Long Walk June 3rd led by Toby Lucas
9 intrepid walkers assembled at Wheel Orchard Car Park behind the Catherine Wheel in Goring on 03 June. The Car park is Pay and Display but there are relevant apps which are easy to use. The forecast was for sunny periods and occasional light rain, but, regrettably, it was wrong as it started raining as we arrived on the outskirts of Goring and basically continued for most of the walk. However, in the spirit of U3A, we gritted our teeth and fixed a smile to our faces and did our best to enjoy a day out in the fresh air in some beautiful countryside.
We set off in an easterly direction until we crossed the railway and past various houses until we emerged in open countryside, overlooking Cleeve. Unfortunately I could not find anything interesting to say about the area. We then started climbing up into Old Elvendon Wood which is part of the Elvendon Estate. Again, it was difficult to find much to say about the estate although there was apparently a theory that once it might have been used as a retreat by the nuns of Goring Priory. All right for some, although we could not see anything of the Priory from our walk.
It was too wet to stop for our normal coffee break at the location that I had in mind and we also temporarily lost one of our group, so we ploughed on stoically until there was a slight gap in the weather which allowed us a few minutes break on the edge of a field of corn, just beyond Little Heath. We then descended to Bottom House Farm along a track reputedly used by Dick Turpin about whom I regaled any of the group who were listening. Obviously nothing can be substantiated about his activities in the area but is generally good for morale on a moist day.
One last steep hill and we were out in the open and, on a good day, unrivalled views of the Thames valley south of Goring which we imagined as it was a bit misty. We then crossed the football pitches before returning to civilization in Goring and a hearty welcome from the Catherine Wheel were drinks and tasty morsels (but not a single chip!) were consumed with relish before we mounted our trusty steeds (in true D Turpin fashion) for the return journey to Princes Risborough.
Strollers June 8th led by Carole Barfoot
The weather forecast was dire and in the morning at home it was raining cats, dogs, frogs and toads. No-one is going walking in this, no-one in their right minds! I emailed Chris to cancel but she was driving home and didn’t pick up my message. Oh well, I’d better nip down to Bledlow…just in case, you know what these walking types are like. I won’t need my boots or mac…but I put them on…you never know. Two trusty stalwarts were already in the car park, then another, then another two, one in shorts. Are you mad? They looked at me as though I was, am I getting soft?
So with the others wondering what I was wittering on about, off we went. The rain stopped as we left the car park! It was now a lovely freshened morning as we walked from ‘The Lions at Bledlow’ towards Lower Wainhill. At the first house we made a left and climbed steadily onto the Ridgeway. I had intended to walk across fields on the right and down a steep bank on the left but as we had not long had the heavy rain we continued downhill on the Ridgeway to prevent any health and safety issues. Taking the gate on the left of the track we took in the lovely views towards Princes Risborough and Lodge Hill. Continuing down towards Bledlow Village we soon reached the back of the houses. As we had shortened the route by about a half-mile we decided to do a tour of the Church looking for the gargoyle of the late Lord Carington complete with specs which Brendan assured us he had seen sometime ago. Must have been a dream and we never saw it…but lo and behold it does actually exist . We bravely ventured into The Lyde Gardens which were in need of a good trim and by the time we returned to the ‘Lions’ pub it was open. Happy Days! A lovely morning walk that could have been so easily missed.
Medium Walk June 19th led by John Stallwood
Start/finish @ Dew Drop Inn nr Burchetts Green.
Only 6 off us, Chris, Peter, Toby, Sharon, Michael and myself ventured out on a sunny summer’s day from a stunning pub hiding away in the woods. An easy 5.5 mile walk partly open countryside and partly woods to look forward to. We started by taking a path northwards, straight from the pub until we met the long distance path, the Chiltern Way. Here we turned left, westwards, through some manicured fields, this being horse country. At a meeting of another path we turned left southwards towards Warren Row, keeping on the Chiltern way up through some woods called Cayton Park. At a major junction of paths, we had a short rest and cooled down. Then we took the Knowl Hill bridleway circuit all the way down to Knowl Hill to arrive at the A4 road. Turning left here we came to a roadside cafe, where we had another short break for ice cream and coffee. Setting off again along the A4, after about 1/4 mile we took a path directly northwards, through some fields up and into Ashley Hill forest. We skirted around the keeper’s cottage and then it was all downhill to reach a track where we turned right to follow it back to the pub. End of a lovely walk and looking forward to a nice beer!