Pete's Walks - Goring and Mapledurham (page 2 of 2)
After a quarter of a mile or so the lane turned right, but I went more or less straight on, along the lengthy drive of Bottom Farm. It was raining quite steadily now, but it only lasted 10 minutes or so. Just beyond the farm and some cottages, I took a footpath on the right. This followed a hedgerow going steeply up a hillside, heading towards Whittles Farm. As I puffed my way up the slope, I paused to admire the view back over Mapledurham in the Thames valley (again the view was nowhere near as good as usual). I was also distracted by a Red Kite, which flew low overhead and continued hunting a short distance away over the large pasture on my left.
The path to Whittles Farm, from near Bottom Farm, Mapledurham
Looking back towards Mapledurham, from the path to Whittles farm
Red Kite, seen from the path to Whittles farm
Beyond Whittles Farm (it's shown in gothic print on the map, denoting some historic interest) I crossed a lane and continued on a path to the hamlet of Nuney Green. This followed a fence line through an empty pasture and then passed through Nuney Wood. Just beyond the hamlet, in more woodland, I sat on a log for a slightly early lunch break. I was still concerned about getting back in time, and consciously walked at a fast pace when I set off again through the woods.
The path to Nuney Green from Whittles farm
The path to Nuney Green (Nuney Wood)
The path from Nuney Green to Deadman's Lane
There was now about two and a half miles of walking through a succession of woods, broken up by the crossing of Deadman's Lane and another minor road. The paths were inevitably very muddy at this time of year, and with the bare trees the woods obviously weren't looking at their best, so this wasn't as enjoyable a section as it is at other times of the year. I turned left at a path crossroads by the corner of a field at one point, and managed to find the correct place to turn right where I'd gone wrong the last time I did this walk (I went wrong an embarrassing FOUR times on the last day of my Chiltern Chain Walk, but avoided all those mistakes today). I noticed one or two small patches of blue in the sky now, and this was the brightest part of the day.
The path west of Deadman's Lane (Bensgrove Wood)
Path crossroads where I turned left, on border of Common Wood and Birchen Copse (the field was full of Opium Poppies one time I was here)
Path through Little Oaken Wood
Eventually I reached a road just east of Cray's Pond. On the other side I went diagonally across a school playing field, crossed another minor road, and took the long private drive through Blackbirds Bottom. After half a mile or so I passed another Bottom Farm, and shortly afterwards I entered Great Chalk Wood. This was the site of one of my four mishaps last time, and in fact I've managed to go wrong somewhere in this wood on three of my seven or so visits, but today I managed to make my through it with no problems.
Where I entered Great Chalk Wood (just after another Bottom Farm)
Path through Great Chalk Wood
Path through Great Chalk Wood
Beyond Great Chalk Wood I followed a path along a hedgerow on my right, initially up quite a steep hill. The path turned left along the top of the hill, passing a cemetery on my right, and then gradually descended towards Goring, with views across the Thames Valley to the Berkshire Downs on the far side. Near the bottom of the slope I crossed a playing field to return to Goring, and made my way back to the car park in the village centre.
Path to Goring, from the edge of Great Chalk Wood
Looking back to Great Chalk Wood
The path to Goring, with the Berkshire Downs across the Thames Valley
Entering Goring via the playing field
My feet had started feeling sore about the time I reached Mapledurham, and were quite badly blistered by the end of the walk - my own stupid fault for getting them wet. I think they're possibly the worst blisters I've had since starting this web site. I timed the walk well, as not only did I get back to the car park in time to avoid a £75 fine, shortly after I set off for home it started to rain and continued raining all the way back to Kensworth. Quite bizarre really, I think I've done a walk from Goring six times now and this was at least the third time it's started raining just after I started my drive home.
The grey and gloomy conditions for most of the day meant that this walk was never going to be at it's best. The fact that I was always concerned about finishing the walk in five hours, and the self-inflicted blisters on my feet, certainly detracted from the pleasure of the walk. But I still feel it's a good route, though definitely better at other times of the year. The first half of the walk, along the Thames Valley, is inevitably very flat but is quite varied and has some nice views and pleasant scenery. Mapledurham is well worth visiting (I've been there several times now, so wasn't too upset to miss it today). The vast majority of the return route is through woodland, and only passes a few farms and a couple of hamlets. The views over the Thames Valley make for a very pleasant finish to the walk.