The Thames Towpath & the Chiltern Way
From Henley to Marlow via Hambleden
Sunday, 29.4.07

Easter in Lake District
6.4. - 9.4. 07

This fine circular walk begins and ends at Wendower, a small medieval market town that nestles in a gap in the Chilterns.
Chilterns Hills are part of an extensive range of chalk uplands that run from Wiltshire in the west all the way to Yorkshire in the north. The Chilterns are the most dramatic part of these uplands within easy reach of London.
From Wendower, the walk joins the Ridgeway Long-Distance Footpath, a 136-kilometre hilltop track. The way climbs up onto Coombe Hill, the highest viewpoint in the Chilterns, before looping around the Chequers Estate.
It has been the country retreat of British prime ministers since the early twentieth century. Winston Churchill often retreated here during the air raids of World War II, and delivered some of his famous broadcasts from the house.
Beyond Chequers, the route heads into the village of Great Kimble, where the splendid Bernard Arms makes for a good break.
The return route follows public footpaths through the rich agricultural land of the Vale of Aylesbury.

Photos from Martin
Details of the trip


THE SAXON SHORE WAY TRIP
From Hastings to Winchelsea, via Cliff End
Saturday, 21 October 2006

   

This glorious walk is very much a day of two halves, starting as a strenuous stomp along the cliff tops near Hastings before descending to the pancake-flat "levels" beyond. The route follows part of the Saxon Shore Way, a long-distance path which runs for 260km in its entirety, from Hastings all the way round the coast to Gravesend. Starting in tattily charismatic Hastings, a dinky funicular whisks you up (we will walk instead) to the blustery sandstone cliffs that soar above the town into the pristine download of the Hastings Country Park. From here, the route follow the cliff tops for 5km, taking in sweeping sea views and dipping down into luxuriant wooded glens before terminating at the prosaically named village of Cliff End, a short detour leads from here to a long sandy beach, where it’s sometimes safe to swim. From Cliff End, the walk runs across Pett Level, reclaimed from the sea and crisscrossed by water channels. Though the scenery is less obviously dramatic than along the cliff top walk, the levels have an enticingly still atmosphere and are prettily framed by hills to the north and the long bank of the sea wall to the south. The walk ends at Winchelsea, an attractive little town with a fascinating history.

Photos from Martin
Details of the trip

This rewarding walk took us down narrow country lanes, through lush orchards and across fields, from the village of Borough Green to secluded Ightham Common. From this point, the walk became no just pretty but spectacular.
First we passed the wonderfully atmospheric medieval and Tudor manor house (Ightham Mote), which looks like a quaint half-timbered cottage writ large, ringed by a moat and it is crammed with treasures.
From Ightham Mote, the walk ascends a high ridge, following part of the established Greensand Way, with terrific views south to the High Weald.
From the ridge we entered magnificent deer park at Knole, walking past the high ragstone walls of Knole House itself. As the house has 365 rooms we decided to visit Knole next time.

Photos from Martin
Details of The Greensand Way trip

However familiar it may be from photographs, Stonehenge is still an imposing sight. The exact purpose and significance of this ancient megalith, and the manner in which it was built, have been the source of endless speculation over the centuries, being variously attributed to Druids, Romans, Danes and even Extra Terrestrials. The site contains the remains of stone monuments and earth structures dating from between 3000-1000 BC.
Our walk began in the cathedral city of Salisbury from where we headed north to the striking ruins of Old Sarum, a thriving Norman settlement which was abandoned due to water shortages in the fourteenth century. From Old Sarum our route continued northwards through the handsome old villages, country lanes, and footpaths of the lush Avon Valley, an area distinguished by numerous tumuli, or prehistoric burial mounds, which dot the landscape. Long, low Normanton Down, its summit crowned by a line of such tumuli, brought us onto downland and within site of Stonehenge again. The final leg of our journey was to catch the bus service from the car park adjacent to the Stonehenge ticket office and make our way back into Salisbury.

Colchester, the county seat of Essex, is a pleasant town containing a castle, university, and army base, fifty miles northeast of London. It prides itself on being England's oldest town and there is indeed documentary evidence of a settlement here as early as the fifth century BC. Today, Colchester serves as an ideal location for further explorations of the surrounding countryside. Mersea Island is located just six miles to the south, and the local fisheries are renowned for the quality of their oysters. The Company Shed serves these delicacies without any frills at rickety tables.

  Seven Sisters

The southeast corner of England was traditionally where Londoners went on holiday, earning Brighton the moniker 'London beside the sea'. Any visit inevitably begins with a tour of the exuberant Royal Pavilion and the wonderfully tacky Palace Pier, followed by a stroll along the seafront promenade or the pebbled beach. Brighton Museum and Art Gallery houses an impressive collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau furniture, including Salvador Dali's famous sofa modelled on Mae West's lips. Brighton has the greatest concentration of restaurants in the southeast after London, and its nightlife is varied and sought out by partygoers from far afield. There are myriad clubs, live music venues, and plenty of cinemas.
For those who prefer a more sedate experience, the adjoining areas of East Sussex have much to offer. South Downs Way extends over eighty miles along the chalk uplands and away from the crowded southeast. A famous nearby landmark is the series of chalk cliffs known as the Seven Sisters. The eponymous country park provides some of the most impressive walks in the country, taking in the cliff-top path and the lower valley of the meandering River Cuckmere, into which the Seven Sisters subside. The most spectacular of the cliffs, Beachy Head, is 575ft (160m) high, with a diminutive-looking lighthouse at its summit.

St Albans is a historic cathedral city located 25 minutes from London by train. Its most striking landmark, the Cathedral of St Alban, is named for the first Christian martyr in Britain, a Roman convert who was executed here in 209 AD. The town is at its bustling best on a Saturday, when the area in front of the town hall and the surrounding streets are filled with market stalls selling everything from fruit-and-veg to antiques. It is also the starting point for a gentle circular tour through the remains of Verulamium, once a major Roman city, and on to Watling Street, the great Roman road which ran from London to Chester. Throughout the route, extensive remains of various parts of the earlier city can be seen. The Roman theatre stood on Watling Street, the axis of the Roman town, and several tiers of the original building are clearly visible, although the columns on the stage are modern replicas, added to give a sense of scale to the ruins. Leaving the old Roman city, the walk continues through the surrounding countryside to the village of Gorhambury, whose fine Georgian country house stands next to the picturesque Tudor ruins of an earlier manor. Beyond Gorhambury, there is a conveniently located pub, The Hollybush, which makes an ideal stop for a pleasant country lunch.

Without doubt, Snowdonia is the crowning glory of North Wales. This tightly packed bundle of soaring cliff faces, jagged peaks, and plunging waterfalls measures little more than ten miles by ten, but packs enough mountain paths to keep even the most jaded walking enthusiast happy for weeks. The area's small settlements - well geared up for walking and other outdoor pursuits - make for lively bases, whether long-standing tourist towns like Betws-y-Coed and Llanberis, or old mining and quarry towns such as Beddgelert and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Thousands of hikers arrive every weekend for some of the country's finest walks over steep, exacting, and constantly varying terrain. Not surprisingly, the Snowdon massif is the focus of the Snowdonia National Park. Several of the ascent routes are superb, and there is also a cog railway up to the summit from Llanberis. Tourists hike up Snowdon, although mountain connoisseurs invariably prefer the sharply angled peaks of Tryfan and the Glydder, with their challenging terrain, cantilevered rocks, and views back to Snowdon. However, Snowdonia is not all about walking: small settlements coincide with enormous slate mines and quarries, and the vicinity of Betws-y-Coed contains stunning gorges and waterfalls. A couple of miles above the town the River Convy plunges fifty feet over the Convy Falls into a deep pool. After carving out a mile or so of what kayakers regard as some of North Wales' toughest white water, the Convy negotiates a staircase of drops and enters the Fairy Glen, a cleft in a small wood which takes its name from the mythical fairies, or Tylwyth Teg, who are said to be seen hereabouts. The two sites are linked by a mile-long path following a cool green lane giving glimpses of the river through the woods.

This superb circular walk leads from Tring Station in Hertfordshire up onto the Chilterns escarpment. The first half of the route follows the Ridgeway Long Distance Footpath, a 136-kilometre hilltop track that begins in Wiltshire and ends at Ivinghoe Beacon, one of the highest points in the Chiltern Hills. Standing 223m high, the hill takes its name from the beacons that were periodically lit here, part of an early warning system against potential invasion from Roman times through the Spanish Armada to World War II. Passing through beech woodland and over chalk uplands, the walk gives fine views over the Vale of Aylesbury, a patchwork of farmland dotted with small villages and towns. From Ivinghoe Beacon the route leads back through the woods of the extensive Ashridge Estate, once the seat of the Dukes of Bridgewater and now home to a network of public footpaths and some handily placed tearooms. The Bridgewater Monument, erected in 1837 in honour of Francis, Third Duke of Bridgewater (the 'father of inland navigation'), dominates the hillside hereabouts. He commissioned the building of the famous Bridgewater Canal to his coal mine near Manchester in the late 1760s and this subsequently served as the prototype for the other man-made waterways which crisscrossed the country by the early nineteenth century. From here the route drops down into the handsome village of Aldbury, complete with half-timbered cottages and a duck pond, and the short walk back to Tring Station.

The Lake District is England's most well-known scenic area, and for good reason. Within an area a mere thirty miles across, sixteen major lakes are squeezed between the steeply pitched faces of the country's highest mountains, an almost alpine landscape that is augmented by waterfalls and picturesque stone-built villages packed into the valleys. Although the Lake District might appear too popular for its own good, tourists tend to concentrate in fairly specific areas, and it is relatively easy to escape the crowds. As keen walkers, we opted for the dramatic northern scenery near Keswick. Standing on the shores of Derwent Water at the junction of the north-south and east-west routes through the Lake District, Keswick is an ideal base for exploring the delightful Borrowdale Valley or the peaks of Skidaw and Blencathra, which loom over the town. It is difficult to overstate the beauty of Borrowdale, with its river flats and yew trees, lying at the head of Derwent Water and overshadowed by the peaks of Scafell (3163 ft) and Scafell Pike (3205 ft), the highest in England. It is only when one starts to walk around the Lakes that one gains a full appreciation of the majestic scenery of this region: there are four nearby peaks over 3000 ft, and literally hundreds of other mountains, crags, fells, and valleys to roam. When planning a walk, it is necessary to always be properly equipped with strong-soled, supportive shoes or boots, a container for water, and a map. Bad weather can move in quickly, even in the height of summer.

What is that noise? Hell! Incoming Messerschmitt at three o'clock! I dive to the ground trying to find some shelter. At the last moment I am saved. My 'friend', the Spitfire, has come to my rescue...
In reality, all the fighters and bombers at this year's Duxford Air Show (held between 8-9 July) were friendly and there was no need to look for shelter. Visitors were treated to a wide array of planes including Spitfires, Messerschmitts, Hurricanes, Mosquitos, Hellcats, Corsairs, and Mustangs.
A large part of the show was dedicated to the Spitfire which celebrates its seventieth anniversary this year. The climax was a fly-by of the fighters and bombers, watched in awed fascination by the silent onlookers.