w = cloudy_and_chilly

n = 8

Eight regulars on this fine walk on a day with no rain, and only brief flashes of sunshine. No mud. A lively breeze impelled forward movement. Lots of bluebells, but now a little past their peak, I think. Pleasing as ever to the eye, of course. A couple of fields of buttercups and sight of some gleaming rape in the distance. No butterflies, but a notice on a bus shelter promised other aerial acrobatics. I later saw and heard - up very high in the sky - a would-be Berkshire Red Baron soaring and then plummeting as if practising for a reenactment of a post-WW1 era Flying Circus show. The earlier 'Annoyed by unauthorised aerobatics' notice suggests some locals are not quite feeling the love: it encourages the aggrieved to complain to the Civil Aviation Authority. I did not enter The Sun (those who did can share their thoughts) and the other pubs were either closed for the afternoon, or closed-looking. Most people seemed to have a picnic at Hill Bottom. A lady walking a lurcher in South Stoke told me that some of the fields in the area are known locally as 'The Prairies' due to the 'high numbers of hares that can be seen there in season.' I enjoyed a fine coffee at The Village Cafe before getting the 4.18 train. Thank you for scheduling the walk.

cloudy and chilly 8

12 on a sunny day. Fairly dry underfoot. Buttercups and cow parsley out in force. We lost two at the Sun. One went on ahead. Not sure about the other. Two cheated and got there early.

Good idea to book for the Sun. They got a bit flustered when they thought there was more than had booked. But some of us were only drinking so all OK. As was the food, by the looks of it.

After lunch, it was off through a succession of woods. In the first Mr Tiger was surprised to find himself and another way out in front. So far out in front we wondered if the others had succumbed to the L-word. But no, they were just being ‘leisurely’.

We encountered a pheasant making its way through a field of long grass. Later we spotted a slow worm basking on the path. Mr Tiger bravely shepherded it into the undergrowth to avoid it being trampled. (Assuming the others were still following, that is). Two caught us up in a field of horses near Goring. We emerged close to the station. Mr Tiger eschewed the delights of Goring for a seat on the platform. After about 10, 15 minutes, the rest started rolling in. What kept them? Then the train came.

One of our number suggested the coffee shop near the Arcade as more convenient than Pierrepoimts for this walk (which finishes near the station).

Freedom Pass holders can catch the free Tfl train from Paddington at 9.43 (Ealing Broadway 9.51) and change at Reading.

"..You can also shorten the walk to around 12.0km (7.5m) by ending in Woodcote and catching the X40 bus.."

I might do the above👍

6 on this walk, others (according to apologies for absence received) put off by the apocalyptic weather forecast. Tut tut. Know ye not that dire forecasts are usually wrong in this country? So it proved today. Yes there were some showers but also some sun , the latter especially in the afternoon. One very well-mannered sunny period arrived just after three of us had decided - what the heck? - to have lunch in the garden of the Eponymous Pub. It lasted while we ate our fish and chips and the next shower only came as we were leaving.

We split into three groups. One man and his greyhound soon got ahead of us all (that is greyhounds for you...): we hope he had a nice day. “We” were three fairly brisk walkers, who helpfully got lost once or twice to allow the two back markers to catch up with us briefly, before we shot off again (sorry...). In the afternoon the other two brisk walkers out-brisked your correspondent for a while. Their punishment was to miss a glorious great deer - much bigger than a fallow deer (sika? red? are there red deer wild in the south east?) - which bounded across the path between me and them and then leapt off into a bluebell wood.

Bluebells, yes: scattered throughout the walk: at best or only slightly over. I would be lying if I said there were any great show-stopping displays, but they were certainly nice. Lots of woodruff and yellow archangel too for the cognoscenti (ie moi). A big field or two of slightly fading oilseed rape. Stately beech woods with gorgeous bright green leaves. Also intense yellow buttercup fields. And in general gorgeous lush green May verges, everything still growing straight and strong with none of the straggly mess of summer. Heck, I even saw two orange tip butterflies.

Getting to Goring at 4.45pm, we three briskets found Pierpoint’s had shut at 4pm. But they very nicely did two takeaway teas and a cake for us nevertheless. We sat on a bench by the river in the sun to consume them and lots of mayflies emerged from the river as we drank. Far be it for me to advise a creature that has successfully mated for a hundred million years, but this did not seem to be the kind of still calm night they need for their amorous adventures. But who am I? Just a non-breeding member of a transient species of intelligent ape.

The other two got the 5.48 train. I decided to climb the hill above Streatley for the magnificent view. It was still quite sunny, but looked dammed wet to the north, so perhaps we had been lucky with the weather. I got the 6.48 train and changed at Reading onto a fairly empty GWR intercity train: my first ride on a long distance train in a year and a half. And so back to Paddington.

Newish to group. Which Saturday walk likely to be least muddy. You are the experts.

Unless the walk poster goes out and walks all 3 routes today or tomorrow (which obviously they won't do) they have no way of knowing what the conditions are on the ground or comparing them. It's winter, it's raining. Expect mud on all walks. Best thing to do is to look at the walk details/map for each walk and use your own judgement.

Apologies to Newbie. Mr Sarcastic is untypical of the group. Stick around and don't be put off. And don't join the Ramblers:we're more interesting.

I don't think the earlier commenter was being sarcastic. I would say that there is no reason to think that any of the walks this Saturday will be un-muddy, or that any will be particularly drier underfoot than any other, put it that way. We have had quite a bit of rain this week and the ground is still soft. Usually during March the ground starts to dry of its own accord due to increased sunshine and evaporation, but that will probably not be for two or three weeks this year.

Hi Newbie the mud will not be as bad as Haslemere. I did a Haslemere circular via Bkackdown last weekend you would have given up before lunch.There was all kinds of mud some where your boots struggle with each step.By the end of the walk your heart and lungs will thank you but your le gs will curse you. So enjoy the walk as Goring on Thames is beautiful.

Monica.

Thank you very much, Monica.

As the walk author my experience is that the muddiest sections will be through the woods before lunch but I am fairly confident this will prove a "below average" muddy walk compared to those around Wadhurst or in the Chilterns. Like many walks the best time do this walk is probably late April when the beech trees look particularly vibrant - see Moontiger's excellent photos on the walks pages. Enjoy the walk whilst I berate England's Rugby Team who are playing Wales.

Did this lovely walk today. Mud only in certain places and nowhere near as bad as some recent walks.

In the worse areas you can take dry parallel paths.

Sun Inn gone downhill, only four food options plus one veggie (Spring Rolls)

Owners gone off for weekend leaving nice old gent to look after kitchen and bar himself. Friendly black cat likes to sip beer, perhaps not advisable in these virus days.

My sausage and mash with peas was reasonably priced £8

But the mash was Smash and the peas left a curious metallic taste in my mouth.

Landlord of Red Lion further on says he is short of staff so can only take a party of six at most. Also last food order is at 13.45 hrs.

So, bit of a food desert but a really gorgeous walk. Lots of mature woods with distant views in the bright spring sunshine.

Confucius says "Bring sandwiches"

Confucius also says "Thames Path likely to be more Thames than Path"

18 on this walk, a good turnout for a western walk, I would say. We set off in sunny-ish weather and quite spring-like temperatures. The ground was still very muddy in places, but surprisingly dry in many others. In fact I would answer the first commenter on this post by saying that the mud seems to be starting to dry out at last, despite the recent rain.

We got to the Sun Inn at about 12.20. But as per some of the previous comments, it did not really impress either with its menu (pie and chips, fish and chips, beef burger and chips, spring rolls) or its lack of any evident enthusiasm for our business. I understand two did eat there and were not overjoyed with the quality of the food.

Others of us pressed on, having been told by the staff at the Red Lion that they did food till 1.45pm. We got there at 1.25 to find two of our group already eating, but to be told the kitchen had just shut. But they reopened it at our request and the food that came out was perfectly palatable. I would say this is the best lunch option on the walk, and it at least had some local customers (one, I have been asked to mention, with a grey parrot in a cage) and so is perhaps a more viable long term proposition than the other two pubs, at least on today’s showing.

Did I mention we saw a few wood anemones in the morning? Lots of bluebells to come were also in evidence. I heard greenfinches and chaffinches singing several times.

After lunch the bright skies gave way to grey cloud . We got to Goring at 3.55, well in time for tea at Pierrepoints cafe, one might think. But no, it had closed its doors already (closing time now 4pm), so most went to the Miller of Mansfield. But three of us, later joined by two others, went to the Village Cafe, which has a good selection of cakes and a comfortable upstairs seating area, accessible to those who give the secret password. (It had a “closed” sign on it for the first three of us, but magically opened for the latter two - and when I went up to see them, other customers were also upstairs, so how had they got there?).

After joining those in the pub for a further drink, most went home but three of us set off at 5.45pm to walk the Thames Path to Pangbourne. This quickly proved to be flooded in places, so we diverted onto an inland lane, later joining the Thames Path on a more raised section. There were good views of the near full moon at first, but alas it was not yet fully dark on this section. Later when it was finally dark, the gaps in the clouds had closed. Still we had a nice walk and had time for a quick drink in one of Whitchurch’s pubs before catching the 7.53 (?) train home.

Thank you to the poster who did the route on Friday. Very useful comments. I actually found the lady in the Sun Inn to be very helpful. Tea for £1 and a choice of teabags. Not a venue for the foodies, though.

Note for future walkers : the Sun Inn must be under new management; there wasn’t a soupçon of Gordon Ramsey’s influence in the cuisine. Unless, as one of my fellow hikers commented, it was from ‘Hells Kitchen’. We were the only three dining in an empty pub with no atmosphere and sub standard grub. I advise the next time this route is followed to have a large breakfast and keep going until you reach the other pub by the cricket pitch.

10 turned out. Weather was cool cloudy dry sunny glimpses later

The real stars of today were the beech woods with an iridescent green light shining through the young leaves. In second place, a field of buttercups. Bluebells were much in evidence but, for jaded old me, they lacked the “wow” factor. One off-piste wood glimpsed across a field WAS spectacular. Maybe the bluebells are always bluer on the other side of the field.

I think this walk could give more indication of distance at times. The word “soon” is open to misinterpretation. I had trouble with the stretch through Great Chalk Wood 4 years ago and exactly the same thing happened again (at points 8-9). I was walking for so long that I doubled back to check I hadn’t missed the way out. I hadn’t.

I thought I’d found my way through a later wood alright. Then I realised I was walking past the same “primitive Methodist” building I’d passed on the way in! That could have been my fault though …. LOL …(as you young people say)….. Luckily, Mr Google was on hand to sort me out.

I was slower than the others, even when I wasn’t walking round in circles. Just missed the 17:14 so had to spend some time in the Miller of Mansfield which was OK.

Hi

is there anyone going?

It's been a long winter. And March and April have also been really wet. And then, within a few days, we get to this: warm but not hot and with a breeze , the blackthorn blooming, the rape oil seed fields starting to turn yellow, some butterflies about (yellow ones and some brown ones) and lots of flowers in the woods (yellow, white and blue ones, which means Celandines, Wood Anemones and Bluebells, I'm reliably told). 'tis the best time of the year for walking, in my book.

In light of the temperatures we walked at medium pace and almost all arrived at the lunch pub, the much maligned Sun Inn, before 13.00 hours. After a recent particularly negative experience on the Pangbourne Circ walk, one walker had insisted calling them ahead to make sure they had ample food available this time. So we were a little apprehensive, but without any reason: the service was quick and friendly, the food arrived reasonably quickly and was of good quality, so much so that even some of the more gastro-critical Wednesday regulars confessed to be happy with it all. New staff maybe?

The sandwichers, who had rested patiently outside in the sun, moved on when they saw some lunchers ordering desserts or coffee and most were never seen again. At Goring, of my sub-group of 6 people, 3 opted for the extension to Pangbourne along one of the better stretches of the Thames Path (with hills!), and rounded off the day at The Swan's terrace by the river weir with a refreshing drink.

A varied route with some fine views, a nice mix of woods and fields. And the woods were not too densely canopied, so the sun broke through all the time. A very fine day.

Bluebell Index: early on about 1 out of 20 out and about half of those with bells open, later hardly any out, then towards the end (High Wood especially) almost all out and almost all bells open, so there it is only a few days to 'Peak Bluebell'. 17

... and ladybirds, how could I forget them?

The Sun Inn only serves meals to people and groups who have pre-booked. Drop-in customers will not be served food. I don't know how much notice they need.

My advice, having done this walk last Sunday, is to bypass the Sun Inn using the shortcut and eat at the Red Lion which is friendly and serves big portions. Best to give them a ring beforehand too. When back at Goring treat yourself to tea and cakes at either the Village cafe or Pierreponts- both excellent - and then take a lovely early evening stroll along the Thames Path back to Pangbourne (4.5m). Finish with a meal/drinks in one of the fine pubs in Whitchurch or Pangbourne. There I've sorted your day out for you! Enjoy your walk.

This walk was featured last Sunday, literally 6 days ago. Pity it comes up again so soon after last outing.

Hi #2 Anonymous, Tue 15 Aug 17, 21:06

Re your comment below

You could offer to post if you don't like what is being given

Luckily you still have two other walks to choose from on the Saturday posting and of course a plethora of other clubs, meetup and Ramblers etc from which you can also choose

To the posters - thank you for all your hard work and don't let the petty whingers get you down, your work is appreciated

To # 3, Happy to be a walk poster if I can get away with the same walk every week 52 weeks a year! Thank you for posting this walk.

Just to let you know that following last Sunday's outing I have up-dated the pdf file for this walk including a short-cut that bypasses the Sun Inn at Hill Bottom if you have not pre-booked a meal there. This means you should reach the Red Lion at Woodcote at a reasonable time; ie before 1.30pm.

Apropos the issue about the walk being set so soon after its last outing: Saturday and Sunday groups are often completely different so I hope there is a good turn-out on Saturday with the weather looking good.

9 on this pleasant, heavily wooded walk. We took the short cut, missing out the Sun Inn to eat at the Red Lion, which we discovered finishes food at 1400 (1200-1400 Tues-Sun no food Monday), with about 20 minutes to spare. I would suggest pub lunchers check out the Black Lion - we just went straight past it.

From my latest researches the Black Lion does not serve food so unless you pre-book some time in advance for a meal at the Bell the Red Lion in Woodcote is your lunch pub option.

Six off the designated train but one other walker who started an hour later appeared at Goring station at the end of the walk(?) so 7. Weather was warm sunny some cloud in the afternoon .

I posted this walk to check a stretch which has been overgrown in the past and up-date any other details. Firstly the old and long derelict former Railway inn by Goring statsion has now been transformed into a Tesco Direct ideal for buying stuff before the walk or for refreshments for the journey home. The designated lunch-time pub the Bell Inn now only provides meals if you have booked ahead (Is this a developing business plan for pubs now?) and drop-in custom will not be served meals. We walked on to the Red Lion getting there just in time for their 2.15pm cut-off point for meals and their huge portions and friendly service were much appreciated. I had a sandwich and watched a cricket match on the green which the pub overlooks.

In the afternoon we enjoyed the quiet tracks and woodland glades getting back to Goring at around 4.30 where 4 of the group went to the station whilst 2 of us ambled to the Village cafe for delicious tea, cakes and scones. Fired up by the tea and cake and feeling rested I decided to do the lovely 4.5m Thames path stretch to Pangbourne which is a superb coda to any walk ending in Goring. Timed just right to catch a train at 7.06pm.

Superb day out in brilliant company (all women) with the best moment when a young boy in an approaching family group asked his father on seeing us "are these people high walkers". No son his father replied they are hikers. From now on I'm a high walker!

I'll be up-dating the pdf for this walk.

Remembering the old SWC proverb "early rain in the Great Wen means fine weather after ten" I travelled to Goring but only 1 other was at the station so just 2 set off in sunny and mild conditions which we enjoyed for the entire day. (OK there was one 30 second shower in the afternoon whilst walking through a wood.)

We had both brought sandwiches so we bypassed the Sun Inn by taking a slightly shorter route to reach Woodcote where we had our lunch on a bench overlooking the huge Green and cricket pitch before popping into the Red Lion for a drink. The pub is a real 1970s throwback- carpeted floors, a few old regulars, an open fire and meals for around £7; excellent.

After lunch we continued along woodland trails and open field with some superb views of Didcot. Not much leaf colour and some beeches looked positively verdant and we were a bit surprised to see a dragonfly!

We reached Goring early enough to catch the 15.32 but decided in the interests of research (and cake) to check out the Village Cafe which had a superb range of delicious confectionaries but their pots of tea could be a bit larger. After taking a photo of the weir and river for the walks page we ambled back to catch the 16.32. A fine days walking and glad I was not put off by the rain in London.

There is no Hammersmith and City or Circle eastwards from Edgware Road this weekend, and no District or Circle south from it either. So the only way to Paddington from these directions will be the Bakerloo

Yes I hope to do this walk.As stated in walk details the lunch options are very simple but good.jfk

The planned train was cancelled due to an alert at Paddington. The 6 who showed up at Goring 40 mins late were mostly Ealing Broadway starters. Maybe Paddington non-starters came up with a plan B. mostly dry occasional light rain a bit blowy Four raced off and were not seen again. That left 2 more leisurely walkers. Going was slow thanks to a liberal but shallow coating of slippery mud. And directions through Gt Chalk Wood still managed to confuse. We made it to the Sun by two. After lunch we two did a wicked thing. We disobeyed instructions and switched to the last half of the Pangbourne Circular. For one this led to a quick finish in Pangbourne. For the other, a trip along the river back to Goring.

Correction to last post. 19 Yes, NINETEEN! It takes more than a fire alert causing a complete evacuation of Paddington to put us off, Ian T!!! After a half a hour delay in the lovely sunshine the specified train finally left but skipped stops to Slough to make up time. 12 of us started at Goring. Of the six on the Ealing Broadway train, "the four who rushed off" caught up with us mid morning and we added another walker briefly who had come by car.

A pleasant walk, all agreed. Despite some mud, plenty of tracks and lanes made it a good walk for winter. Gentle gradients, some nice views, woods. Directions OK but could be improved by adding more distances. Weather grey but quite mild with showers and some bright flashes . Most of us pushed on to the last possible lunch pub, the Red Lion, arriving there 2pm. This is not gastro as the walk directions would have it but served nice food reasonably fast.

We made it to Goring as the light was fading and some even made it to Pierrepoints tea room. Others explored the pubs. Some did both.

:(

Thanks to Ian T for the comments in his e-mail to me and to Walker for his points in the post below. I'll add this to my Spring/Summer 2016 to do list

I'll be doing the walk checking/amending the directions as I go. Any volunteers to help with this greatly appreciated.

I'll give it a go too Pete! On paper the instructions look great: I love a mixed narrative of landmarks and the occasional bearing thrown in. One thing which would be really helpful to rank amateurs like me would be if each paragraph were separately numbered (many a time you'll have heard the conversation... "Where are we now?" "Oh, we're at number 61"). See you Saturday!

I am hoping to come along and maybe able to do some walk checking.jfk

Train stops at Ealing Bdwy 10.04