Thursday, September 9, 2010

Search our website:

Pages in this section:

• Babies & Toddlers
• Barn dance club
• Book Club
• Bowls Club
• Email list
• Environment Group
• Folk at the Fleur
• Garden club
• Pre-School
• Rambling latest
• Scout Group
• Tennis
• The Hams
• What's on

Contact us:

If you have any comments or suggestions about the website particularly information about events going on in the village, then why not email us at:

Rambling - April 2010 Report

April 11th and a week-long stretch of dry weather allowed mud-free passage on some traditionally soggy routes. 16 of us set out from Upper Cross to head about as far north as we ever go on these once-a-month circular walks. We began on Shoe Lane, walking to The Croft and along The Croft to the narrow footpath that heads north between houses and then turns east to emerge at the Hagbourne Garage. We crossed New Road and continued past the expanded playground and on to the bridleway that leads to (and through) Fulscot Farm, finally emerging on the road to South Moreton.

Continuing east on the footpath beside this road we soon came to the bridleway that leads due north. It has been closed since the start of 2010 for the construction of a new bridge across the GWR mainline. We will have been some of the very first walkers to legally (almost…) cross this new bridge. This bridleway continues mostly north, beside the golf course, to a footpath junction near the top of Down Hill where we stopped to rest briefly and to admire the view over Didcot.

Fully restored, we turned to the west and descended to cross the B4016 and on to the footpath into Ladygrove Farm. This stretch is less than intuitive and certainly isn't waymarked but we were blessed by a small amount of collective memory and enough recent footsteps in the correct direction to easily find our way around these muddy fields thus bringing us to our more civilised destination, Hopkins Bridge, which marked our entry into built-up Didcot.

Once safely across the A4130 we followed the footpath due south-west along one edge of the Ladygrove Estate to pick up Cycle Network Route 5 which passes under the GWR mainline and empties at Didcot's "main" roundabout. The way home follows Cycle Network Route 44 along the never-beautiful Linear Park and finally a few zigs and zags through our own slowly-awakening field of allotments to Wilcher Close, Shoe Lane and finally Upper Cross.

A walk of 7.1-miles in just 2?-hours and we all stayed together thanks to the diligent efforts of our guest back-marker. Won't you join us for the May ramble?

British Summertime has begun so the ramble starts at the later time of 2:00 p.m. Note the change!

Next Ramble
Sunday, May 9th
2:00 p.m.
John Jones: 813326
Meet at the East Hagbourne Upper Cross