Aynho Long Walk: 13th November 2014
It was good to have fifteen walkers for the long walk on such a murky November day. We set off at a cracking pace down Portway and through the tunnel. It is a well-known route but it is always a great feeling when you emerge onto the top of the field and look across the valley. Once over the first two fields and across the stream we were surprised to see horses grazing, and they were surprised to see us. There have been cattle or sheep there in the past but not horses. They have made much less of a muddy pool by the last stile than the cows used to, so from a walker’s viewpoint they are an improvement. We continued down Wharf Lane and crossed the motorway. The noise carried up to the village under the low cloud, but died away quickly once we were beyond it. The wharf farmyard was as muddy as ever but once on the towpath the ground was firm under foot. There was no traffic on the canal but the berths were all full. We left the canal at the Great Western, took a short walk over and under the railway lines and began the long muddy trail through Lower Aynho Grounds, under the motorway and on to Millers Lane. We were soon back at the pavilion where a number of jacket potatoes awaited their clients. 6.3 miles in just under two hours. We kept up quite a pace today.
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Jillian Wightman Jillian actively manages the web content for several groups, societies and clubs. The content shown in this post are the views of the contributor and not Jillian's.