Henley-on-Thames 12 September 2015

On this Saturday morning I joined the Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Ramblers Group from London for their trip to Henley-on-Thames. I caught the train and met up with them in Twyford for the next train change to our stepping off point. I'd never met any of them before but they were very welcoming. Of a group of 10, two were Spanish ladies who were there independently of each other, an American, a Scotsman, your local Saffer and the rest were English. Quite a diverse group.

And out into the beautiful countryside. It was another beautiful day. You are probably beginning to think that, besides the London trip, there hasn't been any rain. Not so, there's been quite a bit.  I've just been extremely lucky on the walks I've chosen and though we did have a shower in the middle of this walk, it was mainly fine. There were quite a few stiles today. Apparently a lot of them are being replaced by kissing gates. Still lots of nettles though. I wonder if they die down in winter? One Spanish lady said that if you hold your breath when brushing against them, they don't sting. Hmmm. But she was wearing long shorts and didn't seem to be affected. Mind over matter do you think?

We walked past the historic Greys Court and heard stories firstly of a Lord of the Manor who, hiding from the King's men, instructed his manservant to lock him in the cellars. The servant having hidden the key, refused to co-operate with the intruders. Incensed, they killed him and that was it for the Lord.  Then there was the bride who on her wedding day when playing hide & seek with the wedding guests, hid in a wooden chest in the attic which closed tight and locked, she couldn't get out and was never found. Not a lucky place then.

 

4.5 miles in it was time for lunch - thank goodness! We had reached Rotherfield Peppard and stopped at the Red Lion.

 

 



Beer shandy - perfect on a warm day.

It's quite hard to get going again after a break - or maybe it was the shandy? So we started off slowly. On the outskirts of the village we walked past the author, Elizabeth Goudge's cottage.

 Woodlands, grasslands, fields, curious cows - there was a bit of everything - even a few hills.

This was quite a long walk - 9 miles. I was very happy to see the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames.

With a bit of time to wait for the next train, there was time to head down to the river and find ice creams.

It was quite a relief to hop on to the train and take the weight off my feet.  See you next week ...

Windsor Great Park 6 September 2015

I think there will be many visits back to this park - it's huge, there's lots to see and it's about a 10 minute drive from home.  Home is a small bedsit room with a shared kitchen and bathroom and is perfectly adequate most of the time, but on weekends, specially when the sun is shining, I have to get out and about. This was another sunny Sunday and I couldn't wait to get out there.  I parked at the Cranbourne Gate and headed in.

 

The 9000 acres are a diverse landscape of woodland, grassland , landscaped gardens, and formal avenues, something for every mood.  There's even a village with a post office and a village shop. There's a cricket pitch and a private golf course. A manmade lake and a duck pond. The shop owner was doing a roaring trade in ice creams and maps of the park that day. Visitors walk, run, cycle, ride horses, drive horse carriages.

I headed up towards the Jubilee Statue - a bronze sculpture of the Queen commissioned to commemorate her Golden Jubilee.

 

Somewhere to sit and contemplate life ...

Chalfont St Giles 5 September 2015

Isn't that a wonderful name? My intention was to meet up with one of the Ramblers Groups at around 1.30 but despite leaving home in good time, I got lost and missed the group by ages!  I got there eventually. I'm becoming less stressed about getting lost and just going with the flow these days, wherever that may turn out.

The walk was through the Hodgemore Woods and after getting directions from the local library, found my way there and went for a walk anyway. These are ancient woods with records dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries.

Even though it was quite an overcast day, the light in the woods was soft and green, quite beautiful.

 

From 1946 to 1962 there was a reception & billeting camp in the woods with temporary accommodation for Polish soldiers and families who couldn't safely go home after the Second World War. Then once again, in the early sixties refugees from the cold war were housed here too. There are always refugees from one or another war aren't there?

I didn't walk too far as I didn't have a map, had no idea as to the extent of the woods and didn't really fancy getting lost again!

So back to the village for coffee and toasted tea cakes.

And then a stroll around the village. It's very quaint but was quite busy that day because of a show taking place. It's seems to be show time in England at the moment and each little village has one.

There is a 12th Century Norman Church quite hidden away from the bustle of the village - peaceful, no cake though...

 

A duck pond in the middle of the village green - every village should have one.

 



London 31 August 2015

The last Monday in August was a bank holiday so I thought a trip to London would be fun - not checking the weather forecast though, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake. It rained, hard, most of the day. I had booked a train ticket online and at those prices, it had to be used. Most sensible people stayed home, but the other 70% of the country were on the move as it was also the last weekend of the school holidays, but London was pretty quiet.

My plan had been to walk along the Embankment and take in the views. I started at Embankment tube station and headed towards the South Bank complex thinking "what's a bit rain".  Hmmm.  There was room to move which is unusual down there but also huge puddles and I was soon soaked through despite a raincoat and umbrella.

I persevered for a while but towards lunchtime I ducked into the Tate Modern which was considerably better populated. Lunch was necessary and my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach at that stage. It was good, but I'm not entirely sure about the mushy peas.

Feeling better and a little dryer I took a walk around. The great hall is enormous and irresistible to kids.

There is a new development to the south of the existing building which will change the appearance dramatically.

Onwards through all the galleries - a lot of familiar art but a lot that is quite astonishing.

Matisse

I wasn't really in the mood for reading every caption but rather I just wanted to wander around.

 

 

Then back out into the damp - the downpour had stopped but it was still pretty wet.  Across the Millenium Bridge and heading towards St Pauls.

 

 

 

And on the other side of the bridge, what do you think - remember the helixes? Well I found 2 that I hadn't seen the last time because of the parade and the crowds, so tick, tick off that list.

 

 

Heading back along the Strand I popped in to Somerset House. I walked through the fountain, because it was wet anyway!

 

 

Time to head home and get dry. It feels like the seasons are changing already. So a glass of red wine and cheers everyone.







Hambleden - 30 August 2015

On Sunday I joined the Windsor Ramblers group for a walk in the Hambleden Valley. I'm never quite sure whether I'm going to make it as I seem to get lost quite a lot, but this time I found them in time to join their walk. What a lovely area this is. Apparently it's one of the ways to start the Chiltern Way - a 134 mile walk in the beautiful Chiltern Hills.

It was a cloudy day with the forecast of heavy rain, which held off until the afternoon. The group was small - just 5 of us. Three men and 2 ladies - both named Dorothy, which simplified matters. Finally, there were some hills to walk up! I seem to have been walking flat for months now.

According to Pete, the walk leader and he of big stories - the village of Hambleden was owned by the WH Smith family (of stationery shop fame here in the UK). It is also used as a setting for Midsomer Murders. Makes for interesting walking if not necessarily true.

This was to be a 7 mile walk but we did go off route every now and then so it was probably a bit longer. We walked through forests and fields and a fair bit of mud.

This is a partial fairy ring of mushrooms in the middle of a large field. Depending on your viewpoint, either very lucky or a hazardous dangerous place!

Only the end of August and already the leaves are starting to turn. The mornings are quite chilly. I see some shopping in the very near future.

About halfway through the walk we popped in to a local winery and brewery, and had a look around a very small vineyard. I was pretty surprised when a saw grapes growing here. I somehow didn't think the climate would be suitable - I'm wrong!

 

 

 

But we didn't stay for lunch. We found a field with a view a little bit further on and had a picnic. Down in the valley we saw a herd of deer.

 

 

 

 

The weather was starting to close in so we had to get moving again. Down one of the back lanes we came across this wonderful hedge. Best I've seen so far. I wonder how long the boots will last there.

 

 









Another couple of miles and we were back into Hambleden and really happy to discover tea and cake in the Churchyard.  The tables and chairs were interspersed amongst the tombstones sometimes using them as tables. We had earned that cake!