Evening Walk - One last walk...before Tier 3: Royal Parks (w/o Kensington Gardens)

Length: approx. 6.0 km

Net Walking Time: 1 ½ hrs

 

Meet: Lancaster Gate Station (at street level on Bayswater Road) at 18.30 hours.

Lancaster Gate is on the Central Line in Zone 1, Paddington Station is a 5-minute walk away. 

Finish: Whitehall, near Charing Cross/Embankment & Westminster stations. All are in Zone 1. 

Drop-Outs: Hyde Park Corner, Green Park or St James’s Park tube stations, or buses.

 

Map-led, through Central London's extensive parks. With Kensington Gardens closing at dusk and off limits, we will explore Hyde Park in more detail than usual on this walk, then commence through Green Park and St. James’s Park.  

Eat/Drink: Numerous options around Westminster/Whitehall/Trafalgar Square.  

For walk directions, map, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=short.19.a

Sunday Walk: Woldingham to Oxted

A Surrey walk, not far out of London. First a stretch through Marden Park and Marden Park Woods, then the North Downs Way to a fine viewpoint on Gravelly Hill.
After lunch in the attractive village of Godstone, you largely follow the Greensand Way to Oxted. This is a more open landscape dotted with small settlements, one of which is Tandridge, famous for its ancient yew.
Trains
Get the 9:51 East Grinstead train from Victoria (Clapham Junction 9:57, East Croydon 10:09) arriving Woldingham at 10:25.
Return from Oxted at xx:29 and xx:59
Get a return to Oxted.
Elevenses
You pass Godstone Vineyards (01883-744590) on the main route. A detour to their cafeteria would provide mid-morning refreshments, although this is not compulsory.
Lunch : Godstone has three pubs and two tearooms around its large village green.
The pubs are the White Hart  (01883-742521), the Hare & Hounds (01883-742296), and the more up-market Bell Inn (01883-741877).
You may find The Green Rooms of Godstone (01883-740407) or the Old Forge Deli Café (01883-743230) open for light lunches. Then again, you may not. The short walk doesnt visit Godstone
There are several more pubs before you reach Oxted, perhaps more suited to the short walk, which doesn't visit Godstone. Three can be found in Old Oxted but the recommended pub for the short walk is The Haycutter  (01883-776955) in Broadham Green. In these Covid times, access to pubs and eateries is not assured. Bring a snack just in case
Tea
The Oxted Inn (01883-723440), a Wetherspoon's, is right next to the station.
On the other side of the station, in Station Road East, you will find Caffè Nero at 139 (01883-730220) open to 5pm, and Costa Coffee at 62 (01883-723149) open to 5.30.
Walk Directions: here.  Note that the short option misses out Godstone.
Do please follow Covid rules as itemised above. Please form and stay in seperate groups of six (or less). Please share contact details for tracing. Please respect Social Distancing.
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Saturday walk - Box Hill to Leatherhead (or Box Hill Circular)

This walk has chosen by Branchline, who also provided the details below:

Length: 11.5km (7.1 miles)

Toughness: 7 out of 10 (two big hill climbs) T=1.49

Trains: 9.54 London Waterloo, 9.57 Vauxhall, 10.02 Clapham Junction, 10.06 Earlsfield, arrives Box Hill 10.41 

Buy a day return to Box Hill and Westhumble. Trains from Waterloo to Box Hill are operated by South Western Railway: the station is also served by Southern trains from Victoria. Make sure your ticket is valid on South Western or is "any permitted"

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

This is a short walk but quite a strenuous one, with two big hill climbs in the morning. In the afternoon you can either carry on to Leatherhead, or - highly recommended - do a Box Hill Circular, looping back to Box Hill Station after the Mickleham pub. There are two options here: an easier route, still very rural, along the river and rail line, or a harder one which climbs up onto the ridge, with fine views down into the valley. The walk directions, GPX and map include all these options.

Lunch: Mickleham has two pubs. The first is the Running Horses (tel. 01372-372279) on Old London Road, opposite the church. The pub serves an excellent choice of main meals and deep-filled sandwiches and has a log fire in winter. The pub’s management likes walkers to take off their walking boots, so please comply. The second pub, the King William IV freehouse, (tel.01372-372590), is much smaller, perched on a hill above the A24. It also serves good food and good beer and being small (40 covers inside), is cosy. It has a partly covered outdoor area. Booking ahead is always recommended for lunch pubs. COVID rules apply. See above for the rules.

Tea: Leatherhead has various tea options. Near Box Hill station, the Stepping Stones pub is a possible choice: or for an open air tea option, carry on past the pub to the main road, take the underpass to cross the road and turn left: just beyond the roundabout is Ryka's, an open air cafe popular with bikers and open till 5pm (last orders 4.45pm). 

Trains back from Leatherhead are at 10, 13, 23, 40, 44 and 53 past the hour

Trains back from Box Hill are at 05 and 35 past to Waterloo and 40 past to Victoria: all these trains to Epsom and Clapham Junction and take about the same time to get to London

Clacton-on-Sea to Walton-on-the-Naze walk - reverse

Clacton-on-Sea to Walton-on-the-Naze walk - reverse
Length: 11.5km (7.2 miles)
Toughness: 1 out of 10
Catch the 10:18 from London Liverpool Street arrives Walton-on-the-Naze 11:49 (change at Thorpe-le-Soken arr. 11:35, dep. 11:37). Return trains from Clacton-on-Sea xx:05

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Saturday walk - Pangbourne via Goring Circular - the Upper Thames Valley

Length: 16km (10 miles), with optional extensions to 19.1km (11.9 miles)

Toughness: 3 out of 10. T=3.170

9.57 train from Paddington (10.05 Ealing Broadway) to Pangbourne, arriving 11.00. 

A "whoops, I just missed the train" option is the 10.07 Bedwyn service from Paddington, which gets to Reading at 10.32, with a connection to the above train at 10.52

I am aware that by posting a Thames Valley walk I put off the South London walkers, for whom the Underground is a miasma of infection that they have sworn that they and their children's children will need enter again (Whoa, go easy there - Ed).... but on the other hand those benighted citizens of West London who have the same fears might like a walk on their side of London.

And for those who feel able to access it, this is a grand little winter walk, with some fine views of the Thames Valley in the morning and a pleasant walk along the river in the afternoon

It is based on very user-friendly sketch map produced by Streatley YHA (the 16km/10 mile version of the walk), but I notice one of our finest walk writers has now produced proper written instructions, which include two extensions to the walk, one in the morning (+1.1 mile), one in the afternoon (300 metres to 0.8 miles), the latter being an out-and-back steep climb up to a wonderful view, which I thorough recommend. These edge the mileage total up to as much as 19.1km (11.9 miles). The GPX and OS map of the walk present you all these options.

Of lunch pubs and tea places, I limit myself to observing that Goring has the former and Pangbourne the latter, access to which is governed by the Tier 2 rules, which you should have off by heart by now. At the start of the walk we will also split into groups of six, and share contact details within those groups.

Trains back are at 52 past the hour and take 1hr 09 minutes. You can save 25 minutes by changing at Reading for a fast train to Paddington: as far as I know reservation is not required on these, but it might be an idea to check before relying on them.

Wednesday Walk Wanborough to Godalming - Watts Gallery and Watts Chapel, Compton, and the River Wey

Book 1, Walk 2 - Wanborough to Godalming or Guildford 

Length: 12.9 km (8 miles) to Godalming or go long to Guildford - an extra 4 miles

Toughness: 3 out of 10

London Waterloo:  09-45 hrs     Southwest trains service to Portsmouth Harbour  Clapham Junction 09-52 hrs

Arrive Guildford: 10-24 hrs   Change trains

Leave Guildford: 10-53 hrs   Southwest trains service from Guildford to Farnham

Arrive Wanborough: 10-59 hrs

Return

Godalming to Waterloo: 16-09, 16-25, 16-41, 16-51, 17-11, 17-25, 17-41, 17-51, 18-25 etc

Guildford to Waterloo:  4 fast trains an hour 

Rail ticket: buy a day return to Wanborough plus a single from Godalming to Guildford (for those ending in Godalming)

Please read our Covid rules before coming on today's walk and observe the rules all day

This makes for a nice short(ish) winter's walk to ease ourselves back into SWC walking, without encountering any demanding hills. Those that like a longer walk can opt to continue along the River Wey from Godalming to Guildford - and safe to do in failing light. But the rest of us will be happy with the standard walk today, which offers sights as well as variety. In the morning we arrive at Watts Gallery - its cafe might have reopened - if so, its very good. Otherwise, we continue - after a brief detour to Watts Chapel - to Compton and its pub, the Withies Inn, for those who wish to dine alone or in secure bubbles within Covid rules. It's a very nice pub with comfy dining areas. I leave it to you to book or show up on spec.

Post prandial we head through farmland and more woods before we drop down to the River Wey for a final, relaxing leg beside the river into Godalming. For tea shops etc please refer to the Directions.

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Walk Directions are here: L=1.2

Sunday Walk - The Return of the Rule of Six - Thames Valley and Berkshire Downs: Cholsey to Goring

Please note that on 'my' walks, punters are expected to give me their contact details for track-and-trace purposes at the start, and that walkers are expected to immediately split into groups of six or fewer and to stay in those sub-groups all day. If you find that beyond your abilities, please do not come on this walk!  

Length: 24.1 km (15.0 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 250/248m; Net Walking Time: 5 ¼ hours

Toughness: 5/10 

 

Take the 09.42 Hereford train from Paddington (change Reading: 10.10/10.26), arrives Cholsey 10.42. The train boarded at Reading is the 09.28 Stopping Service from Paddington (Ealing B’way 09.37).

Return trains from Goring & Streatley are on xx.00 (journey time 57 mins) and at 16.37 (change at Didcot). Buy a Cholsey return. 

 

“This walk offers a fine combination of gentle Oxfordshire countryside, wide grassy horse training gallops, a stretch of the Ridgeway with splendid views from the Berkshire Downs, and a final saunter along the banks of the Thames. Although the walk is fairly long, it has nothing too steep or demanding.

The main walk is best undertaken from mid spring to early autumn. With a fairly late start to accommodate the early lunch stop at The Red Lion Blewbury. The suggested tea stop is the Beetle and Wedge riverside restaurant at Moulsford, a place with ‘Wind in the Willows’ and ‘Three Men in a Boat’ associations. There are also plenty of hostelries in Streatley and Goring at the end of the walk.

Before starting the walk, devotees of Agatha Christie’s detective stories might want to make a short detour to visit the novelist’s grave in the churchyard of St Mary’s, Cholsey. To do this, follow the walk directions for the first 180 metres till you reach the railway bridge, but instead of turning left under the railway, turn right and follow the path for 700 metres as it climbs up to the church. Afterwards, retrace your steps and pass under the railway to re-join the directions.”

Lunch: The Red Lion in  Blewbury (6.6 km/4.1 mi), or – a little further along and to the left off the route along London Road – The Blueberry. 

Tea: The Beetle & Wedge Boathouse  en route plus lots of choice in Streatley and Goring-on-Thames (see the pdf for details).

For summary, map, height profile, some photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.49

Saturday walk - Liphook to Haslemere - Shulbrede Priory & its woods

This walk was proposed by Branchline, who provided all the details below, so thanks, Branchline.

Length: 15km (9.3 miles)

Take the 9.30 from Waterloo station (CLJ 9.39; Wok 9.59). Arrives Liphook 10.40 

Buy a day return to Liphook 

** Covid rules will be respected on this walk, ie splitting into groups of six and sharing contact details within them **

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

This walk has plenty of relatively mild uphill and downhill sections. It is almost entirely through full-grown mixed woods - mainly oak, beech and chestnut trees. After passing Shulbrede Priory in the middle of the woods, you come to the pub and church by the village green in Fernhurst. In the afternoon, you cross streams in the forest before passing through Valewood Park and up into Haslemere, a town surrounded by beautiful countryside. 

The bridleways immediately after lunch are usually muddy at all times of the year, and very muddy in winter, so decent walking boots are recommended. T=1.6 (I am not sure it is only after lunch that this walk is muddy: don't wear your party shoes - Ed)

You could shorten the walk by using the hourly Monday to Saturday bus service from Fernhurst, the halfway mark lunchtime village, back to Haslemere; the bus goes from the top of Hogs Hill Road in Fernhurst, along the A286. 

Shulbrede Priory is the remains of a priory for Augustinian regular canons dating from about 1200 The prior's chamber, above a vaulted undercroft, contains sixteenth-century wall paintings. The priory is open to visitors by appointment (tel 01428 653 049) (admission is about £2.50). 

The lunchtime pub is the Red Lion (tel 01428 643 112), by the village green at Fernhurst, offering quality home cooking. It serves food until 2.30pm daily. Space inside is limited but there is a good sized back garden with lots of tables under parasols. Booking recommended and please follow the COVID rules, which are 1) No eating inside with anyone not in your household or support bubble 2) No consumption of alcohol without a meal, though takeaways are permitted (or are they...?)

Just down the road from the pub is Fernhurst recreation ground and cricket club, a perfect spot for picnickers. 

Tea: Darnleys was closed when I last looked (stripped out, so it was either being refurbished or had closed for good), but Hemingways (tel 01428 656904) across the road has been the reliable walker's friend throughout the Covid crisis, so do support this lovely friendly business. It serves teas and meals until 5pm on Saturday. Its cakes are delicious, and it does do takeaways. Same rules apply about eating inside as for pubs see above.

The pubs in Haslemere - eg the Swan Inn (a Wetherspoons), or the White Horse Hotel  - are also governed by the rules above. Whether a tea with a pudding counts as a "substantial meal", I do not know, but it arguably takes longer to eat than a scotch egg...

The station is a ten minute walk from the town centre.

Return trains from Haslemere 15 and 32 past the hour. There are engineering works today on lines out of Waterloo, and journey times are 20 minutes or so longer than usual - ie 1hr 26 mins for the 15 past and 1hr 18 mins for the 32 past. There is also a 40 past requiring a change at Woking, which takes 1hr 45 minutes: only really recommended if you want somewhere warm and dry to read the paper.

Saturday Walk Sunningdale to Windsor - Virginia Water, Windsor Great Park, The Long Walk, and Windsor Castle

Book 1, Walk 18 - Sunningdale to Windsor

Length: 17 km (10.6 miles)

Toughness: 2 out of 10 (3 if muddy)

London Waterloo: 09-50 hrs    Southwest trains to Reading      Clapham Junction 09-58 hrs

Arrive Sunningdale: 10-38 hrs

Return

Windsor and Eton Riverside to Waterloo:  21 and 51 mins past the hour

Windsor and Eton Central to Paddington, changing at Slough: 05, 25 and 45 mins past the hour

Rail ticket:  buy a day return to Windsor and Eton Riverside  plus a single from Staines to Sunningdale.

If proposing to return from Windsor Central, it is probably best to buy separate singles

Please read our Covid rules before coming on today's walk and observe the rules all day

We had to abandon our attempt to do this walk a month ago due to Lockdown 2. Let's hope all is well for us to give it a go this Saturday.

This should make for a pleasant early winter's walk mostly on the level, without any demanding hills. There might be some muddy bits in places but hopefully not too much today. There might be some winter flowers in Valley Gardens and Savill Gardens during the morning leg of the walk, before we head via the Totem Poll for lunch at the usually good cafeteria in Savill Gardens - I'm assuming it will have reopened: if not, its takeaway service in its Potting Shed and its takeaway truck both serve hot and cold dishes. Picnickers should find a pleasant spot beside the lake nearby in the Gardens for your luncheon.

After lunch we head for Windsor Great Park for a very long, straight walk along .........The Long Walk, with Windsor Castle directly ahead of us, and seemingly never getting any closer !   But you will eventually get there if you plod on and persevere. 

Churches will have reopened for public services come Saturday and I presume Evensong will be celebrated in St George's Chapel, Windsor at 5-15 pm once again - but do check their website for yourselves if you would like this lovely ending to your walk. Otherwise, the usual fleshpots in Windsor await your custom for tea or something stronger before you return home from one of the two railway stations in town. 

It's good to be back !  And looking forward to seeing you on Saturday.

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Walk directions are here: L=1.18

Saturday Walk - The Return of the Rule of Six: Sundon Hills, Sharpenhoe Clappers and Hillfort - Harlington to Flitwick or Circular (Bedfordshire Chilterns)

Please note that on 'my' walks, punters are expected to give me their contact details for track-and-trace purposes at the start, and that walkers are expected to immediately split into groups of six or fewer and to stay in those sub-groups all day. If you find that beyond your abilities, please do not come on this walk!

Length: 24.5 km (15.2 mi), Ascent/Descent: 254/272m [shortcuts possible, see route map and pdf] 

or 17.3 km/10.7 mi with 267m ascent to Harlington. The routes split just after lunch in Pulloxhill.

Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours, Toughness: 5 out of 10; or ca. 4 hours and 3/10.

 

Take the Thameslink service from Brighton to Bedford (selected stops: East Croydon 08.51, London Bridge 09.05, Blackfriars 09.12, Farringdon 09.16, St. Pancras 09.21, West Hampstead 09.29), arrive Harlington 10.05. Return trains: xx.00, xx.16, xx.30 and xx.46 (from Harlington: 4 mins later). 

Buy a Flitwick return  (same price as a Harlington return).  

 

The central attraction of this North Chiltern walk in Central Bedfordshire are the Sundon Hills, steep rolling downlands affording fantastic views over the surrounding plain, out north to the Greensand Ridge, and east to the classic steep chalk escarpment of Sharpenhoe Clappers, which is passed through as well. At Sharpenhoe one of the largest Neolithic hill fort sites in the South East is walked through, with good views east to Barton Hills, followed by a steep descent into the plain below. Further fine views of Pegsdon Hills further east along the Chilterns follow from the route through rolling grassy fields to the quiet hill top lunch destination of Pulloxhill. The afternoon route is less energetic, but not without interest, and leads through the gently rolling plain to the finish through ancient Flitwick Wood  into the centre of Flitwick. 

 

Lunch: The Cross Keys (01525 712 442) in Pulloxhill (12.2 km/7.6 mi) for the main walk and the circular walk, or The Chequers (01525 712 967, food to 15.00) or The Bell (01525 712 967), both in Westoning and for the main walk only (16.5 km/10.2 mi w/o Shortcut I, 13.4 km with it).

Tea: plenty of options en route to and in Flitwick and two in Harlington; check page 2 of the pdf for details.

For  walk directions, map, photos, height profile and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.230

Evening Walk - The Return of the Rule of Six : Angel to Limehouse (w/o Victoria Park)

Please note that on 'my' walks, punters are expected to give me their contact details for track-and-trace purposes at the start, and that walkers are expected to immediately split into groups of six or fewer and to stay in those sub-groups for the rest of the walk. If you find that beyond your abilities, please do not come on this walk!

Length: 7.7 km/4.8 mi; Height Gain: negligible

Meet 18.30 hours prompt outside  Angel Station (Northern Line - Bank Branch, Zone 1), travel time from Bank 5 minutes, from King’s Cross 2 minutes. 

Finish: Limehouse DLR and Mainline (Zone 2).

Walk Options: bail out at Mile End (Central Line), after 6.0 km.

“A canal-side walk through North and East London. This is a simple walk, (keep the canal on the right).”

Victoria Park is shut after dusk, so the route is ‘canal-only’ and much shorter than normal.

Refreshments: The Narrow and The Grapes, both in Narrow Street.

For a detailed route map, gpx/kml file, some photos and pdf directions click here. T=short.29.a

Evening walk - Ruislip Woods and Lido

Distance: 6km
Meet 18:45 prompt at the entrance hall of Ruislip Manor underground station.
H13 return bus from Ruislip Lido to Ruislip station xx:00 xx:30. T=short.8

Colliers Wood to Putney

Easy, about 5 miles 

Meet outside Colliers Wood tube @11am 

Drivers: park near Dean City Farm, there is a bus back to nearby Tooting Walk along the Wandle Trail to the Thames, then follow it to Putney Bridge 

Lunch or a coffee at the Rocket (Wethies). You MUST sit (or stand) outside. Alcohol can only be served with food (bring a hip flask to fortify that coffee)

Cross the bridge with churches at either end to Bishops Park

Finish there, or optionally, continue along the Thames to Hammersmith, Richmond, Kingston or Oxford

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