A choice of two slightly different walks in the downland above Goring. Difficulty 6/10. The SWC version is 11.4 miles 17.5km. A shorter walk is depicted on a hand-drawn map produced by Streatley YHA (used with permission). That is 9.6 miles 15.45km.
Trains
Get a return to “Goring & Streatley”.
Get the 09:28 Didcot Parkway train from Paddington (Ealing Broadway 9:37) arriving Goring & Streatley 10:38.
Or....the 9:42 Hereford train and change onto the above train at Reading (arrive 10:12 platform 9, depart 10:26 platform 13).
Freedom Pass holders can travel as far as Reading on the slower Tfl service (Paddington 9:11, Ealing Broadway 9:18). Arrive Reading 10:17. A ticket is needed for the rest of the journey.
Trains return at xx:00. Change at Reading for faster or Tfl trains.
Lunch
Your lunch stop, The Bell in Aldworth has been in the same family for 250 years. CAMRA declared it their 2020 Pub of the Year, just in time for lockdown. It's simple fare, just rolls, ploughmans and puddings. None of your hipster muck here!
The well opposite is said to be the deepest in England. Also in Aldworth, St Mary’s church is home to the Aldworth giants, once so famous that Elizabeth I made a special detour to see them. Oliver Cromwell’s mates knocked them about a bit but they're still worth a look.
Tea:
Returning through Streatley, you first encounter The Bull, then the Swan at Streatley. Over the river, you've got the Miller of Mansfield, the Catherine Wheel and the John Barleycorn. Why not try them all? (Although mentioned in the walk notes, the Queen’s Arms is now a Tesco’s).
Directions:
Walk info here. The SWC Walk is on the “Download Walk” button
The map walk is on the "YHA Goring via Aldworth" button. Go anti-clockwise to tie in with the SWC walk. Although the length is given as 8 miles, the route to and from the station (0.8 miles to the east) is not included.
The details below link the station to the YHA walk.
From the station: head right for the High Street then turn left downhill. Cross the river and pass the Swan pub. Here you have a choice of 2 anti-clockwise starts, both on the map.
• For the gentlest route, turn right about 45m after the Swan, following a sign for the Thames Path. Then follow the map route. (This is similar to the SWC start).
• The second choice involves a steep climb with a view at the top. Pass the Swan pub and continue ahead across the A329 onto a lane to turn right shortly afterwards, onto the map route.
Returning to the station: go left along the A329 to the crossroads, cross the A road, then the river, head uphill on the High Street and turn right for the station after crossing the rail bridge.
T=swc.17
1 comment:
After an unpromising start with dismal skies and rain seen from the train, the day brightened, so w=cloudy-dry-turning-sunny-later
N=4 at the station, all wanting to do a walk shorter than the 11.5 miler. For some this meant short-cuts. For me it meant the YHA map (which works well). I was soon left behind and there was no whizzy magic today. No accidentally turning up at the front later on. “sigh”
At the Bell, I was treated to a recitation of the various beers on offer, along with their merits. I don’t think any of us ate there but some did partake of the liquor. Myself I settled for a pint of dark mild. I do like the Bell.
Round the back of the pub there was a sort of rally going on, farm machinery, motor bikes, cars. Basically, anything old that moved.
Then we were off wending separate ways back to Goring. We seemed to make good progress. Two of us caught the 4 o’clock. Never saw the other two.
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