The BBC's Berkshire Way: A review

Introduction

We have described our experiences of walking the BBC's Berkshire Way in a number of postings (listed below). The route links Lambourn in the west with Windsor in the east and traces a meandering path across the whole county. Now that we have finished the whole walk it is time to offer some reflections on it.


Review

Overall, it's a fantastic idea - well done to the BBC! We have very much enjoyed the individual walks and felt a great sense of achievement when we finally got to Windsor, even though it was months after we started the walk.

The 14 stages comprise a cleverly chosen route which links the best bits of Berkshire countryside and provides great variety. The route covers a number of different types of walking: downlands (the Berkshire Downs and North Hampshire Downs), rivers (the Thames, the Kennet, the Loddon), the Kennet and Avon Canal, gravel pits, fields (of course), woodland (especially Swinley Forest), even a racecourse (Ascot) and the park of a royal palace (Windsor).

You also see something of some of the county's nicer towns: Hungerford, Newbury, Wokingham and Windsor.

We wondered if there were any significant omissions. There is some nice country west of Reading in the Bucklebury-Hampstead Norreys area and the Thames in the east of the county is also very attractive. But, obviously a route like this can't cover everywhere, and one has to conclude that the compilers of the walk have done an excellent job.

Conversely, the route managed to avoid most of the areas of the county that you wouldn't want to spend much time walking in: there were very few areas of suburban sprawl to plod through.

Beyond the specific locations, the Berkshire Way provides a nice introduction to the joys of linear rather than circular walking and of long distance paths.

At a more practical level, the walk descriptions and maps are good, and there was seldom any real ambiguity about where to go. There was some variability in the precision and clarity of directions. Leg 3 for example a bit vague in places (you are told to take a turning but not given a sense of how far along the path it will be). We just got lost once - in Purley - but that is easily done. However, these are only very minor gripes.

Some of the descriptions are also a bit out of date – there are quite a lot of references to “when we walked this in 2002”. However, we did not encounter any significant problems with changes since then. And in fact West Berkshire Council at least have improved signing and way-marking since 2002.

The stages are listed below. Our favourite was probably Bury Down to Lardon Chase, along the Ridgeway.


Stages of the Berkshire Way

1 Lambourn to Hungerford (7.5 miles)

2 Hungerford to Combe Gibbet (6 miles)

3 Combe Gibbet to Hamstead Marshall (4.75 miles)

4 Hamstead Marshall to Newbury (4.75 miles)

5 Newbury to Chieveley (6.75 miles)

6 Chieveley to Bury Down (6.75 miles)

7 Bury Down to Lardon Chase (7.5 miles)

8 Lardon Chase to Pangbourne (7.5 miles)

9 Pangbourne to Reading Bridge (7 miles)

10 Reading Bridge to Ashenbury Park, Woodley (5 miles)

11 Ashenbury Park, Woodley, to Wokingham (8 miles)

12 Wokingham to the Lookout, Bracknell (7.25 miles)

13 The Lookout, Bracknell, to Ascot (4.5 miles)

14 Ascot to Windsor (7 miles)

Ascot to Windsor (Berkshire Way 14)

Queen Victoria's statue, near the end of the walk

At last, the final seven mile leg of the BBC's Berkshire Way! The walk starts at the east side of Ascot race course. A path behind a row of large houses emerges at Golden Gates Lodge. The eponymous gates, with their royal crest, were formerly used by the Queen's procession at the Royal Ascot meeting in June.



After a short stretch of road and a pleasant stroll through a piece of Crown Land, you enter Windsor Great Park through the Ascot Gate. Soon, passing through Prince Consort's gate, you enter the Great Park proper, to be greeted by this view which encapsulates the rest of the walk: tarmac road, trees, grass.



From here, a winding route brings you to Snow Hill and the splendid statue of king George III, known as the Copper Horse. the statue is by Sir Richard Westmacott, and was made in 1824-30. The statue was erected by his son, George IV, who apparently wanted it to resemble the statue of Peter the Great in St Petersburg, hence the massive base. The base, of granite, is 25 feet high.



There is a fantastic view looking towards the castle, along the Long Walk.



From here it is straight ahead, two miles or so, along the Long Walk to the edge of the castle precincts. The deer park is on the left.



Finally, the castle is in close view.



You skirt around its sides to reach the end of the walk at the statue of Queen Victoria by the entrance to the castle, first noting the Guildhall (or Town Hall), designed in about 1687 by Sir Thomas Fitch, and completed after his death by Sir Christopher Wren.



Next door is the delightful Crooked House. You would have to come early in the morning to take a picture without spectators outside.



To celebrate the completion of the Berkshire Way, we had a glass of champagne and some seafood at the Cafe de la Mer, just further along the High Street.

Rating: three and a half stars. Interesting to walk in the Great Park, and some fine sights, but curiously monotonous as well.

Map: Explorer 160 (Windsor, Weybridge and Bracknell).

Ashenbury Park, Woodley to Wokingham (Berkshire Way 11 )

One of many flooded gravel pits

We return to the BBC's Berkshire Way for our penultimate stage: 8 miles from Ashenbury Park in Woodley, on the edge of Reading, to Wokingham. Odd - quite arduous - walking conditions: snow, ice, freezing puddles, occasional patches of mud. But at least it's not raining or snowing, and in fact the sky is blue.

You walk through the park and then along a lane to cross a stream and after a short stretch of road, join a snowy path alongside the River Loddon.



In due course this passes Sandford Mill. Pevsner refers to the "pretty" mill complex, but unusually gives no detailed historical information.



You next pass through the Dinton Pastures country park and emerge again on the banks of the Loddon. We saw a black swan on a nearby lake and thought it worthy of note. Then we saw a sign to "Black Swan Lake" and concluded that perhaps it was to be expected.

The sun was out by now and the Loddon looked surprisingly picturesque as we approached Winnersh Triangle.



Continuing along the bank of the Loddon, the route passed Sindlesham Mill, where the mill itself has been absorbed into a hotel, and on to Sindlesham village.

We walked up the road towards Barkham and past the gatehouse of Bearwood, once a great Victorian mansion, but for many years now a school. The house was designed in 1864 by Robert Kerr for John Walter, the owner of The Times. The estate at that time was 7,500 acres and included Finchampstead, Barkham and Sindlesham.

Opposite the gatehouse, we were struck by these splendid estate cottages with their diaper brickwork, elaborate chimneys and ornate porches. The bricks to build theses houses and Bearwood itself were dug and made on the estate.




A lane, then a field and then a small patch of woodland and a residential street lead to the A329 and a mile or so further to Wokingham. Approaching the town, you first see the lavish church of St Paul, which dates from 1862-64. It was designed by Henry Woodyer and paid for by John Walter.



Finally, as you enter the central part of the town you pass this Victorian school with its splendid tower and cupola.



Map: explorer 159 (Reading, Wokingham and Pangbourne).

Rating: three stars. Too much road. Difficult to avoid of course in this part of the county.

Wokingham to The Lookout, Bracknell (Berkshire Way 12)

Wokingham town hall

After a gap of three months, we returned to our project of walking the BBC's Berkshire Way. We are doing the shorter of the two stages prior to the final one to get back into the swing. Today's stage runs from the centre of Wokingham to The Lookout, a country park on the edge of Bracknell - 7.25 miles.

The route initially takes you along Wokingham's main streets: Shute End, Broad Street and Denmark Street. This is a good idea as there is an interesting selection of Georgian and Victorian buildings on view, the highlight of which is the magnificent polychromatic brick Town Hall which dates from 1860. Poulton and Woodman were the architects. Denmark Street has a few older, half-timbered buildings.

Quickly leaving the town behind, a path across fields leads to a lane which brings a wonderful surprise, the superb former Lucas Hospital - that is, almshouses - (now apparently a private house), which dates from 1665. Pevsner describes it as "the best building of Wokingham, without any doubt". The right wing - with the word "Venite" above the door - houses the chapel, while the left wing houses the hall. Venite is the first word of the 95th psalm and of course means "Come".

Lucas Hospital

Leaving Lucas Hospital behind, you follow a very pleasant track parallel to the railway, with lots of birds in the hedgerow and fields on the other side. We spotted a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. The track then goes through the Gorrick Plantation with overhanging dark green pine boughs, reminiscent of a painting by Cezanne.

The next section involves a suburban path, a road through a housing development and a busier road by the back of the Transport Research Laboratory to approach the edge of Crowthorne village. Here you enter woodland again and follow a section of the Devil's Highway, a one time Roman Road which connects London to Silchester (Roman Calleva).

Eventually, you go under a road underpass and enter Swinley Forest. The final couple of miles are along its mainly wide paths between the trees.

This wonderful signpost points the way to the end point at The Lookout.



Map: Explorer 160 (Windsor, Weighbridge and Bracknell).

Rating: three and half stars. Started very well, but the middle section around Crowthorne was a bit boring. Hard to avoid of course in a walk of this type.

Lucas Hospital

The hospital was built with funds bequeathed by one Henry Lucas, a wealthy bachelor for a hospital or almshouse for poor elderly men. The trusteeship of the hospital was taken over by the Drapers Company on the death of Henry Lucas's executors. The Company gained permission from the Charity Commissioners in 1999 to sell the property, which was no longer really suitable for its purpose and merge the Henry Lucas charity with the Whiteley Homes Trust. They have reinvested the money in building the Henry Lucas Cottages in Walton upon Thames. Lucas's coat of arms, which is visible on the front of the hospital, is reproduced on the Cottages.

Swinley Forest

Swinley Forest is an area of Windsor Forest, owned and managed by The Crown Estate, comprising of 2600 acres of mainly Scots Pine woodland. Swinley Park once surrounded Swinley Lodge where the king kept the Royal Staghounds in Georgian times.

The Lookout, Bracknell, to Ascot (Berkshire Way 13)

About the walk

We did our next stage of the BBC's Berkshire Way out of order: it was wet and we thought a short stage (this one was only only 4 1/2 miles) was preferable to the 8 mile one which was next on the official itinerary.

The walk begins at the Lookout, a country park on the edge of Bracknell (we started a nice walk in the woods here earlier in the year) and initially heads off on tarmaced paths into a housing development. However, you quickly turn off into Swinley Park and walk for a good while through very pleasant woodland. The directions were a bit vague on the distance to be walked before reaching the critical landmark of four tracks meeting, but we found the right exit from the wood in due course.

The next stage, through light woods, bypasses the overgrown Englemere Pond to reach the main Bracknell-Ascot road, the A329. You then cross the road and wander through various housing developments (some of impressive modern opulence) to reach the edge of Ascot race course. We had some difficulty following the route here too: this time because the printed out directions had become so sodden that the pages had coalesced and become impossible to separate. Tearing off the top corner by the staple proved to be the effective technique.

Perhaps surprisingly, you can walk directly across the racecourse - although not the actual race track. It is an impressively large area with fine views of the extraordinary new grandstand. I am sure it must have frequently been compared to an airport terminal, because that is surely what it resembles. I would have added a photo, but it was still pouring with rain.

Rating: three stars. Despite the unprepossessing start, surprisingly varied and interesting.

Map: Explorer 160 (Windsor, Weybridge and Bracknell).

Reading Bridge to Ashenbury Park, Woodley (Berkshire Way 10)

Sonning Bridge

We undertook stage 10 of the BBC's Berkshire Way on a misty Saturday morning. The stage runs from Reading Bridge, via Sonning, to Ashenbury Park in the Reading suburb of Woodley, a distance of 5 miles.

You go under Reading Bridge and follow the Berkshire bank of the Thames past Caversham lock, over the point where the Kennet joins the Thames and along meadows behind the Thames Valley business park, wondering if the employees of Oracle come here to enjoy their sandwiches in the middle of a busy day.

After passing Sonning Lock - busy even now, presumably hellish in summer - you leave the Thames path in sight of Sonning's eighteenth century brick bridge and head south-east into the village.

The route first passes the delightful gothic church of St Andrew with its brick walled cemetery, the sixteenth century Bull Inn and the old High Street. A little further on you pass the Robert Palmer cottages - almshouses from 1850, given an exotic feel by the yuccas in the front garden.

Robert Palmer Cottages

The final section is less interesting involving a mile or so on fairly standard suburban roads to reach the car park at Ashenbury Park. Clearly however this is about the best imaginable route from Reading to Woodley.

Rating: three and half stars.

Map: Explorer 159 (Reading, Wokingham and Pangbourne).


Church of St Andrew, Sonning

According to the curiously impenetrable guidebook available in the church , there is evidence of a Norman building of no later than 1180. It was enlarged around 1350 and a major restoration was unertaken in 1852 by Henry Woodyer. This date can be spotted on the hopper head of one of the downpipes at the chancel end of the church. Robert Palmer, the provider of the almshouses, contributed two thirds of the cost, and was therefore a major influence on the Sonning we see today.

Pevsner says that the visual appearance of the church is Victorian and that the delightful chancel decoration (see below) is by GF Bodley from 1903-06.




Sightings

We were very surprised to see these black swans:



... but less surprised to see these cormorants. I used to think the cormorant was a bird you saw by the sea, but I have read and seen the evidence that they are nowadays often seen inland by rivers and canals. This is the first time I have seen three together though.

Pangbourne to Reading Bridge (Berkshire Way 9)

Whitchurch Bridge from Pangbourne Meadows

Stage 9 of the BBC's Berkshire Way runs from the centre of Pangbourne to Reading bridge, so at last it was possible to leave one car at Reading station and take a 10 minute train ride to Pangbourne. The seven mile route joins the Thames at Pangbourne meadows, with Whitchurch bridge to the left (more on the bridge below).

Pangbourne Meadows

The walk is then in three distinct stages. The first follows a series of meadows becoming progressively more rural, with lovely hilly country on the opposite (South Oxfordshire) bank of the river. This was one of the most populated sections of the walk, more so even than the Ridgeway. After a while there is a view of the Tudor Hardwick House on the opposite side and then you reach Mapledurham lock with Mapledurham House largely invisible on the opposite bank. Apparently it has been claimed that both houses were the inspiration for EH Shepard's illustrations for Toad Hall in the Wind in the Willows.

On reaching Mapledurham lock, the second stage of the walk begins: you head away from the river and cross the heavily built up area of Purley. This was inevitably the least enjoyable part of the walk and to make it worse I misread the directions and condemned us to an extra mile of subrban streets.

After escaping from Purley the route rejoins the Thames at the very edge of Reading and follows the river all the way from there. It eventually reaches the Thameside promenade at Caversham bridge, with its hordes of swans and geese responding enthusiastically to donations of bread.

Caversham Bridge

The final section to Reading bridge, the more interesting of the town's two bridges, is more built up. Turning right at the bridge brings you the back entrance to the station.

Reading Bridge

Rating: three stars. Lovely at the beginning, but the middle section and much of the final one weren't much fun.

Map:
-->Explorer 159 (Reading, Wokingham & Pangbourne).


Sightings

A cormorant sitting imposingly on the top of a tree, although not this time drying its wings.


Many riverside properties have a boat house of some sort, but we particularly liked this thatched one.


Whitchurch Bridge

The bridge dates from the late 18th century and was built after an Act of Parliament of 1792 promoted by enterprising locals which gave powers to construct a toll bridge to replace the existing ferry. The original bridge was wooden and had to be replaced by a further wooden bridge in 1852-53. The present iron bridge dates from 1902, but it too is approaching the end of its life and a reconstruction is planned for 2013. Full information about the bridge can be found on the website of the Whitchurch Bridge company. The current toll for most cars is 20p.

Lardon Chase to Pangbourne (Berkshire Way 8)

Looking south

Today - a damp, misty day - we tackled stage 8 of the BBC's Berkshire Way, from Lardon Chase near Streatley to Pangbourne. Seven and a half miles.

The route heads initially south, out of a wood and into fields with lovely views to the south, albeit restricted by the weather. A series of tracks and sections of road bring you to the rear entrance to Basildon Park (on which more below).

We rather liked this barn conversion - a change from the timber ones which abound in Berkshire.





And we loved this Victorian gatehouse with its Dutch gables.



Then a quite long trudge following the wall of the Park down towards the river (Thames) at Lower Basildon. The walk along the Thames Path which formed the final section of the walk was more enjoyable, with glimpses of Basildon Park on the ridge to the right.

We passed to the rear of the Beale Wildlife park, but sadly could not see so much as a llama, although we did hear a peacock.

The final stretch was almost a mile along the main road down into Pangbourne. Still by the river of course, but it felt like a surfeit of pavement/tarmac. There are some wonderfully extravagant Edwardian houses along here with elaborate turrets and gables and big windows.

Rating: three stars (just). Lovely country initially, but too much road overall. The weather didn't help.

Map:
-->Explorer 159 (Reading, Wokingham & Pangbourne).


Sightings

Not much to report really, but this multi-coloured herd of cows caught the eye.




Basildon Park

A slightly shadowy presence on this walk, rather than a real feature. It was built in the Palladian style between 1776 and 1783 by John Carr of York for Francis Sykes, who had made his fortune in India. The most famous feature is the beautiful Octagon Room. It is now owned by the National Trust.

Bury Down to Lardon Chase (Berkshire Way 7)

Oxfordshire from the Ridgeway

Stage 7 of the BBC's Berkshire Way runs long the Ridgeway from Bury Down, north of West Ilsley to Lardon Chase, on the edge of Streatley. This represents seven and half miles along a single signposted path. You can't go wrong - there is just one place where the Ridgeway is the left turning at a junction, rather than straight ahead as you expect, and one final right hand turn off it across a golf course to the car park at Lardon Chase.

You set off on a broad ride with wide views over the flat Oxforshire countryside, cross the A34 and walk through farmland with horse gallops. You cross a bridge which is one of the last remains of a dismantled railway - presumably but for the Ridgeway it would have been converted into a path or cycle track.

The next section is a bit more enclosed, but creates pleasing views looking back towards open country ...



... and forward as the path wends downwards towards Streatley and the Goring Gap.



You pass the impressive gate posts of Thurle Grange.

Thurle Grange

Soon after this you turn right to cross the golf course, ringing various warning bells as you pass by. The views back towards Thurle Down, which runs parallel to the Ridgeway, are delightful.

Thurle Down

So we are now half way - in stages at least - and we have walked 44 miles in total.

Rating: Four stars - but see below.

Map:
-->Explorer 158 (Newbury and Hungerford).


Reflections

This was a really excellent walk, but for part of the way we felt a sense of slight - what?, frustration? disappointment? On reflection we realised that the problem was a lack of reference points. Walking along looking out over a vista of open country, with neither natural nor man-made landmarks, we felt we were missing something. We felt we wanted some reference points by which we could orientate ourselves and measure our progress. When we came on the section of the Ridgeway we have previously walked we felt better - here was the track that led to Starvall Farm, there was the track towards Aldworth where I took some pictures of the Goring Gap.

I have an evolving list of the things that make for a good walk and now I see that this is one of them - a sense of where you are, relative to the major landmarks. I think that's why I don't really enjoy walks which are wholly within a wood.

Chieveley to Bury Down (Berkshire Way 6)

Looking back towards Chieveley

This is stage 6 of the BBC's Berkshire Way. The route goes more or less due north from Chieveley, parallel to the A34, through the village of West Ilsley to intersect the Ridgeway at Bury Down. Six miles and three quarters in all.

You head off beside and across fields and then pick up a series of tracks. The first of these, Old Street Lane, offered ideal conditions for butterflies and we saw a number of green veined whites - readily distinguishable from the more usual small whites by their clearly marked veins. I know this sounds rather obvious, but it reinforces the importance of really looking.

This track leads onto a further, more enclosed one, Green Lane. This was slightly sunken and had quite dense trees and bushes on both sides, and it was with some relief that we quite literally emerged into daylight on the downs.

The final section was much more open leading up to and across the pretty village of West Ilsley and then the final climb through fields up to the Ridgeway.

You look back over Folly Down, which is just lovely ....



... and you know you have just about reached the Ridgeway when the delights of Didcot power station fill the eye.



Rating: three and half stars. I like lanes but this became quite claustrophobic.

Map:
-->Explorer 158 (Newbury and Hungerford).


Sightings

Something of a mystery. It looks like a wild flower, but was clearly planted in rows and fills a whole large field. Just coming into flower, it must be a fine sight when in full bloom.

Newbury to Chieveley (Berkshire Way 5)

Bandstand in Victoria Park

Stage five of the Berkshire Way: Newbury to Chieveley (6.75 miles). The walk begins at Victoria Park in the centre of Newbury and then heads northeast to Shaw. We diverted off the official route for a glimpse of Shaw House, an Elizabethan mansion now splendidly restored and owned by West Berkshire Council.

Shaw House

The footpath continues from a housing estate on the edge of Shaw and then all of sudden you are in open country. A long straight stretch across fields heads then due north. I walked this stretch in the opposite direction as part of a circular walk from Shaw earlier in the year. It is delightfully open with views across rolling countryside.

Just before the village of Curridge you head west along a lane and cross the A34 Newbury Bypass. The you swing north along more lanes until you reach woodland beside the M4. After crossing the motorway a track across corn fields brings you to Chieveley.

Rating: three and half stars. Quiet nicely varied, but too much tarmac.

Map: Explorer 158 (Newbury and Hungerford).


Sightings

More of a "sounding" really, but in the early part of the walk we were conscious of a curious crackling sound as we walked along the edge of cornfield. Insects? Small animals? No, we decided - corn drying out in the sunshine following a shower.

Later in the walk we came on this fierce charging pony.



Ok, he was just coming over to see if we wanted to feed him. This was at Snelsmore miniature Shetland Pony stud.

Reflections

The really striking thing about this walk was the number of barn conversions. We passed about five separate farms and, so far as I can remember, all had at least one barn conversion. One had no less than six separate properties made in this way. They were generally very nicely done, but with the strange sense of a development of terraced homes in the middle of the country.

Hamstead Marshall to Newbury (Berkshire Way 4)

A bridge on the Kennet and Avon

This is the fourth leg of the BBC's splendid Berkshire Way, from Hamstead Marshall to Newbury (4.75 miles). The walk begins in Hamstead Marshall and heads north, climbing across some delightful open fields. After crossing a lane, you enter the vast, privately owned, Hamstead Park. Quite quickly you come on the extraordinary sight shown in the photo below.

The background is easy enough: the church of St Mary. But what of the two sets of gate posts? In fact, as you look around, no less than eight sets can be identified.

They are, it turns out, the remnants of a mansion built for the first Earl of Craven. Most date from the building of the great house between 1663 and 1697, though some may be later. The walls and gardens which they gave entry to have long since disappeared for the house burnt down in1718.

We were also struck by the contrast between the yellow hay wheels which littered the field and the deep green of the grass.

Shortly after this we took a wrong turn (excuse: the path had been diverted from its correct course) and wondered more deeply into the park and towards the newer great house. A classic country house park with some lovely trees. We saw a grey heron take off from the stream at the bottom of the slope.

Hamstead Park

Leaving the park, you cross the river Kennet with this delightful view of the (private) Craven fishery. The Craven family were lords of the manor from the time of the first Earl into the mid twentieth century and their name lingers on in many places in the village.

Craven Fishery

From there on, the route follows the Kennet and Avon canal for three miles or so into the centre of Newbury. The canal is very pretty at this time of year with lots of wild flowers and even some yellow water lilies just coming into flower.

The official directions are very vague about the last part of the route, simply saying that you should look out for Victoria Park on the left. In fact after the instructions run out, you cross the delightful Newbury Lock island, approach the bridge below, climb up and across the road and continue on the tow path until you do indeed find the park on the left.



Rating: four stars. Varied and interesting.

Map: Explorer 158 (Newbury and Hungerford).

Sightings: Pillboxes

We saw four concrete pillboxes beside the canal: one by a weir and the others near to bridges. We had a few jokes about defending Newbury from water-borne assault, but what were they for?

It appears, from some internet research, that they can be traced back to 1940. Following the fall of France, General Sir Richard Ironside was placed in charge of home defence and developed plans for a 'crust' of coastal pillboxes to cover beaches and impede landings, followed by inland road blocks at defiles manned by the Home Guard and finally extended defence lines running across country for miles to try to contain a German penetration. The idea was to compartmentalise the country and delay the Germans long enough for more mobile forces to counter attack.

According to Wikipedia, more than 50 defensive lines were constructed around England, the GHQ (General Headquarters) Stop Line being the longest and most important, designed to protect London and the Industrial heartland. It ran from Taunton, along the Kennet valley, round to the south of London and on to Essex and ultimately Yorkshire. The GHQ stop line was divided into sections known by colours and the Kennet and Avon canal was GHQ Stop Line Blue.

So, a sobering reminder of a very dark time in British history.