Backup Only

This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday, 20 May 2023

Saturday Walk - Goring Circular via Hill Bottom


T=swc.243
Length: 11.3 miles 18km, 4 out of 10. Or do a 4 mile extension along the river to Pangbourne. 

"This walk is a mix of beautiful, rolling Chilterns countryside, forest trails and quiet country lanes. This is a spring to early autumn walk. The best time to do it however is probably late April or early May when the foliage of the beech trees is at its most vibrant and where there should be good displays of bluebells and other spring flowers in some woods."

Trains: Get the 0957 Didcot Parkway train from Paddington. (Ealing Broadway 1005, Reading 1052) arriving 1104. Return trains are xx18 and xx48.

Lunch is the Sun Inn on Whitchurch Hill. This friendly pub has been under new management for a year or so, so old comments about food don't apply.

Tea: Various options in Goring, or enjoy the extention to Pangbourne. 

2 comments:

Mr M Tiger said...

N=12 on a w=sunny day. Fairly dry underfoot. Buttercups and cow parsley out in force. We lost two at the Sun. One went on ahead. Not sure about the other. Two cheated and got there early.
Good idea to book for the Sun. They got a bit flustered when they thought there was more than had booked. But some of us were only drinking so all OK. As was the food, by the looks of it.
After lunch, it was off through a succession of woods. In the first Mr Tiger was surprised to find himself and another way out in front. So far out in front we wondered if the others had succumbed to the L-word. But no, they were just being ‘leisurely’.
We encountered a pheasant making its way through a field of long grass. Later we spotted a slow worm basking on the path. Mr Tiger bravely shepherded it into the undergrowth to avoid it being trampled. (Assuming the others were still following, that is). Two caught us up in a field of horses near Goring. We emerged close to the station. Mr Tiger eschewed the delights of Goring for a seat on the platform. After about 10, 15 minutes, the rest started rolling in. What kept them? Then the train came.

Mr M Tiger said...

One of our number suggested the coffee shop near the Arcade as more convenient than Pierrepoimts for this walk (which finishes near the station).