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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 28 January 2017

Saturday walk - Henley hills and woods

Book 2 Walk 6a - Henley via Stonor short walk
Length: 14.8km (8.8 miles) - with possible extension to 18.5km (11.1 miles)
Toughness: 4 out of 10

9.50 train from Paddington (9.58 Ealing Broadway) to Twyford, arrive 10.43, changing there for the 10.50 to Henley-upon-Thames, arriving 11.02.

Buy a day return to Henley-upon-Thames (NOT Henley-in-Arden)

For walk directions click here - these have significant updates since the book was published.

This lovely short walk in the hills above Henley was posted on a Sunday 13 days ago, but it was a very wet day and there were no reports of anyone doing the walk. Let's hope for better weather conditions this time.

This short version of the walk takes you up onto the Oxfordshire Way across pleasant parkland and fields to Middle Assendon, where the Rainbow Inn is your lunchtime pub. This is a homely pub, seemingly run by a husband and wife couple, so try not to arrive there in a great big mob. Your reward is good hearty food.

After lunch a walk up quiet lanes joins you to the ending of the main Henley via Stonor walk. There has been a new path made through Lambridge Wood as you approach Henley and the online version of the walk reflects that: if you try to use older versions you will get confused. In Henley the lovely Chocolate Cafe is the tea stop.

If it is still light and you want an extension to the walk, the lovely stroll on down the riverside to Marsh Lock (about 1km each way) is recommended. Or you can carry on beyond the lock on the Thames Path to Shiplake station (3.7km/2.3 miles from Henley - this is the 18.5km/11.8 mile version of the walk). There are no written directions for either of these options but you are following the well-waymarked Thames Path.

Trains back from Henley are at 24 past (Shiplake is served by the same train 4 minutes later)

3 comments:

Ian T said...

N=20 people, most of whom did the proposed short walk. 2 did a longer loop and 2, who reckoned they’d found a shorter route, struck out on it and got lost. The Rainbow (who appreciated the advance warning) was welcoming and seemed to please. Fare seemed simple but of good quality– e.g. ham egg and chips, bubble and squeak with beans - and, for the epicures, haggis meatballs. (Sadly, the latter did not impress the token Scot). Limited choice of one real ale but it was a good one.
W=dry-sunny-mild-am-dry-cloudy-pm-culminating-in-intense-but-brief-hailstorm.
Most were in the Chocolate Café by the time the hail came. Not your’s truly, though. I never thought I would come to thank George Harrison for his overhanging Leylandii but I did so today. So thanks.

Anonymous said...

All agreed, Soup and Bread was the best at The Rainbow, Fish and Chips disqualified for our charter marks rating as it was not freshly battered, instead straight from the Freezer. Not the kind of pub I would expect in this affluent part of the country.

branchline said...
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