Late Afternoon on the Thames Path near Reading

Enjoy walking over the festive season.

Best

Anne 

Walk the Landscape

Merry Christmas from Walk the Landscape

Walk the Landscape Newsletter

Enjoy a tranquil few days hiking through some of the most picturesque villages and landscapes in the whole of England. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser

In this Newsletter: New for 2014: Walking and Photography Weekend  Our best selling walking tours: The Classic Cotswolds and the Thames Path National Trail Tours coming up soon: The ancient landscapes and wide open spaces of the North Wessex Downs  Guided Walking Holidays for 2014  and Self-Guided Walking Trails       Walking and Photography Weekend   Friday 25th to Monday 28th April 2014 Do you often take photos of magnificent scenery and nature during walks? Do the images capture the full beauty of the landscape? Or are you sometimes disappointed with the results?   If so, why not join us at the Guildhouse, Stanton where you can take short walks with us and learn how to improve your images with help from Ruth Davey, a professional photographer and facilitator?   The venue offers great opportunities for photography. The Guildhouse, is a stylish 20th century manor house, set on the Cotswold Edge, with long views to the west as far as south Wales, and Stanton is considered one of the most beautiful villages in England .  Click here to find out more. The Classic Cotswolds Walking Tour "Excellent Adventure! Thank you so much" Diane Harsha, Franklin, USA The Classic Cotswolds Walking Tour is our most popular short holiday.  Planned to start and end at railway stations on the Cotswold Line, with direct links to Oxford, Worcester and London, it is an easy to moderate hike taking 3 to 8 days to walk through famous towns and villages like Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, the Slaughters and Northleach, walking 5 to 12 miles (8 to 20 km) each day.  The tour can also begin at Cheltenham railway station (with links to Bristol and the south-west) and can be based in one town.   We can of course customise to meet your preferences and often do, e.g. with shorter daily distances, rest days, excursions to Oxford, Blenheim or Stratford-upon-Avon. Check out our year round photos of the Classic Cotswold route on Flickr.  Although beautiful throughout the year, late April / early May is an especially good time to visit as the spring flowers and bluebells are blooming and the leaves on the trees are unfurling. Prices are typically £80 per person per night based on two people sharing good quality accommodation.  Included in the price is B&B accommodation, maps, written directions of the route, a booklet with information on places of interest, luggage transfer (as required), advice on travelling to and from the Cotswolds within the UK and support in the unlikely event of an emergency.   The Thames Path "Thanks for an excellent Thames Walk - we will be back to do the next stretch in 2014" Judy Wiseman, London,UK   The Thames Path is our most popular walking trail.  We offer hiking tours along the full length of 184 miles (294 km), from the Source, near Kemble in the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier, east of London (or reverse).  Some groups do the full distance in one trip, walking as far as 25 miles (40 km) in a day, but many take it easy, walking, for example, the 54 miles (86 km) from the Source to Oxford, or the 74 miles (118 km) from Oxford to Windsor (which is convenient for Heathrow airport) and averaging 10 miles (16 km) per day.  There are even sections where you can take a river cruiser if you prefer not to walk for a day or so. The route offers a fascinating range of contrasts.  Upstream and to the west, the River Isis (as the Thames is also called) is peaceful and in places remote.  From Oxford to Windsor the river passes through some of the most historic and affluent towns in England. Closer to London, the river becomes the great tidal waterway that passes through the heart of the grand capital city.  You can see our photos of the Thames Path route on Flickr. Prices start at £75 per person per night but they do increase on the approach to London. They include B&B accommodation, maps, guide books with written directions of the route and information on places of interest, luggage transfer (as required), help with arranging transport within the UK and support in the unlikely event of an emergency.   Coming up early next year: Holidays on the North Wessex Downs:  A 3 to 4 day walking tour through the ancient landscape in and around Avebury, where you can walk amongst the stones in the largest Prehistoric stone circle in Europe. A linear walk from Avebury to Stonehenge.  See the route and with some of the interesting history in a recent TV programme, Walking Through History, presented by Tony Robinson of Time Team.  Short Guided Walking Holidays in 2014 Friday 16th to Monday 19th May: The Historic Cotswolds Wednesday 18th to Friday 20th June: Chipping Campden and the Cotswold Escarpment Wednesday 10th to Friday 12th September:Classic Cotswold Villages Friday 7th - Sunday 9th November: Prehistory in the Cotswold Landscape If you cannot make these dates and have a group of 6 or more, please contact us to discuss alternative dates. If you are in a smaller group, you may be interested in a customised walking tour. Self-guided Walking Trails Cotswold Way - 102 miles along the Cotswold Edge from Chipping Campden to Bath (or reverse) Cross Cotswold Pathway - 86 miles from Banbury in the north east to Bath in the south west Oxford Canal Walk - 77 miles of easy walking from Oxford to Coventry Oxfordshire Way - 68 miles from Bourton-on-the-Water to Henley-on-Thames Shakespeare's Way - 146 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon to The Globe Theatre, Central London Thames Path - 184 miles from the source near Kemble to the Thames Barrier, East London (or reverse) The Ridgeway - 87 miles from Ivinghoe Beacon to Overton Hill, Avebury (or reverse)

The City of Bath - A place to relax and enjoy at end of the Cotswold Way

At the southern end of the Cotswold Way lies the beautiful city of Bath.  

It's a good place to take a couple of days rest after completing the Trail, or get into the swing before you start.

It is famous for the warm springs, the only thermal springs in Britain. First discovered by the Celts,  the Romans built baths, a temple to the gods, Sulis and Minerva, and a busy town named 'Aquae Sulis' in the 1st century AD. 

In the 18th century Bath was one of the most fashionable cities in Britain, where aristocracy and society visited to 'take the water' and to be seen.   Jane Austen was a frequent visitor and her books 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion' describe the busy whorl of social life there during the Georgian period.

The Circus, one of the famous Georgian terraces in Bath designed by John Wood Sr and completed by John Wood Jr in 1768.

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, the church of the former Benedictine Monastery. Built largely during the 16th century, it is a fine example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture. Queen Elizabeth I described it as her 'Lantern in the West'.

The Roman Baths, built in the 1st century AD, were the at centre of the Roman town of Aquae Sulis. Today the springs continue to provide hot water at a temperature of 46 °C (114.8 °F) at the rate of 1,170,000 litres (257,364 imp gal) every day,  

The Roman Baths were excavated in the 19th century and are open to visitors. You can also relax and soak in the warm water in the open-air rooftop pool at the newly renovated Thermae Spa Bath.

In 2012, a large limestone disc was set into the pavement outside the west doors of the Abbey to mark the official start and end of the Cotswold Way.  It was carved with place names from along the trail by local artist Iain Cotton, and provides an invitation to walk, a welcome for tired feet and food for thought for the people that have walked the National Trail.

Check out the Cotswold Way Walking Tour for more information about the route, and Cotswold Way Images for photos of the 102 mile route.

Happy Hiking

Anne

Walk the Landscape

A great day out on the North Wessex Downs

Standing on Adams Grave Longbarrow, North Wessex Downs

Yesterday I had great day out on the North Wessex Downs, planning the route from ancient sites at Avebury to Stonehenge.   Our group included: 

    David Dawson, Curator of the Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, 

    Sophie Campbell, Travel Journalist

    Anne Martis, Walk the Landscape 

    Penny Locke, North Wessex Downs, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 

Check out our website, Walk the Landscape, for updates on this route and for short walking breaks around the ancient and sacred landscape at Avebury.

Happy hiking

Anne

A day walk along The Ridgeway National Trail: Wantage to Goring

The section of The Ridgeway from Wantage to Goring in the Thames Valley offers an exhilarating day walk, with big skies, wide open spaces and long views to the north over Oxfordshire and south over Berkshire.  The photos below speak for themselves.

The distance is 14 to 18 miles (22 to 29 km), depending on the starting point, and the walking is easy.  The path is well defined and is downhill or flat over most of the route.

You can travel to and from the start and end of the walk in a day, by train and bus from Oxford, Didcot, Reading and Banbury.  There is a short taxi ride up to the Ridgeway from the taxi rank in the market square in Wantage, or an additional 3 mile (5 km) walk.

Crowhole Bottom near Sparsholt Firs

Morning exercise on the Gallops

Returning home after a good run

It's easy walking along this section of the Ridgeway National Trail

The view to Abingdon Power Station in the north.
Decommissioned in March 2013, the towers are due to be demolished in 2014.

The open rolling hills are dotted with clumps of fir trees.

Subdued late autumn colours

Sunset over Streatley Warren

Evening on the River Thames at Goring and Streatley

A lovely hike, not too strenuous and good way to walk off Christmas dinners.

Click here to check out our Ridgeway walking tour or Contact Us to find out more about this day walk.

Seasons Greetings
Anne
Walk the Landscape

Berries bring colour to hedgerows along the Ridgeway National Trial

Spindle tree (Euonymus europaea) 
The wood was used to make ‘spindles’ for spinning and holding wool in the old days 

Black bryony (Dioscorea communis) berries
The only species from the Yam family of plants in Britain. All parts of the plant are poisonous.

Old Man's Beard ( Clematis vitalba)
A climbing plant associated with devils and witches because it was thought to choke plants to death.

Rosehips (Rosa canina)
One of the richest sources of vitamin C in plants, used for tisanes, jams ...  The fine hairs inside the hip are also used as itching powder. 

Happy hiking
Best
Anne
Walk the Landscape