Monday Walk - Going Foraging: The Fruit Bowl of England plus Creeks and Marshes - Teynham to Faversham

Length: from 13.6 km/8.4 mi to 29.2 km/18.1 mi, main walk is 24.7 km (15.4 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 90/84m (main walk)

Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours (main walk)

Toughness: 3 out of 10 (main walk)

Take the 10.10 Dover Priory train from London Victoria (Bromley South 10.27), arrives Teynham 11.20.

South East Londoners may just about prefer the 09.46 Thameslink train from Blackfriars to Sevenoaks (via Elephant & Castle, Herne Hill etc.; change Bromley South (10.22/10.27)).

Returns from Faversham are on xx.02 and xx.37 to Victoria, xx.52 to Cannon Street via Greenwich and LBG, and xx.58 to St. Pancras (High Speed surcharge needed). Buy a Faversham return.

This is a flat walk leading initially through ‘The Larder of London’, or the ‘Fruit Bowl of England’, the area around Teynham, not only the home of English cherries, but also with plentiful orchards of apples, pears, plums, strawberries and raspberries, as well as foraging opportunities for cherry plums, elderberries and blackberries. The area also used to be a large exporter of timber, grain and oysters. The local brick earth and chalk make the area fertile for fruit, but also were the foundation for the many brickfields in Teynham, Conyer and Faversham, remnants of which are passed en route. The bricks were an important source in London’s Victorian building boom, and were transported to London by the famous sailing barges, ruined remnants of which can be seen on the walk’s Conyer Creek option.

From Conyer you follow the Saxon Shore Way along The River Swale, a tidal channel between mainland Kent and the Isle of Sheppey, and then along some creeks, with mudflats, salt marshes and fishing boats on the one side and the stark but beautiful landscape of drainage ditches and dykes, fertile meadows and windswept grazing marshes on the other, an unspoilt and tranquil haven for walkers, livestock and wildlife alike. Oare Marshes NR, passed late in the afternoon, is an internationally important birdlife sanctuary.

You finish in Faversham’s bustling streets past the stunning Market Place and its many cafés and eateries.

Plentiful options  enable walk lengths from as short as 13.6 km/8.4 mi to as long as 29.2 km/18.1 mi. See the route map here.

Lunch: The Plough Inn in Lewson Street  (6.1 km/3.8 mi, food 12.00-14.30), The Ship at Conyer in Conyer (10.3 km/6.4 mi, food all day), The Three Mariners at Oare  in Oare (11-12 km into the walk if taking one of the early morning shortcuts, food to 15.00), The Castle Inn in Oare (11-12 km into the walk if taking one of the early morning shortcuts).

Tea: Numerous options close to and in Faversham, see pdf page 2.

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.299

Sunday walk - Guildford to Horsley

Main walk - 18.1km (11.3 miles) though some may wish to do the longer version 21.4km (13.3 miles) and others shorter options - details in the walk directions. Difficulty 4 out of 10                                                                                                                  Trains: catch the 10.00 train from Waterloo to Guildford, (10.09 CJ, 10.32 Woking)  arriving Guildford 10.43. Return trains from Horsley are at xx:03. Buy a day return to Guildford, which is valid for return from Horsley. Meet outside the station entrance at Guildford on arrival.

This walk offers numerous fine viewpoints north and south from the North Downs escarpment. It starts with a climb over Chantries Hill, carrying on to St Martha’s Church, perched high on the downs, You then descend to the village of Albury for lunch, though picnickers can miss out this descent and stay on the North Downs Way. From Albury, there is a steady climb up to Newland’s Corner, another popular viewpoint, before a wooded stretch along the North Downs Way. To finish, the walk descends through beautiful upland country to the north of the ridge with views right to the distant City of London on clear days.

Lunch: the recommended pub is The Drummond at Albury 9.1km (5.6 miles) into the walk . They are open and likely to be busy. They suggest ringing to book before starting the walk.tel. 01483 202039.

For walk directions, map and GPS, click here

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Sunday Walk - Undulating Somerset: Bruton Circular via Stourhead (2nd attempt after an earlier lockdown-cancellation) [New Walk]

Length: 22.7 km (14.1 mi) [Longer Walks possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent: 456m

Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours, Toughness: 7 out of 10 

Take the 08.51 Penzance train from Paddington (Reading 09.15), change at Westbury onto the Weymouth train (10.03/10.27), arriving Bruton 10.47.

From Ealing B’way there is the 08.37 to Reading with a tight connection (09.12/09.15) or the earlier 08.11 train, but it’s probably best to go via Paddington (08.23-08.31).

Return trains:

17.18 – change Bath Spa (18.03/18.13), arrives Paddington 19.38;

19.12 – change Westbury (19.33/19.54), arrives Paddington 21.09;

21.19 – change Westbury (21.41/21.58), arrives Paddington 23.37.

Buy a Bruton (Somerset) return. Cheap Advance Tickets are not yet on sale though. Off Peak Returns are £57.60 at full price…

Note: Bruton is outside the Network Southeast, so Network Railcard users should buy a discounted Reading Return with the Railcard, and a separate Reading – Bruton Day Return.

This excursion is centred on the small remote Somerset town of Bruton, with its honey-coloured stone-built cottages, a large dovecote on a mound overlooking the townscape and a fine selection of tea options. It leads along the vigorous River Brue and through bucolic pastures up to the wooded range forming the boundary between Wiltshire and Somerset, with the dominant local landmark Alfred’s Tower, a folly, on top of it. From there you drop down through enchanting woods to the heart of the Stourhead Estate at the source of the River Stour, with its breath-taking 18^th century landscaped garden with lakeside walks, grottoes and classical temples (National Trust, ticketed entry, although large parts of the garden and most notable buildings are visible from the walk route).
After lunch at the estate pub or an NT restaurant you circle back past the large Palladian mansion with views, then through a U-shaped grassy valley (by the source of the river Stour) and up through hanging woods to continue high above the Brue Valley with fine far views across the South Somerset landscape.
Towards the end the route passes the renowned art gallery Hauser & Wirth Somerset with its fascinating bar and restaurant and an optional loop routes up to Bruton’s dovecote and through town.
The Don McCullin – The Stillness of Life  exhibition at Hauser has been extended due to Covid and is still open…

Walk Options:

An out-and-back  to the Bronze Age Bell Barrow site Jack’s Castle adds 550m.
A loop through the wooded Park Hill via its Iron Age hillfort site adds 900m.
A mid-afternoon loop through Walk Farm Hay Meadows, currently map-led, adds 1.6 km.
A loop at the end up to Bruton’s dovecote and through town past most tea places adds 1.5 km.

Lunch: The Spread Eagle Inn (11.0 km/6.8 mi, food to 19.00) or The Stourhead Estate Restaurant  (11.4 km/7.1 mi, food to 16.00), both on the Stourhead Estate.

Tea: Plenty options, including a Hauser & Wirth-managed pub just off route, 4.5 km from the end. See the webpage or the pdf for details.

For  walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.342

Saturday walk - Etchingham to Wadhurst - a variable length walk in the Weald

Length: 17.1km (10.6 miles), but with lots of ways to extend up to 20.6km (12.8 miles)

10.15 train from Charing Cross (10.18 Waterloo East, 10.24 London Bridge) to Etchingham, arriving 11.30.

Starting from Robertsbridge: 21.1km (13.1 miles), extendable up to 27.1km (16.8 miles): 9.15 train from Charing Cross (9.18 Waterloo East, 9.24 London Bridge) to Robertsbridge, arriving 10.34

Buy a day return to Etchingham or Robertsbridge as applicable

For walk directions click here. For GPX click here. For a map of the route click here.

This walk was suggested by Brian. I, as walk poster, will not be on this walk, so it is up to participants to a) observe appropriate social distancing by splitting into smaller groups b) to exchange contact details.

This is a pleasant and varied walk in the Weald - pleasingly hilly without being too demanding. In the afternoon there are options of various lengths that take you down to the edge of the Bewl Water Reservoir. The Robertsbridge start adds 2.5 miles and takes almost exactly an hour, so you should arrive at Etchingham about the same time as the main group.

Lunch pubs include The Bell in Ticehurst (no outside tables?) and The Bull in Three Legged Cross 1.1km further on (lots of outside tables). It might be an idea to phone either one of them before you rely on them. Another option is the Greedy Goat Cafe in Ticehurst: its Facebook page says it is now open till 3pm on Saturdays. The village also has a convenience store, opposite The Bell, so if the above options let you down, you could probably buy a sandwich there.

Tea will probably be in one of the pubs in Wadhurst, the Wealden Wholefoods Cafe being impossible to reach in time, even assuming it is open: but the village also has a convenience store with pastries and a hot drinks machine.

The back lanes route from Wadhurst village to Wadhurst station is highly recommended over the shorter main road route, but the latter does have a pavement all the way.

Trains back from Wadhurst are at 29 and 59 past until 19.29, then 29 past. T=3.208

Saturday Walk - Henley via Hambleden Circular

Saturday Walk Henley via Hambleden Circular walk

Book 2 walk Walk number 7

Coo it is so long since I did this I can't get it to work - how things have changed.  I have asked for help

8.1 miles and fairly flat

10.13 train from Paddington to Henley on Thames changing at Twyford

I can no longer do 10 miles nor real hills so I thought to post this

Lifted from the walks directions page lunch can be had at 

The Stag and Huntsman (tel 01491 571227) in Hambleden, 7.7km (4.8 miles) into the walk with reasonably large garden. It serves food all day on Saturday and Sunday. 

Hambleden Village Stores, next to the church, also has a few outside tables and serves tea, coffee, cakes and delicatessen items. It is open until 5pm Saturday

3.6 miles (2.2km) further on, the Flower Pot Hotel (tel 01491 574721) in Aston serving food all afternoon Saturday (also 6pm to 9.30pm weekdays). It has a large garden.

The early riverside part of the walk is a fine picnic spot, as is the churchyard in Hambleden and the far (south) side of Hambleden Weir.

All the details here

https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/henley-via-hambleden-circular/index.html

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From the South Downs to the Sea

Book 2 Walk 23: Hassocks to Upper Beeding (or Shoreham-by-Sea) T=2.23

Distance:  10 Miles (16.3 km) to Upper Beeding or roughly 14 Miles (22.5 km) to Shoreham-by-Sea (depending on route taken -- 2 GPX options available)

Difficulty:  7 out of 10

Train:  Take the 9:34 AM Thameslink train from London Bridge to Hassocks, arriving 10:31. For those ending the walk in Upper Beeding, you will need to take a bus No. 2 from outside the Rising Sun to Shoreham-by-Sea (15:27, 16:27, 15:27, 18:36 and 19:36). Return trains from Shoreham-by-Sea are at 26 and 56 past the hour. Buy a day return to Shoreham-by-Sea. 

Being a bank holiday weekend, a walk to the coast seems in order….This walk first goes up, up and up to the South Downs which you follow for a spell with grand views before descending into Upper Beeding from where you can catch a bus to Shoreham or continue the walk into Shoreham-by-Sea where those who wish can take a refreshing dip….More information and the walk instructions can be found here,

In addition to loads of picnic places, lunch could be had at the Wildflour Café or Devil’s Dyke Pub with afternoon drinks at the Rising Sun in Upper Beeding or various places in Shoreham-by-Sea.

Enjoy the walk!

Evening Walk - Mile End, Regent's Canal, Victoria Park

Length: 6.8 km(4.2 mi)

Net Walking Time: 1 1/2 hrs

Meet: Mile End Station at 18.45 hours. Mile End is on the Central, District and Hammersmith & City Lines and in Zone 2.

Largely map-led walk through Mile End park, along Regent’s Canal and through Victoria Park back to Mile End tube.

Eat/Drink: Morgan Arms, The Coborn.

For walk directions, map and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.5

Wednesday walk Liphook to Haslemere - Sussex Border path, Shulbrede Priory and its woods

Book 1, Walk 6 - Liphook to Haslemere

Length: 15 km (9.3 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10

For those comfortable using public transport in these Covid times, your recommended train is:

London Waterloo: 09-45 hrs.  Portsmouth Harbour service; Clapham Junction 09-52; Woking 10-13 hrs
Arrive Liphook: 11-00 hrs

Return: Haslemere to Waterloo:  4 an hour at approx 02, 15, 32 and 37 mins past the hour

Rail ticket: buy a day return to Liphook, Hants

Car drivers: Liphook is one stop down the line from Haslemere, so park up in either.


Today's walk starts in woods in Hampshire and stays in woods or along woodland trails for much of the morning as you head along undulating paths and tracks towards the village of Fernhurst, for lunch at the (usually) excellent and popular Red Lion pub, with pleasant outdoor seating if the weather permits.
After lunch you encounter bridleways which can be horribly muddy in winter, but - hopefully - firm and dry today as, now back in Surrey - you continue on your way to Haslemere, with its two tea shops (both good) and several pubs.
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Walk Directions are here: L=1.6

Sunday Walk - Three rivers, two castles, one very pretty town and a coastal nature reserve: Rye Figure Of Eight [New Walk]

Length: 25.8 km (16.0 mi) [Shorter Walks possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent: negligible

Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours, Toughness: 5 out of 10

Take the 09.37 Dover Priory train from St. Pancras (Stratford I’nal 09.44), change at Ashford (10.14/10.25), arriving Rye 10.46.

Return trains: xx.48 (69 mins journey time). Buy a Rye (Sussex) return, with High Speed Surcharge.

New walk by someone who beat me to writing up a walk involving Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, let's be checking it out, as it sounds promising...

Perched on its sandstone outcrop, the medieval hilltop town of Rye  was an important member of the Cinque Ports confederation. However, great storms in the 13^thC changed the coastline in this part of the south-east and the town now lies 3 km from the sea, at the confluence of three rivers. A small fishing fleet at Rye Harbour maintains the town's tenuous link with the sea, and the many places with ‘salt’ in their name testify that it was once a centre for preserving the catch.

The walk consists of two loops around the town in a Figure-of-8, with stretches alongside all three rivers. The northern loop is across the undulating Wealden countryside between the Tillingham and Rother rivers, a varied landscape of sheep pasture, arable farmland and orchards, ending with a riverside stretch on the edge of Walland Marsh. The southern loop has a completely different character, taking in part of the large area of reclaimed land between the Brede and Rother rivers designated as Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, “a mosaic of shingle, saltmarsh, saline lagoons, coastal grazing marsh, freshwater gravel pits and reedbeds”. In between, the town's historic centre (known as the Citadel) has so many attractive buildings that there is an extra loop around its cobbled streets to appreciate them.

The walk also reveals the threats of invasion over many centuries, a consequence of Rye's vulnerable location on the English Channel. In the town itself Ypres Tower (pronounced Wipers) and the Landgate are remnants of its fortification against French raids in the Hundred Years War. The same enemy also led to the construction of forts such as Camber Castle in the Tudor period and many Martello Towers in the Napoleonic era. Concrete blockhouses and pillboxes scattered around Rye Harbour are reminders of a different enemy in the last century.

Walk Options:

Both the morning and the afternoon loop of this long version of the walk can be shortened. For details please consult the webpage linked below, or the walk directions pdf.

Lunch: Plenty of options in Rye, plus one pub earlier on in Iden. See the webpage or the pdf for details.

Tea: Plenty of options in Rye, see the pdf for details.

For  walk directions, maps, height profiles and gpx/kml files  click here. T=swc.365.a

Saturday Walk: Lewes to Glynde or back to Lewes

Lewes to Glynde: 10.8 miles / 17.4km
Lewes to Lewes: 14.6 miles / 23.6km
extra section to West Firle: 4 miles / 6.3km

A classic downland walk over three ridges with great views.

Will be walking this anti-clockwise, so the lunch stop is the Abergavenny Arms at Rodmell.  Shortly after this is a possible dropout point at Southease, otherwise it's a climb back onto the downs and a choice of routes down to Glynde, the longer route going via West Firle.  Catch the train at Glynde, or tackle a final climb over the downs to Lewes.

Trains: 09:54 London Victoria, 10:01 Clapham Junction, 10:10 East Croydon, 10:56 Lewes.  Take the 09:45 or 09:47 from London Bridge to connect with this train at East Croydon.
Return trains from Lewes at xx:27/xx:57, from Glynde at xx:26.

Full walk details here

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Saturday walk - Milford to Haslemere - Hopefully heather - TRAIN TIMES AMENDED

*** AMENDED TRAIN TIME ***

Length: 18.7km (11.7 miles) T=1.27
Toughness: 6 out of 10

9.45 train from Waterloo (10.52 Clapham Junction) to Milford, arriving 10.38

Buy a day return to Haslemere.

For walk directions click here, for GPX click here or for a map of the route click here.

It is always difficult catching the heather at its best, but we are definitely into heather season now, and this is one of the best walks for it in the SWC canon.

One particular highlight, just before lunch, is Thursley Heath. There was a fire here in June, but as far as I can see it was in the opposite corner to the one crossed by our walk. This is based an analysis of news reports and drone footage, so no guarantees... But this is not the only heather area on the walk, so I am sure we will see some.

In the afternoon, there are several variations on the original book one route, all of which are recommended. The NT says there are several reports of dogs being bit by adders, so look out for them.

The one lunch pub is the Three Horseshoes in Thursley. Its website says you have to book by phone (01252 703900) - even to have a drink!! - see full rules here: scroll to the bottom of the page. But intriguingly it also offers takeaways if you call before 11am: see menu here. It does have a good sized garden. The pub is 8.4km (5.2 miles) into the walk, so you might expect to arrive there at 1pm or so.

For tea, the National Trust cafe at the Devil's Punchbowl is open (as a takeaway) until 4pm, as far as I can see: otherwise Haslemere has various options. When some of us were in town in mid June, Hemingways was very gamely open for takeaways when everything else was shut, so please support their enterprise by doing further business with them.

Trains back from Haslemere are at 11 and 32 past, the 32 being marginally quicker.

Saturday Walk - South Downs and Heathlands: Amberley to Pulborough (1st Saturday outing in 9 years, and since completely revised...)

Length: 25.7 km (15.9 mi) [Shorter Walks possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent: 514/512m

Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours, Toughness: 8 out of 10

Take the 09.35 Bognor Regis & Southampton Central train from Victoria (CJ 09.42, EC 09.53), arriving Amberley 10.57. The train splits at Horsham, you have to be in the Bognor Regis part!

From London Bridge take the 09.35 Brighton train and change at EC.

Return trains: xx.24 and xx.55 (80 mins journey time). Buy an Amberley return.

The route follows the South Downs Way out of the scenic Arun Valley along some steep chalky tracks high up onto Bignor Hill for some magnificent views along the ridge, out to sea and across the West Weald. You leave the South Downs Way and pass Glatting Beacon with its transmission masts to then gradually descend from the ridge – not without a few short re-ascents up Farm Hill and Barlavington Down – past a few hanging woods into the Rother Valley. Pass the quaint setting of Duncton Mill and head for The Cricketers pub for lunch. Onwards you go through the magnificent Burton Park with its ponds, before you walk through several idyllic commons, part wooded, part sandy heathland, and eventually cross the Rother River and progress to Pulborough along a westerly route familiar from other walks, past the picturesque Stopham church and medieval bridge 

Walk Options:

A Shortcut from Bignor Hill, through hanging woods to the quiet villages of Bignor and Sutton, cuts 5.8 km/3.6 mi and 125m ascent, resulting in a 6/10 walk.

Bus line 1 (Midhurst – Worthing via Pulborough Station) calls Fittleworth at 15.57, 17.02, 18.12, 19.22 and 19.52; and Stopham Bridge 3 mins later.

Lunch: The Cricketers Inn (13.0 km/8.0 mi, food to 15.00) in Duncton or – on the shorter walk –  The White Horse (9.6 km/5.9 mi, food to 14.00) in Sutton.

Tea: The Swan Inn (5.3 km/3.3 mi from the end) in Fittleworth and The White Hart (2.3 km/1.4 mi) in  Stopham plus other options off route in Pulborough.

For  walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.39