New Year's Day Walk - Cookham to Maidenhead

Length: 16.81 km (10.45 miles) or 7 miles if returning from Cookham.

I'm proposing this walk, but as I may not be able to do it, will not be booking lunch. So if you plan to go on it, please let me know and I can modify the post. It is traditional to bring along fizz or nibbles for a morning break, so if you wish, bring somthing to share or at least, to drink out of.

You start with a circuit of Cookham, heading westwards from the town and passing the very ordinary house where the artist Sir Stanley Spencer lived and worked for some 15 years until his death in 1959. After passing through Cookham Dean you go into Bisham Woods, where an attractive stretch along an escarpment with fine views over the Thames Valley leads to Winter Hill. This is the recomended stop for fizz and snacks. From here you drop down to the Thames to return by the river to Cookham for lunch.

After lunch you head south on a particularly attractive stretch of the Thames Path, with the hanging beech woods of the Cliveden Estate on the other side of the river, or return from Cookham.

Trains: Get the 0947 Elizabeth Line from Paddington (Farringdon 0938, Tottenham Court Road 0941,Ealing Broadway 0956) , arriving Maidenhead 10.29. Change to get the 1033 to Cookhan, arriving 1040.

From Maidenhead, you have a choice of frequent Elizabeth line trains or GWR into Paddington

T=1.24

Lunch: is the King's Arms pub in the centre of town. Book for around 1.30pm.

Tea: On the way into Maidenhead is the up-market terrace bar at Boulter’s Lock.

The recommended route to the station bypasses the somewhat unattractive town centre, but if you choose to take a direct route through the town you will come across many pubs (including The Bear, a Weatherspoons), cafés and coffee shops, some with a few outside tables. There is also a refreshment kiosk on the station platform.