11 in dry and sunny weather. Flowering shrubs only slightly past their peak. Lunchtime cafe is now called the Savill Garden Kitchen. For those wanting a lighter meal, there's a cafe to the rear in the Savill Garden visitor centre. The Totem pole is being taken down and laid flat out on the ground this year because this is what one does with ageing totem poles. Or so the indigenous tribal medicine man has recommended, according to a nearby public notice.

11 on a day of morning sun but dull-later. A local expert helped us choose which bits of the route to follow exactly and which to skip or shorten. I think everyone agreed the morning section of the park was looking good in the winter sun.

Three took advantage of the Gallery Cafe at Savill Building which seemed to have a reasonable choice of soup and sandwiches and wasn't too busy. The rest of us had sandwiches outside and some partook of coffee or mulled wine. I think one sampled the restaurant. After a muddier stretch in the deepening gloom we headed up the aptly named Long Walk. Most went in search of tea and cake in Windsor but three of us went to the George Inn for a pre-Christmas drink. Group cohesion higher then usual for a Wednesday so a nice sociable end to my SWC year - merry Christmas everyone and looking forward to 2024!

7 of us alighted from the train at Sunningdale railway station for today's walk to Windsor. The morning was sunny and warm becoming overcast later ; in fact near ideal walking conditions, as a gentle breeze kept us refreshed. No mud to speak of, as our route took us through green, lush parkland and woods.

Valley Gardens did not disappoint. Once fully in the gardens there were some magnificent, colourful displays of azaleas - and the rhododendrons were pretty good as well. On reaching Savill Gardens three of us decided to have lunch in the cafeteria, whilst the others enjoyed their picnics near Obelisk pond. The cafeteria was busy and our diners had to queue for a table , then wait quite a while for meals to arrive - but the staff were pleasant and the meals were good - so not an unpleasant experience. One of the picnickers waited patiently for the diners whilst the other three picnickers headed off on the afternoon leg of the walk, some 40 minutes before the rest of us, not to be seen again - I hope they enjoyed their afternoon.

We did not see any deer in the Deer Park - unusual - just one muntjac in the morning. Per usual, the Long Walk went on forever but eventually we arrived below Windsor Castle, then on into town. Although we were a small group of four we managed to split up, with one or two heading for Windsor Central railway station, whilst I headed for the Riverside station to catch the 16-34 hrs service to Waterloo. Trains were on time today but busy in both directions, mainly due to a rugby game being played at Twickers.

A nice way to spend a Sunday in May.

Just 9 of us today, including one first timer - I hope she enjoyed her first day's walking with the SWC.

As for the weather, it was overcast and slightly humid in the morning turning to sunny as we walked the Long Walk .

The rhododendrons were splendid in Virginia Water, as they were everywhere else on the walk today. But the azaleas were disappointing - two plus weeks past their best in Valley Gardens. Note to self - post this walk next year by week two of May (just after the bluebells).

Four of us dined at the Savill Gardens cafeteria - excellent, friendly service, and prompt arrival of meals, albeit of iffy quality. No matter - it made for an enjoyable lunch stop. All but one of the sandwichers waited patiently for the diners to finish their lunches, so we set off as an eightsome post prandial.

The rhodos alongside Rhododendron Drive were colourful, and the water lilies in Cow Pond were coming on nicely.

On entering Windsor Deer Park; for the first time ever (in my experience on this walk) there was not one sighting of bambi - the nearest we came to it all day was the venison sausages I purchased in the Savill Gardens shop.

The Long walk went on forever, per usual , but eventually we arrived below Windsor Castle. We thought better of scrounging tea from Her Madge as one in our group was a French Republican, so instead we headed into town - very busy per usual with tourists. Five of us stopped for tea and cake at the Cinnamon Cafe in the Windsor Royal Station precinct, whilst the other three made for The Boatman pub on the river.

It was the 16-22 hrs service from the Riverside station for the Cinnamons, whilst I expect the Boatmen caught the train thirty minutes later.

I only knew one of my eight companions today from previous SWC walks but I have to say I had a most enjoyable day in their company - thank you. And hopefully the day for the others wasn't too shabby.

Just 4 today for this pleasant walk to Windsor. Maybe the wet morning put others off. We did incur rain or drizzle until lunchtime with some sunshine breaking through later . It was unseasonably mild which made choice of walking gear difficult. But no matter, we enjoyed the opening leg of the walk, through some slippery mud which was mostly manageable. Even devoid of azaleas in bloom, the walk through Valley Gardens was as lovely as ever. Arriving at Savill Gardens Cafeteria at 1 pm we found the caff very busy but a table was found for us and service was prompt and friendly. Very acceptable food arrived soon after to keep the fires burning for the afternoon leg of our walk. It took our waiter five attempts to present us with the correct bill, which we eventually found funny, but apart from this, the caff was a very pleasant experience.

We then took the original TO Book route through Windsor Great Park, avoiding the start of the Long Walk, and viewing at close-up large herds of deer, before joining the Long Walk for the long slog to Windsor Castle. We were a bit mud-splattered by the time we reached its precincts, so we cancelled our plan to take tea with Madge and instead headed for the Royal Windsor Railway Shopping Centre where we enjoyed tea at the Cinnamon Cafe. The town was abuzz with visitors - I have never seen it so busy - so we were fortunate to find a free table in the cafe of my choice.

Trains were running and on time today which helped make the day an enjoyable one.

11 alighted from the posted train and immediately split into two "bubbles" - of six snd five. At times during the morning the lead six were spotted beating the bounds, but alas, after Valley Gardens they were not seen again - I do hope they enjoyed their day as much as the five behind them did.

The Liphook walkers were unlucky today, as - like the Flitwick walkers - we enjoyed sunshine for most of the day and despite it being cold, with no wind to speak of, conditions for winter walking were near perfect.

The route was firm under foot and mostly mud-free and it was good to see many families out-and-about, enjoying post-lockdown "freedom". The gardens were devoid of their colourful flowers resplendent in the month of May but the lovely sunshine today made up for this which otherwise worked well for a winter's outing. The restaurant in Savill Gardens was doing a roaring trade in very well managed Covid-compliant conditions and two of us enjoyed good lunches indoors with the other three in our bubble joining us for a coffee.

The afternoon leg was equally enjoyable - we took the original route once inside the Great Park - and having observed a vast herd of deer from a safe distance we joined the Long Walk for the long haul to Windsor Castle. Ones feet were complaining by the time we reached Windsor, but tea taken in the precincts of the former Windsor Royal Railway Station hit the spot very nicely and we were fully recovered by the time we reached the Riverside railway station, to catch the 16-21 hrs service back to London.

It was nice to be back in SWC company after lockdown.

Tea at Archie's?

Re. the alternative ending in Staines. First of all there’s a bit of road walking on none too quiet roads. The pub is also closed and boarded up. However the descent through woods to the John F Kennedy followed by the Magna Carta memorials is lovely. This is followed by a long delightful stretch of the Thames Path all the way to Staines. Of note along the river is the new (to me anyway) statue of our present Queen gazing over the river and with some seating and an ice cream van at her feet. Joe.

Good to learn that Joe and another walker enjoyed their walk-ending in Staines, having said goodbye to the rest of us at the Savill Garden cafeteria. 14 of us alighted from the train at Sunningdale on a glorious sunny warm day to set out on today's walk. The azaleas and rhododendrons in Valley Gardens did not disappoint - some stunning, bright colours with flowers in full bloom. At said Gardens our group separated as we explored the many paths through the hilly Gardens, but most reassembled at the Totem pole or shortly afterwards at the Savill Gardens cafeteria, which was busy but not too busy: diners (about 7 of us) did not have to wait too long for our meals to arrive. Sitting at two outdoor tables with sandwichers who joined us we were able to relax before setting out on the afternoon leg of the walk, still in glorious sunshine. We opted for the original TO Book route rather than the Copper Horse route, and we had fun trying to figure out the correct way given those GPS gizmos showed different routes to the Book's Directions. My version, circa 1902 on vellum, did not let me down. Whilst off piste, thanks to the gizmos, we encountered a large (100 plus) herd of roe deer, which took an interest in us from a safe distance. We joined the Long Walk a mile north of the Copper Horse, but even cutting out the opening section, the walk seemed to go on for ever - that darn castle never getting any nearer. Along the way we were "serenaded" by jet engine noise from overhead planes descending to Heathrow: it was most remiss of me not to have arranged a flight path diversion to Southampton.

Having reached Windsor, one of us headed straight for the Riverside station, whilst eight stopped at the Boatman pub on the river (behind the railway station) for an enjoyable drink in the afternoon sun before the few minute walk to the station to board the 17-23 hrs train back to London.

A lovely day's walking in best SWC company.

I shall join the train at Twickenham

Seven SWC walkers alighted from the posted train at Sunningdale, and one was on the next train, meeting up with us at lunch, so that is 8 on a glorious sunny and warm day .

Some of us did our own thing when we reached Valley Gardens in the morning, wandering around and between the rhodos and azaleas which were in full bloom: I have never seen the gardens look so lovely and colourful in the sunshine.

Four picnicked at a bench overlooking Obelisk Pond, and four of us dined in the Savill Gardens cafeteria. I preferred the previous self-service counter arrangement, but having placed our orders we did not have to wait too long for our meals to arrive at our table, on the verandah, in the sunshine - and very good food, too. The picnickers joined us for a drink, then two left to continue the walk to Staines, with the rest of us opting to carry on to Windsor.

At the option point at the entrance to Windsor Park, four headed for the Copper Horse, and I was joined by one as I book checked the original book route. I got lost - a bit embarrassing as I did the previous update. The Copper Horsers kindly waited for us failed explorers to rejoin them on the Long Walk - that is, all bar one, who had out-jfked jfk herself by flagging down a passing horse and carriage to hitch a ride through Windsor Park. Rumours had it she was seen in Lady Muck mode, practising her waves to the peasants from the dicky seat in the carriage. She looked very pleased with herself when she deigned to rejoin us near the Castle. There were plenty of horse and carriages to be seen in the Park, out practising for a prestigious by-Royal-invitation-only three day event. I believe our audacious walker was with the Belgium competitor.

On eventually reaching the Castle (the Long Walk is a terrible tease - for those who do not cadge a lift - as the darn castle never seems to get any nearer) we stopped for a beer at the the Two Brewers pub, next to the Castle, where the owner was in the process of putting up bunting for a certain marriage in ten days time. Suitably refreshed, we then made our unhurried way down through the town to the Riverside railway station.

Another lovely Wednesday outing.

Going.

Hi,

I am just wondering if you are sure that there's a 10:09 train to Reading on this Sunday.

My search says 9:36 Waterloo

10:46 Sunnindale

Yes, it does seem to be 9.36 from London to Sunningdale. Next train after that is 10.36 from London.

Thanks for spotting the problem with the train time. I've corrected the outward (and return) train info.

There are engineering works between Clapham Junction and Twickenham so trains are being diverted, with journey times about 20 minutes longer than normal.

I think the last time I did this walk was some time in the late Cretaceous period in the SWC's history so I had forgotten virually everything about it. I decided to give it another go and 7 of us set off on what is essentially a suburban/parkland walk and frankly at this time of year it is a bit dull although virtually mud-free (but not if you do the Runnymede option where a strip pf the field is very muddy). Probably better in Spring when at least there should be some decent flowers and shrubs to enjoy.

Most of us diverted to the Sun Inn which provided good quality meals really quickly. We reached the Thames where all except 1? ambled on to Staines along the Thames path. on this day the Staines option was preferable because of the better train service back to London and we reached the station to catch a 3.48 train to Waterloo. Weather dry mild with some sun .

We did this walk on Sunday (myself, my partner and a eight month old baby) and even managed to follow the section in the Rhododendrons where the wayfinding was complex to say the least. I do question, however, the distances in walk instruction 49 which are much longer than described.

49. In 130 metres exit the wood and turn right on a car-wide track, your direction 25°. In 160 metres your track joins an access track

and you keep ahead. In 60 metres you pass the entrance driveway to scout huts on your left-hand side.

We had lunch in the Savill Garden tent restaurant and finished between five and six. We arrived with the main party but didn't walk with them as we had some immediate baby related business to attend to right at the start!

Anyone spot the difference?

I presume 1038 at richmond jfk

As you can see, this walk was also posted on the preceding Sunday.

Unfortunately the poster for the Sunday walk didn't put the title on the Blog header, so Dent missed the clash :-(

Anyhow it's a little late to change so I apologise to anyone who was intending to do this walk on Sunday and who was also intending to walk this Wednesday - hopefully not too many of you!

forecast horrible for tomorrow so i'm out. too bad. M

6 drizzle and rain all day but never torrential .

Fair weather walkers stayed away, leaving 6 of us to venture forth on a day when the rain was never as heavy as forecasted. Not a good time of year to do this walk - it should be done in April and May when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in bloom - but that said we made the best of the day and the walk in very nice company - and it was not too muddy or wet under foot. Lunch at the Savill Gardens caff was as expected, and 4 of us stopped for tea and cake in Windsor.

An enjoyable day out.

Wonderful day out in light rain.jfk

Anyone spot the difference?

Is there a difference

2 Sunny . Possibly only two because the same walk to follow mid week. Mostly mud-free so a good walk for this time of year. Went a little off piste in the Park but as a result got close to two very impressive stags an saw a group of hinds and young.

Looking forward to doing this. Is there a fee to pay to see the events at Runnymede?

To see the Pageant in Runnymede Pleasure Ground with all its activities, including the re-enactment, you'd need a ticket, though this event has long been sold out. But there's no charge to stand on the banks of the Thames at Runnymede to watch the flotilla of boats pass by, and you might get a glimpse of everyone disembarking at the pleasure ground.

We had 14 initially, two late comers joined at lunch time. Morning ramble in various parks were lovely, loads of flowers in full bloom. Lunch at self service restaurant was good, they now have Leith catering on site, not expensive as some suggested. They even served Magna Carta beer. We reached river at Runnymede just before 2:45pm, all found a nice spot to watch the river relay. After visiting the Magna Carta Memorial, we head to the ticketed area (now open to everyone) for 'fun fair'. Several watched locals jousting. Five of us then had tea/drink at Mercure hotel cafe by the river in Stain o Thames. The weather: mostly cloudy with sunny intervals occasionally.

14