Twenty-three people, including eight or more newcomers, turned up on Saturday 7th February for a rather muddy seven mile walk around Shiplake, Sonning Eye and Dunsden Green. With the sun occasionally peeping out from behind the grey clouds, we set off from the Memorial Hall in Shiplake and went south-west through the village and past the college.
Lawrence, one of our regular guests from the Chiltern Weekend Walkers, requested a stop to look around the Church of St Peter's and St Paul's on our way down to the River Thames. After that, we joined the Thames Path by the Shiplake College rowing club, where we saw a few hardy students out on the river.
A misty drizzle began as we followed the Thames Path south toward Sonning Eye, but it didn't last for long. Just long enough for some of us to stop and put on waterproofs only to find they we no longer necessary!
We reached Sonning Eye and found a pleasant spot by the river for our picnic lunch. It was a little early for lunch but there would be nowhere as suitable before reaching the pub. After lunch we followed a particularly muddy footpath that ran parallel to Spring Lane, at the end of which was the Flowing Spring pub, which due to the shape of the landscape is built on stilts. We climbed the stairs and popped in for a drink.
Suitably refreshed, we left the pub, crossed the A4155 Henley Road and headed up the hill to Dunsden Green. Although the footpath didn't look particularly steep, we gained 55m (180ft) of height in less than 10 minutes, and on the slippery mud it did feel like a mini workout.
In Dunsden Green we passed close to the Loddon Brewery. (During the pre-walk, the leader and I popped in and bought a few bottles to weigh down our rucksacks.) We continued north toward Binfield Heath and then turning east, we passed through Shiplake Copse and Shiplakecourt Farm before arriving back at the Memorial Hall car park. See our route on Bing Maps.
Return to volume index