Seven of us turned up at Arborfield Cross on a very hot Wednesday evening in July. Temperatures had exceeded 32°C that afternoon and were still at 29°C at 7pm when we started the walk. Luckily the first half of the walk was through woodland, which kept us out of the scorching rays for a while.
Julia, the leader, had thoughtfully brought along some insect repellent, which we smeared over our arms and legs before setting off. The previous week, when we were pre-walking the route, I got bitten by something that caused my hand to swell to an uncomfortably large size and it took a week to return to normal. Nobody got bitten this time.
We headed out from Arborfield Cross along Cole Lane up to Ellis's Hill Farm where we turned off and headed into woodland of The Coombes. Following a roughly circular route through the mixed woodland, we finally emerging back into the strong evening sunlight by Bearwood Golf Course.
From here we headed north-west along a track to Carter's Hill Farm, where our track joined a lane which then crossed a stream at a ford. (There was a pedestrian bridge by the ford.) We continued south-west along the lane, passing a research centre belonging to Reading University on our way to Arborfield Park.
We stopped to explore the remains of the Church of St Bartholomew on the corner of Arborfield park. Now in ruins, this church was in use until 1863 when it was replaced by the newer church in Arborfield. Now it is home to trees and ivy.
Now heading south to Arborfield village, we passed a field with a lone giant sequoia tree in the centre. With its perfectly tapered trunk, the tree looked almost artificial. (Some cellphone masts are disguised as trees, but this wasn't one of them.)
Skirting Arborfield, we joined the Shinfield Road and followed it for a short way before taking a footpath by Pudding Lane garden centre. This brought us out by the recreation ground on Swallowfield Road, not far from where we had started the walk. See our route on Bing Maps.
It was now 9pm and the temperature was still 26°C. I had drunk a whole bottle of water on this 5½ mile walk and was still a bit thirsty so the pub seemed like a good option. Most of the group thought the same thing so we finished the evening with a drink in the pleasant garden of the Bull Inn.
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