🥾 Walk 304 - Frilsham and Bucklebury Common

We joined up with the Pang Valley group on Sunday 29th October, for a ten mile walk around Frilsham, Bucklebury and Bucklebury Common. There were twenty-four of us in total, with our group making up the bulk of the numbers.

We set off from the Pot Kiln pub, near Frilsham, following Peter (of the Pang Valley group) as he led us south, through mixed woodland. The bright Autumn sunshine cast long shadows through the trees, while beams of sunlight flickered over our faces as we walked through the woods. I instinctively reached for my sun-glasses, but was stopped by Julia, in case the very act of wearing them would cause a change in the weather.

Passing through Bucklebury, we stopped outside the church to remove the jackets and fleeces we had thought would be necessary at this time of year. On the way into Bucklebury Common, we took a little diversion along a sheep track to the corner of a field, with no exit. Peter had already led this walk earlier in the year and had decided to reverse the route for variety. I know from my own experience how unfamiliar a route can look when following it the other way around. Anyway, a quick look at the map and we were on course again, making our way through farmland and woodland.

Following Fence Lane into Fence Wood, we stopped for lunch where stacked logs provided plenty of seating for all. Sitting still in the shade over lunch had reminded us that this was the end of October, and fleeces were going back on as we prepared to continue the walk. Carrying on through Fence Wood, part of the intended route was closed off, so we continued up to Marlston Road, which we followed as far as Boar's Hole Farm. At West Wood, we were now very close to the spot where we'd stopped for lunch, having done a 2 mile loop.

Now heading north-west, we passed through more farmland, then some woodland, and finally a rather marshy field before the Pot Kiln hove into view. Arriving at the pub, the walk was complete. (See our route on Google Maps) Some of the group said their goodbyes and left, while the rest of us stayed for a drink. We sat outside the pub and gently toasted our retinas in the low, afternoon sun.

Many thanks to Peter for inviting us along to this most enjoyable walk and I hope we didn't intimidate the other Pang Valley walkers with our sheer numbers. We've had a few joint walks with other groups this year, which have all been successful, and we hope to organise more of them in the not-too-distant future.

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