Mortimer to Aldermaston 17 June

Lunch 

If you’re planning to eat in the pub, then please contact Terry or email walks@morleyramblers.uk by 6pm on Thursday 15 June with your choices from the menu at the bottom of this post. If you are taking your own food, you will be able to picnic nearby and, if you wish, join the rest of the group at the pub.

Trains

This is a linear walk. The train is the 9.32 from Paddington, changing at Reading and arriving at Mortimer at 10.20. Buy a day return to Mortimer. In practice this is usually accepted on the return journey from Aldermaston, but you may be required on the train to buy a single from Aldermaston to Reading.

There is only one train a hour on the return journey from Aldermaston, which requires changing at Reading for Paddington. We should be able to catch the 17.25 from Aldermaston, arriving at Paddington at 18.14.

Dropouts

There are no easy opportunities for leaving the walk early. However, it should be possible to order a taxi from the lunch pub (Calleva Arms, Silchester) to Basingstoke, which is 5 miles away, for a train to Waterloo.

Hazards

There is some road walking without pavements, so please walk single file on those sections of the walk. The weather forecast is good with little chance of rain. But, it’s likely to be warm so take plenty of water.

Summary of the Walk

This is a picturesque nine-mile walk through a very varied landscape of fields with attractive views, deciduous & coniferous woods, and heathland. There are some uphill and downhill sections but none are steep or long. There are no stiles.

Historical highlights in the morning include the Roman town of Calleva with a visit to its amphitheatre (built about 50AD) and a walk along the top and beside the walls, built about 260AD as part of a general move to protect the Roman Empire from mounting unrest. Also in the morning, is a visit to an historically interesting church.

Towards the end of the afternoon, the path crosses over a number of weirs of the River Kennet before reaching Aldermaston Wharf on the Kennet & Avon Canal.
Terry