19 May 2021

I didn’t set off to do a wildflower walk, but I’d had some happy news earlier that morning – a new birth in my extended family; parents and baby all well. So while I was walking I was feeling a bit emotional and musing about paths through life, and that day the flowers were so prolific and varied I couldn’t help but enjoy and admire them.

I was in the Chiltern Hills, or immediately below them in the valley of the River Thames. The Chilterns in May means bluebells, and although I was expecting them to be past their best I found them to be in full bloom even along my path.

Bluebell wood

Bluebell path

As I approached Ewelme I caught fleeting glimpses through the trees of a yellow field ahead; oilseed rape, I thought. Wrong!

Buttercup path, Cow Common, Ewelme

Buttercups on Cow Common, Ewelme

Buttercups and Daisies

There were so many other flowers on show I couldn’t recognise them all or stop to photograph them. Cow Parsley of course, white nettle flowers, speedwells and bugles, and the dandelion-like flowers that my field guide says are “confusing” – not dandelions but probably Hawkbit or Catsear. And cowslips.

Cowslips

Later, on the path on lower ground, a carpet of small white flowers which I didn’t recognise turned out to be Sweet Woodruff.

Sweet Woodruff

And finally, a favourite for no other reason than that I remembered the name from first identifying it decades ago, Viburnum Lantana, also known as the Wayfaring Tree. A fitting end to a wildflower walk.

Viburnum lantana, the Wayfaring Tree

Welcome to the world, Thomas Mark!

There were 20 of us on the walk, a good weather forecast probably helping to get quite a high turnout. It was sunny and mild in the morning, clouding over a bit in the afternoon but dry all day. We went through some picture-postcard Cotswold villages and scenery – these pictures are of Barton Abbey near Middle Barton. Thanks to Maureen for designing and leading the walk

Barton Abbey

Walking by the River Dorn at Barton Abbey

Just one problem. I shall need to get my footwear sorted out before I go to the the Picos de Europa with Exodus in June. By the end of the day I had a BIG blister under each of my heels!

A set of Steve’s photos from this trip has been archived on Flickr.

Wainwright doesn’t mention midges in his Lake District guides, so I guess the general view that they’re a fairly recent addition to the Lakeland scene is right. But if it’s also true that they don’t fly if the wind speed is more than 5 mph then they were outdone 12 times over on Friday. Yes, it was the Lake District in June – 60 mile an hour winds, horizontal driving rain, and about 6 degrees C.

I think there were ten of us who met up in Keswick that morning. Most of us had heard the wind howling and rain lashing down on our various windows overnight, and were probably a bit relieved when Leader Steve announced a change of plan. We wouldn’t go too high today, he said, as he thought walking directly into the wind and rain on top of Causey Pike wouldn’t be as enjoyable as walking with the wind and rain blowing in from the side on top of Ard Crags.

I have to say it wasn’t a great morning. Some people were better equipped and perhaps more accustomed to the conditions than others. The smallest and lightest person in the group was blown over once (no, it wasn’t me), and some others got extremely wet and rather cold. But we made it over Ard Crags and Knott Rigg and down to the relative safety of Newlands Hause for a decision about the afternoon. The rain was showing signs of stopping and the wind seemed to have eased a bit, but no-one was keen to go high again so it was back to Newlands church for lunch and then to the cars. Here some decided to call it a day and a smaller group set off to conquer Catbells, which objective was duly accomplished in the dry and even with occasional sunshine.

Saturday was better. The forecast was mostly cloudy with showers and lighter winds and this turned out to be about right. Steve’s decision: Helvellyn and The Dodds. The group had grown overnight with Paul and Jim joining us to make twelve. (I might not have got these numbers exactly right, but you get the general idea.) It was an easy route up Helvellyn from the southern end of St Johns-in-the-Vale. Although we were in mist and occasional drizzle by the time we reached the summit, the lighter winds were a welcome change from the day before.

It drizzled and rained on and off during the day but we had plenty of dry periods too, and even some times when the mist lifted and we had views. The heaviest rain and wind was while we on the summit of Raise, where the Global Positioning Sub-Committee decided to hold a meeting to compare their equipment. I confess I didn’t stay around to hear the outcome.

Three Dodds later we ended the day with an interesting descent christened Steve’s Triple-D. The triple D stands for Direct Doddle Down. It should have had a Health & Safety warning sign “Slippery When Wet”, as I demonstrated more than adequately – one for each D, in fact. A few midges found us while we waited at the bottom for everyone to catch up.

And then it was Sunday. Where would we go, we wondered? Steve spoke. It was to be Friday’s abandoned route of the Coledale Round, starting with Causey Pike and ending with Grisedale Pike. Only Nicole joined Steve for the steep ascent of Rowling End: the rest of us opted for the gradual uphill path to the foot of the climb up Causey Pike. A couple of scrambly bits tested the determination of one or two of the group, but we all made it in the end. After that it was a series of ups and downs, sometimes in mist, sometimes not. The air was humid and the Midge Met Office had declared that the wind was less than 5mph so even though we kept moving we couldn’t completely escape their attentions.

After lunch the group split, with Steve and three others opting for the extra bonus Wainwright of Grasmoor. The other six of us took the easier option of heading straight for Hopegill Head and Grisedale Pike, which were duly reached and left behind, ending the day with the long descent to Braithwaite village.

Although I didn’t stay for the shorter walk on Monday it had been a good weekend. We’d done some good walks and visited a good number of Wainwrights. The cuts and bruises are healing nicely and the midge bites have almost stopped itching. If Steve can be persuaded to do it again next year I’ll be booking my place.

Walkers:

Andy, Bobbie, Deborah, Ian, Jackie, Jeff, Nicole, Paul, Rebecca, Steve, Tony G, Tony T

A set of Steve’s photos from this trip has been archived on Flickr.

This article is also archived on the Thames Valley LDWA website.

It was 8:50 as I turned into the Pink & Lily car park and already there were some eight to ten cars with their boots and doors open as people got kitted up for the walk. It was grey and cold – only three degrees – and a lurid orange strip above the southern horizon was the only indication of the sun we’d get all day. General greetings and “Merry Christmas”es were exchanged. I got my boots on, and gaiters today; it was going to be muddy after all the rain yesterday. More cars arrived, more people milled around, and not a single Santa hat or reindeer antlers in sight. Then suddenly, hey, we were off.

One of the great things about a social walk when someone else is leading is that you don’t have to know where you’re going. Some people follow their map. Others (me for instance) don’t. Put me down in my bit of the Chilterns and I don’t need a map anyway, but around Princes Risborough, Wendover, or Great Missenden I’m happy just to follow. So where we went and how we got there I don’t know, except that I do remember we passed Hampden House fairly early on. Someone (the ever-erudite Clive, I think) explained it was the home of the John Hampden, the Parliamentarian who resisted Charles I’s imposition of the Ship Money tax and earned himself the title of “The Patriot”. More recently it was the HQ of Hammer Horror Films, and now it’s owned by a financial services company. A steady decline, then.

At Hampden House

Without too much persuading, the whole group of about 20 posed by the ha-ha for a group photo with the house in the background. After three attempts with my camera and increasingly scornful comments from my fellow walkers I concluded the batteries had packed up. It had been working a few minutes earlier, honest. Pat, resourceful and lateral-thinking as befits her Chairman’s role, whipped out her mobile phone and took the picture herself.

The other great thing about social walks compared to solo walking is that you have other people to talk to (though I understand the LDWA’s line on this at National level is that it’s not compulsory). It’s the variety that intrigues and delights me – the Tour de Trigs and next year’s 100; replacing boilers and balancing central heating systems; Oxford University admissions procedures; The Incredible String Band and Captain Beefheart (kids, ask your Grandad), to pick out just a few. There just isn’t time to get bored, and the miles slip by without you noticing.

Thames Valley group on a Type 2b path

The walk can fairly be summed up as muddy. Paths came in three varieties: Type 1 – muddy paths through woods; Type 2 – muddy paths across fields, of which 2a – ploughed, and 2b – unploughed; and Type 3 – tarmac roads with large puddles. We splashed, squelched and slithered our way for about 11 miles, passing the only other memorable landmark – the beacon on Coombe Hill above Wendover – and arriving back at the Pink & Lily at about ten past one, where we held the traditional ceremony of Getting Changed in the Car Park.

At Coombe Hill Monument

Inside the pub we found the walkers and family members who hadn’t come on the walk, and about 30 sat down to Christmas lunch. Once again the individual place-mats-cum-menu-choice cards prepared by Pat neatly solved the problems of “Where shall I sit?” and “What on earth did I order?” Crackers were pulled, awful jokes exchanged, paper hats worn, and small bits of plastic assembled into peculiar games and puzzles. A modest amount of beer and wine was drunk. Turkey and Christmas pudding were eaten [other menu choices are available – the Manager, Pink & Lily]. All in all another very successful Christmas walk and lunch, so thanks to Ivan for leading the walk and Martin for doing all the organising, and let’s do it again next year!

Merry Christmas, everyone, and have a good year’s walking in 2009.

This article is also archived on the Thames Valley LDWA website.

Christmas lunch 1

Christmas lunch 2

Christmas lunch 3