🥾 Walk 316 - Whitchurch-on-Thames and Goring

We had a good mix on Sunday 28th January - two members of the Mid Berks group, one from the West Berks group, one from the Loddon Valley group, one from the Berkshire Walkers, and four of our own group. We met outside Pangbourne Village Hall, the same meeting point as the Pang Valley Ramblers, who were doing a 5 mile walk around Pangbourne College and Tidmarsh.

Our walk was 9 miles, including Whitchurch-on-Thames and part of the Thames Path to Goring. We started by crossing the River Thames on Whitchurch Bridge and following the High Street up the hill before turning off onto the Hartslock Bridleway, all of this was part of the Thames Path.

The path now followed the Thames from high up on a steep wooded bank. Eventually the path descended to just a foot or so above the water level and became very muddy.

We passed under a railway bridge and continued following the Thames Path until we reached the outskirts of Goring, where we left it to go 'in land'. Doubling back along better paths, we passed under the railway once more and through Gatehampton Manor before briefly re-joining the Thames Path going the other way. Stopping on the hump of land by Hattonhill Shaw, we ate our picnic lunches while taking in a view of the Thames (including part of the route we'd just taken).

Recharged, we set off on a track, which joined a road that rose steeply to Upper Gatehampton Farm, where we briefly joined the Chiltern Way as it passed upwards through Great Chalk Wood. Emerging from the wood, we followed a road up to Cold Harbour, the highest point of our walk at 400 feet above the Thames.

It would be downhill from now on, through farmland and woodland. On the way, we encountered a fallen fir tree, blocking the path. Some careful manoeuvring was needed to climb through the branches to the other side. Heading back through Whitchurch, we took a detour past the church before crossing the bridge into Pangbourne. See our route on Google Maps.

After the walk, we stopped for a drink at The Cross Keys pub in Pangbourne before heading home.

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