![\"Trying](\"https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume37/images/giant_picnic_table.jpg\")
Kathy led a short (5 mile) walk for us on Saturday 7th August. This walk was fully booked with twelve of us plus the leader. Our Baker's Dozen was made up of regulars, not-so-regulars and a couple of visitors trying us out. A good turn-out considering the extremely variable weather we were having. Fine drizzle, heavy downpours and occasional sunny intervals were the order of the day. We were very lucky as the walk coincided with the sunniest part of the day.
\nThis walk was discovered by the leader during lock-down, when we were allowed out to walk by ourselves once a day. Lily Hill Park and Swinley Forest are local to Kathy, and the she got to know them well during the lockdown. Today, we shared her discovery.
\nStarting our walk from the car park by the Running Horse roundabout, we entered Lily Hill Park through Starch Copse, which brought us out into Western Meadow. Here we could see Lily Hill House, built in 1817 when the land was first privately acquired by the Vincent family, having previously been part of Windsor Forest. The house is now used as office space and the gardens are now a municipal park, managed by Bracknell Forest Council.
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The park contains many varieties of trees and shrubs, plus a number of interesting wood carvings. Kathy showed us some of these features, including the Story Telling Throne, carved from a tree stump. Entering the Eastern Meadow, we saw the giant picnic bench, carved from one tree. It was too early for lunch, but we sat around it just to try it out. The thirteen of us occupied less than a third of it's total length.
\nLeaving the park via Forester's Hill we passed a number of Wellingtonia trees and rhododendrons. Crossing the A329 London Road, we followed a byway that passed Allsmoor Field and Allsmoor Pond, bringing us out near Martins Heron railway station. Here we stopped to admire the large mural of an old fashioned railway station with steam trains, painted on a brick wall by a local artist.
\nSoon we were in Swinley Park, a plantation forest with broad paths popular with dog owners, walkers and horse riders alike. Crossing into Englemere Pond Nature Reserve, we stopped by the pond to have our packed lunches. Some ducks traversed the pond, expecting to be fed. They weren't disappointed, as a couple of mums and their young children turned up with bread to throw for the ducks.
\n![\"Examining](\"https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume37/images/wood_carvings.jpg\")
Leaving the nature reserve, we walked along the busy A329 London Road until we passed the entrance of Heathfield School. Next to this was a footpath through a strip of woodland, which seemed to have more than its fair share of Rowan trees, bearing their clusters of orangey-red berries. The path brought us to Longhill Park, through which we walked before cutting through a couple of residential roads and back into Lily Hill Park.
\nWhile making our way back to Eastern Meadow via Vincent's Hill, we passed an interesting sculpture made from an upturned tree. From the angle we approached it, we thought it was some kind of sea creature, but from the front, it was a stooping old man with a beard. We then retraced our steps through Western Meadow and Starch Copse back to the car park. In just five miles we'd seen so many interesting features - and we'd had much more sunshine than rain.
\n![\"Wood](\"https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume37/images/giant_tree_man.jpg\")
Thank you to Kathy for leading this walk.
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