I was surprised and pleased to find eighteen hardy walkers had arrived at Berkhamsted Station on an unusually dry morning. After the safety briefing we started the walk heading right from the station and then along the Grand Union Canal passing some pubs and cafes along the way. The path was not as muddy as when Jennifer and I did the recce previously.
We left the canal path after 2 miles and then made our way to Sharpe’s Lane where we crossed the A251 safely. We then continued uphill on Sugar Lane to Bottom Farm which had some lovely views. We passed a really well constructed tree house on the way to the Granary. Here we turned right in the direction of Swing Gate Lane instead of taking the planned route in order to avoid a really muddy ploughed field. After a gentle ascent we found a suitable picnic spot.
We were very lucky with the weather on our walk, with a lovely blue sky and no rain. We started with 14 walkers at Uxbridge station. Heading down the High street and having crossed a few roads, we were able to drop down though the car park of The Swan and Bottle pub, onto the canal towpath. Soon we reached Fran’s Tea Garden (closed but a bit early for a stop anyhow!).
When passing Denham Lock some of our group listed off notable residents of the village; Cilla Black, Paul Daniels, Brian Conolly (The band Sweet), Mike Oldfield, Harry Saltzman (James Bond producer in the 1960s) and the founder of the British Union of Fascists, Oswald Mosley and his wife Diana. As we continued along the canal, to our right lay Uxbridge Alderglade Nature Reserve and later Fray Valley Nature Reserve. We were accompanied on our left by the River Colne and Broadwater lake, often used for sailing.
Despite the weather forecast of no sunshine and intermittent rain, an impressive turnout of twenty-four members and three guests assembled at Wimbledon Park station for a 4.5 mile walk across Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common.
A stroll along a suburban street took us to the gates of the nearby park. It is a recreational green space that sprawls across sixty-seven acres. Passing a children’s playground and numerous tennis courts, we reached a large lake with much wildlife. Zig-zagging past an athletics track took us out of the park and onto a road with a distant view of the home of lawn tennis. Turning off beforehand, we climbed up a side road until we found ourselves at an entrance to Putney Heath. Highwaymen once prowled here and duels were fought but we only saw locals enjoying the attractive woodlands.
Our train to Oxford was pretty much full as we left behind us an exceptionally busy Marylebone Station. Arriving at Beaconsfield we were joined by others who had come by car. We were 15 strong now and were packing out the small station building so we went outside for the briefing (in the rain unfortunately).
Happily the rain stopped quite soon after we began this 9 mile ramble although the sky remained in threatening mood all day. After passing a sign to the model village and walking along some residential streets we reached open fields and headed northeast towards Seer Green. A couple of fields later we passed through an attractive avenue of trees and then we had to cross the very busy Amersham road. We had to wait quite a long time before we could all cross safely. Then we were walking through a wood and then across wet fields to Seer Green for an early lunch.
We were so lucky for this walk. It was a sunny day with blue skies. It was even more appreciated because it was sandwiched between never ending rainy and miserable days. Eleven Polyramblers turned up for the walk (including me, the leader).
I warned people that there were no toilets at the outdoor café where we were stopping for lunch. But this was made up by at least eight open toilet buildings along the way. We did not visit them all. Enough about toilets!
