The final frontier and more mud: Dunstable Downs

The final walk of Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns was around Dunstable Downs. We made an early start, so we parked at  the pub in Totternhoe with the aim of returning there for lunch. This meant that the walk started with a steepish climb up Totternhoe Knolls, apparently the site of a motte and bailey castle, and along a path descending a ridge.

This reached a disused railway that once joined Dunstable to the main line at Leighton Buzzard. This rose slightly and entered a wooded area, in which the instructions told us to leave the railway path just after it passed over a bridge. This involved a scramble down a steep bank to join an almost-parallel path. Some distance along that path, we saw a second bridge on the path above with an easy route down. Clearly, we had come off the railway path too soon. The route instruction were not so good in this case.

This was only a minor diversion, but  was followed by a more significant one. As you can see from the track below, we got a bit lost! However, with a little help from google, we got back on track and headed for the outskirts of Dunstable.

We then climbed a steep slope to reach the downs. The path took us along the escarpment, with plenty of gliders from London Gliding Club on view. We resisted the temptations of the cafe at the NT visitor centre, and followed the very distinctive waymarks, with glass insets, to the car park near the B4540, .

The route took us back along the base of the escarpment on a path less flat, and very much more muddy than we had hoped. This skirted the site of the gliding club and under their landing path.

The way to Totternhoe was a bit of a cross-country trudge on muddy paths, including one across a recently ploughed field. Much of the field was on our boots by the time we got back to the car. Unfortunately, the pub was fully booked for lunch and wasn't offering sandwiches, so we settled for a drink and a packet of crisps, followed by an emergency sandwich picked up from a garage.

It's a shame that the last walk in the book wasn't a brilliant experience. This walk would certainly have been much nicer in late spring when the downland flowers were out (and there would be less mud).

View DUnstable Down in a larger map

A muddy towpath and a great hot chocolate

Most of the paths in the Marlow area are very familiar to us, but we're on a mission to complete Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns, and there's a walk from Marlow to Medmenham and back, so off we went despite the recent rain.

The book starts the walk from Marlow, but the car parks are limited to four hours. We weren't sure we'd have time for the walk and a lunch stop, so we parked at Bovingdon Green and headed for Homefield Wood, then South to Medmenham, emerging at the Dog & Badger.

The route was supposed to take us across the fields between the Marlow-Henley road  and the river. However, previous experience told us that those fields get very sodden after rain, so we walked along the roadside verge to the join the path as it heads back to the river at Danesfield. The path skirts round the hotel grounds, which are surrounded by a fence more suitable for a prison. Are they trying to keep people out, or to keep the guests in? I'm not keen on this hotel - I was once there with a group from work that included an Italian in the smartest jeans you can imagine (he looked much smarter than most of looked in suits), and we weren't allowed to eat in the restaurant because of the jeans.

We were then faced with the choice of a short cut back along a path into Marlow, or the proper route along the towpath. We chose the towpath (passing Bisham Abbey), which turned into something of an adventure on account of the mud and puddles. We were lucky to avoid slipping over.

Our lunch stop was at the 'Cafe in the Park' in Higginson Park, which is lovely. Perhaps the best hot chocolate I've ever had.

The route back to the car through Marlow was via paths we didn't know existed, one of which went alongside some allotments, also protected by a prison fence.

View Marlow And Medmenham in a larger map

Sharpenhoe Clappers followed by a proper pub lunch

This walk is the most Northerly walk in Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns, and the furthest from home. It's not on the set of Chiltern Ordnance Survey maps - in fact it spans four of the 1:25,0000 maps. Although the route descriptions are good, you still need the maps. Rather than buy four, we took advantage of the O/S  custom map service and bought one that would cover this walk, and the other remaining walk in this area. We ought not to be as pleased about this map as we are.

We were able to get away before 9:00 headed to the start of the walk via the M25, M1 and Luton, and were walking by 10:00. I didn't associate this area to the East of the M1 as being part of the Chilterns but, within a few minutes of setting off, we were on a typical carunculated Chiltern escarpment, topped with beech trees.

We were soon at Sharpenhoe Clappers - 'clappers' apparently derives from an old French word for rabbit warren. It's easy to forget that rabbits are not native to the UK, but were introduced by the Normans for food and housed in man-made warrens like the one found when this area was excavated.

The escarpment becomes West-facing at this point and we followed  the top for a while, then descended from the National Trust car park and tracked along the base for a couple of miles. Amazingly, we found  a Chiltern Gentian in flower on this path - in December! There was then a sharp climb to a chalk pit and a cross-country trek back to the car at Streatley (interestingly, there's a Streatley at the West edge of the Chilterns too). 

At was around 12:30, and were conveniently parked outside The Chequers which was advertising home-made steak and ale pies. We were not strong enough to resist, so put the diets on hold for half an hour. The pie was everything you'd expect, and just what we needed  after a cold walk. At £8.95 with chips and fresh veg, this was very good value. Liver, bacon and mash was £4.95 - it was like being in Derby!

3-d view looking South

View Sharpenhoe Clappers in a larger map

carunculated means 'like a cock's comb' as was used spontaneously by Rosie

Nuffield after the gales

We're getting  close to completing all of the Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns, and had planned to tackle the one based on Nuffield, on the North West of the area - quite a drive from home. It had rained for most of Saturday and then blown a gale for much of Sunday night. It was only when we started the walk that we noticed that the description said is "especially suited to winter...." with "good firm walking".

The outward leg was straight-forward on an unsurfaced road , taking us to the King William at Hailey (bottom left of the map and picture on the right) that we'd visited with David and Alison on one of our early walks with them. This is an attractive pub with good food, but not our stopping spot today.After two right turns, we gained height and could see familiar parts of the Thames Valley before entering Mongewell Woods and then heading towards Nuffield village and golf course to find The Crown.

This Brakspears pub obviously focuses on food, and has a separate dining area. However, they've keep a proper cosy 'pub' area with an open fire, and a mixture of tables & chairs and sofas. The menu was promising too - just a few choices, all of which were sounded good. As I was cooking duck for dinner, we were restrained and shared a home-made mushroom and sweet corn soup (OK but not 100% successful) and creamy mushrooms (very nice). Worth a visit for a proper meal. It was fun to see another couple carrying the same book in the pub. It turned out that there had been a short shower when we'd been in the pub - there only rain of the day.

After more golf course, we entered a wood that had obviously suffered from the previous night's gales - there was a fallen tree across the path. From there, we descended back to the car and headed home for dinner which, though I say it myself, was good - and left us with duck fat for the Xmas lunch roast potatoes,

View Nuffield in a larger map

Pitstone Hill, The Grand Union Canal and a noisy pub

A lovely sunny day with no other plans gave us the chance to tackle another of the further-afield walks in the Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns book - this one based around Pitstone Hill.

Although the walk in the book started near Pitstone, that would have put the pub stop too close to the start, so we chose to start at Tring station, were the is allegedly some parking. It turns out that there are three staff/contractor space and two public spaces - all full. Luckily there was some on-road parking nearby.

The first stretch was along the Grand Union Canal. As usual, you descend from the road onto the towpath. With the leaves still on the trees, it was still quite shaded. I remarked that it felt like entering an alternative world - maybe lie something from His Dark Materials.

We then went across the railway and along a series of paths and drives to the side of Pitstone Hill and walked on a fairly level and slippery path along the fence parallel to the ridge. This eventually turned to ascend to the ridge. After a swift detour to the top to photograph Pitstone Windmill (apparently the oldest in the country and one of a very large number of windmills we visited with our boys), we found a nice spot surrounded by great Chiltern  views to eat our picnic. It as almost warm enough not to need to wear a fleece. Not bad for November.

The route then followed the ridge (indeed The Ridgeway) to a stile where the bridleway turned into a footpath. A couple of cyclists were waiting to lift their bikes over the stile. I pointed out that cycling is not permitted on footpaths. 'Who said I was going to cycle?' said one of them. We walked along the path for while and and were soon caught up by the same two, peddling away. They passed us, but not before Rosie had insisted that we hold hands walk side-by-side....

We descended to Aldbury and The Valiant Trooper. This is a nice country pub that we'd previously visited with David and Alison. Today it was packed.... The bar was full of men in blazers who'd clearly been there since opening time and were singing rugby songs. It was warm enough for us to sit in the garden, but that too had another crowd shouting at each other from two feet away. My theory is that they'd all been to the local Remembrance Day service, and adjourned to the pub to fill the time before the rugby started. The Chiltern Ridgeway beer was excellent, but we didn't stick around. We could hear the garden conversation from some distance away.

The next stretch was towards and alongside a wood and then re-crossing the railway. It was around 2:30  at this point and we came across a man without a map who asked us the way to the monument - he meant the Bridgewater Monument that we visited a couple of weeks ago and had seen in the distance earlier in the walk. Rosie showed him the route on the O/S map and hinted that it was perhaps too far to go in the remaining daylight. However, he asked to photograph our map (an interesting idea) and went on his way. We hope he found his way there and back.

We then re-joined the Grand Union at Cow Roast Lock, which is the highest lock on the canal and so-named a a corruption of Cows Rest - where drovers rested their cattle en route to London. It was was a short walk along the canal to the car - but seemed longer than it was.

Great Missenden to Wendover and back

It was bright and chilly start to the day, so we filled the flask with tomato soup and made some rolls, wrapped up well and headed for Great Missenden for yet another long walk from Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns - to Wendover and back.

 It had clouded over  while we were driving to the start of the walk, but brightened up as we were gaining height heading North West. The route took us in and out of woodland, with impressive selections of fungi and typical Chiltern views emerging from both sides. After passing through Dunsmore, we descended towards Wendover and passed where HS2 will cross. The phrase 'Not In My Back Estate' sprang to mind.

On reaching the main road, we resisted the temptation to pop into Wendover town centre for a visit to Rumsey's coffee and cake shop, but came across a park with a south-facing (and dry)  bench on which to eat our very welcome lunch.

The return route started with an uphill stretch of the Ridgeway, heading along a very muddy and slippery path  to Old Swan at Swan Bottom. This is a proper country pub - a Free House with excellent Chiltern Brewery beer, exposed beams and a log file. The food looked good too.

The final leg of the route was notable for passing the cottage in the photo on the right. This had popped up in New Tricks recently, and was also in The Meaning of Life (when Eric Idle, as Gaston the waiter, walks out of the restaurant and expounds on his philosophy. 

After 11.5 miles, we were ready for  dinner with Rosie's 'Walking Ladies' group and partners at the excellent new Italian restaurant in Marlow.

View Great Missenden To Wendover in a larger map

A short walk from West Wycombe

We had an weekend visit from Stuart, our younger son. This was  a nice surprise, but not good for our waistlines. Firstly, we only took a short walk on Saturday - while Stuart slept after an all-night gig. Secondly, we had a traditional Sunday roast rather than the less calorific meal we'd planned.

The weather forecast had accurately predicted that it would turn sunny and cold overnight on Thursday. These conditions continued into Saturday, so scarves and beanie hats were in order for our walk from West Wycombe Garden Centre. We climbed up to the mausoleum and then walked rather further along the ridge than Rosie had planned as we missed the path down to the Chinnor road and had to re-trace our steps. That path, once we'd found it, was mostly on exposed chalk and very slippery. Only one of us made contact with the path with her bottom.

Having descended to the road, we immediately climbed up to Coxshoots Wood, and then diagonally back down to the A40 and to the garden centre. After changing  out of our boots, we took a tour around the 'deli' attached to the garden centre to look at the pies, cheese and bread that we're not eating at the moment.

View West Wycombe in a larger map

Ivinghoe Beacon and Ashridge Estate

With no other plans this weekend, we decided to tackle one of the further-afield walks in Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns and settled on the one starting at Ivinghoe Beacon.

We didn't have a good start - the car park signposted as you approach  Ivinghoe Beacon is not the one from which the walk starts, so we were a bit confused for a while and need to consult the O/S map to find the real start. After an initial section through woods, the joined the ridge and climbed northwards a short way to the Beacon itself. We had overcast conditions  but still had a wide-reaching view. I didn't take any photos because they'd have featured the attendees of a photographic club or course who were swarming around the trig point.

The next part of the walk was along the ridge heading East, and then back westwards along its  base before heading South. This was all pleasant, but I don't see why a perfectly nice-looking path heading South-West wasn't used.

After a wooded uphill stretch, we struck out across a series of fields until we got to Witchcraft Bottom - timely for a late-October walk - and arrived at The Bridgewater Arms at Little Gaddesden. This was busy and comfortable, with excellent Greene King beer and a wide selection of food, with the healthier options marked with calorie values. We were good, and choose calorie-avoiding sandwiches. However, when my 'ham sandwich with onion chutney' arrived, the bread was smothered with spread (margarine I think).  Even if I wasn't watching  my weight, it would have been far too much, so I scraped almost all of it off. Once I'd done that, the sandwich was enjoyable.

Most of the rest of the walk was in the woods of the Ashridge Estate, owned and managed by the National Trust which was supported by a public appeal to buy the 1700 acres of the estate in 1921, thereby stopping a piecemeal sell-off for development.  As you might expect from the NT, the estate is very well maintained, with a great network of paths. There was even a route for mobility scooters!

We passed the 108' high Bridgewater Monument, but declined the opportunity to climb it, but did buy a very small bar of  chocolate from the busy  NT cafe. The way back to the car through the woods was very simple but rather more uphill than we expected. We got views of Pitstone Windmill - another NT property worth visiting.

This was a good walk at this time of year for fungi!

View Ivinghoe Beacon in a larger map

Autumn leaves in the Wormsley Estate

As we'd performed Autumn Leaves at The Dashwood Arms on Wednesday, it was nice to have a bright and sunny Autumn Sunday to catch up on some walking, having skipped last weekend because we'd visited my parents in Bristol.

We chose the Wormsley Estate walk from the Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns book, and were walking from the car park at Stokenchurch before 9:30, soon heading over the M40 and soon entering the Wormsley Estate. This was bought by Sir Paul Getty in the 80s. He then spent some of his fortune building a cricket ground (having been introduced to the sport by Mick Jagger), and restoring the estate to a very high standard. He lived here from 1986 until his death in 2003. It's easy to see why he was so attracted to the area - there are superb views along and into the valley, and the woods are lovely too.

Having descended into the valley, we then climbed up to Christmas Common. Our early start meant that we got the The Fox & Hounds at 11:00, and they weren't even open for coffee. So we carried on, joining the Oxfordshire Way and heading to North End.

The return route was a sequence of ascents and descents, all in great surroundings, but still tiring. The Fox at Ibstone was just off our route, but we pressed on to get back to the car via the tunnel under the M40 after four hours.

View Wormsley Valley in a larger map

More miles and another closed pub

It was also dry on Sunday, and David and Alison were free, so we set off for Wendover with a picnic for another walk from the Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns book.

We chose to start at Wendover Woods, and headed for the public car park there. There was clearly an event on there, because the car park was full and we had to park in the overflow area. I volunteered to get the ticket, and jogged up to the main car park, only to find that I did not have enough change, so jogged back to get the extra 50p I needed. I got back at the machine to find that I'd misread the sign, and I needed yet another 50p. So, another jog to and from the car was made. All good exercise!

The start of the route passed the Go Ape course, and the downhill mountain bike track as we headed downhill, eventually heading to Hastoe where we ate our picnics, and looked forward to a swift half or so at The Full Moon at Cholesbury. As we approached the pub from the common, we noticed that the car park was empty.

However, there was an 'A' board promising Sunday lunch and good beer. As we approached the door, we saw a sign telling us the pub was closed until further notice, so we departed somewhat despondently. As we were leaving, a man came out to tell us that the pub was under new management and would re-open in the coming week. Not much help to us.

However, The White Lion at St Leonards was not far off our route so we diverted! As we approached, we notice a 'For Sale' sign on the wall, but could soon see drinkers in the garden. Hooray! Not only was this a nice traditional  pub, but they served Tring Brewery's 'Sidepocket', which was excellent. Perfect for a rest part-way around a long walk.

Having started at the top of Wendover Woods, the last part of the walk was uphill. But we were refreshed enough to manage it.

Almost 20 miles this weekend for Rosie and me. We need to keep this up.

Back to autumn and the scales

After a week in the sun without wearing proper shoes or long trousers, it was a shock to come back to an autumnal England. It was also a shock to stand on the scales when we got back, so more exercise was prescribed.

The sun was shining on the Saturday after we got back, so a walk was inevitable and we dug out the Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns book and choose the Stoke Row and Checkendon walk, starting from Maharajah's Well. 

The walk is described as a 'woodland pub crawl' as it passed four pubs. It did indeed  have plenty of nice woodland.  However, the second pub, the Dog and Duck at Highmoor was closed down and for sale. After getting a little lost about half way around the walk, we got back on track and set our sights on a light lunch at The Four Horseshoes at Checkendon. 

The village is very attractive, and the pub nice. However, when we tried to order food, we were told that there were seven orders queued in the kitchen, so there would be quite a wait.  We settled for a drink and a bag of crisps (well, we had to eat something) each and continued back to Stoke Row. We picked up some soup and  bread on the way home in the car.

View Stoke Row in a larger map

On Santorini: Perivolos to Ancient Thira

As we've done for the past few years, we're taking an early-Autumn holiday in the sun. After getting rained on last year in Turkey in October, we've come earlier this year to Santorini. It a lovely small island, with plenty to see. The weather has been hot with a gentle warm breeze - perfect for relaxation on the beach or by the pool.

We've taken an organised trip to the recently reopened archaeological site at Akrotiri, and a cruise around the caldera, including a stop to climb the active volcano (that makes four this year)  on Nea Kameni and another  to swim in the hot volcanic springs on  on Palea Kameni. We also took the local buses to the lovely Oia.

However, there's a limited amount of lazing around I can do and still get to sleep at night, so a more energetic outing was required. By chance, our resort is at Pervilos, quite close to the site of Ancient Thira - the Dorian capital of the island. The city was built to be easily defended, not easily visited. It's on top of the large hill on the coast that divides Perissa from Kamari. We're just down the coast from Perissa, but there's no road up from this side. However, a footpath was marked on the map, so we decided to try it and made an early (for holidays) start. 

After a twenty minute walk to and though Perissa, we found the path easily. It  zigzagged up the steep slope nicely. The way was clear to follow, and not too tough underfoot. The latter was important as I had only brought sandals and a newish pair of shoes, so was wearing my Merrell 'hiking sandals' and no socks. This turned out to be just fine. It took us about half an hour (mostly in the shade) to get to the 'col', where there's a narrow road down to Kamari, with just a few parking places. No wonder none of the organised coach tours go there.

We paid our €2 entry fees, and climbed some more towards the site, which runs along the ridge of the headland. Although we'd been spoiled by Akrotiri, this was a spectacular site, with some carvings still in place and the layout of plenty of buildings still evident. There were also half a dozen little cabins that, in most Greek historic sites, contain officials with whistles. They use the whistles if you stray off the defined walkways. Only one of these was staffed here - maybe it's late in the season, or maybe this is austerity in action. 

We returned to the road by the path we'd ascended and then took a different route back to Perivolos hoping but failing to find somewhere to buy a big bag of pistachio nuts - a local speciality and favourites of ours. Instead we found a bar specialising in ice cream and duly over-induldged.

So with culture and exercise done, we returned to lounge around the pool in the sunshine.

View Ancient Thira in a larger map

Happisburgh - a birthday adventure and a visit to Holkham

On a previous week in Norfolk, we'd stayed on the river at Wayford Bridge and had the use of a rowing boat. This didn't have proper rowlocks (in fact, they were bowlocks) so our progress was erratic and somewhat comical. However, Rosie and I liked the fact that, at least in theory, we were able to explore waterways that were not reachable by powered boats.

It was my birthday on Thursday, so I got to choose what we did, and  decided that we should hire an indian-style canoe from Wayford Bridge. Rosie's somewhat nervous on boats, but went along with the idea. The assistant  advised us to go under the bridge and  up the North Walsham and Dilham Canal, which is beyond the limit of navigation for powered boats. 

We'd never done this before, but seemed to get the hang of it quite quickly and made good progress. Within ten minutes of setting off, I had three Kingfisher sightings (at this time, Rosie was simply willing the canoe not to sink). The canal was shallow, quite narrow and overgrown, but the water was very clean. To use a tired cliché, we really did feel 'close to nature'.

When we'd been going about an hour, we got rather closer than I cared to... we came across a herd of cows on the bank, one of which decided it needed at bathe in the canal, so it waded in just ahead of us. We'd had trouble with cows here last year on a walk with Dave. The canal was wide enough for us to manoeuvre past (with me willing the cow to still still). Shortly afterwards, we beached the canoe on the far bank from the cows and had a rest. After checking that the canal was cow-free, we paddled back. This was against the wind, and it was much harder work to steer the canoe.

Apart from a group with solo kayaks (although one had a dog as a passenger), we'd had the canal to ourselves. However, as we got close to the boathouse, we came across two older couples in canoes. They clearly had not got the hang of it. They seemed to still be at the 'having fun at being hopeless' stage. I hope it stayed fun for them.

We both enjoyed the adventure and would do it again.

It was a lovely sunny day, so naturally we needed to visit the beach for Rosie's daily dip in the North Sea. This time we took advantage of Jo and Pete's offer to park at Sandways, their cottage near Eccles, and use the gap over the dunes there. Apart from a few surfers who weren't having a very fulfilling time, there was hardly anyone around.

Jo and Pete had also invited us for dinner in Wreningham. Thanks to Pete for cooking the  barbecued leg of lamb that I love. Thanks also to Jo for the 'compiliation' CD of walking and rambling songs.

We decided to venture further afield on Friday, and headed for Holkham. We started with a walk around in the Holker Hall estate. This was pleasant enough but, truth be told, a bit boring. It was well timed, because we ended up back at the cafeteria for a late lunch. There was a great choice of savoury pies and the like from Walsingham Farms Shops. We chose and enjoyed a pasty each, and decided to visit the Farm Shop on the way back to our cottage to stock up on some treats.

Guess what we did next? Off to the beach at Holkham of course. This is an amazing place - with pines, salt marches, dunes and then a massive extent of beach. The tide goes out a very long way here, so it's quite a walk to the sea. We spent a super (and hot) couple of hours there, with the statutory dip.

The farm shop was even better than we'd hoped, so more tempting. I'm writing this on Saturday evening after having eaten the chicken and ham pie we bought there. It was exactly what a good pie should be - rich pastry, full to bursting with filling and with a lovely tarragon flavoured sauce. Looking forward to the pork pie tomorrow.

After leaving the cottage this morning, we took a final trip to the beach at Sandways for a final dip to complete Rosie's 'in the sea every day' quest.

Back to work on Monday, but not for long because we're off to Santorini the week after next!

Happisburgh - The Bure Valley

Once again we've rented a cottage at Church Farm Barns in Happisburgh (pronounced Haisbro) on the Norfolk coast.

Stuart came up with us on Saturday and stayed until early this morning. He and I took early advantage of the games barn and, after a bit of a turn-up, the natural order was reestablished with him winning at pool and me at table tennis.

The beach cricket was not competitive. At Cart Gap yesterday, our game was being watched closely by a boy who'd come to the beach with his mum.  In the spirit of the games we played when I was his age, we invited him to join in, and he was delighted to accept. He was much better than us, but seemed to enjoy himself and we played for well over an hour - his mum even joined in.

It was Rosie's Mum's birthday on Tuesday so Rosie fetched from Norwich to send the day with us. Meanwhile, I managed to fit in a solo walk that took in a decent stretch of the coast that I had almost to myself. Mary doesn't get to the beach often so we took her to Cart Gap and later to dinner at The Fur & Feathers in Woodbastwick.

After dropping Mary home and Stuart to the bus station today, we were free agents and able to walk! Rosie chose a walk from Buxton alongside the Bure Valley Railway to Coltishall, then back along the River Bure with a stop for sandwiches and  quick drink at The Rising Sun. The route back wasn't straight forward, with the path overgrown on the final stretch along the river. Nevertheless it was a nice walk on a sunny day.

We had enough time to make it to the beach in time for Rosie to keep up her record of getting into the sea every day.

View Bure Valley in a larger map

Oxford to Culham on the Thames Path, with a good deed

With a gig on Saturday night, and a forecast for a hot and humid weekend, an early start on Saturday was the best time for our walk. There are only two trains from Culham to Oxford on Saturday mornings - at 7:56 and 10:01 so we chose the earlier one to walk as much as we could before it got too hot. This meant we had to leave the house at around 7:00, but also meant that we were walking out of Oxford station at around 8:15.

As we got to The Thames, it became clear that an event was about to start - this initially seemed to be a 'bicycling with a megaphone' gathering, but turned out to be Oxford Royal Regatta. Even at this early time, the towpath was busy with runners and walkers as well as people wearing blazers connected to the regatta.

As we approached the finishing line of the regatta course, the towpath widened in front of one of the many boathouses. A teenage girl was cycling towards us when she suddenly flew over the handlebars as the bike stopped abruptly. We rushed over to help and untangled her from her bike. It was clear that the incident had happened because she had her handbag dangling from her handlebars, and it had caught in her front wheel.

She was clearly in a bad way, and  told us that her wrist hurt badly. We were soon joined by an official from the regatta who'd seen the incident from the balcony of the boathouse. We helped the girl into the shade while he summoned the regatta's first aid launch. As we waited for this to arrive, the girl (who we learned was called Myna) was getting more dazed, so Rosie sat with Myna's head on her shoulder and did a great job of comforting her as the official called an ambulance. Before long, she'd lost consciousness so we were relieved when the regatta nurse arrive and took over. There were a lot of people around by that time, so we didn't wait around for the the ambulance crew to arrive, even though that would have been quite a spectacle  because there is no road access to the boathouse, so a stretcher trolley would have been wheeled quite a distance along the towpath. We hope that Myna is recovering well, and doesn't dangle her handbag from her handlebars again.

There was a  short stretch more of 'city' river, but few views of the famous spires. The path remained busy until we got to Iffley lock - although this has a'portage' route for rowers, it was clear that few ventured downstream. The path as heading South  at this point, and it was warming up - certainly shorts, sun hat and sunglasses weather for me, with regular drinks stops.

We had a detour near Sandford Lock in order to avoid a bull that was taking a very close interest in the groups of cows on the main path. There were no further building on the river until Radley boathouse - a boater close to the house told us about a very welcome drinking-water fountain.

The path turned West towards Abingdon, with lovely scenery. Rather than following the river, we decided to head into Abingdon, and ended up eating out lunch in the park, where there were fountains for young children to play in, and a pool for the older ones. Both were probably having their busiest day of the year! We'd not been to Abingdon before, and we left with impressions of a pleasant market town.

It didn't take us long to do the few miles from Abingdon to Culham Lock, where we'd left the path on our previous visit. However, we were still 1.5 hot miles on the road from Culham Station. As it happened, we passed a pub so stopped for refreshments and a rest before the final slog along the busy road.

View Oxford To Culham in a larger map

Dorchester, Culham and Wittenham Clumps

We both had arranged not to be working this Friday so we would have the option to do a multi-day walk along The Thames. Although the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday was poor, Friday's looked OK, with just some light showers. So Rosie quickly worked out a circular walk along The Thames from Dorchester to Abingdon, and then back via Wittenham Clumps.

We parked at the bridge in Dorchester and crossed to the South bank at Day's Lock, where we'd  left the path a couple of weeks ago. The first stretch was a big loop, alongside a typical water meadow, and opposite some very nice houses. There were hardly any other walkers around,  and we made very good progress and crossed to the North bank at Clifton Hampden too early to stop at the pub for lunch.

As we approached Culham, the path got very muddy and slippery, and sloped in random directions. We picked our way carefully as it passed through patches of nettles but, in my case, not carefully enough - I slipped over and ended on my bottom with my elbow in a nettle patch and my knee covered in mud.

Rosie realised when we got to Culham Lock that we'd walked around 7 miles already and her planned walk would be a lot longer than she'd thought, so she worked out an alternative route back, again via Wittenham Clumps. Google Maps showed three pubs in Sutton Courtenay, all with good reviews. Our route took us past The Fish, which is not a pub at all, but a small French restaurant that had a 'two courses for £13.50' menu. It didn't take long for us to change our dinner plans. Luckily they didn't mind my muddy knees or our boots.

Ordering was interesting. The staff were all French. Our waitress had almost no English (you'd think any waitress in England would understand 'we are ready to order our food').  Perhaps because the menu was in English, we didn't think to switch to French ourselves. It would certainly have been quicker. There was a notice asking that customers inform the staff if they were in a hurry. We weren't  and we didn't. The food was simple and lovely. We hope to return, probably better dressed.

The return leg started through a series of gravel pits, with a clear view of Didcot Power Station. The path then had an official diversion away from the gravel pits and along an unwelcome stretch of road to Appleford. At this point we were close to the river again, but headed Southish en route to Wittenham  Clumps, a couple of distinctively shaped small hills, topped by beech plantings. One of them was the site of an Iron Age hill fort. It was a steep climb to the top, but a great view when we got there. After having walked around 15 miles, we were both pleased that it was downhill all the way back to Dorchester. We were too late and too full to visit the super coffee shop on the main street.

View 14 Bridge End in a larger map

Foxton Locks

We'd arranged for Stuart and Martin to visit Alton Towers on Saturday as the first part of Stuart's birthday celebrations, and we were joining them in Nottingham for the second part on Sunday. As we were travelling up on Saturday, we found a walk in Leicestershire in a  old walk book.

The walk started and finished at Foxton Locks, a spectacular series of ten locks at a T-junction on the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union canal. It was a lovely sunny day, and it was great to see lots of people enjoying the industrial heritage. The locks were completed in 1814, and take about an hour to ascend or descend. There's also an Inclined Plane, on which counter-balanced boats were hauled in tanks between the two levels and was much quicker. This was built in 1900, but only operated until 1911 because it was not cost-effective.

After a sandwich and a drink  at the Foxton Locks Inn at the bottom of the locks and right on the T-junction, we headed off cross country to Gumley, which looked like a nice village and then to Saddington Reservoir that was built to support the canal. That part of route was on one of several 'gated roads' in the area. We passed a cricket pitch with a game in progress. One of the gated roads passed across the pitch, not far from the square. There was a sign asking drivers to wait for the umpire to signal the end of an over before crossing.

The instructions for the next section of the walk weren't very clear, and we didn't have an OS map, but we eventually found our way between a stream and the raised feeder channel for the canal to the wonderfully named Smeeton Westerby, another pleasant looking village. The route from there  to the Debdale Wharf canal was easy, but not as easy as following towpath back to the locks.

A lovely walk, and well worth the detour.

View Foxton Locks in a larger map

Summer at last - Goring to Dorchester on The Thames Path

Having done the Goring to Reading stretch of The Thames Path a couple of weeks ago, we were keen to have the weather to do another stretch. That weather duly arrived this weekend, so we packed a picnic, drove to Dorchester, left the car there and took a pre-arranged taxi to Goring.

There are established paths on both sides of the river North of Goring. We chose the West side because it skirted the river more.  Apart from a short detour onto the A329 around Moulsford, the path between Goring and Wallingford was mostly on typical Thameside meadows, looking out over some lovely properties on the other bank. Even though the schools had broken up, there were fewer boats than South of Goring, and fewer walkers.

We ate our picnic just South of Wallingford. I was pleased that we came across a pub in the town, but less pleased when I tasted the beer. I suggest real ale drinkers avoid The Boathouse.

The path crossed to the East bank at Benson lock for more meadows en route to Shillingford. After another short road stretch, Dorchester Abbey came into view. However, we and decided to walk to Day's Lock' so this meant a loop around the church back to the car.

The weather had been lovely - 25c or so. Having walked around 13 miles, we felt that an ice cream was in order, so we changed out of our boots and headed into the village. Having passed a couple of unpromising looking hotels, we'd almost given up. However, at the other end of the village is a lovely independent coffee shop that served great sundaes and proper coffee. Perfect. It's a shame that I didn't notice the name so I could recommend it properly.

View Thames Path - Goring to Dorchester in a larger map

Under Constable skies

We spent Saturday evening at a party at Fran and Martin's near Bury St Edmunds, and enjoyed the live music from Wytchazle in the marquee on the lawn. We stayed at the nearby Six Bells at Bardwell - this was comfy enough and passed my sausage test at breakfast.

As the forecast was fine, we'd dug out all the 'walking' supplements from the newspaper that we've saved over the years and never used before, and chose a walk in 'Constable Country' around the River Stour. However, we didn't have the relevant Ordnance Survey map, so stopped at two garages and a large Tescos and wandered around Dedham trying and failing to buy it. We therefore started our walk without a proper map and relied on the instructions from the supplement.

The first part of the walk was easy along a lovely stretch of the Stour, under just the type of sky that Constable captured in the famous paintings. We crossed the river at Flatford, visited the Constable exhibition in Bridge Cottage and then were able to buy the elusive map in the National Trust shop.

We'd left the camera at home, and my current phone was out of action, so I had my old Windows phone with me and used that for the compulsory photos of Flatford Mill and Wally Lot's Cottage. There was even a sheep shearing demonstration nearby demanding to be snapped.

The rest of the walk was harder to follow, so it was great to have a map. After a short exploration of the river towards Manningtree, we followed the Stour Valley Way and then  had to scale the great (for Suffolk) height of 100ft. We managed without oxygen. The route back to Dedham had lovely views over the valley.

As this might have been the full extent of the English summer, it seemed appropriate to have an ice cream at the cafe by the river.

View Dedham Vale in a larger map

The Thames Path: Goring to Reading

With no commitments this weekend, and a decent weather forecast, it seemed like a good time to decide upon and start our summer walking project. As we'd bought a guide to The Thames Path in around 1985, it was an obvious choice,especially as we were able to do the first stage using the train.

As Sunday had the better forecast, we got our chores done on Saturday (if making two batches of ice cream counts as a chore), and walked on Sunday. Saturday turned out to be a nice day, and I woke to a cloudless sky on Sunday. It was getting cloudier as we drove towards Reading, and that was to set the pattern for the walk.

We parked in the station multi-storey, took the train to Goring and, after an eventually-successful hunt for a ladies loo, set off along the river. The path followed the North bank closely for a few miles before rising slightly into Hartslock Wood and then heading away from the river towards the toll bridge at Whitchurch.


We'd had a few short showers that had caused us to don our cagoules, but it wasn't raining when we reached the benches at Pangbourne Meadows, so we stopped for an excellent, but pork pie free, picnic.

We were now on the South bank, and continued to Mapledurham lock for a tantalising glimpse of the watermill (site of several happy days when the boys were young). The next strecth was not very attractiive - the path turns inland to Purley and along the A329 for a short while before crossing under the railway just north of Tilehurst station to continue between the railway and the river.

Rosie was in need of a rest as we got into the outskirts of Reading, so we stopped at the first bench we came across. We didn't stop long after we noticed that that was 'can of strong cider and dog on a string' territory.

The final stretch was through the old Reading Festival site. There were fewer supermarket trolleys in the river than there would had been in those days.

View The Thames Path: Goring to Reading in a larger map

Holmer Green and Shardeloes

It seemed that Saturday morning would have the best weather of the weekend so, after a brief visit to the Ted Baker section in the House of Fraser, we set off for Little Missenden to start our walk.

Rosie's route took us through the village and up to Holmer Green and then generally eastwards. We had several options for the route down towards the Misbourne and, because we were making good progress, we took the longest. This took us down to Shardeloes Lake. The HS2 plans have a tunnel going under here and, apparently, there's a worry that this will the acquifer. The return route was along the Misbourne Valley.


As we'd parked outside The Crown, it as rather too convenient to pop in for a pint and a sandwich.

View Holmer Green and Shardeloes in a larger map

Sicily & The Aeolian Islands: Etna

We were disappointed to be told when we arrived in Sicily that, because of recent eruptions, it was not currently possible to go to the top of Etna. Instead, once we had been driven to Rifugio Sapienza at 6300' above sea level, we had the choice of:

• an unguided walking from from the top of the cable car (8200') up the 4x4 track to the limit of unaccompanied access at Rifugio Alpina (9570') and back via the same route
• taking the 4x4 to  Rifugio Alpina, then a guided walk to the across the recent lava and back to Rifugio Sapienza

The guided option  was expensive but we thought we'd only be here once, so we packed all the clothes we had with us (and Simon bought a stylish hat) and went for it. It was clear that we made the right choice - the 4x4 track would have been a real trudge.

We started by visiting the lava flow from the 24th April eruption. This was an amazing experience - the lava was like a layer of coke (the coal-like variety) on top of impacted snow, and was very sharp. This was certainly somewhere that you didn't want to fall over. In fact, both the soles of mine and Rosie's boots were a little scored.

Our guide, Rosario, then took us on a tour of the various craters, explaining their history (in Italian, English and French) and some of the volcanology. Fascinating stuff, even in the cold and wind. I think my interest level might have been higher if I'd been reminded at the start that there are no opportunities for comfort stops on Etna. We had lunch on the edge of a smoking crater (that did provide some relief for a few of us) before more exploration and heading across the 4x4 track and downwards.

We then headed across to the escarpment of the Bove Valley which is the enormous (37 square km!) caldera formed  by the collapse of Etna's predecessors 64,000 years ago for a long photo stop and lecture. 

We'd thought the sand descent from Stromboli was fast and long. Now we had another one - about the same speed but probably 3 times as long. The short walk from the bottom of this back to Rifugio Sapienza seemed like a very long way.

This was strenuous day, but an opportunity not to be missed if you get the chance and are pretty fit.

This was the last night of the holiday so booked dinner at Malvasia and met for pre-dinner drinks (cocktails in most cases) at the trendy bar near our hotel. They kept bringing interesting nibbles, and we kept eating them. 

Dinner at Malvasia was great fun. The restaurant was very quiet, and we got the full attention of the family that runs it. The food was fresh and simple, but lovely. The waiter recommended that we had a large carafe of the house wine, rather than order bottles - that's not something that happens often. Alex regaled us with tales of the life in the NHS, pausing often to explain that he was a little drunk.  We were lucky to have had his company on this holiday.

Our flight was until Tuesday evening, so we visited  Taormina's Greek theatre in  the morning, had lunch at La Botte and then relaxed on the hotel terrace in the afternoon before setting off for the airport.

View Etna in a larger map

Sicily and The Aeolian Islands: Taormina and Castelmola

Our stay on the lovely Stromboli came to an end with a a long hydrofoil trip back to Mazzale and then a drive to Taormina.

Alex was booked into the Hotel Isabella right on the Corso Umberto, the rest of us in The Hotel Continental. The jaded wood panelling and the furniture in the Continental made it like stepping through a time warp. Our rooms were similarly jaded too. Clearly, this hotel had seen better days. However, it was clean and comfortable enough, and convenient for the restaurants of Corso Umberto.

There's plenty to see in Taormina, so we explored the town in the afternoon and decided to stop for coffee in one of the main squares and people-watch. Cannoli are a local speciality - deep fried tubes of pastry dough filled with sweetened ricotta - so Rosie and Brenda decided to give them a try. They were disappointing - with stale-tasting tubes. Their comic effect was more successful.

Alex decided to take a break from the rest of us, so we booked a table at Al Duomo, very close to our hotel and highly rated on TripAdvisor. As we approached the restaurant, a French group pushed past us, presumably in an attempt to get a better table. We were therefore very pleased to have a perfect table, outside and overlooking the square, while they ate indoors. It wasn't cheap, but the food was excellent - the best tuna carpaccio Simon had ever had apparently - and the service efficient friendly and efficient. Recommended for a posh meal if you're in town.

Our walk the next day was to Castelmola, which overlooks Taormina from a  long way above. It was clearly going to be a tough walk. After rendezvousing with Alex at his hotel, the first stretch of the walk was up a very long and steep set of steps. Once we got to the top of those,  was a steeper stretch of track and then road to the main square of Castelmola. It's another attractive place, with great views from the square, and the even-higher castle. After exploring both, we found a bar with a terrace for a drink before starting back. Rosie rescued a small bird from a tube which would normally support an umbrella.

The route back was more attractive - it passed a 1st century church before descending gently. We were hungry by this time. There was plenty of choice as we re-entered Taormina, so we chose Malvasia because it  seemed to have most locals, including a large group getting through a large number of courses. They quickly moved an extra table outside for us (even though the pavement wasn't very level). We all chose simple pasta dishes and house wine - all lovely and served with cheer and efficiency.

With no plans for the afternoon, Rosie and I took the cable-car down to Isola Bella, where we braved the causeway to get from the beach to the island, only to find that the island was closed. So we relaxed on the beach for a while.

Dinner was at Restaurant Gran Duca. Service there was poor - we clearly weren't spending enough for them. Food was good enough though.

View Taormina to Castelmalo in a larger map