🥾 Walk 555 - Kintbury, Hamstead Marshall, Kennet & Avon Canal

Thirteen of us turned up at Kintbury in freezing fog for Ian's walk. The group was a good mix of BWWs, people from other local Ramblers groups, and people from Meetup - we'd advertised the walk on the Berkshire Ramblers Meetup group.

We started our walk on the towpath of the Kennet & Avon Canal, going westward as far as the first bridge, which we crossed and then followed a footpath uphill and into the grounds of St Mary's Church. A short walk through the village and we stopped outside The Blue Ball on the High Street while Ian gave us some information about the pub's colourful history, including its part in the agricultural Swing Riots of 1830.

Crossing the High Street, we followed a quiet lane that soon became a track and then a footpath. The fog turned to mist as we passed through Barrymores and Titcomb, where the recent cold snap had solidified the mud. It was like walking on rock, but at least it didn't stick to our boots.

The mist gradually dissipated, leaving a beautiful blue sky as we passed Inkpen Great Common. We stopped for a slightly early lunch in a sunlit field by Waterman's Copse. Despite the freezing temperatures, there was no breeze and the sunshine gently warmed us as we ate our packed lunches.

After lunch, we continued north-eastward to the hamlet of Hamstead Marshall. We passed the pub (which was closed) and the dog rescue centre, before taking a broad footpath toward Hamstead Park. There was a dip in this path that had flooded during all the rain we had at the beginning of the year and with the recent cold spell had now become a lake of ice, blocking the path. Luckily there was a temporary bypass.

Ian asked us if anyone wanted to do an extra section of walk through Hamstead Park, which would add a mile or so to the originally planned length of the walk. Everyone agreed, so we Followed Park Lane and took a footpath into the park.

Despite the sunshine, there was still a lot of ice on the paths to catch us out. Several of us had the odd minor slip and wobble, but no one came to any harm. We passed the lake, which was mostly frozen over, with the ducks and swans walking around on top of it.

We took a detour to visit the Church of St Mary, which must have belonged to the old manor house before it burned down. We had a look inside the church where there was a map showing the original manor house and its extensive gardens.

Leaving the park, we joined the Kennet & Avon Canal towpath at Hamstead Lock. Large sections of the canal were frozen over, with signs of previously broken ice sheets now refrozen onto new ice sheets, like glacial crazy paving.

After a mile, the canal passed through a more open section where it had been bathed in sunlight for much of the day and the ice had melted. As we reach Dreweat's Lock, we were surprised to see a group of canoeists on the canal. I wouldn't want to tip over my canoe in that ice-cold water! The mud on the towpath had also thawed out, making the last leg of the walk somewhat more slippery as we returned to Kintbury. See our route on Google Maps.

Thank you to Ian for leading this walk.

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