Weekend Walks

The club aims to put on local walks every weekend and where possible on both Saturdays and Sundays.

All the walks are led by a leader who will guide you along footpaths and bridleways through the countryside.

In recent months we have enjoyed walks in the Chilterns around Hambledon, Henley, Marlow, over the Berkshire Downs, along the Ridgeway and further afield in Surrey, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.

There is usually a morning coffee stop on all walks.

A whisky decanter, a glass and Churchill’s trademark cigar

Chartwell Outing, Wednesday, June 22nd 2011

We all had an excellent day on the club’s summer outing to Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill’s home in the Weald of Kent. Sadly the weather was not up to the usual ‘Wednesday’ standard, as it rained, quite heavily at times, luckily it was at its heaviest mostly when we were booked to look around the inside of the house. However, despite the rain, the views over the Weald of Kent which were the reason for Churchill’s purchase of Chartwell in 1924, were magnificent.

The house remains much as it was during Churchill’s occupation of it with paintings, some by Churchill himself, books and personal mementos evoking his career and his wide-ranging interests, including presents from major statesmen of the time, such as the large glass cockerel presented by De Gaulle.

In his downstairs library, one wall was occupied by a 3D model of the Mulberry Harbour at Avranches, built by the Allies to assist the invasion of Normandy, which so many years later despite the ravages of the sea still remains almost unbroken. Upstairs one room was given over to the various uniforms Churchill wore during his career as an officer in the army and a statesman and, rather touchingly, one glass cabinet displays the large green monogrammed velvet boiler suit and slippers he wore for relaxing in during his later years.

Down from the house in a barn was his huge studio for painting equipped with a large fireplace and hung with many of his paintings, with many more stacked up against the walls. Next to the fireplace on a table was placed a telephone, a whisky decanter and glass and Churchill’s trademark cigar, looking as if he had just stepped out. In 1947 Churchill offered several of his works to the Royal Academy under the pseudonym of Mr Winter and two pictures were accepted. He was eventually given the title of Honorary Academician Extraordinary.

The gardens at Chartwell are wonderful and include the lakes he created, on which can be seen the pair of black swans, descendants of the swans presented to him by the Australian Government. June was an ideal time to visit as the roses in the golden rose walk, a Golden Wedding present from his children, were in full flower.

With all there was to see our five hours at Chartwell passed very quickly; only one couple found time to do the ‘Woodland walk’, which was part of the extended grounds. Another visit could well be in order for the future.

Sheila Parrish

For forthcoming weekend trips, see the Walks Programmes.