Wednesday Walk - Map-led but easy to follow: The start of the Greensand Way (in reverse): Witley to Haslemere

Length: 17.2 km (10.7 mi) [18.2 km if going to the lunch pub]

Ascent/Descent: 282/333m; Net Walking Time: 4 - 4 ½ hours

Toughness: 4/10

Take the 10.15 Haslemere train from Waterloo (10.22 CJ, 10.43 Woking), arrives Witley 11.09.

Return trains from Haslemere are on xx.02, xx.15, xx.32, journey time from 52 mins. Buy a Haslemere return.

This walk is one of 11 stages of the Greensand Way - a waymarked long-distance path in the Southeast of England. This is the first section of it, but for logistical reasons, it is posted in reverse, as Haslemere is a better place to finish, having pubs, tea rooms, and more frequent trains.

The walk starts gently over open agricultural land, and crosses the A3 to Thursley. Its St. Michael and All Angels church is worth a visit. There are some benches with a lovely view in the churchyard (a good picnic spot). A nearby grave has a poignant 'husband died 1917 wife died 1980' epitaph. Lunch is in The Three Horseshoes, a gastro-pub with a nice beer garden, just off the route, north of the church.

After lunch you climb a peaceful spur to Gibbet Hill (272m), with dramatic views into Devil's Punch Bowl. The area was once notorious for highwaymen. In 1786, a sailor (buried in Thursley's church, and commemorated by the Sailor's Stone) was robbed and murdered after drinking at a pub in Thursley. The three murderers were caught and hung here. After the summit, the walk follows the rim of Devil’s Punch Bowl to Hindhead (NT visitor centre and café, pub). Finally, it’s down the south side of the hill into Haslemere. The centre has some nice old buildings, tea rooms, and a Wetherspoon’s. The station is about 10 mins walk away.

Lunch: The Three Horseshoes in Thursley  (500m off-route, after 6.1 km/3.8 mi, food to 14.30).

Tea: Lots of choice in and around Haslemere’s High Street, including Darnley’s and Hemingway’s Cafés, plus The Station House, opposite the railway station.

For summary, map, height profile and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.145

Evening walk

CW2 1c Monks Risborough to Wendover
Distance: 6km
Length: 9.7km (6 miles)

Catch the 17:53 train from London Marylebone, arrives Monks Risborough 18:45. Return trains from Wendover: 21:23, 21:53, 22:53.

Will take the Coombe Hill (d) ending and finish with a drink / meal at Shouder of Mutton PH Wendover, food served until 22:00.

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Easy walking in the Kentish Weald

Hildenborough to Hadlow or Tonbridge

Length: 13.3km (8.2 miles) or 21.5km (13.4 miles) Toughness: 2/3 out of 10

09:59 Hastings train from Cannon Street (London Bridge 10:04; Orpington 10:21) arriving Hildenborough at 10:36.
There are no trains from Charing Cross or Waterloo East today, due to engineering works.

Return trains from Tonbridge to Cannon Street are at xx:07, xx:21, xx:37 and xx:49 (journey time 41 – 47 mins) or to Victoria at xx:16 (journey time 54 mins).

This walk mainly covers typical Wealden countryside of fields, meadows and the occasional wood. At Hadlow you will find a multi-tiered Gothic folly, Hadlow Tower, taller than Nelson’s Column, and now used as a luxury holiday rental property. Nearby is another attraction, Broadview Gardens. The walk extension to Tonbridge is mainly alongside the River Medway.

Two possible lunch pubs en route to Hadlow are the Chaser Inn (01732 810360) in Shipbourme, and the Kentish Rifleman (01732 810727) in Dunks Green.

For those finishing the walk at Hadlow there is a half-hourly bus service to Tonbtidge at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour until 17:26, taking 22 minutes.

You will need to download the Walk Directions.

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London's Northern Heights

Totteridge Circular

Length: 14.1km (8.8 miles) Toughness: 2 out of 10

Meet at 10:30am> at Totteridge and Whetstone tube station, the penultimate stop on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line. The journey time from Euston is 25 minutes. All stations at the start and alternative finishes are in Zones 4 or 5.

This is a delightfully rural walk in north London’s greenbelt countryside that escaped development in the 1930s thanks to local resistance. Meadows and woodland feature strongly.

The recommended lunch pub is the Three Hammers (020 8959 2173) in Mill Hill, 7.6km into the walk.

As well as a shortcut to lunch, saving 1.3k, there are two possible extensions in the afternoon, one to High Barnet, making a total walk of 18.1km (11.2 miles), and the other to Cockfosters on the Piccadilly line, making a total walk of 19.8km (12.3 miles).

You will need to download the Walk Directions.

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Saturday Walk – An alternative Otford Circular

Extra Walk 290 – Otford Circular, via Shoreham
Length: 14 km (8.7 miles), with shorter afternoon options. Toughness: Up to 5/10

10:25 Canterbury West train from Victoria (Bromley South 10:42), arriving Otford at 10:58.

This is the fastest route, but if it's more convenient the 09:46 Sevenoaks service from Blackfriars calls at lots of stations in south London and reaches Otford at 10:48. A third way is to travel out via Sevenoaks; if you get there in time for the 10:52 back towards Blackfriars you'll get to Otford at almost the same time as the Victoria train. A return to Otford is valid on all these routes.

The direct fast trains back to Victoria are at xx:26 & xx:56, the slower ones to Blackfriars three minutes later. If you want to return via Sevenoaks, those are at xx:18 & xx:48.

This is a variation on the familiar Otford Circular from Book 1, with a shorter morning around the steep-sided hills on the eastern side of the Darent valley and a longer afternoon exploring those on the other side. Like the original it packs a fair amount of climbing into its short length, but there are a couple of shorter options in the afternoon if you want something a little less strenuous.

You should be able to squeeze into one of Shoreham's four pubs for lunch, and to round off the day Otford has two tearooms as well as its pubs. If you're interested in trying some English wine the walk route passes The Mount Vineyard in Shoreham, but they don't seem to be offering free tastings this year.

You'll need to bring the walk directions from the Otford Circular via Shoreham walk page. T=swc.290

Saturday walk - Eridge to Forest Row or East Grinstead

Length: 17.5km (10.9 miles), with possible extension to 21.5km (13.4 miles) or 23km (14.3 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10. T=3.109

10.07 train from London Bridge (10.22 East Croydon) to Eridge, arriving 11.03.

Buy a day return to Eridge. This is often accepted for return from East Grinstead (a different branch of the same line) but if not you would only need to buy a single three stops to Hurst Green, where the two routes join.

For walk directions click here. For GPX click here.

This walk had a Wednesday outing just over a month ago but it is 19 months since the workers had a chance to do it. It is a simple and pleasant walk along the High Weald Landscape Trail, with fine views at times. In winter the Weald can get very muddy but it is not quite winter yet and so far paths have been quite firm (famous last words!!).

For lunch the favoured locale is usually the Dorset Arms in Withyham after five miles, but a slightly later alternative another 1.5 miles further on is the Anchor Inn in Hartfield. In Forest Row there are now tea options galore, even including a Costa Coffee, but it is hard to beat the ever-friendly Taffels.

To end the walk in Forest Row (10.9 miles) catch a 270 or 291 bus to East Grinstead from outside the Brambletye Hotel at 16.03, 16.27, 17.04, 17.26, 18.03, 18.35, 18.57, 19.46, 21.14. 

These buses go all the way to East Grinstead station, from where trains return at 06 and 36 past

A possible EXTENSION to the walk is to walk from Forest Row to East Grinstead. If you follow the route in the walk directions, which goes up the old railway line, this is a gentle walk uphill along a broad track, adding 5.5km (3.4 miles) to the walk, making a total walk of 23km (14.3 miles). This route is easy to follow even in the dark (with a full moon to help if skies are clear) and the last mile or so is in any case through the lit streets of the centre of East Grinstead.

Another slightly shorter way to extend the walk is to switch at Cansiron Lane, the end of section 7 in the walk directions, to SWC walk 40, East Grinstead Circular. Directions for this option are here (starting in paragraph 133) and you need pages 9-11 of the document. GPX file here. This makes a total walk from Eridge of 21.5km (13.4 miles), including about a mile through East Grinstead to the station. You miss out the tea options in Forest Row but there are plenty in East Grinstead, mentioned in paragraphs 142-145 of the direction.

Merriment and Christmas Market in Moreton-in-Marsh to Blockley

SWC 115:  Saturday Walk Moreton-in-Marsh to Blockley via Chipping Campden and Dover’s Hill T=SWC.115

Distance:  14.5 miles or 23.3 km for those more metrically minded for the full route via Dover’s Hill (roughly 2 miles; 3 km shorter if opting for a Broadway map-led ending); 12.2 miles or 20 km omitting Dover’s Hill; 9 miles or 15 km if sticking with the original route by-passing Chipping Campden and Dover's Hill

Difficulty: 5 out of 10 (on average)

Train:  Take the 8:22 AM Great Western Moreton-in-Marsh train from London Paddington, arriving at Moreton-in-Marsh at 10:00 AM.  Return trains from Moreton-in-Marsh are at 18:48; 19:47; 20:48 and 21:56. Buy a day return to Moreton-in-Marsh. For those wishing a later start/shorter walk, you could take the 9:22 and catch a taxi to Paxford (roughly 12 pounds) where you will have a reasonable chance of connecting with the early starters en route or do the original shorter route by-passing Chipping Campden.  The return trip will require a bus from Blockley (16:35 or 18:08) or Broadway (17:53) to Moreton-in-Marsh to connect with a train back to London.

This walk is slight twist on the old classic Moreton-in-Marsh circular via Paxford and Broad Campden. The instructions for this original walk have now been fully written-up and include routing through Chipping Campden (a pearl of the Cotswold) and Dover’s Hill along the Cotswold escarpment (traditionalists can also stick with the original route).  Many thanks to the brave group that test drove the new routing option via Chipping Campden and Dover’s Hill in the Spring as a map-led excursion – their feedback was very helpful in finalizing the instructions….

Typically, done in the height of summer, I thought it might make a nice change to try this walk during late autumn, as the villages are preparing for the festive season. In fact, Saturday is the day of the Moreton Christmas Market and I believe Broadway may well have some nice seasonal lights. More information on the walk can be found here. The new instructions (under the "via Broad Campden tab") and gpx file are now available.  Please note that the ending to Broadway is map-led – essentially following the well-marked Cotswold Way from Dover’s Hill for 3 miles to Broadway Tower (and 1 mile further down to the village).

The recommended lunch pub is the Eight Bells (01386 840 371) in Chipping Campden (8 miles/13 km into the walk), a traditional inn serving innovative home-cooked food. However, there are various other options available in Chipping Campden. For those doing the shorter walk, the Churchill Arms in Paxford and the Bakers Arms in Broad Campden are the traditional points of call.

Tea or stronger stuff can be had at the Café or Great Western Arms in Blockley or various locations in Broadway. 

Enjoy the walk!

Black Friday 2 For 1 Special Offer: Scandinavian Christmas Market plus Bermondsey Beer Mile

SWC 245 in reverse and with amended routing – Greenwich to Rotherhithe or South Bermondsey or London Bridge

Length: up to 10.0 km (6.2 mi)

Net Walking Time: up to 2 ½ hrs         

Take the 12.35 train from Cannon Street (12.38 London Bridge), arrives Greenwich at 12.47 hours; or meet up with the group 5 mins later at Cutty Sark DLR.

Finish is at Rotherhithe Overground (Hi & Is to West Croydon/Crystal Palace/New Cross) or  at South Bermondsey or London Bridge stations (on the Beer Mile extension).

This walk is a special pre-Christmas walk that combines a Thames side walk from Greenwich to Rotherhithe with a visit to the Scandinavian Christmas Market on Albion Street (turn left just before The Mayflower pub) between the Finnish  and Norwegian Churches (the market is open 12.00-19.00 today, and also over the weekend).

An optional extension then follows through Southwark Park to South Bermondsey where we will join the Bermondsey Beer Mile – a collection of small breweries mainly under the railway arches between South Bermondsey and London Bridge stations. Here is a short route description of the extension: Continue a short distance along the Thames Path, then through King's Stairs Gardens and Southwark Park to the Fourpure Brewing Company. This is the start of the Bermondsey Beer Mile.

A map (and further links to more detailed maps of the Beer Mile) can be found here (scroll down to bottom of linked page). For those not wanting to imbibe, South Bermondsey Station is nearby for trains back to London Bridge. 

Idea & Concept: John P, SWC Representative for Borough & Bankside

Administrative Assistance: Thomas G, SWC Representative for Bermondsey & Old Southwark

The walk will be led (the SWC does not have leaders, how many more times do I have to say this? – ed.) by the local SWC Representatives and we’ll attempt to rope in one or other volunteer who might know the Beer Mile even better.

Eat/Drink: Stalls on the Xmas Market, or The Mayflower or The Ship  in Rotherhithe. Then the micro-breweries on the Beer Mile.

For map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.245.b