Sunday 17th November saw twelve of us meeting at Cookham station in anticipation of a short 6½ mile walk. Although this walk was held jointly with the Berkshire Walkers 20s & 30s group, none of them were there. However, we were joined by several guests from other walking groups.
Starting from the station and walking west through Cookham and Cookham Dean, we were soon out in the countryside and ascending Mount Hill, our first hill of the walk. This walk had a total of around 200m (650ft) of ascent (and therefore descent) on its route.
The weather wasn't particularly warm but it was rather humid and we were soon taking jackets off during the first uphill section.
From Mount Hill we descended into Cookhamdean Common and then up through Park Farm into Park Wood. We continued along the wooded ridgeway passing through The Hockett and Quarry Wood, making a couple of slight detours along the way.
Between The Hockett and Quarry Wood there was a particularly steep descent on a muddy path that tested our skill and balance.
Further along the ridgeway we stopped for our picnic lunch before continuing to Winter Hill. The jackets were going back on now as stopping still on this high vantage point for lunch had reminded us that it wasn't really a warm day.
At Winter Hill we turned south, descending from the ridgeway before ascending back to the village of Cookham Dean, where we stopped at the Jolly Farmer for a drink. The pub had a rather unusual granite sculpture head in its garden, which resembled those on Easter Island. It also had a friendly pub dog, who kept us company outside without demanding too much attention.
After finishing our drinks and making use of the facilities, we set off retracing our steps back to Cookham station, descending about 70m (230ft) in the process. For a relatively short walk, we certainly got some good exercise and it was well worth the trip to this north-easternmost corner of Berkshire.
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