SWC Walk 260: Aldermaston to Woolhampton (via Frilsham) T=SWC.260
Distance: 14.1 miles or 22.7 km for those more
metrically minded (with longer (16.7 miles/26.9 km) and shorter (bus or SWC 117
which shares start and finish) options available)
Difficulty: 7
out of 10 (8 out of 10 for the longer option)
Train: Take the 9:33
AM Great Western train from London Paddington,
changing at Reading (arrive 9:58; depart 10:12), arriving at Aldermaston at 10:25.
Return
trains (all requiring a change at Reading unless otherwise noted) from Midgham
(Woolhampton) are at 17:27; 18:27; 19:27; 20:19; and 21:16 (no change). Please
note there may be some timing adjustments after 20:20 due to some engineering
works in the Reading area. Buy a day return to Midgham.
I do not think this walk has been done since it’s
well-received debut in 2016 and early autumn seemed like a perfect time to give
it another outing. It explores the undulating territory of the West Berkshire Downs,
part of the Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty. It includes ancient
woodland, commons, including Bucklebury Common (the largest in SE England) and
pretty villages. You can find more information about the walk and download the
walk instructions here. For those preferring
something shorter, SWC 117 shares the same start and finish – but has a completely
different (and shorter) middle section.
The recommended lunch pub on the main walk is the
Pot Kiln Inn (01635 201 366) in Frilsham
(5.5 miles/9.6 km into the walk). Note that this is a real foodie kind of pub –
specializing in game. I have booked 2 tables (for a total of 13) one at 12:30
and the other at 13:00 (hopefully we arrive somewhere in between). There are some earlier and later
options mentioned in the walk instructions.
Tea can be had at the very pleasant Rowbarge Inn near Midgham Station.
Enjoy the walk!
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2 comments:
As an addendum to the main walk report.
The morning was wet and got wetter as it wore on. However the route was lovely with fields and autumnal woods and only a little mud in a recently ploughed field. The morning seemed to lack smells apart from some wood smoke but that may be due to my having a lingering cold.
Lunch was lovely as well with most of us opting for fallow dear - delish. One of our group had a vegan meal especially prepared for her. Rocky the manager also provided us with a portion of said vegan dish for us to try but for some reason it didn't move down the table
The overall difficulty of this walk is 7 out of 10. Well the morning was a 2 to 3 so the afternoon maybe hard
After lunch sadly the others left, after telling us goodbye.
3 of us went for a taxi during which we saw a muntjac crossing the road and hopping off into the woods. I wore red jodhpurs, another a striped tie.
A point of information - I took the taxi as I had overeaten at lunch.
The Pot Kiln as been suggested as a possible venue for our SWC Christmas lunch.
Best to start saving now
Bridie
For those who looked at the forecast and stayed at home, the w=rain-did-come,-heavy-and-hard; however, the n=7 who braved the elements were rewarded with a wonderful walk with some nice early autumn tinting, not to mention an amazing lunch....Hoping to wait out the bad weather, we spent a solid two hours sampling a good cross-section of the menu...all of which was amazing...After lunch 3 opted for a taxi and 4 headed out into the lingering drizzle through more undulating countryside with some great vistas and bright autumnal colors. The rain finally stopped about midway along and we arrived at Woolhampton about 18:30 where we enjoyed a drink at the Rowbarge Inn before catching the 19:27.
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