23rd June 2019 Little Kimble to Princes Risborough

 Five of us met for an walk starting at Little Kimble and exploring the Ridgeway in the Chilterns on a lovely summers day. First stop was at All Saints Church, Little Kimble where X111-X1V wall paintings and tiles were admired.

• 

• 

We then scrambled up Beacon Hill, some of the party more energetically than others, for fantastic views over beautiful Buckinghamshire countryside.

Beacon Hill

We decided to give Chequers a miss and continued following the signposts through Grangelands and Pulpit Hill nature reserve through an ancient box grove, where we got into discussion about the box grub which is being monitored in the area.

We continued along the Ridgeway to the Plough in Lower Cadsden for a drink stop.

Then on via Whiteleaf Cross and Whiteleaf Hill before descending into Princes Risborough where a steam train from the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway was waiting at the station, although we all caught the standard train back to Marylebone after a splendid day out.

Advertisements

9th June 2019 Garston to St Albans

Self guided walk suggested by Steve.

2nd June 2019 Burnham on Crouch to Althorne

• 

• 

On a beautiful day eight of us got the train to Burnham on Crouch. We then caught a small ferry boat over the River Crouch to Wallasey Island. The island is an RSPB reserve and we walked the Marsh Flat trail past both Grass Farm Lagoon and Acresfleet Lagoons and then on around the grazing marsh and grassland under enormous skies where we ate our lunch listening to the skylarks and trying to identify birds.

We returned to Burnham on Crouch , again using the ferry where the ferryman was a font of knowledge regarding a series of wooden barricades that had originally been positioned at the mouth the Thames in wartime and then relocated to the Crouch as an early marina.

After a cuppa in the Georgian tea rooms, we continued along the river bank battling against the wind but still in strong sunshine, to Althorpe where we caught the train back to Liverpool St.

A very enjoyable day out.

26th May 2019 Guildford to Godalming along the river Wey

Seven members did a pleasant walk on bank holiday Sunday along the river Wey in Surrey. At the start of the walk we discovered an unexpected link on the riverbank with Lewis Carol with a statue of Alice and her sister watching the rabbit go down the hole. Apparently the main family home was in Guildford for many years; though Lewis never lived there he spent a lot of time there.Another surprise on the walk was meeting two locals who were harvesting a Signal Crayfish catch – apparently an American invasive species which has decimated the local crayfish as well as fish, frogs etc in the river, so needs to be kept under control. The catch had the added bonus that it was going to be a tasty supper dish!Following a picnic lunch at Unstead Lock at Peasmarsh, we arrived at Farncombe Boathouse cafe in time to avoid the only light shower of the day and also see one of the horse drawn barges that do trips from Godalming.On arrival at Godalming we enjoyed the music of a folk band as we walked through Phillips Memorial Park, where there was a local festival.Consultation with smartphone apps resulted in some discussion of how far we had walked. Conclusion undecided, tho the apps said 7.3 miles. (this included walk to station in the morning). Although an easy walk, respectable distance covered!

Photos and words by Liz Kingston-Smith

19th May 2019 Chalfont and Latimer [Metropolitan line] to Chesham. 6 miles

Chalfont and Latimer [Metropolitan line] to Chesham. 6 miles easy walking. Bring sandwiches. Tea shops in Chesham.

Walk, Sunday 12th May Chiltern Hills: Tring to Cholesbury and Hawridge Common (c. 9 miles

A short stretch of uphill at the start, but once one is on a ‘plateau’ the paths are fairly flat or downhill.   As for the possibility for shortening the walk, in theory it would be possible, but it would involve navigating your way back along unfamiliar paths – unfamiliar to me, too! – (not to mention missing the lunch stop!) so I wouldn’t recommend it.   The walk is almost all off-road, so there is no bus one could take.  The only thing I can think of if one wanted a shorter walk is to drop down into Tring where there is an interesting natural history museum (founded by Lord Rothschild who is/was a local, open Sundays 2 – 5),  which would make a walk of 4 – 5 miles.

Sunday April 28 – Bluebells in a 7 miles circular from Otford

7 miles circular from Otford station, starting with a steep hill with a seat half way up, then along the North Downs Way, through bluebell woods to the pub for lunch break (but they don’t serve food so bring your own lunch).

More bluebell woods on the way to Romney Street, downhill/uphill and eventually  downhill to Otford – 7 miles. The teashop/charity shop probably won’t be open on Sunday but 2 pubs serve tea.