Length: 24km (15 miles), or 21km (13 miles) with a bus at the end. T=3.223
Longer walk of 27.5km (17.2 miles) possible.
9.57 train from Paddington (10.05 Ealing Broadway) to Twyford, changing there (arrive 10.37, depart 10.46) for Henley, arriving 10.58. There will be a 28-strong Meet Up group on the same train, drat it. But they are doing a different walk - Henley Circular from book 1, by the sound of it, for the bargain price of £28 per person... Don’t join the wrong group! We true blue SWC-ers will meet at Henley in the car park by the toilet block.
Buy a day return to Henley-upon-Thames (not in-Arden)
For walk directions click here, for GPX click here, for a map of the route click here.
This walk takes you to the pretty village of Hambleden and then on up the valley to further pretty villages, territory used in the filming of Midsomer Murders, apparently. It has all sorts of pubs scattered along its route, and though all are usually popular, one may deign to allow you to eat there, who knows.
From memory there is then a woody, hilly bit and you then finish along the tranquil west bank of the Thames to Henley, where you may just get to the Chocolate Cafe before it closes at 6pm.
To shorten the walk to 19km (11.9 miles) you have to get a bus from the main road just before the final river section: these run at 06 and 37 past until 18.37.
For heroic types there is a longer version of the afternoon, increasing the walk length to 27.5km (17.2 miles).
Trains back from Henley are at 01 and 31 past the hour until 19.31, then 20.04, 21.04 and 22.04
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6 comments:
As someone noted on one of last month's Henley walks, Freedom Passes can be used on TfL rail services to and from Twyford. The 0943 from Paddington (0951 Ealing Bdy) arrives Twyford at 1031, leaving you 15 minutes to buy a return to Henley. There's a similar connection time for a TfL service on the return journey.
Good point, Sean: thanks for pointing this out.
(Not that anyone on our walks has Freedom Passes: we are all youthful types...)
I think I am right in saying that it is “proper” Freedom Passes only, though, not the more limited 60+ ones?
@Walker: You're right, Freedom Passes only. No type of Oyster card is valid on this route beyond West Drayton, in Zone 6.
Comments mention a bridge, broken in 2019. Are we confident it is fixed?
Yes, David, we absolutely are. I walked across the bridge back in July
N=21 on this walk on w=a-lovely-sunny-day, one of those poignant summer-like September days which you know will not be repeated very often before the colder weather sets in. The train from Twyford to Henley was a bit over-burdened with a zillion or so Meet-Up types, but we soon sloughed them off as we set out in small socially-distanced groups.
The walk over Remenham Hill and up to Hambleden was very pretty and the valley beyond too. Still a fair number of flowers to be seen and some butterflies; green grass and trees, blue skies. I think four managed to navigate the protocols to have lunch at the Frog (“overpriced”) but quite a few of us opted instead to climb Windmill Hill above Turville to have sandwiches, with a grand valley view. Two of us would have rounded that off with a drink in the pub there, but the sight of a slow-moving queue to get a garden table put us off.
We then had a long and peaceful walk through the woods. Several said they though this was the best bit of the walk. It was also suggested that the walk might work better backwards, with the pubs in Hambleden and Aston as possible tea stops.
Starting the last leg to Henley we came across an open air antiques fair, which was a bit unexpected (just as well they had a dry day for it...). Nearing Henley, two of us swam in the river, having first to find a gap between the moored boats and see off a swan that was lingering in the hope of food. The water was ....refreshing....and the current almost non-existent, which was a surprise for those used to swimming in the sea.
In Henley some squeezed onto the back patio of the Angel and some got into the Chocolate Cafe before it closed at 6pm. The latter looked rather spartan with only a few widely spaced tables, but the cakes were still just as nice.
The tail-enders getting the 19.31 train discovered that it (and other 31 pasts) connect with the slow, stopping (and toilet-less) TFL trains, while the 01 past connects with faster GWR trains. Worth noting when coming back from Henley walks in future.
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