kent to cape wrath

Thames Path, Dukes Meadows

On Mick and Gayle's journey north I'd seen that they were picking up the Thames Path and heading through town before turning north east along the Grand Union Canal at Brentford. As they were going to be in my neck of the woods I offered them a room for the night and join them on their trek.

Putney was thronging with the precursor to next weekend's Oxford and Cambridge boat race. We cleared the crowds as we headed towards Barnes, and took a planned detour at the Wetlands Centre to cut out the Hammersmith leg. Crossing the Thames at Barnes Bridge we were stopped by two guys, Adam and Ben, who were interested in the walk and put their hands in their pockets for a donate to the charity. Nice one guys! Stupid me though; I had a camera handy but failed to take a shot...

Just before Strand on the Green we met up with Juan and Vic, and their tiny three week old baby, Matilda. These are friends of Mick and Gayle who also live locally, and will be providing a place to stay after the next leg of their route.

Gayle bagging a cache

Mr Sloman will be pleased to read that this tiny stretch of the Thames has three riverside pubs, at the first Gayle stopped to bag a geocache that I'd pointed out. As we were nearing the end of the days walking and being in W4 clearly we couldn't pass the Bell and Crown without stopping for a pint of Fullers Chiswick Bitter. Unfortunately the weather which had behaved itself most of the day decided to chuck some wet at us. As we'd been sitting outside because we had Harry with us, we quickly said our goodbyes and bundled off to the bus stop for a quick journey back to mine.

The Bell & Crown, Chiswick

At home Mick pitched Wendy Warmlite in the garden for an airing, and demonstrated the impressive (Penny and I both went, Ahh!) tension banding that made the front hoop rock solid. And I discovered that I can, just, sit up in the front of one of these. Not that I need another tent - honest!

For reasons know only to Mick and Gayle they had skipped lunch, evidently very hungry by now Mick asked when supper would be ready. I said just give me a minute to put the kettle on and offered them a choice of Reiters meals. With the joke over I got cracking on a chick pea and fennel casserole.

With the clocks going forward Mick and Gayle stole an early start the following morning and headed off to Kew for the next leg.

snow

Ham pond

Working from home has it's benefits, I can pretty much stop what I'm doing and head out of the door. As soon as snow started falling I togged up and headed out the door with Harry.

One of the many 'tree houses' found in the park

I've a choice of routes but the one that I favour is a wander through Ham Common Woods to Richmond Park climbing up to Pembroke Lodge for a coffee stop. Pembroke Lodge is a Georgian mansion which was once the home of Bertrand Russell, the view from the terrace is a expansive one and on a good day there are a number of landmarks that can be made out some easier than others (Heathrow airport and Twickenham Stadium). Since I had Harry with me I wasn't allowed in to the house and grounds so had to make do with a coffee from the shack and it being midweek it was quiet. At weekends the car park at Pembroke Lodge is a place where dog walkers, ramblers and sunny day cyclists converge and the Lodge and shack become overwhelmed.

Snow dusting

Just north of the Lodge is a mound, Called King Henry's, where there's a telescope making easier to spot the more elusive landmarks like Windsor Castle. You can also look back to the City along St Paul's Vista. This day however the gap in the trees that create the vista was the only thing I saw. From Richmond Gate there's a path that runs parallel to Star and Garter Hill down to Petersham Gate, I took this and there was now a sprinkling on snow covering the trees and brambles.

St Paul's Vista

Through the gate and across the road, Richmond council finally installed a crossing here last year, even with the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill getting across this bit of road was a test of skill, timing and nerve. Past Petersham Church, where George Vancover is buried, I left the Capital Ring and followed a series of narrow footpaths skirting walled houses and school playing fields to the Thames.

I've walked and biked this stretch of the river countless times so I poddled along on autopilot with my mind on other things passing Marble Hill House and Ham House without a single glance. At Teddington Lock I picked up the Thames Cycle Path and followed this through to Ham, and home.

mapledurham and the thames path

Took a drive up to Reading on Saturday before last to meet up with Jay. The Thames valley and the Chiltern Hills on the north bank of the river are her regular stomping grounds so Penny, Harry and I, were treated to a guided tour.

With one of Jay’s dogs, Cassie, a whuppet we set off towards Suleham Woods and from the valley side there were good views north to the Chilterns and up the valley to the Goring gap, where the villages of Goring and Streatley sit on opposite sides of the river.

On entering the woods we startled a deer, no white rump marks so it could have been a muntjack. The deer more agile than the dogs soon vanished.

Across a few fields we passed through Purley on Thames heading towards the river. After the second world war a row of holiday bungalow cottages were built on the flood plain on stilts and a few still survive today in various states however the plots of land where the bungalows once stood now are home to a variety of new build houses. For some reason a few of the older new builds didn’t take on board the essential design feature of stilts and suffered a number floodings that meant they had to be replaced this time with raised ground floors and entrances.

Holiday bungalow, Purley on Thames

We picked up the Thames Path and headed towards Mapledurham Lock. As soon as the river bank dropped low enough Harry and Cassie wasted no time and went for a dip. Approaching the lock Mapledurham House appeared through the trees, unfortunately you can’t cross the river here so we backtracked along the Thames Path to Pangbourne and crossed the river via the toll bridge to Whitchurch on Thames. From here we followed a track that ran parallel to the Thames towards Hardwicke House and Mapledurham village. Just outside Whitchurch we stopped for a break and brew. I’d packed my Bush Buddy (bush baby, as Jay christened it) and after gathering a few sticks and twigs we had fire going and a pan of water on for a boil much to Jay’s amusement.

Mapledurham Lock

This was the first time we’d been out for a walk with Jay and we chatted about food, gear, the places we’d walked, and canoeing. This last topic is currently a hot one for me and I was pleased to find out that her and her husband, Robert, owned a kayak and a three person Canadian – it was a bit obvious as they were hanging from the roof of the carport!

Mapledurham House

The hedgerow along the path to Mapledurham village was heavy with blackberries, sloes, and dotted hereabouts a few Mirabelle plum trees full of ripe golden fruit. We helped ourselves to mouthfuls of fruit as we walked along. As it was getting late we cut the walk short and Jay arranged for Robert to pick us up from Pangbourne.

Whitchurch on Thames

Jay later informed me that we’d covered 13 miles that afternoon, a bit of a surprise but when the conversation is flowing, the company easy going and the ground underfoot sound it comes as no surprise.

Looks like we’ll be meeting up again in early October on a Backpackers Club trip in the Vale of Pewsey, she may even convince her daughter to join us. Either way I’m looking forward to our next trip.

tag a long on the thames

Our first trip out on the tag a long and to keep things simple it was a straightforward peddle down the Thames to Teddington Lock and back up the Surrey side of the river.

River Lane, Petersham Meadow

Rain over night ensured that there were enough puddles to ride through and as neither my bike nor the tag a long had mud guards Ben earned his first cyclist stripe. Two in fact; one up the front and one up the back.

Splattered face; sign of a true off roader

I’m glad I didn’t opt for a detour into Richmond Park via Ham Gate because the pull up to the bike track that runs from Kingston Gate to Pembroke Lodge is quite sharp. I was happy to stay on the relatively level tow path, at least for now.

My bike’s close gearing made it easy to change up and down to suit the terrain but I did notice that controlling the bike was harder when I dropped a cog at the front rather than at the rear. He did do with some of the peddling which helped speed us to the Tide Tables Cafe for refreshments and a well deserved chocolate muffin.

midhurst and cowdray park

I wasn’t really paying much attention on this walk; my mind being preoccupied with other things. And because of this I wasn’t able to engage with my surroundings as I usually do so my recollections are rather scant.

Cowdray is an impressive ruin of a Tudor Castle and it was only at the end of the circuit that I realised this; going for a walk does help clear the mind.

Cowdray

The route was a six or so mile circuit lifted from the Jarrold’s Pathfinder Guide to Surrey and Sussex and over the last year or so I’ve pretty much done most of the walks in this book. The route follows river bank, woodland path, sunken lanes and wide buttercup filled river meadows.

River Rother meadow

At Heathend copse a detour was taken as a conifer plantation had sprung up since the book was published and the bridleway had vanished underneath it. In the copse several cuckoo’s called to each other.

Harry hunts for Hobbits

At Steward’s Pond I stopped and carefully balanced my way across reed tufts to the pond’s feed to fill the Travel Tap. And under the cover of some trees nearby I cleared a spot, set up the Gnome and set to cooking lunch. More of this here.

Hornbeam and Bluebells

From the pond the route tacks across a golf course and back to Cowdray, Midhurst and the car park.

tag along bike

I recently bought a tag along bike for my son. Despite his initial resistance to anything cycling after a quick whizz around the block he was calling out faster daddy, faster and weeee! I'm taking the bikes down to Surrey this weekend but don't expect to see me grunting and hauling him up some dirt track on Leith Hill (not yet anyway).

There are few easy (read as flat) routes to choose from nearby. The Downs Link being one, it's a disused railway line for most part, and then there's the Wey navigation/Arun canal. Both off road, which is fine as I have to get used to having twelve kilos of trailer and the added weight of a five year old tagged on the back.

Only hope the weather improves.

ditchling beacon and lower standean

Our plan to complete the last leg of the North Downs Way was called off due to some last minute calls from the estate agents.

Surprisingly two sets of people wanted viewings early Saturday morning and guess what? The agency didn't have the staff to show them around, so would we mind? Not willing to miss an opportunity we said we would and, if we sold it, we'd want a cut in the commission.

With the viewings out of the way we had a quick flick through some guide books and with one in hand headed off to Ditchling Beacon, on the South Downs. We left the car at the NT car park and headed west along the South Downs Way. There was an eye watering wind blowing from the north and dark scattered clouds headed southwards, underneath the darker ones veils of rain joined cloud to ground. We weren't going to get around the route without getting a soaking.

North Bottom

After a few metres past the trig point we headed south to Heathy Brow, from here we could see the sea (the guide book notes that during the summer it twinkles nicely, no such luck today). From Heathy Brow we dropped down into North Bottom, a picturesque dry valley. Along the bottom and past Lower Standean the route then climbs back up gently back up to the South Downs Way at New Barn Farm.

One of the windmills

The Way zigzags to a pair of windmills, and by this point we'd managed to avoid any of the rain, in fact the sun was beaming down. Back on the ridge the wind blew coldly and pushed darker and more wintry looking clouds towards us.

At Burnhouse dew pond we took shelter in the gorse and had lunch. At this point I was about to fill and test the Aquagear Travel Tap when the sun vanished and the skies opened up. Hailstones pinged and spinged about as we scrambled to get our kit away and waterproofs on. We set off back to the car at a spritely pace and nearing the beacon the sun reappeared.

thames path - richmond lock to hammersmith

Digging the bikes out seemed to be the best way of recovering from the previous day's activity. A gentle bike ride along the towpath in glorious spring weather. And an opportunity to tune my head into bike mode so that I can be biking to work now that the warmer weather is here.

We weren't alone with the idea pootling along the river; a myriad of joggers practicing for the marathon, ramblers and families on bikes were out in force. The river too seemed clogged with canoes and crews training for boat races. (Did we see the hopeful blues and varsity crews training against the tide?)

We passed a woman dragging a car tire. Pulling up level I asked, "North or south?" To which she replied - north. Good luck I said and peddled off remembering fellow climbing club member Catherine Hartley's training for the South Pole back in 1999.

Dropping on to Chiswick Mall the tide was at it's lowest I'd seen it for some time, it was low enough allow crossing to the tiny island without getting your feet wet. And several had taken advantage of making the crossing.

We stopped at the Old Ship for a glass of wine. We were in no hurry, the sun was shining and life was good.

We crossed over Hammersmith Bridge for the return leg along the south bank of the river. We cycled passed the woman single-mindedly dragging her tire. We wove in and out of the traffic crunching along as we went. At the water's edge herons, gulls and cormorants stood in waiting for food to drift by.

Approaching the lock my front tire started soften, the piece of 'leaf' that I'd watch spin round the last mile or so looked deeply suspect. Plucking at it the tire let out a sigh of relief from being impaled. No matter, home was just over the river.

the north downs way - oxted to otford

This was to be our attempt to complete the North Downs Way before Darren headed off up north. Midweek he suddenly realised that all those stoves that he's been buying along with a mountain of other kit, games consoles, DVD's and the alike needed safely packing in tea chests for his impending move. So he cried off opting shoot videos instead.

Getting to Oxted was an easy matter of catching a train into Clapham Junction and out again. From Oxted we picked up the unsigned Greensand Way to Oxted Downs about a mile or so before where we finished a few weeks previous. (The idea of catching a cab to Botley Hill was poo-pooed - a decision which would later turn around and bite us on the heals.)

I think we go this way...

The first thing that we noticed as we progressed along this section was that the change in the countryside, as we moved into Kent it became much more rural. From Titsey Place the path runs along the top of the chalk escarpment like the earlier sections such as between St Martha's Hill and Box Hill.

Snow drops

The motorway becomes less and less intrusive until you have to drop down to cross it at Morants Court Farm, when the path becomes sandwiched between a busy A road and the M25. Although this was at the tail end of our day it didn't spoil the preceding time on the trail. And unlike the previous section you manage to escape it as you head east.

Peacock butterfly

At Otford we stopped for refreshments and quick review of our plan. We hadn't gotten far enough along the way as we wanted to, mostly because I'd had a series of blood sugar crashes that kept slowing us down. Our chosen camping spot was still a couple hours off and I was struggling to keep going. A quick visit to the station settled it and we were on a train back to London.

richmond park

With the evenings beginning to get lighter and the day's a little warmer I decided to walk home via Richmond Park yesterday. This is now safe to do so now that the annual deer cull has been completed.

I've already written about this so I won't repeat myself here so have posted a few photo's instead.

Sunset over Ham

Half moon (not Putney)

On the Capital Ring heading to the Dysart

I'm planning to walk home through the park more often so will carry my camera to capture the changes as the seasons unfold.

north downs way - redhill to titsey place

There's a sense of incoherence to this section of the North Downs Way because it crosses a number of motorways and main roads. No fault of the route planners; they had to do the best they could with limited options. And the amount of road walking that this section has compared to previous sections bears this out. Although there are a few picturesque spots along the way (technical issues with camera prevented capture of some unfortunately).

Snowdrops

A walk is not always about the scenery and over these last couple of trips the three of us have settled into an amiable, fun, gentle leg pulling camaraderie. This easy going approach suits me just fine. With Darren shouldering his proposed gear selection for this year's challenge the idea started to take seed in my mind about doing next years with him, well may be, just may be.

Trig point near Chaldon

South of Woldingham the path drops to within a couple of hundred metres of the M25 along the foot of Oxted Downs to circumnavigate a quarry. Even with the east bound carriage way at a virtual standstill the monotonous moan of the motorway made these last few kilometres a headache inducing experience. I was glad when the path headed up and away past Titsey Place to the car park at Botley Hill where we'd left our car.

arun canal and river - wisborough green

A quick explore of the area around Wisborough Green, following for the most part the Arun river and canal. The canal was built to link London with the south coast but was never commercially viable so fell into disuse, some of the navigation has clogged and vanished over time.

River Arun

After the snow and rain much of the water meadow that the Wey South Path crosses was waterlogged. With my Seal Skinz in a different part of the country I was destined to get wet feet. Not a problem the sun was shining and as long as I kept moving my feet would stay warm.

Highland cattle on the higher ground

We arrived at Lording's Lock where picnic tables had been placed - an ideal spot to stop and put a brew on. Lunch was a chicken ramen dish; simply a chicken stock cube, brown rice noodles and some dried veg. Some tweaking of the seasoning is required but a useful addition to the lunchtime meal repertoire has been found.

Recently layered hedge

A mile or so later we bade farewell to the canal and headed north back to Wisborough Green.

snow wonder

It's not often that you cant get into work due to the weather, so I spent the day pottering around doing chores before venturing out to take some pictures of the winter landscape.

Ranelagh Drive, under snow and not the
Thames high tide for a change.

Looking north along the Thames
from Richmond Lock.

fleet pond and holmbury hill

Picked up Ben on Saturday morning and headed off down the M3 to meet Darren and his pack of hounds, on his usual stamping ground of Fleet Pond.

This is an important piece of open space that the area sorely needs. Bounded by busy main roads and a high speed rail line, along with the proximity of an airport it's difficult to find peace here but wander off the much trodden tracks and involve yourself in the resilience of nature and you will be rewarded. Just don't touch anything that looks like a UXB.

A circuit of the pond was made with me carrying Ben on my shoulders part the way back to the car - he'd played an hours football before I'd picked him up so this was allowed. Part way around we stopped at the beach for a brew.

Ben with Strider on the beach.

Eschewing my Bush Buddy for an AGG Pepsi can stove I wanted to reacquaint myself with this type of burner as I am considering taking one to Spain in the summer. This stove works better with wider pans as it has side jets, so I need to pick Darren's brains for a suitable spirit burner that will work with the pots I use in conjunction with my much favoured Bush Buddy.

+++++

The weather was billed to deteriorate throughout Sunday and before we headed off to Holmbury St Mary we already had a flurry of snow. Not daunted by this but encouraged by it I was keen to get Ben, Harry and Penny out as soon as I could. From the village green in Holmbury St Mary we headed up a broad bridle way dodging groups of mountain bikers who were making the most of the crunchy mud.

Holmbury Hill fort.

At a crossroads of paths and horse tracks we picked up the Greensands Way and followed this up to the trig and information point at the top of the hill. Cold sharp north easterly winds buffeted us as we took shelter and drank coffee and ate chocolate to fortify our return journey - the sky had grown dark and a shadow that spelt snow was heading our way. No sooner than we had left the hill the air was full of flakes; not large fluffy flakes but fine pin meal, some times star shaped, snow was falling.

Fleeing flurries

Back at the car it was time to head home, the snow had stopped falling and the sky gave no indication of what was to come.

north downs way - box hill to reigate

With a two car shuffle between the end point and the start out of the way we grabbed a coffee, and headed off down the A road towards the NDW where it crosses the River Mole. With previous days weather Burford Meadow was under water, and the stepping stones, the fun way of crossing the river, were hidden under the brown swirling murk of the Mole.

The stepping stones are here...

Crossing the bridge was not much easier with run off from the meadow forming mini lakes that required deft footing to avoid an early soaking.

From the meadow the path climbs steeply up to Box Hill with views across to the vineyard behind us opening up as we climbed.

It soon became clear that unlike the earlier sections of the Way the route doesn't stick to the ridge but continually drops and climbs, circumnavigating settlements, lime works and quarries. All this ascent and descent was good training for the TGO challenge.

More ascent

Past Juniper Hill the path switches back for a sharp pull back up to ridge from where we enjoyed expansive views to Leith Hill, the South Downs and the High Weald in the late afternoon sun. We had a brief stop at the Inglis Folly and another at Reigate Fort for a few snaps, and before long we had arrived at the car park and the end of our walk. The tea hut was raided for a welcome brew before the return to Box Hill to collect the other car.

What folly?

Completion of this leg meant that the the four of us; Darren, Penny, and I, with Harry the dog have now reached the half point of the NDW. With Darren off to Co Durham at the end of February we aren't going to finish what we've started but we do have plans to one more bit.

I've enjoyed our day trips out and I'm hoping that we'll be able to get some weekend backpacking trips in together over the coming months.

stokenchurch and sprig's alley

The day dawned bright and sunny but the high pressure that had given us the cold spell was moving off to the continent and blustery, warmer weather was moving in from the west.

The ground that had remained frozen this last week had began to thaw and as the temperature rose the ground got softer. May be not the best time to be heading out on a circuit through woodland and fields that sit on top of the clay vales at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment then.

The Ridgeway long distance path runs along the base of the Chilterns at this point and I remembered how difficult the going was when I walked it a few years back, especially after it had been churned up by four by fours. Thankfully we were on footpaths and the ground was, by comparison, relatively easy going. I did begin to appreciate where the phrase 'feet of clay' seemed to come from by the end of the day.

Feet of clay

The blustery wind helped the aerial displays of red kites that were successfully re-introduced to the area in the 1990's. Gracefully gliding on gusts of wind they were relatively easy to capture on a compact digital camera but in doing so I burnt out a set of rechargeable batteries in the process.

The guidebook hinted that we might see greater spotted and green woodpeckers in the woodland but on this occasion it was not to be. However we were content with watching the aerial antics of the red kites above the fields as we crossed them.

normal service resumes

Lots of stuff to look forward to.

One new years resolution, nay promise, is to get out under silnylon at least once a month. And to get out on day trips as often as time at weekend allows, with a focus on a different set of hills on the outskirts of London. Having spent the last six months of last year trotting over and along the north and south downs I'm looking west to the Chilterns.

That's not to state that the on going section hiking of the North Downs Way has been dropped -- Darren and I are set to do the next leg towards the end of the month.

There's a summer trip to the Picos that's in discussion, along with a bike packing bivi trip that being peddled around.

With all these trips and excursions perhaps it's time to revisit mobile blogging again.

Finally I've got some new bits and pieces for Christmas that I've got reviews to post.

Have a great year!

north downs way: guildford to dorking

Picked Darren up from the station on way around the usual Saturday morning taxi circuit of Guildford. With the car parked at Shalford Park we had a brief chat with a couple who were walking the way east to west and set off towards Dorking. The route slowly climbs past Chantry Wood and up to St Martha's church where, at a height of 525ft, the view opens out to reveal the line of the north downs to the east and views to the south and west.

From St Martha's the route wends it way through woods and across open down land to Newland's Corner, where Darren bravely tackled a bacon roll. He offered, and we accepted without hesitation, a wee dram of whisky - a potent mix of peat and smokey sweetness.

From the A25 the way follows a drove road through wooded down land. The gales of 1987 destroyed a number of trees along this section which created gaps allowing glimpses south. With all this wood around it was an easy matter to find some dry twigs to fuel the Bush Buddy and lunch was taken on a moss covered bank.

Bush Buddy burning bright

Earlier in the day I had snaffled the Trail Blaze poles off Darren that Bob had sent him. Given the on going knee problem this was a good opportunity to give a potential life saver a thorough try out. At the halfway point or thereabouts I was in no discomfort and had adapted to walking with poles. There is little ascent and descent on this stretch of the way so I had no way of testing whether they'd help in this situation but for now I was happy with the result. One minor quibble with the poles though the pull string seemed to work it's way loose and cause the pole joints to click. A half hitch around the shaft helped but that also worked loose eventually. As these were second hand poles they came with no instructions so perhaps we were missing something. That said I think a couple of mini line loks might do the trick. Despite this I was very impressed with the lightness of the poles, and will be buying a pair later this week. (Bob has since posted on Darren's write up of the day and apparently there is a locking knot that needs using.)

Emerging on to White Down, Dorking and the Denbies Vineyard hove into view. Scattered across this stretch of the hill side were a number of brick built pill boxes, some more crumbling than others. I stopped to point out the wild clematis seed heads, otherwise know as old man's beard, which makes great tinder (I've become something of an avid tinder spotter since got the BB).

The route crosses Ranmore Common and passes St Barnabas Church, entering the Denbies Estate we took a detour through the vineyard to shorten the walk along the busy A24 to the station.

Box Hill and Denbies vineyard

Another good day out with Darren and I'm wondering when we'll get a chance to complete more of the way with him. The next leg between West Humble and Merstham is only 9 miles long and lies on the same rail service but beyond Merstham however the public transport situation becomes more problematic.

mechanical failure

This was the phrase that ptc* used when referring to my knee problem. The good news is that my employer has BUPA cover, so I've an appointment booked with Doctor and an a cheque waiting for £100 to cover the excess required for the claim.

I've been taking cod liver oil for a couple of weeks but as I've not done any walking of any significance since the Elan Valley trip I cant tell if it's helping.

I've decided for now to move my attempt on the Pennine Way back to September to give me enough time to heal, recover and get fit for it.

I'm meeting up with Darren on Saturday morning to walk another bit of the North Downs Way, he promises to be bringing a stove or two along for testing. I'm wondering whether I'm going to get press ganged into holding a camera for one of his videos! Or if I'm really lucky he'll be backing one of the prizes from his blog's birthday draw (hopefully the Snow Peak pot).

I'm packing my favourite bit of kit - the Bush Buddy Ultra - for brewing up along the way. And I have been kicking around using it on the PW with a meths stove as a back up. I've done a quick weight comparison between the two and the BB/pepsi can stove combo works out lighter than the F1 stove and medium sized cartridge. Finding fuel for the BB on route may be an issue though, so more thought needs to be put into that.

This posting has re-ignited my interest in the Mariposa Plus. I've been having doubts as to whether I'd have enough pack space in the Villain for a weeks food, along with all my kit. And the only way of finding out is by bagging up a weeks worth and seeing if I can squeeze it all in. Might be worth the effort rather than shelling out another 100 quid for yet another rucksack.

farnham to guildford via the north downs way

"Isn't it about time we walked a different bit of the NDW?" I said.

As much as I like the St Martha's circuit via the Silent Pool and Shere I thought another leg of the way needing walking. I dropped a line to Darren to see if he was up for a stroll, and he was.

The very photogenic llamas looked curiously at us as we passed. One with an eighties style fringe (Mick Hucknell, Simply Red?) struck a pose as both Darren and I snapped away. The only thing that was missing was the cloth cap.

Darren had walked this route a number of times before so I was happy to bimble along chatting as he pointed out which left or right we needed to take. Invariably the conversation gravitated towards gear, and I quizzed him on how to light a Bush Buddy in anticipation of receiving mine.

The pub in Puttenham is walker and dog friendly which was a refreshing change. I can never understand why owners of some pubs that I've been in on National Trails are anti walker. With the number of pubs closing month on month you'd think that they'd be breaking their legs for the custom.

The sunny start to the day petered out as wintry looking clouds headed our way. Luckily we only caught one shower that only lasted a few minutes.

At the Wey navigation we parted company. I was glad that I suggested that he join us on the walk, both Penny and I enjoyed the conversation and the company. He also managed unwittingly to solve my summer long quest for some kind of dehydrated drink flavouring in the form of a couple of Crystal Light sachets that he gave me to try. Top man!

Look out for episode two - to boldly go beyond Newland's Corner.