Chilterns Walking Festival
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Stroll away, this sweet month of May
May is National Walking Month and a time when many walking festivals are held across the UK, including here in the Chilterns.
Source: Chilterns Society
The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covers the countryside from the River Thames at Goring in Oxfordshire to Hitchin in Hertfordshire. The area is criss-crossed by an extensive network of footpaths, bridleways and byways and more than 200 promoted routes including the Chiltern Way, Oxfordshire Way and Shakespeare’s Way and two National Trails - The Ridgeway and The Thames Path. Coordinated by the Chilterns Conservation Board, the 16 day Chilterns Walking Festival offers a huge variety of walks and events to help you discover what makes the Chilterns so special.
We are proud to have been part of the Festival since it began seven festivals ago and this spring we had been planning to bring you an exciting programme of inspring guided walks, Nordic walks and navigation days. Sadly however, like so many events at this present time, the Covid-19 virus has stopped the Festival in its tracks.
Perambulations from the Sofa
But all is not lost as our planned festival walks can be rescheduled – you will just have to wait a little longer to enjoy them! Or will you...? We beleive that the Chilterns Walking Festival is something to shout about so in the coming weeks we will aim to share some of our perambulations in our blog so that you can enjoy the Festival from your sofa! First, it’s time to make your shoes happy with an amble down Memory Lane as we look back at a few past Festival walks... Enjoy!
Bricks & Glass
This was our very first Chilterns Walking Festival walk! It explored the countryside around Nettlebed, a village travelled through since ancient times. The area was once important for brick and glass making and along our way we took time to explore the evidence of this in the landscape and buildings around us. Our route took us through the delightful Warburg Nature Reserve and, to the delight of our group, we also discover the little ruined Church of St. James in Bix Bottom and beautiful stained glass windows by John Piper!
A Gap on the Landscape
The special landscape of Goring Gap where the Chilterns AONB meets the North Wessex Downs AONB has been forged by nature and the River Thames and adapted by man over thousands of years. The Gap, only a short train journey from London or Oxford, offers some fine walks and we have featured a few in the festival programmes. One of our favourites follows the Chiltern Way up through Great Chalk Wood onto the Chilterns plateaux. Here we marvel at panoramic views across The Gap and deep into Berkshire and Hampshire. Descending through Hartslock Nature Reserve to the river we follow the Thames Path National Trail, passing The Grotto, to Goring Lock.
That was an absolutely amazing walk in one of the most gorgeous places. Philippa is a very knowledgeable guide. She brought my attention to things I had never seen or thought of before. Thank you!
Everyone’s a Fruit & Nutcase
A fun autumn walk for all the family! On this short walk from the Bottle & Glass Inn, Binfield Heath we had some fun discovering the fairy secrets and magic of the woods! Do you know which trees are enchanted and which are good for making magicians’ wands and witches brooms? Or how the chestnut got its prickly casing? We even met the Lady of the Woods, the King of the Forest, and more...!
Chill Out in the Chilterns
Walking is an excellent tonic for lifting our mood. We introduced our Chill Out in the Chilterns walks last autumn to coincide with World Mental Health Day and to support the Bluebells Day Centre, a Henley based charity providing a fantastic service to people affected by dementia.
An excellent 6.5 mile walk from Nettlebed today as part of the Chilterns Walking Festival. The group started out as complete strangers but we all soon got to know each other. Walking and talking really does improve mental health. Thank you Pipsticks for organising such a lovely route.
[We] had so much fun on the Chill Out in the Chilterns walk on Thursday so thank you very much!
Dipping into the Wells
Our Well Walks have become a regular feature in the CWF programme. In days gone by the rural communities here often suffered from severe water shortages. These walks explore the evidence and stories, old and new, of our quest for water, the essence of life. We discover dry valleys (known as bottoms), dipping ponds and village wells, cisterns and modern abstractions and the magnificent Maharajah's Well, complete with golden elephant!
Beautiful Chilterns Walking Festival Walk today …saw us discovering local wells and their history with amazing fungi in the woods. Wonderful route, great company and pubs made for a perfect sunny Sunday. Not just a walk but an education.
Walk the Chalk
The spring walking festivals coincide with ‘World Nordic Walking Day’ and the Chiltern hills are the perfect place to put our Nordic walking poles to work. One sunny May day we set out from historic Watlington to explore the Ridgeway National Trail and the Chilterns escarpment. Our Nordic walking poles powered us effortlessly up Bald Hill, Shirburn Hill and Watlington Hill to be rewarded with awesome panoramic views. Passing through the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve where we paused to discover the orchids and other flowers and delights of late spring on the chalk hills.
Beautiful walk. Stunning views. Great company and excellent organisation. A fabulous route and I’ve added a few more plant names to my limited repertoire. Thanks Philippa!
Ghostly Tales
… from the Riverbank!
We all love a ghost walk! England is a haunted country and as we strolled along the Thames Path National Trail between Henley and Marlow there were plenty of Ghostly Tales from the Riverbank to be told, including one written by Charles Dickens! With the River Thames as our peaceful companion, the Chiltern Hills form an impressive backdrop to the walk. Along the way we discovered murderous women, grey ladies, hooded monks, phantoms, headless horsemen, and more... and (reportedly) the oldest haunted pub in England! This spooky walk has now feature in two walking festivals.
A brilliant walk today along the Thames with Pipsticks. Great walking companions, perfect weather plus Philippa's talent to come up with all the interesting stories along the way!!!!
Evening Stroll with Poles
One of our popular evening pub Nordic walks. Soaking up the sweet air of the late spring evening as we Nordic walked to the rhythm of nature through the Chilterns countryside near Henley-on-Thames. Then time to relax with some well earned refreshment in a lovely welcoming pub - on this occassion the ‘Walkers are Welcome’ Maltsters Arms at Rotherfeld Greys!
Save the Date!
Don’t miss the Autumn Chilterns Walking Festival:
17th October - 1st November 2020
Can’t wait ‘til then?
Our walk programme is currently on hold, BUT we do hope to be back out walking before October so please do check our website and follow Pipsticks Walks on twitter and facebook, or simply get in touch to discus your requirements and provisionally book your own very special guided walk. We look forward to walking with you!
Find Out More… about the Chilterns
All photographs in this article were taken by, and remain the copyright of, the author.
