countryside – My London+

A parched land

In the past week, the UK has been experiencing a second heatwave. There has been no rain since the break in the previous heatwave in July, and there really wasn’t enough of it. The photo above shows what was once a green field. This is a lovely spot, with acres of fields and green space leading down to the River Hogsmill. But everywhere is the same. All the parks, especially in London and the south are parched and scorched. There is no pleasure in walking these places right now.

The last time I remember seeing grass like this was back in the 1970’s, the long hot summer, but it was never as bad as this. Rivers are drying up, reservoirs are emptying, and temperatures have been over 30c for several days. It is too hot to go out by mid-morning. For me, it’s been to hot to travel anywhere. I even went shopping at 10pm to the 24 hour Tesco! The last time I went anywhere else was on Wednesday when I attended a singing workshop. There they had the aircon on (not great for the environment). It was up so high, it was actually a pleasure to come outside in the heat! It was around 30c that day.

Across Europe, fires are still raging that have been going for weeks, main rivers are drying up so boats cannot pass anymore, old villages and bridges once submerged under water are re-emerging. If people cannot see this is climate change, when will they?

I love this planet. I love walking in the countryside, being close to nature and rivers. Right now, it is distressing to see and I long for rain (I never thought I’d say that), but like my craving for cups of tea on a walk, rain is fast becoming my desire. The earth is crying out for rain. And I am too.

I heard this morning that the first ten miles of the River Thames from its source in Gloucestershire are now dry. No river. Drought is something we see in the developing world due to climate change, but did we take notice then, even though the west is the main cause? No. Now it’s here, will we take notice? Sadly, it seems that changing the way we live to save this planet is low down on people’s list of priorities. Most people (?) would agree this is climate change, but changing anything is an inconvenience some are not prepared to endure. And of course people don’t like to be told what to do. So how do we persuade them?

This wasn’t what I set out to write about this morning, but I’ve been aware of climate change for decades, when people thought I was weird (I think some still do). I’d rather be called weird than see this world die. I am finding it difficult to live in this heatwave and see what it is doing to the earth. What is this world going to look like in ten, 20 or 30 years? It breaks my heart that profits come before people, and governments talk a lot but do hardly anything. This world has so much to offer us if we just work with it. We are part of it, the trees are our lungs, we are connected to the earth, an intricate part, interwoven with it, but we do not own it. Make no mistake, the earth will recover because nature is stronger than us. It may yet destroy us because of our abuse. The planet can get along just fine without us. If we want to be part of it, still here to enjoy it, then our hearts have to change.

I cannot end on negatives, and this week we saw the last Supermoon of the year (I think I’ve got that right). After my dash to Tesco in the night, I came out to capture the brilliant moon.

Walk safely and never leave anything behind except your footprint.

Thames Path Walk: Henley to Reading

This was a day walk. Henley is around one hour on the train from Paddington. We arrived around 11.30am. The day was beautiful and warm. Close to Henley, an unsafe bridge meant a diversion through a local farmer’s property. It turned out to be a pleasant diversion, and we were soon back on Thames Path. A short walk and we were in Shiplake, where we stopped to have our packed lunch. We considered going to The Baskerville pub for a cup of tea before setting off again, and this was our big mistake. We didn’t! A regret that would live with us until Reading!

The next stretch of the walk took us alongside the railway track and over the line at Shiplake Station (a station on the Twyford to Henley line), and at this point, we temporarily left the Thames. Coming back to it, we were disappointed we couldn’t see St Peter & St Paul Church through the trees. It hides up beyond Shiplake College Rowing Club. It would have meant a walk uphill, and knowing we still had a fair way to walk, we reluctantly didn’t venture up there. However, I can tell you that the poet Tennyson married here and paid the vicar with a poem instead of the fee! Also the author George Orwell grew up in Shiplake.

Damselfly – always wildlife to look out for

This was perhaps the more interesting part of the walk and seemed well spread out.

The next section of the walk seemed to be a slog. There were no real landmarks to tell us how far we still had to walk, or locate on the map. My map of the route was over several pages of the book, but we seemed to be stuck on one page for an eternity. At this point, we were in desperate need of a cup of tea! We were holding on for Sonning where our books said there was a riverside tea shop.

Walking into Sonning. Is that a postbox on the bridge?!

We arrived at Sonning Lock where there should have been a tea shop. There wasn’t! The Lockkeepers said it had been closed for two years. My friend asked if they would make us a cuppa, but no. We asked how much further it was to Reading and were told it was about three miles. So we sat on a bench to eat our last snacks and drink our water. We both needed plasters for our feet, and then we set off again dreaming of cups of tea lined up on a bar!

The final slog along the Thames seemed daunting. However, it wasn’t long before signs of Reading emerged, like a school rowing club with Reading in its name! This urged us on.

Reading School Rowing Club out on the water

We pressed on as we saw tall building through the trees. We could also taste the tea!

Despite being tea deprived, I stopped to take this!

By the time we reached Caversham Lock, I knew we were close to Reading. We came to a part in the path I remembered from a previous trip to Reading. For a moment, we came off the path and headed for the big Tesco store because they would have a cafe. Our spirits plummeted again when we found the cafe was closed due to lack of staff. Dispirited, we used the customer loos and headed back to the path.

Finally, we saw Reading Bridge. We were there. And the station was just over the road. We finally got our cuppa. Pure nectar!

After we recovered, we headed for the train. Our plan had been to use the new Elizabeth Line back into London, and this we did. As I have Freedom Pass, I was able to ride this for free! Nice to have some advantages to getting older! It took around an hour. The fast train probably takes half that time, but this was our dream to ride the Elizabeth Line. I’ve followed every development of Crossrail, now the Elizabeth Line, and this was a good opportunity to travel a whole length of it. The train was less crowded than the fast train (which we saw flying past!). It was a nice relaxing ride back to London.

Interior of train – not that busy from Reading

Door to door we had walked just under thirteen and half miles, the longest Thames Path walk we’d done. Each section of the path is different. There are boring bits and beautiful parts. We were just glad to reach the end this time. We have our next walk planned, but due to National Rail going on strike, we have already had to change the date. Whether it happens remains to be seen. I have walked this next section before when staying in Reading. It seemed a long walk last time, but it says in our books the walk is seven miles. It should be a doddle after what we’d just walked!

Paddington Station and Elizabeth Line train

Chartwell: Home of Sir Winston Churchill

Now, I must admit, I have never been a big fan of Churchill. I’ve never forgiven him for ruining a whole day due to his state funeral. I was coming up to ten years old, and all I remember of that day is sombre music on the radio, and there was nothing, I mean nothing else to do. So depressing! The world stopped, and I thought, who is this man that can do this?

Okay, I’ve got that out of my system, but as a nearly ten year old, I didn’t really understand (or want to know) who this man was, but that day haunted me, and I’ve obviously never got over it! Second thing – I only associated Churchill with war, which seemed to obsess my parents’ generation. I realise now, of course, how much it affected them. There was still rationing when my brother was born. When the air-raid siren on top of the local police station was tested (which I remember as a child), how my mum hated it. Thirdly, I have been to Chartwell before with my mum and dad, many years ago, but I barely remember it, and I wonder if that too has been blotted out of my mind due to my prejudice against him! I remember standing in the garden, and that’s all. So, why, you might ask, did I recently visit? Well, a friend was keen, and I never refuse a day out!

There is actually a well – the Chart Well!

Has my opinion changed? I have become more sympathetic, and I love the fact that he was such a family man. I’m never going to be his biggest fan, but I can live with it! Maybe I have laid the ghost to rest.

The front of the house isn’t as impressive as the side or back.

Chartwell had been owned by the Churchill family since 1922. It was only in 1964, a year before he died, that he moved to his flat in London, due to ill health. You can read more about Churchill here. Of course, there is more to Churchill than just war. He was Prime Minister. I learned that he switched political parties, he suffered from depression and the only thing to help with that was painting. And he was a family man. In the gardens is a cute brick built playhouse he had built for his children.

The brick built playhouse in the gardens

Planting is still not complete. During lockdown, The National Trust lost money and could not afford plants, so there are still bare beds in some places.

The house has beautiful rooms, and the views are spectacular. Who ever said Kent is flat? There are some very hilly parts to Kent. I expected very masculine rooms where Churchill worked and plotted the way war was going, but I was surprised by how homely it all felt. It wasn’t all leather and wood! I also marvelled at how industrious Churchill was – how many books he wrote and how many pictures he painted. How did he have time?

There is a museum with a lot about Churchill’s life, especially his the military life and all the organisations he was a member of. There is a whole case of uniforms and, of course, his cigars.

Outside the gardens is Churchill’s studio. At first he had only a small studio, part of the workmen’s cottages. He put windows on the roof to add more light. Now this is the exhibition space for his many paintings. Churchill did not start to paint until he was 41. Encouraged by his sister-in-law, it became a lifelong hobby, and he took his box of paints and canvasses with him when abroad. Some of the paintings are unfinished, like professional artist’s sketches, and sometimes he went back and started again. Here you can compare the unfinished with the finished. They are remarkable paintings. Churchill never painted for profit or to display. This was something he did for himself. Around the garden and grounds there are seats placed where Churchill would sit to paint. And what views there are to paint at Chartwell.

The studio – everything here is Churchill’s

The National Trust acquired Chartwell eighteen years after Churchill’s death. These days there is a super cafe, National Trust Shop, secondhand bookshop and the all important toilets. There are lovely walks you can take into the woodlands. My friend and I took one of these paths and came across swathes of bluebells. Looking back at the house from there, you can see why Churchill loved this place so much.

A view of the house from across the lake

I loved the house and studio, and the surrounding gardens and countryside are beautiful. The house has a lovely feel about it, a good atmosphere, homely. This must have been a place to relax in away from London and all politics and war for Churchill. A place of family, and his beloved painting. We heard a talk in the studio about Churchill’s art, and he was friends with Sir William Nicholson (father of Ben Nicholson who worked with and married Barbara Hepworth). In fact, Sir William was Churchill’s mentor, but when Nicholson suggested using a more muted palette, Churchill decided to stick with what he liked. I admire him for that. You can see both artists’ pictures of the view of the swimming pool – I much prefer Churchill’s! It made me smile because Sir William’s son, Ben did the same with ‘primitive’ artist Alfred Wallis, but Wallis also went his own way!

Trent Country Park, Enfield

With yet another gloomy day weather-wise, I just had to get outside. Just before I left home it was drizzling, so I held off for a while. In the end it looked a little brighter and I set off to Trent Country Park in Enfield. This was a long trek across London – bus, then train into Vauxhall station, tube to Green Park where I changed to the Piccadilly line. I stayed on the tube all the way to the end of the line at Cockfosters. I remembered that I had been here once before, to a wedding two years ago. In fact, when I came out of the station, the church where the marriage took place was just over the road.

From Cockfosters tube it’s just a short walk (turning right from the station) to the Country Park. I had a map from the most excellent book, Freedom Pass London. Without it I might have got lost in the park as it was much larger than I imagined with many paths. I was following one trail.

A little history (and why not). The park was once King Henry IV’s hunting ground in the 14th century, then known as Enfield Chase. in 1909 the estate passed to Sir Philip Sassoon (cousin of World War I poet Siegfried Sassoon) He entertained big stars like Charlie Chaplin in the Manor House, also Winston Churchill, and during the second world war it housed German General prisoners of war, including Rudolph Hess.

My first point of call was The Obelisk dedicated to the birth of George Grey, Earl of Harold in 1702. But George was actually born in 1732 and died six month later! The monument is quite a trek, but there is a nice view back to the park. Beyond it are farm fields. The combine harvesters were o,ut and it reminded me of Clarkson’s Farm which my son bulldozed me into watching on Prime, and grudgingly had to admit I enjoyed!

From there I headed towards Camlet Moat (a slight unsure moment when I wondered if I was going the right way). Camlet is a shortened version of Camelot and it is said that an apparition of Guinevere can be spotted here. The ghost of Geoffrey De Mandeville, Earl of Sussex and Hertfordshire (isn’t that greedy to have two counties?!) also haunts the moat after he was shot with an arrow in 1144 in a rebellion against King Stephen. However, the moat has Celtic origins and was said to have had a drawbridge in Roman times. Dick Turpin was also said to have hid in a hut here. The water was very green with weed and very still. I saw no ghost, but then I wouldn’t want to be here at night.

The next stop was the Japanese Water Garden. I was a little disappointed. I guess I was expecting something like the gardens in Holland Park. No waterfalls and the water was covered in weed. I think I must have missed the best of any planting as everything was green, no flowers. However, the lake beyond it was beautiful.

After this I became a little disorientated with signage and my trail map. I ended up doubling back and then retracing my steps until I found the WRAS Wildlife Hospital & Animal Centre on the edge of the park. For £3.50 you get to enter. There is a small cafe but no toilets. Here are the rescued animals and those unable to be returned to the wild. There were geese, deer, sheep, pigs, various birds and a little fox. The little fox was a sorry sight, and I was so worried about it that when I returned home I messaged the hospital to ask about it. I was told that she was ten years old, named Foxy and that she had been in a road traffic accident and her hip was broken. The operation wasn’t particularly successful so she could not be returned to the wild. She shared her run with another female fox who was very shy. Little Foxy stole my heart. I just wanted to give her a hug.

The St Francis of Assisi Garden for all lost animals

Just on the edge of the country park Berkeley Homes are building a new estate and the manor house seems to be being converted into apartments. I am sure the estate will look very nice, but I worry about building so close to a lovely area such as this.

There is a cafe (and toilets) by the car park and here I had a very late lunch before leaving. Walking along the tree lined road there is a Go Ape Tree Top Adventure Park which looked very popular. I couldn’t find the Wood Sculptor’s Workshop which is supposed to be adjacent, but I did see some of the animal wood carvings.

Late lunch of roasted vegetable Panini with crisps

The weather never really got much beyond on a blink of sun and stayed gloomy, but at least I was out in the countryside. It felt more like autumn than late summer. August was mainly a complete flop weather-wise.

Thames Path – Staines to Datchet

Friday was the ideal day for walking this section of the Thames Path. The weather was warm and the sun was out most of the time. Technically, none of this walk is in London, but it does begin very close to the outer reaches of London! And what would a blog about London be without those days away to places that can be reached from London? It takes under an hour to reach the start of this walk by train from central London.

Staines (the ‘upon-Thames’ was added a few years back) was the stopping point from the last Thames Path walk taken a couple of years ago. I am not one for walking great sections in one go, like Ramblers groups or those keen Thames Path walkers who think nothing of pounding out twelve to fourteen miles in one day. No, I am the ambler not the rambler! I like to take my time, stop in places if I want, take lots of photos, and take in the scenery. I tend to break the walks down into two or three separate walks. My legs would not manage twelve miles these days anyway!

This section of the walk is around six and quarter miles. However, by not reading the map properly and crossing the Thames at Staines bridge like I should, I managed to add a quarter to half mile extra by staying on the same side until the path ran out. I ended up walking along a main road. I then found a footpath declaring it led to Runnymede Bridge. The path led to the river, but it was dead end. Having met someone on retracing my steps I was able to take a less worn path up to the bridge and cross it (alongside the busy M25) and scoot over the barrier and down a steep path to re-join the Thames Path where I should have been walking. I doubled back to see what I had missed on this side (worth the effort), before turning around and continuing to my destination.

Taken in Lammas Recreational Ground from my off-route walking! See that bridge over there? That’s where I should have been walking!

Had I stuck to my route I’d not have come across this.

Staines has been a crossing point since Roman times and was mentioned in the Doomsday Book as property being held by Westminster Abbey. If you would like to read more of about the history of Staines, see here.

Underneath Runnymede Bridge looking towards where I should be!

Runnymede is the home of many things. Perhaps the most famous being where the Magna Carta was signed on 12th June 1215. This was the royal charter of rights agreed to and signed by King John (though his heart wasn’t in it!) There is a monument nearby commemorating the signing. Last year my husband and I visited the RAF Memorial at Runnymede, and though we saw the memorial to John F Kennedy and other memorials, we missed the one to the Magna Carta! However, on my walk on Friday I saw it across the fields. If you read my blog from last year you will see there are statues in Lalham (nearest station to the site) connected with the Magna Carta that I took photos of.

Now on the right path I found other fascinating things

I continued my walk. The next main point of interest is Bell Weir Lock. The wall of the pub has been artistically painted with references to the Magna Carta

From here it is a walk to Runnymede (as mentioned above) first passing a boatyard and some pretty houseboats where tables and chairs are set out.

The day I was walking there was some sort of run going on. Further up I came across their refreshment stop. Runners were refueling before setting off again. Along this stretch, the river is on my right and the busy road to my left. Across the road is where the monument to the Magna Carta is (see photo below).

The walk continues into a quieter phase. The countryside wraps around you, the noise of the traffic departs, and all you hear are the sounds of birds and the odd boat puttering by. On the path you mostly meet dog walkers and the odd backpackers.

Walking into Old Windsor one might think that you are near the royal town with the castle. You are some miles away from all that!

Not a castle in sight, just glassy water

Perhaps my favourite photo of the walk – Old Windsor

Not too far after Old Winsor Lock I came to Albert Bridge which I had to cross for the last leg of this walk. This was by far the most beautiful part of the walk. Again the countryside hummed around me. Lots of trees and wild plants. Many Orange-tip butterflies flitted around me as well as buzzing bees. The scenery was wild and it made me feel wonderful just to be here.

After a while, the path veered right and ran alongside farmland towards the road, though the path was fenced. I was nearly at my journey’s end and soon came across the sign for Datchet.

By now I was desperate for a cup of tea and wondered what Datchet would offer. Firstly, I had to find the Thames again, just to mark my stopping point.

And here we are – the stretch of Thames at Datchet

Datchet is a pretty village with a green and a very old tree. It was planted to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. That is where I sat (under the tree) to drink my cup of tea. I did not expect to find a Costa in Datchet, but I was so grateful as there was nothing else open. The train station was close by and it was time now to head home. It had been a wonderful walk.

Richmond Park

Last week I went on a walk to Richmond Park. My walking companion knew a quick way through a couple of private roads, a route I have never taken before. It was indeed quicker. We entered by a gate I have never used before and soon we were crossing the park to the Isabella Plantation. These gardens were a favourite place for my family when I lived at home. My dad would drive us to Richmond Park regularly, and these gardens were always on the agenda.

The gardens have evolved over the years and now includes a new toilet block and signs. The day we went there was rather overcast and cold, but trees were coming into blossom.

Richmond Park is one of the Royal Parks and the largest. It dates back to 1272 when it was called Manor of Sheen. From its highest point you have an unrestricted view of St Paul’s Cathedral, twelve miles away. You can read a short history of the park here.

We stayed only a short while as we still had the walk back home, but now lockdown restrictions are easing it would be nice to revisit soon.

Came across this at the end of of one of the private roads! That was a new one on me.

NaBloPoMo – Day 2 – Chessington 5 mile circular walk

The notes in my book said this walk would take two to three hours. I suppose I didn’t do too bad considering I lost my way twice and had to contend with extreme mud in places. That slowed things down a little. Even so, I completed the walk in just under three hours.

The walk begins and ends at Chessington South railway station. It being schools half term holidays last week, I got off the train with families on their way to Chessington World of Adventure. I quickly left them behind as I was cutting down a lane that would take me behind the zoo and adventure park.

The first part of the walk led me off that path and up a hill known as Winney Hill, quite apt actually as the field beyond the woods I walked through contained grazing horses. The book was a little vague about direction here. It said walk acros the field, but which way? Using my instinct (a vague and sometimes unbelieved sense of direction) I worked out that straight on meant left. I could hear the screams of the riders on the rollercoaster from the adventure park and knew I needed to go along that way. I did find the viewing point and the small lake on my way, so I knew then that I was right. Following the fence of the adventure park was the easy bit. Eventually, on my right, I came across the car park for the park, and an entrance, which a steward tried to guide towards before I told her I wasn’t going in, just passing.

At the bottom I crossed the main road and headed along a grass track to another road, which I also crossed. I was doing quite well until I came across an arable field. The books said walk straight across it. I found a grass swathe alongside the field which I took. I was walking towards the farm buildings. I felt quite explosed here, wondering…should I be walking along here? The book told me to look for a gap in the hedge on the other side. Huh? I guess I was expecting some tiny shove-through hedge job, but actually there was a wide gap which took me up through another field towards Ashtead Common.

Here I was back on a main path. There was a temptation to explore the common, but I was conscious of time and getting lost, so I stuck with my plan. Something I have come to realise is that the signposts for footpaths don’t always correspond with the ones in books! I came to a fork in the path with several options. I wasn’t sure which way, but I went right. I wasn’t convinced, so I asked a walker coming from the direction I was going. He confirmed my fears, but at least I hadn’t walked far. I retraced my steps back to the original path and carried on to Stew Pond, the next main point on my walk. There I picked up the Chessington Countryside Trail and headed towards Horton Country Park.

It was near Horton Country Park that I veered off track somehow. Again I stopped a walker. She was so helpful that she actually led me back to where I needed to be. We chatted about walks, direction, getting lost! We found some noticeboards near a car park and some toilets, and this is where we parted. The toilets were open so I made use of them. Then I was off again. Somehow, more luck than judgment I think, I managed to keep to the right paths, trunderling along the side of a field and then up through a path that went by the back gardens of houses. I was nearly there.

Anyone know what these animals are? They were in a field, privately owned (Horton Country Park)

The last part brought me out to a road I vaguely knew, but I overshot the signpost. I’d seen it, but convinced myself it was the wrong way! Silly me. I double backed and hauled my aching legs up the steps into the last part of the walk. This sections was Huntingate Walk and had lovely views back over the countryside. At the end of the path I came back out on Garrison Lane and the station was a welcome sight over the road.

High Elms Country Park, Farnborough, Kent

You might be forgiven for thinking that the extensive woodlands and golf course are deep into the Kent countryside, but High Elms is actually in the outer London Borough of Bromley. There is a cafe and visitor centre, along with ruins of High Elm House. The house was lived in by the Lubbock family. Sir John Lubbock (astronomer and banker) inherited the land from his father (John Wiliam Lubbock, a London banker and MP) and built the house in 1840. Sir John’s son (also called John) invited Charles Darwin to visit shortly after Darwin moved into Downe House (just a carriage drive away) in 1842. The two became firm friends. Another visitor was William Gladstone.

The estate can be traced back to the time of William the Conqueror, who gifted it to his half-brother, Odo, bishop of Bayeux.

What is left of the house, which burnt down in the 1960’s , is just a layout, a few stones, the tennis courts ( now grassed over), an ice house, but the gardens and land remain. There are several pleasant walks and High Elms seems to be a popular spot for families and dog walkers.

High Elms Country Park made for a pleasant afternoon’s walking in dappled light, and the surprise of finding the unusual sight of a fallen tree whose branches have grown into trees themselves (see photos).

There is a lot more about High Elms here, including how to get there and a nature trail that can be downloaded and printed to use on your visit.