Nineteen hardy people turned up for our walk on Good Friday starting from Goring station. It was nice to see a number of people making use of the availability of public transport option that was available, it is also a very sociable method of attending a walk. Today's route was estimated twelve miles in distance with a fair amount of ascent making it a good work out for us all.
Leaving Goring station behind we picked up the path next to the old Youth Hostel in Streatley. My memory failed me a little here as I made the group take a road crossing prematurely, not that it caused any issue. This was the only steep climb of the walk, pausing for breath at the top to take in the expansive views. I offered a seasonal treat at this point and the little bit of chocolate was accepted by most in the appreciative group.
Our route snaked through a number of footpaths through various copses enjoying the spring flowers that greeted us including the spectacular yellow gorse and the bluebells starting to bloom. A member of the group pointed out a permissive footpath that I had not been aware of and to avoid walking on some tarmac we took advantage of that.
We paused in some coppiced woodland to sit and have our picnic lunches before heading on to Aldworth for a further stop to take on liquid refreshments. A number of people in the group popped into the local St Mary's Church, home to some Giant Effigies of the De La Beche family. It's worth popping in for a visit if you have not been before.
Whilst I didn't visit the church this time, I took rest of the group to the iconic pub, "The Bell" for a slightly extended pub stop and the church visitors would meet us here soon enough. Undoubtedly one of my favourite pubs in the area The Bell was rewarding with winning the prestigious national CAMRA pub of the year award in 2020. After an hour's pause here we cracked on with rest of the hike. It was noted by someone at one point that the path we were on looked familiar to them. I hadn't cottoned on that we were making a small part of the return journey on same footpath as we had earlier in the day albeit in the opposite direction!
The walk concluded following a nice woodland stretch, a sharp descent and the final mile on the tarmac through Streatley and back to Goring. I have to say it was a very enjoyable day leading a very friendly group made of people I hadn't met before and people I have known from all the way back since I joined the Ramblers in 2008. Thanks to you all and special mention to Barry for helping me out with carrying out back marking duties.
