🥾 Walk 492 - Hook, Sherfield-on-Loddon and Rotherwick

Sunday 2nd January was surprisingly warm for the time of year, with temperatures in double figures, but was otherwise uninspiring. Overcast and tending to drizzle, we had glimpses of blue sky in the morning and rain in the afternoon. Nevertheless, we had eleven people assembling outside Hook railway station, keen to do my ten mile walk.

Leaving the village to the west, we crossed Owen's Farm on muddy paths that would be the signature of this walk. Reaching Newnham, we turned north along Park Lane, which soon became a footpath leading us through woodland in Tylney Park. We got a good view of Tylney Hall as the path crossed a Ha Ha wall at the end of a long lawn, which was built to create the illusion (from the house) of a continuous strip of land extending beyond the boundary. This also concealed a WWII air raid shelter.

The path then crossed Tynley Park golf course. Golf courses would also be a signature of this walk. Being careful not to disturb any golfers putting on the greens or to get in the way of any high-speed golf balls on the fairways, we followed the path across the course.

Heading west along Strouds Green Lane, we turned off into more muddy woodland only to emerge on the north-west edge of Tylney Hall golf course. A small bridge allowed us to cross the Lyde River and a muddy path took us to Wildmoor Farm. Leaving a farm track for a particularly waterlogged field, I nearly had a "Vicar of Dibley" moment as I stepped into a puddle that was much deeper than I had anticipated! Those behind me sensibly took a different route.

Back on solid ground, we briefly followed Wildmoor Lane as it passed by one of the two golf courses that belong to Sherfield Oaks Golf Club. Then we took a small lane called The Welly Wash where we saw an oak tree that was host to a collection of garden gnomes!

More muddy woodland awaited us as we passed though Bramble Copse and into Gravel Pit Copse, where we found some fallen trees to sit on while we had our packed lunches.

After lunch we left the woods to join another section of Wildmoor Lane and passed by the other course belonging to Sherfield Oaks Golf Club. Crossing the River Loddon on a substantial wooden footbridge we then followed the course of the Lyde River on a path laden with obstacles created by fallen trees and deep muddy puddles.

We crossed to the other side of the Lyde River on a smaller bridge and followed the Brenda Parker Way to Summerstead Farm and across two large, open fields of waterlogged mud. A third and smaller field brought us into the church yard of Rotherwick Church.

One more muddy field led down to Runten's Farm and then is was grassy fields up to Great Nightingales Copse and down back to Hook. A very conveniently placed stream allowed us to wash our boots as we left the muddy footpaths for the paved paths of the village. (Our legs were still muddy though!) It was then a short walk back to the station. See our route on Google Maps.

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