Seven souls braved the cold morning to join me at Cholsey Station. After skirting the impressive Cholsey church we headed down Church Road before heading across a paddock/field which has been recently ploughed and planted. The footpath was not easily visible but we managed to find our way to the ridge where we were blessed with excellent views of the Wittenham Clumps. David, our veteran walker, had other names for the clumps but they are not suitable for this publication! David, despite his veteran status, had not so long ago completed two recce's of a thirty mile walk. Impressive to say the least.
We then proceeded down from the ridge past a frozen pond and joined Mill Brook which took us most of the way to South Morton. Here we enjoyed the luxuries of The Crown pub, a community owned establishment. Coffee, tea and beer were consumed before we once again followed Mill Brook towards Blewburton Hill where we stopped for lunch. We shared the paddock with sheep and donkeys and the latter was very keen to investigate what we had to offer.
We then headed towards the affluence of the Aston's before passing the recently reopened Chequers pub (highly recommended) and then onwards to Cholsey via the grave of Agatha Christie.
As the walk concluded the train travellers, six of us, headed to the local whilst we waited for our train. On the way three local children, supervised by their mother, were enjoying sliding and playing on the skating rink that had formed in the paddock. Despite their best efforts with large rocks, the ice remained solid. Thanks for those who attended on such late notice. A very enjoyable day overall.
Thank you to Ian for leading this walk and writing it up. Thank you to Ian and Neil for the photos.
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