Walk B: Newbury’s Secret Garden (plus a castle), 10 miles, moderate

When:
June 16, 2018 @ 10:10 am
2018-06-16T10:10:00+01:00
2018-06-16T10:25:00+01:00
Where:
Newbury Railway Station
Contact:
Dan

The walk will start from Newbury railway station, ticket machine side at 10.10am, shortly after the arrival of the 9.40am service from Reading.

The route takes us through Newbury town centre, perhaps the capital of West Berkshire, before picking up the iconic Kennet and Avon Canal. We can perhaps wonder and romanticise the changes of use this now peaceful waterway has experienced over the centuries as we stroll past the many canal boats moored up.

The route takes us past the village of Enborne and the church before entering Hampstead Park, our “Secret Garden”. Here will be a good opportunity to pause and reflect as we enjoy the beautiful rolling fields of West Berkshire.

We leave the fields behind and tackle some quiet country lanes that enables us to connect up with our next section. At the village of Bagnor we will plan to rest up for some refreshment (alcoholic or otherwise) overlooking the River Lambourn. This is one of the Walk Leaders favourite spots in Berkshire. Moving on we conclude our lovely, pretty walk by paying a visit the 14th Century Castle at Donnington. It is rumoured both Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth once stayed here. It is a small ruined structure and there is no fee to enter but we’ll worth a look round.

We return to Newbury where there may be an option for tea and cake or a second pub stop. The final decision will be made by Walk Leader on the day.

Please bring a packed lunch and water.

For those that don’t have a Railcard, we will try to travel in groups to take advantage of the GroupSave discount – if you wish to do this, please meet at 9:10am prompt outside the Three Guineas pub and carry some change.  The discounted ticket will cost around £4.35

This walk is part of National Young Ramblers 2018. However, we would be delighted to welcome all people on this walk, whether you are attending our event or not.

Sat Nav: RG14 5DG or 51.3977 -1.3226

Grid Ref: SU472667