Wednesday Group

This group arranges weekly walks led by experienced members, the distances vary between 4 and 8 miles.

We use public transport when possible but also have a central pick-up point for car lifts.

Walks are enjoyed in the Chilterns and surrounding Berkshire countryside, including river banks and canals.

London walks are very popular, taking in parks and gardens, North and South Bank of the Thames, exploring places of interest en route, for example, City Hall and Somerset House.

An annual coach trip is arranged for visits to places of interest further afield. For example, we have been to Leeds Castle, Stowe Gardens and Beaulieu in the New Forest finishing with a riverside walk to Bucklers Hard.

Our year always finishes with a sociable walk and a great Christmas pub lunch.

‘Twill make your lagging trotters dance…’

Cotswold HF holiday at Bourton-on-the-Water – October 19-23

Eighteen enthusiastic Reading ramblers assembled outside HF centre at Harrington House on Monday afternoon. The House is in the middle of a chocolate-box village with the River Windrush flowing lazily under picturesque limestone pack-horse bridges.
An HF walks leader had kindly volunteered to take us on short brisk local walk to test our ‘walking legs’ and fitness levels. This was followed by a cream tea and then a hot buffet meal at the House. Dennis and Margaret excelled in the early evening locality quiz.

On Tuesday we divided into three walking groups according to age, ability and inclination. The weather was showery but it did not deter us from following the path of the river from the delightful village of Lower Slaughter to Upper Slaughter, ending with a cream tea stop.

On Wednesday the weather brightened for us to take the coach to start at Temple Guiting. We took a break at Ford where the sign outside the Plough Inn exhorted us “to step in and quaff nut brown ale – ’twill make your lagging trotters dance’’. Our trotters danced on to the Cotswold village of Broadway for another cream tea stop and some recreational retail therapy. After that, with very little time for resourcing, creating and making our model boats to sail on the Windrush, Helga and Edith won the best decorated boat competition.
Later we sailed our boats down the Windrush. Jean’s Kon-tiki raft, Ann’s Reading Ramblers sail boat, Marion D and Pam F’s slipper boat, Richard A-J’s feather craft were neck and neck. Surprisingly the best-time winning boat was by Pam ‘Commodore’ Lear, using two old bananas and a triangular plastic sandwich wrapper!

Thursday was an action-packed day. On our morning walk from Little Barrington along the Windrush Valley we got caught up with a fox hunt. Two riders and two in hunting pink accompanied 30 foxhounds on their morning exercise, the hounds somewhat distracted by our walkers and their excellent HF packed lunches. By lunchtime we got involved with a Midsomer Murders scenario in the sleepy hamlet of Holwell. Three police vehicles and several police personnel seemed to have surrounded the apparently empty village. One asked us to look out for a missing person on our walk. Apparently a chap called Tim had not returned home for his lunch. He was suffering from memory loss and was heading for London with rucksack and his black dog. As we continued, two search helicopters were scrambled. Later we noticed one hovering in the distance and it seemed to have found Tim safe and well.

In the evening we had team entertainment, ably led by Beryl and Edith. Each team had to make balloon animals, write a story, complete a surgical procedure and make an orchestra. Doreen’s balloon swan showed exemplary talent. Janet Busby read a topical poem about rain. David Dibben, with journalistic expertise, wrote an apple crumble story which edged Edith’s team into the lead. With economies in the NHS, ‘Dr’ Richard Morris completed a pioneering hip replacement on Ken Walsh using the lounge fireplace companion set and tongs to insert a boule into Ken’s trouser pocket! Health confidence was restored when competent theatre sister Jean Milbourn operated on Pam Fisher’s appendix. Beryl’s exuberant orchestra had the edge and the score was a draw.

All in all, an excellent holiday with good walks, food, leaders and accommodation. All thanks to Ann Walsh who organised this super break for us.

Pam Lear

To find out more on the forthcoming walks and events of the Wednesday Group please look at our Walks Programme.