Boxford Birthday Ramble, 12 miles, moderate

Calendar

When:

October 6, 2018 @ 11:05 am

2018-10-06T11:05:00+01:00

2018-10-06T11:20:00+01:00

Where:

Newbury Railway Station

Contact:

Daisy

Walk

moderate nice pub public transport Walk

You are hereby invited to join Daisy & Dan in celebrating (albeit a bit belatedly!) their birthdays in the form of a (pub filled) ramble…

If you’ve walked with Daisy before, well done for coming back for more! If you haven’t, then please be advised that she likes to set a *good pace* (around 3mph)!

The walk will start from outside Newbury station (north side/platform 2) at 11:05. This is shortly after the arrivals of the 10:38 from Reading and the 10:46 from Hungerford. If either of these trains are delayed, the start of the walk will be too. Parking is also available at the station, where charges apply.

We start by making our way out of Newbury town centre and heading west a short while along the picturesque Kennet & Avon Canal. Not for long though, as soon we turn off and pick up the Lambourn Valley Way.

After approx 3 miles we will arrive at our first pub stop of the day – The Blackbird in Bagnor. Once suitably refreshed(!) we will carry on along the LVW to Boxford for our second pub stop – The Bell. Don’t panic, we’ll stop en route to have our lunch by the banks of the River Lambourn.

Once even more refreshed, it’s time to make our way back to Newbury – very briefly re-tracing our steps through Bagnor and along to Donnington. We go right past the Castle, so anyone who fancies taking a look, please do. This nicely brings us out to our third pub stop, can you guess the name of it?

The final section of the walk is (thankfully!) an easy navigation through the rather attractive grounds of Donnington Country Club (keep a look out for flying golf balls!) before picking up the LVW once more. The walk will officially end at The Lock Stock & Barrel in Newbury – where the social will begin!

If you don’t fancy joining us for the social, the station is only about 5 mins away where trains back to Reading are pretty frequent (twice an hour) – the walk leader will be happy to advise you of exact times on the day.

Please bring a pack lunch and any snacks you’ll want to eat along the way – as well as plenty of water. Oh, and a bit of money for the pubs if you fancy a beverage………

***PLEASE NOTE: if the weather is forecast to be bad (e.g lots of rain) – the walk may be shortened, pub stops may be lengthened***

Sat Nav: RG14 5DG or 51.3977 -1.3226

Grid Ref: SU472667

Booking onto a walk

Most walks do not require advance booking, and you can just turn up on the day. We encourage those comfortable with Meetup to indicate there that you plan to come though, so that others can see there will be plenty of people there – this really helps to encourage new members to come along.
For the few which still have limited numbers, this is handled via Meetup. Follow the link to a walk’s Meetup page (or press 🎟 Register / 🎟 Tickets / 🎟), and mark yourself as attending.
Social and other events may have their own booking system – please see the event description.

Pace Guide

Gentle: led at a gentle pace with regular short breaks for water or rest. Should be suitable for anyone capable of the distance. (Expect 2–2.5 mph.)
Medium: led at an intermediate pace with fewer breaks but still suitable for most walkers. (Expect 2.5–3 mph.)
Fast: led at a quick pace with minimal breaks. May be a challenge for those with less fitness. (Expect 3 mph+.)

Speeds quoted are only a rough guide, including time spent on short water/rest stops and negotiating stiles/gates/roads etc. but not that spent on longer lunch or pub stops.