail →

Hilary and I had taken over the leading of this at short notice and we were pleased that we numbered 11 , despite the dire weather forecast. Rochester was holding a two day Dickens festival and  there were large numbers of people doggedly trudging along the historic but rain-swept High Street. We stopped off at the old Guildhall, now an interesting museum of local history. Hazel recalled that when she last visited, the fine  court chamber (see photo) was in use as a café. Sadly this had become a victim of austerity.

On leaving, a traditional Punch and Judy show was starting but we didn’t stay long enough to see how PC it was with regards to portrayal of domestic violence. Our route took us along the river Medway and up past the imposing castle to the Cathedral where we  took a brief internal tour. Leaving Rochester we made our way to Chatham, enjoying  good views of the Medway from Victoria Park. Continue reading SATURDAY 1st December: SAXON SHORE-WAY (3) ROCHESTER to GILLINGHAM (LINEAR →