Shorter options (no lunch pub!!): 19.1km (11.9 miles) or 14.4km (8.9 miles)
9.38 train from Paddington to Twyford, changing there (arrive 10.09, depart 10.16) for Henley-on-Thames, arrive 10.27.
From Ealing Broadway get the Liz Line at 9.26, arriving Twyford 10.05. This train leaves Tottenham Court Road at 9.11 and Paddington at 9.17
Buy a day return to Henley-on-Thames (not Henley-in-Arden)
Due to the closure of the original lunch pub for this walk, the Crown in Pishill, a new route was pioneered last year to a new lunch stop - the White Hart in Nettlebed. The walk directions to this were composed on the hoof by yours truly, so before the shorter days set in I want to give them a check. Not only is this a scenic addition to the walk, but it also brings the former “Stonor short cut” into play as part of the main walk: also very scenic, giving views of Stonor House not previously seen on the main walk.
A shorter option would be to cut out the route to the new pub, making a walk of 11.9 miles, but you need to bring sandwiches if you are doing this as there is no pub stop on this option. The same applies to the original 8.9 mile short option for this walk. I can find no evidence that the closed Rainbow pub in Middle Assendon (3 miles into all walks) has reopened.
The main walk is a longish outing, I know, but we still have daylight to do it comfortably, which won’t be true much longer.
In Henley the Chocolate Cafe is now called something else. It has riverside tables these days.
Trains back from Henley are at 00 and 30 past until 20.00 and then hourly.
2 comments:
More sunshine would have been nice. (I bet it was sunnier further east...). For us it was w=mostly-cloudy. But this was the only downside to what most of the n=13 (and a small dog) on this walk seemed to agree was a great day out.
Group cohesion was good, with 11 of us still together at the end of the walk. At least one of the other two (and possibly both of them) did the short walk, which looks set to remain pub-less: there is sadly no sign of the Rainbow in Middle Assendon reopening.
Up to this point in the walk we had been beset with endurance runners coming in the other direction: initially just a few, but later lots of them, which got tedious on the narrower sections of the path. I hardened my heart. You can stand aside for one exhausted person coming up the hill towards you, but after 50 of them your compassion flags. Luckily after Middle Assendon we did not see them again.
It is a fair old way to lunch on the new route, but the climb up the valley side opposite Stonor House is lovely and the new route sections impressed me as much this time as they did on their first outing last year. We got to the White Hart at around 1.30-1.45pm, where nine ate, one had drinks and one had tea and cake. Food was a bit slow coming but tasty and interesting when it did, with good portions.
In the afternoon we found lots of fungi. And I mean LOTS. A football-sized giant puffball. Whole logs covered with delicate white porcelains. Several magpie inkcaps at various stages in their life cycle. Boletes, bonnets, amanitas, blushers. (Exact locations have been redacted to preserve them from foragers…)
Arriving in Henley at 5.30pm we found all tea places shut except one called Harris + Hoole, which filled the spot for six of us even though we had to sit in three separate groups due to lack of seating. Two left to get the 6pm (?) train, while four of us went to the Angel by the River to find five other walkers there. We had a pleasant drink on the riverside terrace and caught the 7pm train.
Great walk - always nice to take a little branch line (Twyford to Henley). Autumn had really set in. Fewer wildflowers and, as mentioned large variety of fungi including the dramatic giant puffball extra fungi pictures included only here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47046427@N03/albums/72177720329332297
Post a Comment