For the second walk on a hot and sunny weekend, thirteen ramblers gathered at Watford Tube Station for a ‘strollers’ walk towards Rickmansworth. The length of five miles was immediately added to by a few hundred yards taken in the wrong direction by the leader before he realised his mistake! After the false start, we entered a busy Cassiobury Park and went towards the Grand Union Canal which runs through it. We joined the towpath and headed south. The promised kingfishers did not appear but we did see a moorhen and a dead carp! Continue reading Sunday 1st July. Watford to Rickmansworth →

Twelve Poly Ramblers convened at Liverpool Street last Saturday, a last minute change of terminus after we discovered the day before that the train we had intended to catch from Kings Cross had been deleted from the timetable. All went smoothly en route other than a jobs-worth ticket inspector giving some of our group a ticking off for having tickets that were only valid on the Cambridge route. Continue reading Icknield Way stage 8 – Icklingham to Knettishall Heath →

Nine Polyramblers for this Kent walk on a hot and sunny day. After leaving Gravesend and its industrial estate, we walked along the Thames and marshlands described in the map as « danger area ». But Martin reassured us by saying that the army range is only used during the week. It was quiet and we only met a couple of fishermen and hordes of horses with their foals. We passed a fort built by General Gordon before Higham Creek.  The path near Cliffe Fort was quite overgrown. We turned inland along Cliffe Creek and Cliffe Pools RSPB Nature Reserve – where we saw a couple of avocets – before reaching our lunch stop: the Six Bells Pub in Cliffe. After a short break, we continued our walk through farmland and orchards, passing Cooling Castle and Northward Hill RSPB Nature Reserve. We did not stop to sample the strawberries in the field but Anna, who ate a few on the recce, told us they were delicious. An exhilarating climb of a 50m high hill was recompensed with chocolate from Martin. We reached High Halstow where we waited for the bus to Strood. We caught the javelin train to Gravesend where we changed for a train to London.  The walk was supposed to be 9.5 miles but there was some disagreement about the length and it is being investigated.  After verification, it seems the walk was 11.9 miles.  Continue reading Saturday 23 June 2018: Saxon Shore Way (1) – Gravesend to High Halstow (Linear) →

17 walkers for this London walk on a lovely summer evening starting from Farringdon, one of the earliest stations to be completed (1863). We made our way to the Clerk’s Well which was rediscovered in 1924 during building work. The walk then took us to the Sessions House – which is now a Masonic Hall, the Marx Memorial Library (it was originally an 18th century school for poor Welsh children and later was the home of ’20th Century Press’ where Lenin published), the old Hugh Myddleton School (named Continue reading Wednesday 20 June 2018: Evening walk in Clerkenwell →

Saturday’s walk was beautiful, combining flat paths through summer meadows with the glories of the South downs. We were well rewarded after our two mighty slogs up onto the South Downs Way by views either side & lark song, then lovely chalk paths down to the valleys & refreshment stops. The tea shop in Ditchling will be forever remembered as the place where Sunita gave the tea 10/10. This has always seemed an academic number, no tea could ever be that good, but she stood firm so Ditchling is a place to remember & return to. It seemed a shame not to enjoy such a beautiful day to the full so at the end of the walk we all had a drink in the garden of the Jack & Jill pub in Clayton, just before Hassocks station.  

Harriet Continue reading Saturday 9 June 2018 : PLUMPTON to HASSOCKS (LINEAR). →