Ramblers Walk – East Hagbourne to Blewbury

We have been members of the Ramblers for almost a year now, thanks to Tesco clubcard vouchers. With no re-enactment practice until the New Year and having completed our Christmas shopping yesterday we decided to go for a walk for a walk today. Rather than completing another section of the D’Arcy Dalton Way, we decided to give the Ramblers a go.

I rang the walk organiser on Saturday to confirm that the walk was still going ahead and, after being told that it was, he suggested that I park in the village hall car park and meet him at the Upper Cross in East Hagbourne.

So, immediately after lunch today, we set off for East Hagbourne. Parking in the village hall car park we put on our boots and packs and got ready to head off to the meeting point. As we were getting ready another couple of walkers were also kitting up next to their car. The chap asked us if we were going to meet the walking organiser, and after I confirmed that we were, he introduced himself and his wife and offered to walk round with us.

We walked round the corner to the cross, to see three other people waiting there. After brief introductions to the walk leader a steady trickle of people arrived in ones and twos until there were eighteen of us in total. John, the walk leader, introduced himself to the group, mentioned that we would be crossing some public roads and that there was some level of personal responsibility for us all to look after ourselves, and then we set off.

John set a fair pace and we were stomping along the footpath, past the church on on to a disused railway line to the village of Upton. From there we crossed the downs to Blewbury, pausing to admire the views across to Oxford, Didcot Power Station, Wittenham clumps and the various hill forts and tumuli in the area. Then it was down in to Blewbury, across another couple of fields and in no time at all we were back in East Hagbourne, having covered about five miles in two hours.

I don’t know what I was really expecting from my first venture with the Ramblers. I suppose that, amongst the non walking members of the British public, the Ramblers have a certain eccentric reputation. Certainly some other walkers view them with a certain level of sneering disregard and amusement. Sometimes even hostility for apparently not being “proper” walkers or being properly equipped. There was certainly a wide range of kit and equipment in evidence today. I think everyone had some form of walking trouser and jacket on, from Mountain Equipment to Rohan to Sprayway and Regatta. Apart from a couple of pairs of wellies everyone had walking boots of some kind. I’m not going to judge – as long as an individual feels comfortable and safe then their choice of gear is up to them. Did I feel I had gone overboard with my kit? No, not at all. I was going out for a winter walk, so I took everything that I might need: Waterproof jacket and trousers, synthetic down jacket, bothy bag and first aid kit. I had some water and some food, and wore softshell jacket and trousers, with boots, gaiters and hat. I did notice that neither the walk leader nor the tail end charlie had a pack, but maybe they had a first aid kit in their jacket pocket.

We chatted with John the group leader, and Paul the tail end charlie, as well as the couple we met in the car park. Apart from that we kept to ourselves. Given the normal English reserve I don’t think we did too bad.

If I had to complain about something then it would be a lack of information about what was going on. John leads a walk every month from the same starting point and probably covering some of the same ground. He probably gets the same people going back and they are probably familiar with the variety of routes. Even so, it would have been nice to have been told a rough route outline, particularly in terms of estimated distance and times. It would also have been nice to have been kept informed along the way. We stopped at a farmer’s gate that had a sign on it warning that trespassers would be prosecuted. I didn’t know if this was a scheduled break or if John had been planning to go through that gate and was having to rethink the route (full marks to him if that was the case as he didn’t need to consult the map). Either way, a bit more communication would have been nice.

In summary though, a pleasant afternoon walk around the Oxfordshire countryside.

Will I go back to this walk again? Yes

Will I go on another Ramblers walk? Yes