The Wesleyan ChapelA short (3.5 miles), local walk for a snowy afternoon. The walk starts in Three Mile Cross, just near Junction 11 on the M4. At the end of the walk you see the pretty Wesleyan chapel of 1878.
The initial stage of the walk involves a mile and half along Woodcock Lane, a delightful track, spoiled only by the new housing estate after a few hundred yards and by the close proximity to the traffic on the busy A33. However, it looked nicer in the snow.
You then take another track, Kiln Lane, and move away from the road into woodland, heading towards Spencers Wood. After a short while, you head diagonally across a field, known locally as "The common". This too looked more interesting than usual.
At the other side of the common you pass through part of Spencers Wood (and a few yards' detour reveals one of its nicest buildings: the 1890 school building, now split into a library and a private house)
A footpath across fields leads back to Three Mile Cross and its chapel.
From: Rambling for pleasure Around Reading first series, by David Bounds for the East Berkshire Ramblers Association Group.
Map: Explorer 159 (Reading).
Rating: Three stars.
Reflections
I can't remember the last time I went for a walk in the snow. It is hard to dispute the magical properties of slowly falling snow. Certainly snow covers up the unsightly and changes the familiar. It also increases contrast and highlights the shapes and silhouettes of trees. The evening light was also fascinating, with the setting sun fleetingly breaking through to lend a yellow hue to the snow-filled clouds.
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