West Kent Walking Group

A lovely walk from Kemsing up onto the North Downs Way, through bluebell woods. Drink stops but not a lunch stop. Possible drink or lunch after at the Bell or cafe. Toilets in the car park at the start.

NB: There is a £2 payment required for non-Ramblers Assoc. members to help cover our Meetup costs. Please help the walk leader by bringing the exact change.

Ramblers members are welcome on any of our walks, but we would still encourage you to RSVP on Meetup. This will give our volunteer walk leaders an idea of how many are attending, and also keep the numbers manageable. If, on the day of the walk, you are still on the waiting list and a Ramblers member, you can attend - just let the walk leader know you are coming by adding a comment 'Coming as a Rambler'. You will find the start location via our website
Our Walks (westkentwalkinggroup.org.uk).

This is an updated description following a more successful recce in mid April. I can confirm that the vast majority of the path is now dry - and so we should have a lovely walk from Henley to Reading! The distance will be c11 miles taking into account to and from stations and the diversion of a diversion that we need to take. Because it is a little further than expected a finish time closer to 4.30pm should be anticipated

We will meet at Henley station at 11am - a later start time to allow for the awkward journey to Henley. For those who arrive early there are lots of coffee options near to the station. However the toilets at Henley station are really bad - my suggestion is to use the ones at Twyford station - and obviously you have the local coffee shops in Henley.

We pick up the Thames Footpath at Henley Bridge - which also marks the point where we move into Oxfordshire. We soon pass what appears to be a really good crazy golf course - and some pretty good public toilets. The initial part of the walk is really scenic, with some interesting and very expensive houses to gawp at. The foot bridge is down at Marsh Lock and we have to take a significant diversion partly along a busy road where we will need to take extra care. If we are lucky however we may see some polo players practicing in some very scenic grounds. Shiplake is pretty dull - a station, convenience store and gastro pub, but clearly a destination location given by the houses. The path then meanders along the bank of the Thames into Sonning - where we enter Berkshire.

A question - what do George Clooney, Theresa May and Uri Geller have in common? They have been/are residents of Sonning! So if you have any spoons that need bending- bring them along just in case Uri wanders past ... Sonning is a bit weird but lovely. Lots of tightly packed in houses but narrow streets and they are clearly very fussy about shops/restaurants opening. We will stop here for a late lunch -there are some nice looking pubs, a great coffee shop and for those going for DIY food there are lots of benches by Sonning lock. We then have c3 miles left to walk. The path is again lovely but fairly soon we start to see the outskirts of Reading, which is bigger than you might think - it takes a good 30 minutes to get all of the way to Reading Bridge and the short walk to the station. A last highlight - we walk past the head office of Thames Water - in an office block called Clearwater Court. Insert your own gags at this point....

In terms of travel - for those coming from London Paddington I suspect the cheapest approach is to get a return to Reading and then either a stopper to Twyford where you can then buy a single ticket to Henley, or get a fast train to Reading, and then get a single from Reading to Henley via Twyford

NB: There is a £2 payment required for non-Ramblers Assoc. members to help cover our Meetup costs. Please help the walk leader by bringing the exact change.

Dogs are also welcome - but preferably with owners!

Ramblers members are welcome on any of our walks, but we would still encourage you to RSVP on Meetup. This will give our volunteer walk leaders an idea of how many are attending, and also keep the numbers manageable. If, on the day of the walk, you are still on the waiting list and a Ramblers member, you can attend - just let the walk leader know you are coming by adding a comment 'Coming as a Rambler'. You will find the start location via our website
Our Walks (westkentwalkinggroup.org.uk).

This walk certainly packs a lot in. We start at Toys Hill, one of the highest viewpoints in Kent, keeping high for a while passing Chartwell, the former home of Winston Churchill then descend through Hosey Common and the source of the River Darent to Westerham with magnificent views along the way. After lunch in Westerham, we climb back onto the Greensand Ridge to the tiny hamlet of French Street before making our way to Emmetts Gardens for another explore (for the Fantastic Bluebells on show) and well earned tea/coffee stop. After refuelling we head across woods and fields to Ide Hill with an option for a short pub stop before returning to Toys Hill. All in all a magnificent day out with lots to see, and maybe a few facts thrown in along the way..

NB: There is a £2 payment required for non-Ramblers Assoc. members to help cover our Meetup costs. Please help the walk leader by bringing the exact change.

Ramblers members are welcome on any of our walks, but we would still encourage you to RSVP on Meetup. This will give our volunteer walk leaders an idea of how many are attending, and also keep the numbers manageable. If, on the day of the walk, you are still on the waiting list and a Ramblers member, you can attend - just let the walk leader know you are coming by adding a comment 'Coming as a Rambler'. You will find the start location via our website
Our Walks (westkentwalkinggroup.org.uk).