DAC is away...
Length: 23.2 km (14.4 mi) [longer walk possible,
see below]
Ascent/Descent: 407/404m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ¼ hours
Toughness: 5 out of 10
Take the 09.32 Cheltenham Spa train from Paddington, change
at Reading (09.55/10.12, Newbury Train, usually
departing from Platform 2), arriving Aldermaston at 10.25.
Return trains from Woolhampton (Midgham Station): xx.23 (change Reading), or xx.27
(change Newbury, but takes longer). Buy a Midgham return.
This walk explores a surprisingly quiet part of the commuter area that
is West Berkshire, less than an hour from Central London. It is an undulating
landscape with some fine views over unspoilt countryside - the West Berkshire
Downs, which are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty and consist of a mix of ancient woodlands, commons, fields and pretty
villages with pleasant, historical pubs. The route passes through the chalk
stream river valleys of the Kennet, the Bourne and the Pang, where you’ll also
find some evidence of traditional water meadows. A long section of the walk
leads through the elevated Bucklebury Common, one of the largest commons in
Southern England. In the main this consists of a variety of woods, but you’ll also
walk through one of Berkshire’s largest heathlands and see part of a famous
Avenue of Oaks.
At the end there is a choice of finishes either through the landscaped Midgham Park or along the Kennet & Avon Canal. Carrying map and compass is recommended, as there are plenty of paths in the woods and on the heath.
A westerly extension leads through more fascinating, undulating woods and the large and impressive Neolithic hillfort site of Grimsbury Castle. This version of the walk (26.8 km/16.7 mi, more if you lunch in Hermitage) is rated 7/10.
Lunch: The Pot
Kiln in Frilsham (9.7 km/6.0 mi, food to 14.30, a table
has been booked for 13.00) or on the extended walk, The Fox Inn
and The White Horse, in Hermitage, but they are off-route and add
2.3 km (more for the 2nd pub), see the pdf for details.
Tea: The
Cottage Inn in Upper Bucklebury (17.2 km/10.7 mi), The
Angel Inn or The
Rowbarge Inn in Woolhampton (near Midgham Station).
For walk directions, map, photos, height profile,
and gpx/kml files click here.t=swc.260
1 comment:
n=7 walkers today on a day of w=sun-with-passing-clouds-and-a-cold-wind
There also was a two minute (I kid you not) 'shower' of big rain drops mixed with some hail, just before we reached the lunch pub, and then a ten-minute-or-so hail shower while we were inside the pub (apart from the one picnicker that strode on).
Spring flowers were in abundance today, from a fair amount of celandines to a smattering of anemones to loads of bluebells, flowering gorse and not-yet-flowering wild garlic. Of the many bluebell woods en route, the early ones were about 50% in flower (south-facing and without a dense canopy) while later on most of them were hardly flowering at all or only in sunny spots.
There was also a long-ish stretch of three-cornered leek along the boundary hedge of Midgham House.
We saw two muntjac just off to the left of the path, who then cooly galloped away, to only seconds later gallop back the way they came, while looking at us very puzzled indeed.
Belted Galloway were encountered on the unfenced Bucklebury Common, which seemed reckless with a busy road nearby until we spotted the 'necklaces' they were wearing: electric bands that send a wee shock whenever they stray from a pre-programmed area, monitored by a gpx-signal from that same 'necklace' to a base station nearby. Modern farming, hey!
Some Highland Coos were lying about lazily in the fields around Midgham House.
Just two had lunch at the pub (delish but pricey, which is why they are 'transitioning' from their upmarket tapas menu to a modern British pub classics menu over the next few months, to attract more of the locals). Four others joined for a hot drink while the Basque Cheesecake was consumed by the lunchers.
All in a very good day, with everyone enjoying the quiet charms of the rolling landscape with untouched villages, chalk streams, fine views, pretty valleys and hardly a soul in sight. 17.23 train back.
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