Pete's Walks - Goring and Mapledurham (page 3 of 4)
After taking the usual photographs, I retraced my steps a short distance back up the lane, and took a bridleway that was now on my left (it started by a cottage). The bridleway headed northwest between hedges, running along the edge of the Thames Valley with the river across the fields on my left. After maybe half a mile, I went through a gate by a lodge, joining a drive running past Hardwick House. Beyond the grand house (hidden from view by tall hedges) the drive passed several large paddocks on the left, with good views ahead along the Thames Valley.
Start of the bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham, along the Thames valley
The bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham, along the Thames valley
Looking back and across the Thames to Berkshire
The bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham, along the Thames valley
The bridleway continuing along a track towards Hardwick House
The bridleway continuing along the drive, west of Hardwick House
The bridleway continuing along the drive, west of Hardwick House
The drive ended at another gate and lodge, where I continued ahead, now westward, along a lane. I looked out for, and soon spotted, some alpacas - in fact there were hundreds of them, the farm here has more alpacas than I've ever come across. Just past the alpaca farm, a path started on the right, parallel to the lane, running through the middle of a broad hedgerow. It ended on the edge of Whitchurch-on-Thames, where I rejoined the lane, now a residential street, and followed it on to a T-junction.
The lane going west towards Whitchurch-on-Thames
The lane going west towards Whitchurch-on-Thames
The path beside the lane going west towards Whitchurch-on-Thames
The lane continuing into Whitchurch-on-Thames
I turned right for a few yards, then went left along a private drive going northwest. This seemed to go on for much longer than I remembered, passing a few scattered residences and farms. Eventually I passed the entrance to Coombe Park Farm, and at the end of the drive a bridleway continued onwards, initially dropping steeply into a small valley (I noticed that the steps here had been removed and the path resurfaced, presumably for the benefit of cyclists). The path climbed up the other side of this small valley, running with hedgerows either side, and then entered Hartslock Wood.
The private drive going northwest from Whitchurch-on-Thames
The private drive going northwest from Whitchurch-on-Thames
The bridleway continuing northwest towards Hartslock Wood
The bridleway just inside Hartslock Wood