Worcester Ramblers: Martley 30 July 2026

The surprise on this walk was getting soaked in a 20 minute rain shower!

 

Hidcote Manor:Avoid at the start of School Holidays! 27 July 2026

The initial plan was to visit NT Hidcote Manor to tour the gardens. I didnt think it would be busy on a monday. Wrong, it is the school holidays! Seeing how full the car park was I decided it was time for a walk (or two)

I rembered that the Lark Stoke TV masts (the highest point in Warwickshire) was up the track so I went there, The view included Sugarloaf near Abergavenny, Titterstone clee and the Malverns

The view towards South Wales#

The Malverns

While up there I went to visit the masts at Nebworth, which had a good view towards Oxford

I then went back to the car park. Still busy so i planned walk 2, a loop to Upper Quinton, North of Hidcote

Walk 2

8.3 miles 2.5 hours. Navigating through Quinton was a challenge due to house building near footpaths.

The hardest bit was climbing up the hill from Mickleton to Hidcote!

The view back down the slope towards the Malverns

Evesham Ramblers :"Isbourne way part 3" 19 July 2026

6.6 miles. Start 1000 end 1320
 

Malvern Footpath: "Martley North and West" 18 July 2026

 9.1 miles 4 hours 20 minutes

Railtrail 3: Honeybourne to Evesham Reccy 17 July 2026

 As I was guiding this walk in mid August it seemed a good idea to do a reccy. Due to the current unreliability of GWR I decided that I would do the published route in reverse. So i went to Honeybourne and started it there

The walk goes through the centre of the strawberry farm which had lots of strawberries very few of which were ripe (by design?). The fleet Inn in was passed in Bretforton, then  through Badsey and the orchards then through Evesham to the station

I only met 5 people on the route, including an American trio who were off to the Fleet for lunch before flying home

7.8 miles in 3 hours. 

Worcester Ramblers: Powick Circular 16 July 2026

 I volunteered  to lead this walk, which should have been easy as it was done on May 2 by the Saturday group, It was not to be THAT easy!

I did a reccy on July 10. The steps down the west end of ham hill (part of the 3 choirs way!), which had been challenging on may 2 were impassable due head high brambles and nettles. I devised a diversion via ham lane, but that had the same problem, making it impassable for a group, so I retreated

I returned on July 13 to try another route, bypassing Powick. by going down old malvern road. The first footpath was blocked by a locked gate, but even overcoming that the footpath was non existent. Following the route on the OS map it came to a halt when blocked by an enormously wide/high/deep blackbeery coppice. A retreat was made and the second footpath nothbound tried. This allowed the route the to be completed even though the steep descent of ham hill was challenging

By the time the walk started on 16 July the temperature was more tolerable than the previous 7 days and the walk was completed without incident by 16 walkers despite the overgrown undergrowth in places

Worcester Ramblers: Railtrail 2: Pershore to Evesham 27 June 2026

 We met at Evesham station at 0930. We were met with walkers from the Evesham walking festival who were catching the train for a walk in the other direction, Unfortunately their train was cancelled before we left at 0935 for  Pershore. The good news was that the ticket machine at Pershore had been fixed and one can now buy a one day parking ticket!

There was  a headwind so the heat was less of an issue. The biggest challenge was attracting the attention of the ferryman who was on the opposite bank. We did start the alternate route into Evesham but that was so overgrown to make it unusable. Luckily I heard the sound of chains behind us as the ferry man brought the ferry across to our side!

9.3 miles 4 hours

Worcester Ramblers: Eastnor Park and Gospel Oak 23 April 2026

 This was my second walk as walk leader for Worcester Ramblers. 

We started at Swinyard car park promptly at 1000 (despite the parking ticket machine being faulty) and walked up past the Gullett Quarry to the Obelisk on the Eastnor estate. 

Continuing across the estate we passed the new addition, part of the Berlin wall! This was chosen as the coffee break

The walk then continued out to the railway tunnel to Ledbury entrance,  along the Ridgeway and back over the Malverns through News wood , passing the Pink cottage back to the car park (to be greeted by the sight of the car park machine being fixed....obviously the number of phone calls they got earlier in the morning forced them into action!). Some of us went to the Duke of York pub again for lunch

Total 6.8 miles

Railtrail Foregate Street to Pershore 18 April 2026

 I decided it was time to revisit the Cotswold line Rail Trails and offer it as a Saturday Walk to the Worcester Ramblers. The first leg would be a merging of the Foregate street to Parkway and Parkway to Pershore routes to form a Foregate street to Pershore route, as was originally done during the Malvern Walking Festival in 2023

A reccy in late February showed there was a diversion near Millhouse (Peopleton) as the wooden bridge was closed for 6 months to be repaired. Fortunately Worcestershire CC confirmed 3 days before the walk that the repairs were completed before Easter so the detour would not be needed

Four of us parked at Pershore station (actually in Pinvin! but beware, the GWR ticket machine on the platform only sells weekly Parking tickets for £20!!) We caught the train to Foregate street and met up with another 3 walkers.starting the walk at 0920

The route took us out of Worceter via the Country Park (coffee break)  to Lunch which was had at the lake near Peartrees  listening to the birdsong. The route then continued through Peopleton to Pershore station arriving at 1420, just in time for those who wanted to catch the train back to Worcester

11.8 miles

A day walking in Felixstowe 11 April 2026

 Having left Felixstowe in 1994 I decided that I would have an extra day while attending the Martlesham Microwave round table on the Sunday walking the area on Saturday

I  parked at the SeaVu hotel and was stunned at the hundreds of people moving swiftly up the Promonade. Investigation revealed it was the Felixstowe Park run!

I set off Northbound past the Pier and the Theatre which was pleasant with the wind behind me walking all the way to Bawdsey Ferry

Bawdsey Ferry

The Ferry!

I then decided to walk south to the other local ferry, which crosses the Deben to Harwich at Landguard point 2.5 hours 7 miles

While at Landguard point I got to see a container ship get brought in