Book 1, Walk 4 - Pangbourne Circular
Length: 13.6 km (8.5 miles) with options to extend either to Tilehurst or Goring
Toughness: 3 out of 10
Either
London Paddington: 10-15 hrs Cardiff service. Does not stop at Ealing Broadway (see below)
Arrive Reading: 10-40 hrs Change trains
Leave Reading: 10-51 hrs Didcot Parkway stopping service from Paddington
Arrive Pangbourne: 11-00 hrs
Or
London Paddington: 09-57 hrs Didcot Parkway stopping service. Ealing Broadway 10-05 hrs
Arrive Pangbourne: 11-00 hrs
Return
From Pangbourne, Direct to Paddington (D), Change at Reading (R), Direct to Paddington but faster to change at Reading (FR)
16-17(D), 16-44(R), 16-48(FR), 17-16(D), 17-44(R), 17-49(FR), 18-16(FR)
Return from Tilehurst to Paddington: 4 or 5 minutes after Pangbourne times
Return from Goring and Streatley to Paddington: 4 minutes before Pangbourne times
Rail ticket: a day return to Pangbourne will suffice for Pangbourne and Tilehurst walk endings
buy a day return to Goring and Streatley if ending your walk in Goring.
This is a lovely, undemanding walk with variety between Berkshire and Oxfordshire - with the River Thames as our water feature for the day !
We will stop for lunch at the the homely Sun Inn, at Hill Bottom, which serves excellent food. I will make a booking for us. Then we head back to Pangbourne via Whitchurch, where we can conclude our walk and stop for tea, or if we wish, after a breather and or tea, we can continue our walk along the Thames Path for a few miles in either direction: right along the Thames Path and towing path (westwards) for 5.5 km to Goring, or left along the Thames Path and towing path (eastwards) for 4.2 km to Tilehurst.
T=1.4
Walk Directions here: L=1.4
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
n=9
weather w=lovely-Spring-sunshine
I posted a skeleton report below as my first effort was lost in the ether.
I will try again.
Nine of us off the train at Pangbourne, with one immediately heading off to do her own thing. Another was on the train an hour behind us, so I will report nine on the posted walk. The Spring sunshine was quite a contrast to the icy cold and snow of the week before.
The lovely morning leg of today's walk was enhanced by daffodils making an appearance in a Pangbourne churchyard: later in the morning we came upon a magnificent display of snowdrops in the grounds of Bottom House Farm.
Onwards then via the playing fields of the Oratory School and woods to the Sun Inn, our booked lunch stop: and what a disappointment for the five diners. It was a "beans is 'orf" day, with specials on the today's board 'orf, my Moules Frites came sans frites (chips were 'orf - and no other potatoes !). Given we were the only diners our wait of forty five minutes for our meals to arrive tried our patience, but we managed to maintain our sense of humour and smile at the pub's incompetence. When our nosh eventually arrived it was good, but overpriced for what we got. Never mind, the beer and coffee were excellent, we had a nice table in this cosy pub, and the barman served us with a smile and he was apologetic for the shambles. A sign outside the pub advertising for full time chefs partly explained our experience: I hope applicants also possess purchasing and stock control skills.
The afternoon leg of the walk back to Pangbourne via Whitchurch took us just an hour, but it was a very pleasant hour's walking. Some then headed for tea in Pangbourne, two of us went direct to the railway station where we met up with our three sandwichers who had made a swift exit from the Sun - and the late starter. Changing trains at Reading for a fast service, and we were soon back in Paddington.
Another enjoyable Wednesday outing in fine weather with good chat and excellent company.
Post a Comment