Twenty of us set off from the Jekyll and Hyde pub on Saturday 15th June on this joint walk with the Berkshire Walkers 20s & 30s group. There was a pretty even mix of members from both groups.
After a brief stretch of road walking, heading south along the A33, we turned off through what appeared to be a hole in the hedge. Only as we passed through it did we see the wooden footpath sign, which we could have so easily missed. This took us westward into a large field and away from the busy road and toward the River Loddon.
For much of the first half of the walk we were following the approximate course of the River Loddon, although it wasn't in view much of the time as the footpaths weren't always that close to the bank. The weather had been forecast as sunny, windy and rainy, which was pretty accurate. We were putting on, and taking off jackets throughout the walk.
Having left the course of the River Loddon, we found a nice dry field in which to stop for our lunch. The rain waited until we'd finished eating before showering us as we continued with the walk. The second half of the walk included a variety of terrain and associated challenges.
At this time of year everything is growing like mad, including the nettles and brambles, so some of the paths were quite overgrown. With low hanging branches and creepers, we were alternately ducking down and stepping over vegetation. We also had a few ditches to jump across on this adventure route.
As we crossed one of the fields, some curious heifers began following us. One or two members of our group don't get on with large animals, and didn't enjoy the attention that these young cows were paying us.
Escaping from the field via a couple of styles into the next field, we encountered some adult cows that were just as curious and they followed us right up to the gated exit of this field. Although these docile creatures didn't represent any real danger, certain members of our group couldn't wait to get over the style and back onto the enclosed woodland footpath.
The last stretch took us along a minor road onto the A33, and passed a cricket pitch where a match was in progress, despite the rain. The walk ended at the pub, where most of us stopped off for some liquid refreshment.
An advantage of having the pub-stop at the end of the walk is that those not wanting a drink could go straight home. Also it meant that we could change out of our muddy boots before going inside. You can see our route on Google Maps.
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