Saturday Third Walk : Rivers Isis and Cherwell, Oxford Canal, Wolvercote Common, the City Centre & its Colleges, Oxford Castle and its Mound

Book 1 Walk 13 – Oxford Circular (revised route with options to extend) [planned for 29 Dec, moved due to railworks]

Length:  16.3 km (10.1 mi) [longer walk possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent:  a few steps up from street level to the station and several arched footbridges

Net Walking Time: ca. 4 hours

Toughness:  1 out of 10 

  

Take the 10.05 Oxford train from  Marylebone, arrives Oxford 11.09.

Return trains: 15.09, 15.43, 16.11, 16.42, 17.11, 17.41, 18.07… (from 65 minutes journey time).

This is an undemanding but enjoyable short Country Walk, ending in an exploration of this historic university city, with its University’s Colleges and the Norman Castle compound.

The walk starts along the Isis River to Binsey, a favourite walk for the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. With Port Meadow on the other side of the river, you walk to the ruins of Godstow Abbey, before coming to the Trout Inn at Wolvercote (a lunch option) then take in a bit of Wolvercote Common before coming to the Plough Inn (a second option for lunch).

After lunch the walk heads south along the Oxford Canal, past some houseboats, then across town and via a footbridge by Wolfson College to go along the River Cherwell through its Nature Reserve, where buttercups are abundant in May. Going through the University Parks, you come to the Pitt Rivers Museum. From here you start your walking tour of Oxford’s historic colleges and famous buildings, winding in and out of lanes and small streets as the walk fits in many of the colleges as well as the Norman Castle Compound with the Castle Mound and the former Victorian Prison (now a hotel), before you stop for tea and finally head for the railway station.

Three separate Short Extensions to the route are possible:
--- an out-and-back in the morning to Binsey Village with its lovely church and well adds 2.0 km (1.3 mi);
--- a loop around lunch through the Wolvercote Lakes, a Nature Reserve owned by the Oxford Preservation Trust, adds 0.5 km (0.3 mi);
--- a loop after lunch through the Trap Grounds, a local Wildlife Site, adds 0.6 km (0.4 mi).

If you are fast enough, you can visit Modern Art Oxford, a renowned art gallery open to 16.00 hours today, for their Kaleidoscope exhibition, celebrating their first 50 years.

There are four good pubs en route, before you get to Oxford, the two best positioned ones for lunch are some twenty minutes apart. The first of those is The Trout Inn in Wolvercote (4.4 km/2.8 mi). This pub enjoys a lovely setting beside the River. On the other side of Wolvercote Common is The Plough Pub & Restaurant in Wolvercote Green (6.2 km/3.9 mi). This pub is more homely than the Trout Inn and less touristy. For tea, you are spoilt for choice for cafes, restaurants and pubs in the city centre. For details consult the Walk Directions.

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=1.13

Saturday Second Walk - A North Downs gem

Book 2, Walk 14 - Effingham to Westhumble (or Dorking)
Length: 14.3km (8.8 miles) or 16.3km (10.1 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10

10.03 train from Waterloo to Effingham Junction (10.12 Clapham Junction) to Effingham Junction, arriving 10.45.

There is also a 10.09 from Waterloo (10.18 Clapham Junction) but this is slightly slower, arriving Effingham Junction at 11.03: don't get this train by mistake - unless you just miss the earlier one, of course.

For walk directions click here. (These directions are more up to date than those in the book)

Buy a day return to Effingham Junction. On the way back you technically need to buy a single from Dorking to Leatherhead (two stops).

I figured that a New Year's Eve walk needs three qualities: not too far from London, a lunch stop one could rely on being open; and not involving Southern trains.

This walk ticks all three boxes, with lunch being at the National Trust self-service restaurant at Polesden Lacey (The Granary, not the little cafe by the entrance) which usually has some hot dishes, even if portion sizes sometimes leave something to be desired. If you want a pub lunch the 10.1 mile version of this walk diverts to one - the Sir Douglas Haig in Effingham Village, just three miles into the walk. But you might want to ring up on the day to check it is open/serving food.

For tea the Denbies Wine Estate Conservatory Restaurant (self-service) will be open as far as I can ascertain. Its website doesn't say it won't be open, at all events. It may close at 4.30pm, however.

Trains back: Because of the Southern dispute you may prefer to use the Dorking ending of the walk, from whence there are South West Trains services to Waterloo at 04 and 34 past. If Southern trains to Victoria are not affected by strike action, they are at 26 and 58 past. All these trains take around 55 minutes and all call at Clapham Junction.

Trains from Box Hill & Westhumble are Southern ones hourly at 28 past. I wouldn't rely on these unless your mobile phone train tracker definitely says they are running. On Box Hill station there is the Pilgrim's Cycle Shop cafe and there is the Stepping Stones pub nearby: though New Year's Eve may affect the opening/closing times of either.

Saturday First Walk - Hayes Circular

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Length: 9.6km (6m)
Toughness: 1/10
Transport: Take the 10:02 from London Charing Cross to Hayes (Kent) arriving 10:44. Hayes is in Zone 5. There are return trains about every 15mins.
This is the first outing of this new walk in the backyard of Southeast Londoners. From the description:
This short walk crosses three commons which have been used for hundreds of years as a source of wood as evidenced by the many coppiced trees. Today coppicing is still practised but the mix of woodlands also provides habitats for a variety of animals. The walk follows in part the River Ravensbourne which fills the three Keston ponds and flows into the Thames at Deptford. On the way you get a glimpse of Ravensbourne Lodge previously owned by the Bonham-Carter family. The most ancient remains encountered on this walk are from the iron age. The walk was inspired by the marked Three Commons Circular Walk and broadly but not exactly follows it.
It is advisable to make a booking for lunch in one of the pubs in Keston since they are both very popular.
Fox Inn 01689852053
The Greyhound 01689856338

Friday Walk - a Goring-on-Thames walk

A regular walker had suggested she might post a walk for today, but with 2 ½ days to go, there is none. So let’s do this, acting to recent events: 
In this annus horribilis for Rock- and Pop-Stars another famous name has died over Christmas, at home in his house in Goring: George Michael. 
So here’s a gentle country walk to Goring that – as far as I can see – leads right past the house (Mill Cottage on Lock Approach) after lunch, where you can either pay homage, or ogle at the people paying homage, at the shrine that the entrance will have become by now.

SWC Walk 170 – Pangbourne Circular (via Goring-on-Thames)

Length:  15.8 km (9.9 mi) [shorter and longer walks possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent:  230 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 4 hours

Toughness:  3 out of 10 

  

Take the 10.00 Penzance train from Paddington, change at Reading (arr. 10.28, dep. 10.51) onto an Oxford stopping service (i.e. do not take the 10.45 Newcastle via Oxford train), arriving Pangbourne at 10.59. The train you are changing on to is the 09.39 from Paddington (Ealing B’way 09.47).

Return trains: xx.17 and xx.51 (journey time just over an hour, shave off 15 mins by changing onto a fast train at Reading)

Note: Paddington station is closed until Thursday evening for extended engineering works. In case of overrun of those we will have to start from Ealing B’way, so best check the National Rail website on Friday morning for updates.

This is the only one of the Goring walks that hasn’t had an outing this year (apart from the ‘can’t be finished in winter daylight’-SWC 171) and looks like a lovely route on the map… 
Talking of maps: It is a map-led walk adopted from a 3^rd party (the YHA Streatley) and has no written directions, but fear ‘ye not. It looks easy to follow if you print out the route map on our website here. (There is also a link on our site to the original sketched map from the YHA, but it’s naturally less precise).

The walk offers fine views of the Thames Valley  from the inland heights above Goring. It visits both Pangbourne and Goring, two interesting and pretty riverside villages. The walk can be done in either direction, but the anti-clockwise direction does the hillier section first, saving the shorter flat Thames Path for after lunch, providing a fine contrast with the inland section. Walk Options: It is possible to do just a short walk to Goring, in which case buy a Goring return. For a longer walk either follow a route further north from Beech Farm, through Cold Harbour higher up the hill and then west through Great Chalk Wood back down to the route, or extend along the Thames by 6 km to Tilehurst station (the last 2.5 km seem to be along tarmac though…)

There are several options for lunch in Goring and tea in Pangbourne respectively, some are listed on our webpage, where you’ll also find the mentioned maps, a height profile, photos and gpx/kml files.T=swc.170

Thursday Walk – the Ash Ranges & Brookwood Cemetery

Extra Walk 107 – Ash to Brookwood
Length: 15.3 km (9.5 miles), with shorter and longer options. Toughness: 5/10 (but looks more like 2/10 to me)

10:15 Haslemere train from Waterloo (Clapham Jct 10:22), changing at Guildford (arr 10:50, dep 11:00) for the Ascot train, arriving Ash at 11:10. The Walk Notes say that a return to Ash is normally accepted from Brookwood (pessimists should buy a return to Aldershot, which is valid to both stations).

Trains return from Brookwood at 16, 23, 46 & 53 minutes past the hour (only the first two stop at CLJ).

This interesting and unusual walk doesn't get many outings because it's only feasible when the Army aren't using the Ash Ranges. You cross this heathland habitat in the morning and the afternoon is an excursion through the huge Brookwood Cemetery (with directions for shorter and longer options). The full walk ends with a short loop around Sheet's Heath on the other side of the railway, but there's an exit from the cemetery to Brookwood station if you want to finish earlier.

The recommended lunchtime pub is the popular White Hart in Pirbright, with the nearby Cricketers mentioned as a quieter alternative. Opportunities for refreshment at the end of the walk are limited, however.

You'll need to print the directions from the Extra Walk 107 page, which contains directions for an alternative walk just in case you see red flags at the entrance to the Ash Ranges. T=swc.107

Wednesday Walk - The High Weald (before it gets too muddy)

This walk, originally planned for Dec 14, has been swapped with the original Dec 28 posting due to strike action. It will be postponed further if the strike action continues.

SWC Walk 236a – Ashurst to Eridge (w/o Burrswood)

Length:  18.3 km (11.3 mi)

Net Walking Time: ca. 4 ¼ hours

Toughness:  4 out of 10 

   or

Ashurst to Eridge (Full Walk)

Length:  21.0 km (13.0 mi)

Ascent/Descent:  290 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 hours

Toughness:  5 out of 10 

  

Take the 10.08 Uckfield train from  London Bridge (EC 10.23), arrives Ashurst 10.58.

Return trains: 15.50, 16.50, 17.20, 17.48, 18.20, 18.49… (from 65 minutes journey time).

Buy an Eridge return ticket.

The High Weald can be very muddy in winter, let’s hope for a dry-ish period  preceding this outing…

Decision time for whether or not to walk the full walk (head torch recommended if you do) is mid-afternoon.

From a remote station this walk climbs up the low hills between the River Medway and Tunbridge Wells, soon with some attractive views across a steep-sided open hillside reminiscent of wilder parts of Britain. A gently undulating route along field edges, country lanes and wooded valleys takes you to the village of Speldhurst, where the parish church of St Mary the Virgin contains a set of notable pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows.

After a lunch stop in the village's 16^thC inn the walk loops back towards the Burrswood estate, situated in a wooded valley passed near the beginning of the walk. Its 19^thC manor house (omitted on the shorter walk) is now a small NHS hospital, with walkers being encouraged to use the permissive paths through its grounds (and visit its tearoom). Its long driveway leads to the hamlet of Old Groombridge and the remainder of the walk is the same as the shorter ending to Extra Walk 120 (Eridge Circular). This goes past Groombridge Place, a beautiful Jacobean manor house surrounded by a medieval moat, then follows the course of the heritage Spa Valley Railway's extension from Groombridge to Eridge. Along the way you can often see climbers practising their skills on an impressive outcrop of Ardingly sandstone, Harrison's Rocks.

An early lunch is possible at the Chafford Arms in Fordcombe, but the recommended stop is the highly-rated George & Dragon in Speldhurst (7.2 km/4.5 mi, food to 14.30).

For tea in Eridge, The Huntsman right by the station seems to be the only choice and it is open all afternoon these days.

For summary, walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.

Next Week:  Book 1 Walk 5 (in reverse) Amersham to Great Missenden, 16.8 km, 4/10 
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Bank Holiday Walk - A short but energetic walk in Kent

SWC Walk 37 - Knockholt to Otford
Length: 12.5 km (7.9 miles)
Toughness: 7 out of 10

9.58 train from Victoria (10.07 Denmark Hill, 10.15 Lewisham, other stops in SE London, 10.38 Orpington) to Knockholt, arriving 10.44.

Best ticket: the simplest option if you don't have a season ticket or Freedom Pass is to buy a day return to Sevenoaks - £7.75 with a Network Card. This will cover you for both outward and return journeys (and is the same price as a day return to Otford, which does not cover the outward journey).

However, Knockholt is in zone 6, so you can use Oyster or contactless to get there - but don't forget to tap out. You would then need to buy a ticket to Swanley, St Mary Cray or Bromley South on the way back, change trains (not such a mad idea: these stations have frequent services), and tap in with Oyster for the rest of your journey.

For walk directions click here.

This is a little terrier of a walk, the perfect brisk winter outing. It may not be long, but it has two steep hill climbs (one in the morning, the other after lunch) to work off all those mince pies and covers some beautiful hilly territory after a slightly ho-hum start from Knockholt. Bits of the walk will be familiar to you from other SWC walks in the area, but it also has big chunks that are all its own.

Lunch is in Shoreham, which has at least three pubs, one of which hopefully will be able to squeeze us in. Tea in Otford requires a 500 metre walk down a road, which you can skip if you want (boo hiss if you do, though).

The fastest trains back from Otford are the 00, 32, 47 past to Victoria, though the 07 and 37 trains to Blackfriars may have better connections for some. All trains stop at Bromley South.

Boxing Day Walk - The Thame Valley (Aylesbury Vale), Rolling Bucks Landscape, 4 Pubs, Variable Length

SWC Walk 193 – Haddenham to Aylesbury via Gibraltar and Ford

                  

Marylebone to Bicester Village via Haddenham seems to be the only railway line running today (but serving only selected stops), so it’s either Book 1 Walk 10 - Beaconsfield Circular (but posted on Boxing Day 2013) or one of the Haddenham walks. This one has the advantages of passing four (!) pubs (plus a 5^th just a little bit off-route in Stone), while offering flexible lengths, as the route crosses the A418 several times, where the 200/280 Oxford to Aylesbury Bus runs frequently to get us back to Haddenham station.

Length:  from 10.3 km (6.4 mi) to 23.3 km (14.5 mi)

Ascent/Descent: up to 180 m; Net Walking Time: from ca. 2 hours to 5 hours

Toughness:  from 1/10 to 4/10 

Take the 09.45 Oxford Parkway train from Marylebone, arrives Haddenham & Thame Parkway at 10.28;

Return trains from Haddenham: xx.17 and xx.47 hours (47 minutes journey time).

Buy a Haddenham & Thame Parkway return.

To quote the write-up:

“This pleasant walk through the scenic heart of Aylesbury Vale passes through the tranquil Thame Valley in the morning, linking up many unspoilt and picturesque hamlets with gentle views to the surrounding hills, while passing four good village pubs en route. After lunch several grassy fields and a substantial newly planted community woodland are passed through. Later the stately mansion of Hartwell House is rounded, before the route heads in to Aylesbury for tea.

The regular Oxford to Aylesbury bus service is never far away from the route, making it easy to choose a shorter option.“

The recommended lunch stops are The Bottle and Glass in Gibraltar (10.3 km/6.4 mi) or the The Seven Stars in Dinton (10.9 km/6.8 mi). There’s also The Crown at Cuddington early in the walk (7.1 km/4.4 mi). For tea the choices are The Bugle Horn as well as Hartwell House Spa Cafe and Bar, both in Hartwell (ca. 3.5 km from the end) and numerous options in Aylesbury (check page 2 of the directions for details).

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.

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