The walk will officially start from the car park of Hampstead Norreys Village Hall car park at 11.00am. If you are planning on driving to this walk I would advise parking in Newbury and getting the bus to the start as return buses to Hampstead Norreys are every 2 hours so could prove tricky getting back to the start!
We will be getting a bus to the start of the walk from the new bus station in Newbury (this is next to the library). We will be catching the No 6. Bus at 10.30am from the bus station to arrive in Hampstead Norreys for 10.58am (arrival time will depend on traffic) so the walk may start late if the bus arrives late. A single bus ticket is £3.10 and the bus will accepted cards!
If you are coming from Reading by train, take the 9.40am train which will arrive at Newbury station for 10.02am. The walk leader will be waiting at Newbury train station to walk anyone round to the bus station.
This walk will start with us heading out from Hampstead Norreys through Westbrook Copse and on towards Hermitage. As we head towards Hermitage you will start to hear the rumble of cars from the M4 (which we will pass under). We will cross over the disused Newbury to Didcot railway line (soon to become a footpath!) We will walk through Hermitage heading towards The Bunk Inn pub in Curridge to stop for refreshments or two!
Once suitably refreshed we will continue our walk to Newbury. Walking back we will be treated with some great views of the West Berkshire countryside while crossing farmer’s fields. Once arriving back in Newbury we will head towards the station for the finish to say goodbye to the walkers who may not want to stop off at a Newbury pub or two for another well earned drink.
The footpaths may be a bit muddy so please wear suitable footwear.
NOTE: This is a linear walk
Sat Nav (Hampstead Norreys Village Hall): RG18 0TR or 51.4827 -1.2417
Grid Ref: SU527762