As much as the group enjoys walking in our very own county of Berkshire it always pays from time to time to try to go slightly further afield and explore new territories. Our latest walk from Guildford railway station was one of these. We may have walked some of the route last year but it is highly likely that the precise route – just like last week perhaps – was new to the group. Another theme that runs from the previous walk was that we were being led by a first time walk leader again, this time Sam took the reigns.
A few of us met up on the train at Reading and our numbers were soon boosted by the appearance of the Wokingham enclave. The journey was only around 35 minutes for those starting from Reading. When you think it can take far longer than that to locate a remote car park in the outer regions of Berkshire that was not bad at all.
We met up with maybe another four or five people outside Guildford station. The usual greetings and walk leaders speech completed, we set off along the peaceful River Wey observing a number of rowers out enjoying the spring sunshine as well as a swan quietly nesting out of harms way. It was not long before we picked up the North Downs Way. One of our walks last year picked up this trail but in the opposite direction so this stretch was completely new to me. We starting to encounter a number of small groups of youngsters along the way who we expected were participating in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. We also stopped to take a photo of the bluebells at Chantry Woods. They were certainly very spectacular at this time of year.
We continued on. This part of the North Downs Way that we were traversing is also know as the Pilgrims Way. Starting from Winchester and ending up at the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, this is supposedly the historic route which many pilgrims would have made to worship Thomas Becket who was the Archbishop that was supposedly murdered in 1170 and considered somewhat a martyr by the Catholic and Anglican Churches. Our route took us up a fairly steepish incline to St Martha’s Hill where we stopped to have our picnic lunches taking in the breathtaking views of the village of Chilworth and way beyond. If you’re lucky it could be possible to take in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, London as well as Surrey of course. It is safe to say that I consider this one of the most lovely lunch spots that we have had. Well picked by our walk leader.
Perched on top of the hill was St Martha’s Church which must surely occupy one of the most striking settings of any place of worship in Britain seeing as it is standing on top of a hill at altitude of around 200 metres but with no road leading to it. A church has existed here for over a thousand years or more but the current design was inspired by the Victorians after the building was left in ruins. A couple of us popped inside to have a look.
We could not possibly get bored by the views but we had to move on. We soon picked up the Downs Link for a brief period. You will not be surprised to learn that the Downs Link connects the North Downs Way with, you’ve guess it, the South Downs Way. We stopped briefly to look back at St Martha’s Hill where we could see the church standing proudly dominating over the Surrey landscape.
The walk took us through Blackheath and continued on mainly flat surfaces. Towards the end there was a small nature reserve where a wooden boardwalk had been built together with space for a couple of picnic benches. To the relief of our weary legs we sensibly made good use of these and replenished ourselves with water and a snack.
The hike concluded alongside the River Wey past St Catherines Lock where the occupants of a narrow boat were struggling to handle their vehicle. They seemed to be in good spirits though so we shared a laugh and a joke and moved on. Guildford soon came into view and we knew we were reaching the conclusion when the footpath was becoming far busier. At the conclusion itself a few people headed straight for the train that was due to depart in a few minutes while the rest of us took advantage of an ice cream vendor nearby.
The day’s event was by no means over as we those left remaining headed to a nearby pub where an informal social begin. Most of us remaining stayed for a few drinks and a bite to eat before making the 7pm train back to Berkshire. A great day out and if you were unable to make it you missed an absolute treat.