Evening Walk - Sculpture in the City

Length: 2.1 km

Net Walking Time: 1 hrs       

Meet: Liverpool Street Mainline Station, Liverpool Street Exit, Kindertransport Memorial, at 18.45 hours.

Finish is at Leadenhall Market. Liverpool Street, Bank/Monument, Aldgate/Aldgate East, Tower Hill and London Bridge tube stations are just a short walk away, as are Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street and London Bridge mainline stations. All are in Zone 1.

The critically acclaimed Sculpture in the City is an annual exhibition showcasing contemporary works by internationally renowned artists in the confines of the City of London, on streets, in squares or on buildings. The exhibition usually opens around end June, and most sculptures are displayed until the following May.

2017 sees the seventh incarnation of this popular attraction, displaying 18 artworks by 16 artists ranging considerably in scale – from a near seven-metre high bronze sculpture, to dozens of plastic bags in a tree – thoughtfully placed between iconic architectural landmarks such as the Gherkin (30 St. Mary Axe), the Walkie-Talkie (20 Fenchurch Street), the Lloyd’s-Building (aka the Inside-Out Building, at 12 Leadenhall Street) and the Cheese Grater (the Leadenhall Building). Wander the City's public spaces and stumble upon world-class public art, on an urban canvas recognised across the globe. 

For more information on the exhibition, the individual artworks and a map click here.
A printed booklet with a map, photos of – and information on – the art works can be picked up at the City Information Centre, between St Paul's Cathedral and Millennium Bridge.

Eat/Drink: Leadenhall Market features a total of 21 pubs, delis, bars, brasseries and restaurants. For more details click here.

For walk directions, map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.24

Along the Hangers Way in Hampshire, and down Shoulder of Mutton

Book 2 Walk 11 (r):  Liss to Petersfield

Length: 16.2 km (10.1 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10


London Waterloo:  10-00 hrs    Portsmouth Harbour service (does NOT stop at CJ)
Arrive Haslemere: 10-48 hrs
Leave Haslemere: 10-55 hrs   Portsmouth and Southsea service
Arrive Liss: 11-06 hrs

Clapham Junctioners
Clapham Junction: 09-52 hrs   Portsmouth and Southsea service (which left Waterloo at 09-45 hrs)
Arrive Liss: 11-06 hrs

Return: Petersfield to Waterloo:  10, 18, 48 and 57 mins past rhe hour

Rail ticket: buy a day return to Petersfield


A fellow walk poster suggested I post this Book 2 walk in reverse, as there is more going on in Petersfield than in Liss at walk-end.  I have done this walk backwards once before, and I recall it does work the wrong way round.  Backwards, you get the plethora of stiles out of the way in the morning and later you descend the steep Shoulder of Mutton hill rather than climb it.
Much of the walk is along the Hangers Way long distance path (muddy in winter) but hopefully fine today. Lunch is taken at the usually good Hawkley Inn, some 10 km from Liss - so no dawdling today if you want a pub lunch. Booking ahead is advisable (01730-827205) and to check the pub is open - it's up for sale.
On arriving in Petersfield I leave it to you to explore the town and discover its fleshpots, or for the less hedonistic amongst you, suitable stops for tea.
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Walk Directions here   L=2.11

Tips on "Walking Backwards"  here

"Jack and Jill" - and Panoramic Views from the Ridge of the South Downs

Book 1, Walk 29: Hassocks to Lewes

Length: 18 km (11.2 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10

Either
London Blackfriars:  09-52 hrs    Brighton service from Bedford.   East Croydon 10-19 hrs
Arrive Hassocks: 10-58 hrs

Or
London Victoria: 09-54 hrs   East Grinstead service
Arrive East Croydon: 10-10 hrs
Leave East Croydon: 10-19 hrs   Brighton service from Bedford (as above)
Arrive Hassocks: 10-58 hrs

Return: Lewes to Victoria:  16-14, 16-54, 17-14, 17-52, 18-16 and 18-50 hrs,  plus 07 and 22 mins past hour via Brighton

Rail ticket: buy a day return to Lewes. Younger walkers- head for East Croydon and use your railcards from there.


This lovely walk starts on the flat from Hassocks, going past Butchers Wood. On reaching Clayton, you should visit the Saxon church of St John the Baptist, before beginning your ascent of the South Downs - nothing too demanding. You pass the two Clayton Windmills on your way up - Jack and Jill - and once on the ridge of the Downs you are on the South Downs Way, from which you have wonderful 360 degree views as you pass Keymer Post then Ditchling Beacon. Further along the ridge, it's decision time: if you want a pub lunch, you drop down off the ridge and head for the pub - the Half Moon -in Plumpton. Sandwich eaters who do not want a drink at the pub can stay on the ridge, and save themselves the climb back onto the Downs.
Down in Plumpton you can shorten the walk by heading north to Plumpton railway station via Plumpton racecourse, some 3 km from the half Moon pub.  Otherwise, you have another not-too-demanding ascent back onto the ridge of the Downs to continue along the South Downs Way on pleasant grassy ways. Eventually, you leave the ridge and drop down to the village of Offham, from where you start your homeward leg by walking beside the River Ouse all the way into Lewes for tea in the town or at the railway station's excellent cafe, the Runaway.
If you enjoy ridge walks you should enjoy today's walk.
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Walk Directions here:  L=1.29

Sunday Walk - Benfleet Circular (via Canvey Island) [Swimming Walk]

Length: 23.2 km (14.5 mi) [much shorter walk possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent: 40m; Net Walking Time: 4 ¾ hours

Toughness:  3/10                       

                                 

Take the 09.55 Shoeburyness train from Fenchurch Street (09.59 Limehouse, 10.05 West Ham, 10.10 Barking, 10.19 Upminster), arrives Benfleet 10.39.

Return trains are on xx.01 and xx.31.

A flat walk, that starts and finishes with a busy road stretch, features a fair amount of hard surface paths and some A-road noise near the end, and passes – in succession – a golf course, a static caravan park, an ex-landfill site, housing estates, another caravan park, a sewage plant, an LNG terminal, an oil product terminal, an oil refinery, the site of a never-finished oil refinery, another oil terminal and another – larger – landfill site?????? And yet, and yet…

This is one not just for the Industrial Romantic, or for fans of the Pub Rock legends Dr. Feelgood, or for students of the lives of the ex-East End White Working Classes.

Without navigational challenges (as all you do is: walk to the seawall and follow it) you experience an ever-changing scenery of tidal creeks and mud flats, river marshes, salt marshes, flood barriers, sluices and sandbanks, get views of the Benfleet Downs, of Hadleigh Castle & Country Park, the Essex cliffs, Southend with its Pier, the North Sea and the busy river traffic, of ships big and small, boatyards, yacht clubs and marinas, pass sandy beaches and enclosed pools on the foreshore, jetties, extensive seawall murals telling Canvey Island stories and – post lunch – long tranquil stretches past grassy marshes with abundant birdlife.

A walk like no other?  Most certainly.

Shorter Walk:  Canvey Island is linked to Benfleet station by many regular buses, enabling you to start or finish the walk at almost any point along the way (in the first half of the walk), as bus stops are often just a short distance from the walk route.  For a route map of the bus network you should check here: http://www.plusbus.info/benfleet  (under ‘Additional Information’).
The most logical shortcut to  a bus stop, right after the late lunch stop, is described in the directions. It results in a 14.6 km/9.1 mi  walk (rated 1/10).

Lunch: The Labworth Restaurant and Beach Bistro (9.7 km/6.0 mi), in its modernist building with panoramic views of the Thames estuary; The Lobster Smack (13.2 km/8.2 mi, food all day), recently refurbished, this is the oldest surviving building on Canvey and a classic pub which has so much history it even features in the Dickens novel ‘Great Expectations’. 
Tea: Three pubs and two Sub-continental restaurants on High Street, just past the station (see pdf for details).

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

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Sunday Walk – An unusual church and a tall folly

Extra Walk 220 – Tonbridge to Hadlow (or back to Tonbridge)
Length: 17 km (10.6 miles) to Hadlow, or 24¼ km (15.1 miles) back to Tonbridge. Toughness: 2 or 3/10

09:40 Dover train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 09:43, London Bridge 09:50, Orpington 10:07), arriving Tonbridge at 10:25. Buy a return to Tonbridge.

If you finish the walk in Hadlow you'll need to catch the hourly no.7 bus back to Tonbridge, at 15:09, 16:11 or 17:11 (last bus). There are four fast trains an hour from Tonbridge to London Bridge and Charing Cross, at 08, 21, 38 & 49 minutes past (three an hour after 8pm).

This is an undemanding walk in the Medway valley east of Tonbridge, with the apple orchards you would expect to find in the ‘Garden of England’ but also some unusual features: a church with world-famous windows to visit in the morning, a striking folly and some (free) landscaped gardens at the end of the walk. There's a nice lunch pub but the tearoom in Hadlow closes at 4pm on Sundays, so you might prefer to get the first available bus and look for somewhere in Tonbridge.

You'll need to print the directions from the Tonbridge to Hadlow Walk page. If you're not planning on doing the extended walk you can click the word 'Main' on the Walk Options heading to save a sheet or two of paper. T=swc.220

Saturday walk - Ashurst Circular

Ashurst Circular - main walk
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Length: 12 miles (19km). 5 out of 10. There are options for a longer or shorter walk

This walk starts along the Medway valley and soon comes to the small village of Withyham for an early lunch at the Dorset Arms. After passing Withyham church (which is well worth visiting) there is a choice of three routes to the neighbouring village of Hartfield, associated with the author AA Milne and his most famous creation: coachloads of tourists regularly descend on Pooh Corner to buy all manner of Winnie-the-Pooh memorabilia.

Trains
Get the 0953 East Grinstead train from Victoria, changing at East Croydon 1010. At East Croydon get the 1023 Uckfield train arriving Ashurst 1058.

Lunch
The suggested lunch stop is the Dorset Arms (01892-770278) in Withyham, 5¾ km into the walk. In 2014 this attractive old pub was bought by the Buckhurst Estate and fully refurbished; it has some outdoor seating on a small green and serves excellent home-cooked food until 2.30pm

Tea
Nothing at Ashurst station, so a tea shop (4.40pm) or the Anchor pub in Hartfield (3.7m or 6km from the end)

Sevenoaks to Westerham - hills, views and woodland on the Greensand Way

SWC walk 20 - Sevenoaks to Westerham
Length: 18.8km (11.7 miles)
Toughness: 6 out of 10: quite hilly in places

9.30 train from Charing Cross (9.33 Waterloo East, 9.38 London Bridge, 9.56 Orpington) to Sevenoaks, arriving 10.05

Buy a day return to Sevenoaks.

For walk directions click here, for GPX file click here.

Thoughts turn at this time of year to walks one would like to do before things get too muddy. This one is a interesting and varied walk along the Greensand escarpment, descending it, ascending it, enjoying some fine views, then passing through woods and wooded valleys to the charming town of Westerham. Hopefully it will not be too slippery and gloopy yet and there may be some early hints of autumn tints.

For lunch you have to choose between a relatively early stop at the very charming Windmill in Sevenoaks Weald 4.9 miles into the walk - it is quite a small place and a short diversion off the walk route, so it is probably worth ringing to check it can accommodate you - or the Cock Inn in Ide Hill after 8.6 miles: that makes the Cock Inn quite a stretch distance-wise but I have chosen a relatively early train to give you plenty of time to get there. The walk directions say it serves till 3pm, but I have not been able to check this. It has had a revamp since it was described in the walk directions as "rough and ready"..

For tea the prime choice is Emmetts Garden, the National Trust site, open till 5pm, which has a tea shack with outside tables. If this is too soon after lunch at Ide Hill, Westerham also has oodles of tea places, not to mention several characterful pubs.

To get home from Westerham there are two options

- The 401 bus to Sevenoaks railway station at 09 minutes past the hour until 18.09. This takes 26 minutes and trains from Sevenoaks are then very frequent (every ten minutes) and take half an hour or so

- The 246 bus from Westerham to Bromley South: this takes 43 minutes (calling Hayes station after 30 minutes) and it is then 16 minutes (at best) by train to Victoria (again, very frequent). A return to Sevenoaks is valid for travel back from Bromley South. This bus goes at 22 and 52 past the hour until 18.22, then 19.22, 20.22, 21.12, 22.12, 23.12. T=3.20

Saturday Walk - Chalke Valley and Cranborne Chase: Salisbury Circular

Length: 32.2 km (20.0 mi) [shorter walk possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent: 460m; Net Walking Time: 7 ¼ hours

Toughness:  9/10                       

                                 

Take the 09.20 Exeter St David's & Bristol Temple Meads train from Waterloo (09.27 Clapham J, 09.46 Woking), arrives Salisbury 10.42.

Return trains are on xx.47 and xx.21 to 18.21, then  19.26, 19.50, 20.26, 21.26, 22.27.

This long walk explores the Chalke Valley in the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the South West of the quintessentially English Cathedral City of Salisbury. It leads out of town through the Cathedral precinct, past some of England’s finest historic houses and through the Harnham Hill suburb into open fields with far views over the Chalke Valley to distant Downs. The morning route then largely follows the Ebble River upstream in the Chalke Valley through several pretty villages  in this picturesque part of Wiltshire, with three good lunch pubs and two community stores conveniently spaced out along the route.

Most of the climbing is left for the afternoon, starting with a steady ascent with splendid views into pretty coombes, from Broad Chalke up to an ancient Ox Drove on top of the Downs. A long stretch with more views from the Down into coombes and valleys follows, largely along the course of a Roman Road, before the descent back into the Chalke Valley, followed by an immediate re-ascent up another Down. A Drove Track with views into the Nadder and Wylye Valleys leads past Salisbury’s Race Course and through the steep Harnham Slope Nature Reserve to tea at Harnham’s charming Old Mill.

From there the route back to the station goes through the town’s Water Meadows and provides ‘Britain’s Best View’ (Country Life magazine): Salisbury Cathedral across the meadows.

Shorter routes, reducing the length by 5.4 km or 7.2 km respectively, are described.

Lunch: The White Hart in Bishopstone (11.9 km/7.4 mi, food to 14.30), The Queens Head in Broad Chalke (15.4 km/9.6 mi, food all day).

Tea: The Old Mill at Harnham  (1.0 km from the end of the walk), plus a couple of Indian restos by the station and lots of choice in Salisbury’s City Centre (a little off-route).

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

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Oslo at National Theatre

Direct from Broadway, nominated for 7 Tony awards including Best Play and Best Direction of a Play

Oslo tells the true story of two Norwegian diplomats who coordinated top secret talks and inspired seemingly impossible friendships.  Their quiet heroics led to the ground breaking Oslo Peace Accord between Israel and Palestine.

To book, please click here.  Tickets £18-65.  Meet at National Theatre Kitchen Cafe (just outside) for Pre-Theatre F&B from 6:15pm.