Length: 20.3 km (12.6 mi) [shorter walk possible, see pdf]
Ascent/Descent:
301 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 4 ½ hours
Toughness:
5 out of 10
Take
the 09.32 Bristol Temple Meads train from Paddington, change at Reading:
arrives 09.57, departs 10.12
(Newbury Train, usually departing from Platform 1); arriving Aldermaston
at 10.25
Return
trains:
xx.24 to 19.24, then 20.10, 21.17, 22.29
hours (change at Reading, from 63 mins journey time). Buy a Midgham return.
First
posting of the full version of this former map led walk, the short version has been
premiered in rather wet conditions on a Wednesday in February (participants
may remember vividly): “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. Lunch destination is the
very pretty village of Stanford
Dingley in the Pang Valley. The walk also leads through the Bucklebury Estate,
one of the largest in the South, and 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 along the Kennet & Avon Canal or through the
landscaped Midgham Park. “
There are plenty of pubs on and just off route (see
the webpage for details), but the recommended lunch stop is The Bull Inn in Stanford Dingley (8.4 km/5.2 mi).
For
tea there are now two options: The Angel Inn has reopened, and there is The Rowbarge Inn, both in Woolhampton,
2 minutes from Midgham station.
For
walk directions, map, height profile, and gpx/kml files
click here.
T=swc.117
1 comment:
N=15 walkers, with the initial clouds lifting around 11.00 o'clock, for a w=sunny day thereafter (heavy rain though later while on the train back to London). The group stayed together to the lunch pub, where some had a second drink, while the majority moved on. Those few also had a mid-afternoon stop at (after a diversion to) The Cottage Inn in Upper Bucklebury, so arrived in Woolhampton much later than the main group.
Proper countryside quite close to London, hardly any other walkers met all day, some beautiful villages, and a nice pub providing for fast delivery of very fine doorstop sandwiches and other assorted goods. Lunch was had outside on benches in front of the pub in the sun, not a bad result for mid Oct.
Some corrections to the directions are necessary around the Bucklebury Common heathland, as the scenery is now much different now from when the walk research was done in deep winter.
16.24 train for 10, after a 30 mins stop in The Rowbarge. 17.24 for the other 5, who gave The Angel a try (which is fine, but not as atmospheric as The Rowbarge).
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