Seventeen of us set off from Henley on Sunday 24th March, well wrapped up in hats, gloves and lots of layers. We had a bit of snow the previous day and most of it was still around as the temperatures hadn't been above 1°C. You wouldn't think that Spring has officially started!
Starting from Henley-on-Thames railway station, we walked north through the town and then joined the Oxfordshire Way heading up No Man's Hill. Atop this hill was pastureland with a few sheep sheltering for the cold wind.
The Oxfordshire Way is a long-distance footpath that connects Henley-on-Thames with Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire. We only followed a short section before leaving it after Henley Park and following a route that took us to the village of Fawley in Buckinghamshire.
We stopped in the village to admire the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin and to have a drink. Most of us had packed a flask of something hot - in my case it was coffee. I usually prefer tea, but it doesn't taste right once it's been in a flask.
After our stop, we continued heading north up to Gussetts Wood. The snow was thicker in the fields up here and the wood itself had a magical look to it, with snow on the bare branches and twigs.
A pleasant walk through the picturesque Gussetts Wood brought us out onto the road that passes Luxters Farm where there is a vineyard and brewery. We stopped at the shop by Old Luxters Barn, where all sorts of food and drink was available. Some of us did a quick spot of shopping.
Old Luxters Barn has memories for some of us in the group, as two of our members got married here, just over a year ago. Needless to say, the produce of the vineyard and brewery was in abundance at the wedding reception.
After making our purchases we crossed through the wood again, this time heading south-east, and stopped for lunch at the top of a snow covered hill, looking down toward Pheasant's Hill and Hambleden.
There was one bench and seventeen of us, so most of us elected to eat our picnic standing up. One or two hardy types sat on the ground. It goes without saying that we didn't hang around after eating.
Once the picnic was over we got going again, heading south-east down the hill, through a couple of field and over the Skirmett Road into Pheasant's Hill.
From there we turned south and followed the route we had taken a few weeks before, through Pheasant's Hill and into Hambleden. The snow was quite absent at this lower altitude. Once we arrived in the village, we visited the recently re-opened Stag and Huntsman pub for a drink in the warm.
Refreshed and warmed up we left Hambleden on a footpath parallel to the road leading to Mill End. This squelchy path took us to Hambleden Lock, where we crossed the Thames on the metal walkway over the weir.
Rather than following the Thames path back to Henley, we took a route through the hamlets of Aston and Remenham before crossing the Thames again at Henley Bridge.
This 13 mile walk was hard work at times but rewarded by some spectacular views and a wide variety of different types of terrain. You can see our route on Google Maps.
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