Evening walks are the perfect way to wind down after a busy day, and our third one of the year was on Thursday 13th June. The weather all week had been rather dull with intermittent rain and the weather forecast for our walk predicted an 80% chance of rain. This however did not deter seven Ramblers from meeting outside the 12th century church of St James’ in Finchampstead for a short four mile walk.
Leaving the church, we passed the Queen’s Oak pub and headed north-east along the lane to Warren Lodge and then west towards Warren Woods, passing Warren Wood Bell Barrow on the way. This is the largest burial mound in Berkshire, dating back to the Bronze Age between 2000-1100 BC.
From Warren Woods, we then crossed the road and entered California Country Park, to walk around the lake. Except for a pair of swans and a few ducks, the lake and country park were very much quieter than usual.
On leaving the Country Park, we took footpaths along the edges of fields, first south and then north-east back to the church.
As we walked through the churchyard, one of the group pointed out some of the interesting graves, notably Bramwell Bernard Booth and Jane Levers Booth, both of whom had been colonels in the Salvation Army and another member of the same family who had lived until the age of 105!
Compared to an evening walk from the same location a year ago, the weather was somewhat colder. However, we were extremely lucky that we managed to complete the route without rain – it stopped as we started walking and was just starting again as we stopped – perfect timing! After the walk, a few of us enjoyed a drink in the Queen’s Oak pub.
Thanks go to Sue for leading this walk and writing it up.
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