Sunday Walk: Winchester Circular

Main walk: 18.0km (11.2 miles) Difficulty:4/10.
With river short cut: 15.6km (9.7 miles).
With ‘tourist’ short cut: 9.1km (5.6 miles).
Historic Winchester - capital of Saxon Wessex - home to medieval kings.
A quick tour of the town’s hotspots, then along the River Itchen to St Catherine’s Hill, an iron age hillfort with spectacular views of the city. From here you cross downland and water meadows to a riverside pub for lunch.
In the afternoon,you're back up, then down again through more water meadows into Winchester.
Lunch: Perhaps more suited to half-past-elevenses, the Handlebar Cafe, 1.8 milesinto the walk, is a cafe built on an old railway line on the outskirts of Winchester, offering cakes and vegetarian and vegan dishes. It is open till 4.30pm.    
The Bridge, Shawford 5.8 miles into the main walk, or 4.4 miles into the River Short Cut. Cosy and characterful pub with an extensive menu, plenty of inside seating and a garden.  Booking advised. 
Tea:
Winchester Cathedral Refectory is a large self service restaurant and tea room. It is open to 5pm daily. (The café at the medieval St Cross Hospital isn’t open today. They just can't get the serfs).
Otherwise, there are lots of tea options in and around the High Street and The  Square.
Two pubs passed en route are the cosy Wykeham Arms just before the Kingsgate, and The Old Vine Inn, in The Square, just by the Cathedral.

Trains: Clocks went forward today so get up bright and early.
Get the 9:53 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (Clapham Junction 10:03) arriving 11:07.
Return at xx:23  xx:42 to Waterloo, or xx:31 (changing at Reading for Paddington).
Directions:  Here
The River Short Cut knocks 2.4km (1.5 miles) off the morning route.
The Tourist Short Cut loops back to Winchester after the climb up St Catherine's Hill.
 Both shortcuts offer pretty views of the water-meadows, but pass close to the motorway at one point.t=swc.15

Sunday Walk: Huntingdon Circular

Main Walk: 18½ km (11.5 miles).
Long walk - via St Ives.24½ km (15.2 miles)
Shorter 9 mile walk possible.
Difficulty 1 out of 10 (2 for the Long Walk)
This easy walk leaves Huntingdon along the River Great Ouse. After Hartford the walk continues beside farmland to an early lunch in either Houghton or Wyton, two attractive twin villages.
The main walk continues with a circuit of Houghton Meadow that can be bypassed for a shorter walk of 9 or 10 miles.
The long walk goes further, to the town of St Ives, where the 15th century bridge features an unusual Bridge Chapel. A visit to nearby Holt Island Nature Reserve would let you walk along a boardwalk that the younger Mr Tiger helped construct. (No plaque, though ☹).
Both options return via water meadows past Houghton Mill (not open today - but the tea-room is) and then back to Huntingdon through a nature reserve and more water meadows.

Trains: Wakey! Wakey! Clocks went forward today which means it’s later than you think.

The 10:12 from Kings Cross (Finsbury Park 10:18) will get you to Huntingdon for 11:13.
Trains return at  xx:59.
Lunch: The suggested lunch stop (after 6½ km) is the Three Jolly Butchers (01480-463228) in Wyton,  A little further on in Houghton, the Three Horseshoes Inn (01480-462410) is a good alternative. 

There are more options on the Long Walk: the Axe & Compass (01480-463605;)in Hemingford Abbots or,1 km further, the upmarket Cock (01480-463609;) in Hemingford Grey.

Tea: The George Hotel (01480-432444) in George Street is suggested. Nearer the station you/ll find Sandford House (01480-432402), a Wetherspoons. t=swc.31
Directions: here

Saturday Walk: Sevenoaks Circular

10.1 miles / 16.3 km

A lovely walk not far from London, taking in Knole Park, Ightham Mote, and a stretch of the Greensand Way along the escarpment of the North Downs. 

Trains: 10:08 Charing Cross, 10:17 London Bridge, 10:42 Sevenoaks.  There is also a slow stopping service via Lewisham arriving at 10:39.  Return trains are frequent.

Lunch: National Trust café at Ightham Mote (5.2 miles into the walk), or take the slightly longer option to reach the popular Chaser Inn at Shipbourne.

For refreshments near the end of the walk, the Brewhouse Café at Knole Park is open til 5pm.

Full walk details

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Eridge Circular - a spring paradise

16.8km (10.4 miles)

10.07 train from London Bridge (10.22 East Croydon) to Eridge, arriving 11.03 T=swc.120

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

Apologies to anyone who did this walk back in January, but now is the time of year when it is at its best. This is my favourite early spring territory, with nice wildflowers and a pretty mix of scenery. Given that you might be out walking on more than one day this Easter weekend, I thought that a not-too-long walk might be welcomed.

This is a good walk for wood anemones, both at the start and around Harrison Rocks in the afternoon. Pro tip: if you follow the Eridge to Forest Row walk for a short distance at the start, it not only cuts off a corner on the route for this walk, but takes you past more wooden ms. At Harrison Rocks the best wood anemone displays (pictured) are behind the track along the top of the rocks. There is also a fine display of daffodils at Groombridge Place, which should be at their best about now, and the walk is punctuated by the chuffing of steam trains on the Spa Valley Railway.

Groombridge has two pubs: the more characterful one is the Crown Inn, but the Junction Inn is a bit more spacious. The village also has a convenience store.

Tea is at the excellent Huntsman pub by Eridge station (they do tea, and a nice crumble if you are peckish).

Trains back from Eridge are at 50 past the hour. 

Saturday Walk - West Wiltshire Downs at their best: Tisbury Circular via Ludwell and Berwick St. John

DAC is away...

 

 

Length: 26.3 km (16.4 mi) [with a bus option to shorten the walk, see below]

Ascent/Descent: 607m

Net Walking Time: ca. 6 ½ hours

Toughness: 7 out of 10 

 

or 

 

Length: 17.2 km (10.7 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 340m

Net Walking Time: ca. 4 hours

Toughness: 4 out of 10 

 

Take the 09.20 Exeter St. David’s train from Waterloo (09.27 Clapham J, 09.46 Woking), arriving Tisbury at 11.06 (you have to be in the front 3 cars). 

Return trains: xx.01 (from 108 mins).

 

This walk explores parts of the Upper Nadder Valley (also known as the Vale of Wardour) in the south westerly parts of the West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is spectacular walking country with some breath-taking views. Heading west from Tisbury, initially it broadly follows the valley, while never being flat for long, before routing through Wardour Park with its large neoclassical mansion and romantically ruined 14^th century Castle to then bypass the Donheads via a hill crossing.

After lunch in Ludwell, it is a long and steady ascent to South Wiltshire’s highest point: Win Green Hill, providing for 360°-views to the coast and the inland valleys. After a stretch along the Cranborne Chase ridge a steep descent into the Chalke Valley is followed by a re-ascent up Berwick Coombe to White Sheet Hill, followed by a steep and rough descent from the chalk escarpment. A few woods, an often-boggy brook crossing and some smaller copses are followed by the descent back into Tisbury, a remarkably unspoilt village.

Bus Option: Line 29 (Shaftesbury - Salisbury) stops outside the lunch pub on the main walk (13.33, 15.18, 16.33), as well as in Berwick St. John later in the afternoon (15.25, 16.40, 17.55), it gets you to Salisbury Bus Station (a 10 minutes’ walk from the train station) in just over an hour.

Lunch: The Forester in Donhead St. Andrew (7.3 km/4.5 mi, food to 14.00) on the short walk; The Grove Arms in Ludwell (10.6 km/6.6 mi; under new mgmt as of 2023; food to 15.00) or The Talbot Inn in Berwick St. John (17.6 km/10.9 mi, food to 4.00) [currently closed due to change of ownership] on the main walk. 

Tea: Plenty of options in Tisbury; check page 2 of the walk directions pdf.

 

For summary, walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.251

Chilham to Canterbury

Description: The walk starts beside the Great Stour River and its attendant lakes, visits the church and green at Chartham and passes through hop fields and apple orchards to Chartham Hatch, where picnickers stop for lunch.

From Chartham Hatch the walk continues through Church Wood then Blean Woods Nature Reserve to the parklands of the University of Kent, with fine views down over Canterbury Cathedral. The entrance to the city is along the River Stour, through the Norman Westgate and down the medieval high street and alleys, entering the cathedral precincts through its ornate Christ Church Gate.

 Toughness: 4 out of 10

 Length: 12.5 miles

 Trains: Charing X 9.29; W’Loo East 9.32 LB: 9.38 Arrives Chilham 11.02

London StP: 10.04  arrives Ashford Int 10.41 - 10.50 departs Ashford and arrives in Chilham at 11.02

 Returns: Canterbury West 16.23 to STPancras (change Ashford 16.40)

Canterbury West 16,26 to Victoria

Canterbury West 16.37 to Charing Cross

C West 16.37 STP change Ashford 17.16

Canterbury West 17.23 STPancras (change at Ashford 17.40 train)

Canterbury East: 16.47 to Victoria

Canterbury East 17.47 to Victoria  and so on....

Ticket type: Return Canterbury all stations

 Lunch:  The Artichoke in Chartham Phone: 01227 738316 which normally does not serve food on Fridays except Good Fridays.  Recommend people book  or Picnic in the recreation ground in which has picnic benches in Chartham Hatch.

 Teas:  Many tearooms in Canterbury

 Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral.

 For walk directions, a map, a height profile, gpx/kml files, and photos click here.

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Evening Walk: Daffodils in the Dark (Paddington to Charing Cross -- London Stations Walk)

Evening Walk: Daffodils in the Dark (Paddington to Charing Cross)

Distance: Approximately 4.4 miles or 7.2 km for those more metrically minded

Difficulty: 1 out of 10

Meet: At the entrance to “The Lawn” inside Paddington Station at 18:30

Return: Charing Cross – mainline and tube

This walk is part of a trilogy of walks through London passing by each of its terminus stations. This section has the benefit of passing through St. James Park which is usually awash in daffodils at this time of year -- though some may be going over by now.... We will likely need to tweak the route a bit to stay in Hyde Park as Kensington Gardens closes at 18:30....

More information about the route can be found here. Please bring a printout of the instructions (not just the GPX) as there is a lot of background information within the walk notes.

Enjoy the walk!

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Tring – the classic circular via Ivinghoe Beacon

16.3 km (10.1 miles) 4/10

An exhilarating start along the Ridgeway to the Chiltern escarpment and Ivinghoe Beacon, then by contrast, into the beechwoods of the Ashridge Estate. If it's too muddy on the approach to the Bridgewater Monument, a hard-surface alternative is possible. Finally a gentle descent back to Tring station, with tea at the Monument Cafe or the pub in Albury.

Travel: 1009 from Euston, arriving at Tring at 1051. Four returns trains an hour.

Lunch: the only possible pub lunch stop is the Bridgewater Arms, Little Gaddesden (01442 842 408). Located 10.2km (6.3 miles) from the start of the walk, this traditional country inn, now owned by Greene King, serves food all afternoon daily either in its restaurant or bar area. It also has a small garden. Fast walkers might be able to lunch at the Monument cafe – see below – especially if you short cut to avoid Little Gaddesden.

Tea: There's nothing by Tring station, but the Monument Cafe by the Bridgewater Monument on the Ashridge estate is a popular place for tea. It is self-service, with outside seating. Open till 4pm in winter, and 2.5 km from the end of the walk. Alternatively, the Greyhound Inn (01442 851228) in the village of Aldbury, describing itself as "a chocolate box village pub simply oozing charm and character," should be open for drinks. It's even nearer the end – say 25 minutes to be on the safe side. I think there's a village shop in Aldbury too.

Shortening the walk: You can go directly from Ivinghoe Beacon to the Bridgewater Monument, 4.7km (2.9 miles) for the most part on an easy gravel track through beech woodland but with occasional escarpment views. This misses out Little Gaddesden (and the lunch pub) and shortens the walk by about 2 miles.

For walk directions, map and GPX click here

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Sunday Walk – Garston to St Albans

Book 1 Walk 7 – Garston to St Albans

Length: 14¼ km (8.9 miles). Toughness: 1/10

10:52 Crewe train from Euston, changing at Watford Junction (arr 11:13, dep 11:18 from Platform 11; be quick!) and arriving Garston at 11:23. If you don't trust West Midlands Trains to make this connection you'd have to take the 10:24 Birmingham train, arriving WJ at 10:44. [From south or west London you could take the 10:16 Southern train from Clapham Junction, arriving WJ at 10:58].

There are two stations in St Albans for the return journey. From the main (City) station there are fast Thameslink trains at xx:27 & xx:57 and slower ones at xx:07 & xx:37. If you want to return via Watford Junction, trains from the Abbey station are hourly at xx:41.

Tickets on the two lines are not interchangeable. However, an off-peak single to Garston is now pretty cheap as this line is included in the new fare structure (off-peak single = half price of return), so buying two singles is not as disadvantageous as it used to be. [And it's now cheaper to buy two singles even if you're returning from St Albans Abbey.]

Every now and again I feel like giving an outing to a classic walk which has become neglected. This one has had regular midweek outings in December but very few on a weekend; its last Sunday posting was 7½ years ago. I thought a procession of walkers into a cathedral city would be particularly appropriate on Palm Sunday, although you'll probably need to acquire a donkey from somewhere if you want to be greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches.

The suggested place for a pub lunch is the Moor Mill Beefeater, after 6¼ km. There are some watering-holes further along in the next village (Park Street) and of course plenty of refreshment places in St Albans itself. The Cathedral is well worth visiting; if you're too late for its Abbot's Kitchen Café (closes 4pm) there are other places nearby which stay open later.

In normal circumstances ground conditions in spring ought to be better than December, but after the recent monsoons don't be too surprised if you come across some muddy woodland paths and squelchy meadows. Note that if the riverside path into St Albans is still blocked you'll have to follow a diversion; this is covered in the directions on the L=1.7 page.

Lewes to Seaford with possible moonlit extension

SWC 181: Lewes to Seaford (with possible moonlit extension to Exceat) t=swc.181

Train:  Take the 9:46AM Southern service from London Victoria (10:02 East Croydon), arriving Lewes at 10:50. Return trains from Seaford are hourly at 59 past the hour. For those walking on to Exceat -- buses run from near the Cuckmere Inn at the Seven Sisters Country Park back to Seaford every 10-15 minutes. Buy a day return to Seaford.

Distance:  13.9 miles/22.3 km with shorter options available -- see the walk notes.  Walking onto Exceat adds about 4 miles/6 km.

Difficulty: 7 out of 10 -- Good prep for those going to Scotland!

This walk is mainly along ridges and offers superb downland views throughout with an excellent lunchtime pub. The beauty of this walk is that you can see the way ahead so direction finding is fairly easy. Also, as Monday will be the full moon -- it should be bright and high in sky (if not too cloudy) -- so will provide a nice opportunity for a moonlit extension if conditions permit. If too cloudy admire the moon -- it is still a lovely walk with fine views! More information and the walk directions can be found here.

Lunch:  The recommended lunch stop is the Ram Inn in West Firle 5.5 miles (9km). A booking has been made for 12:45pm. 

Tea: Various options in Seaford.....including the lovely pub on the station!

Saturday Walk - Inner Southeast London Parks and Hills: Blackheath to Deptford (mud-free) [New Walk]

Length: 22.2 km (13.8 mi) [much shorter walks possible, see below] 

Ascent/Descent: 213/228m 

Net Walking Time: 5 hours 

Toughness: 4 out of 10

 

Take the 10.05 Dartford via Bexleyheath train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 10.08, London Bridge 10.14, Lewisham 10.28), arrives Blackheath (Zone 3) at 10.30. 

Return from Deptford (Zone 2): there are no trains today, so you can take the DLR from Deptford Bridge either to Lewisham (trains to London Bridge and Charing Cross or Cannon Street or Thameslink) or to Canary Wharf (Jubilee Line and Crossrail); or bail out at New Cross Gate (1.3 km from the end, trains to London Bridge and Overground).

 

This is an urban route almost entirely in the London Borough of Lewisham, stringing together some genteel residential areas and streets, a large heathland with views, many well-kept parks (some with rivers running through them), a large Victorian cemetery and plenty of hills-with-views to either Crystal Palace and the North Downs, Canary Wharf, the City of London and/or the West End and Nine Elms.

 

You start with a long loop through the acclaimed Blackheath Cator Estate, a Victorian and Georgian private estate with some impressive large houses and tree-lined wide and quiet streets, but also sprinkled with award-winning modernist houses. From there, traverse the upland heath and descend into Lee, also with streets full of attractive residences, some almshouses, a Manor House with a fine park, and the River Quaggy. On through Hither Green to a hill-park-with-views and down across the Ravensbourne Valley. The Brockley Three Peaks await next, with Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery walked through in-between. The final stretch leads over Telegraph Hill into Hatcham (New Cross) and on to Deptford. 

 

All the route is on hard surfaces and mud-free. Alternative earth or gravel paths are shown on the map where appropriate.  

 

Shorter Walks: 

·        An Early Shortcut, straight from the station, cuts out the loop through Blackheath Park and across the Heath. It cuts 2.9 km and 20m ascent

 ·       A Late Shortcut through Camberwell New Cemetery (shown on the route map) cuts out One Tree Hill (cut 600m and 50m ascent) 

·        Many bus stops are passed on the route

·        Bailouts at intermittent mainline and overground stations: Hither Green (6.5 km), Ladywell (10.3 km, a little off route), Catford and Catford Bridge (11.8 km, a little off route), Honor Oak Park (13.2 km), Crofton Park (15.2 km), Brockley (18.6 km), Nunhead (19.8 km, a little off route), New Cross Gate (20.9 km) 

 

Food & Drink: Leading through fully gentrified parts of Inner London, a plethora of good refreshment options are passed. See page 2 of the pdf for details.

 

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.421

 

 

Note: Special Thanks to those friends of mine who over the years have introduced me to the areas featured on the route. You know who you are!