# 🥾 Walk 467 - Goring Bush Walk

The description in the programme for Ian's walk was "a 10+ mile bush walk", which I think must be Australian for a 12.5 mile walk mostly through woodland. With temperatures rising to the high twenties Celsius on Saturday 17th July, we were grateful for the woodland shade.

Seven of us (five regulars plus two guests) met at the car park behind The Catherine Wheel pub in Goring. We crossed the railway by way of the footbridge in the station, then joined the Chiltern Way as it passed through a very up-market cul-de-sac and a recreation ground before we were out in open countryside. We weren't in the open for long as we soon entered Great Chalk Wood, which was surprisingly muddy, despite the recent warm and dry weather.

Emerging from Blackbird's Bottom (not quite how it sounds) we were back in the open again, crossing a field by the Oratory Prep School. We were back in woodland again by Greenbroom Farm Shop and heading toward Greenmoor Hill. At this point Ian mentioned how difficult it was navigating through woodland and admitted he had recce'd this walk three times and each time the route had turned out differently. Luckily I was able to help out with my GPS receiver.

![Passing through Little Oaken Wood en route to Greenmoor Hill.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume37/images/little_oaken_wood.jpg)

We stopped for lunch, sitting on fallen trees at the side of the path, before crossing Deadman's Lane and continuing through more woodland. We were briefly out in the open on the common and Collins End, where we felt the full heat of the afternoon sun. It wasn't long before we were back in the shade as we entered Bottom Wood.

Some road walking was necessary to join the Chiltern Way again near Path Hill. This we followed to Coombe End Farm, where we left the Chiltern Way crossing farmland to Cold Harbour and then back into the shade of Great Chalk Wood.

We bimbled around in the woods until we found the path we had come in on in the morning. We retraced our outgoing path back to Goring. Ian explained the phrase "balloon walk" meaning that the majority of the walk is a circular route, with a common section at the start and finish - the balloon string. Take a look at the shape of our route on Google Maps and make up your own mind.

![Crossing the common at Collins End.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume37/images/collinsend_common.jpg)

*Thank you to Ian for leading this shady walk.*

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