Wallingford, the Ridgeway and the Cholsey Wallingford Railway

Well today was a bonus. I was supposed to be in the office delivering a training course to some external clients. However, for various reasons the clients cancelled, so I had a spare day. I had been running out of holiday this year and one of our directors had very kindly allowed me to carry one day over to January 2012, with the proviso that if a day became available this year then I would take the days holiday this year. Today was that day. So, at the last minute (over the weekend) I found myself with a day’s holiday.

The weather forecast suggested that it was going to be a good day, so it seemed sensible to try and fit in a BELA walk. With some last minute planning done on Sunday evening I came up with a route that promised an interesting day as well as fitting in with Denise.

So, this morning I drove Denise to work and parked the car in her work car park, in wallingford. I set off down the bank of the Thames heading towards Goring and Streatley.

Heading away from the car park I managed to catch a squirrel by surprise. It was sat on the fence that ran by the side of the footpath and obviously was unaware of me until I as right next to it. The squirrel raced away as fast as it could in a blur of grey fur.

From Crowmarsh Gifford I headed towards Newnham Farm and then on to the Carmel College at Mongewell Park. From there I followed the Ridgeway into North Stoke, a very pretty  village indeed. Passing through the churchyard the Ridgeway path follows the bank of the Thames under the railway bridge – where we wild camped when we walked the Ridgeway a number of years ago – to South Stoke and on to Goring.

As the Ridgeway descended into Goring it passed a nature training center for schools. It was closed for winter but there were some tremendous bracket fungi on a fallen silver birch tree.

Coming into Goring I followed the Ridgeway as it turned West, crossing the Thames into Streatley and then heading away from the river, up past the golf club and back into the countryside. Here the Ridgeway climbs steadily up the side of a valley, giving fantastic views to the south over Streatley Warren and towards Aldworth. At the head of the valley I left the Ridgeway and turned North, into Unhill Wood.

Heading into the wood I nearly tripped over some huge fungi – I have shown my map case for scale.

This is obviously part of a large estate, which is very into pheasant management as there are feeding bins and enclosures everywhere. Also in abundance in the wood were fungi with some huge examples. As I walked through the wood I caught a glimpse of a deer as it leapt off, deeper into the wood, its white tail flashing as it went. I managed to find the footpath that I was looking for and followed it past a secluded glade, where cock pheasants strolled casually through the grass while buzzards and red kites glided across the sky.

I followed the track North East, out of Unhill Wood and past Starveall Farm, with its pond covered in ducks, up to the junctions with the A417. I crossed the main road and followed the minor road past Westfield Stables until it was crossed by a Bridleway. Here, I turned left and followed the bridleway towardss Westfield Farm, turning right at the bottom of the hill and the junction of the bridleways.  I continued along the bridleway until it passed under the main railway line and became a footpath again.

Turning left I passed under the Cholsey and wallingford branch line, via a small tunnel that had a path and a stream , one above the other, and then turned right to follow the branch line. The path took a slight detour away from the railway line to pass through the churchyard at Manor Farm. This interesting church appears to have a stair case on the outside of one of the corners of the tower.

The footpath rejoins the railway and follows in until just before the A4130 when the path heads eastwards towards Winterbrook. Coming into the outskirts of Wallingford I noticed that one of the residents appears to have a small castle in their back garden.

From Winterbrook I followed the road towards the town but turned off, just before the hospital, to head back towards the river. I picked up the Thames path and followed that back into the town, crossing wallingford bridge and heading back to the car.

The route can be found here and the photos can be seen on my Flickr site.