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Stroud walk on 19th August 2026

With 2 months of virtually no rain, at long last we had a shower or two! It was still raining a little as we assembled at the Seven Stars in Stroud. After walking a short way down Ramsdean Road we turned right and headed towards Mustercoombe Copse and with some difficulty mastered a broken stile. Next we skirted Stancoombe Copse before turning north to meet the Winchester Road near Langrish.  Once across the road we took the footpath adjacent to Manor Farm with its listed 16th Century Dovecote. (The doves were kept for their manure which was used to tan hides, used  as fertilizer, and as an ingredient in gun-powder. However the real purpose of a dovecote was as a reliable source of food for the table.)  After climbing through a couple of fields we reached Cold Hill where the blackberries were tasty but small, probably due to the miniscule amount of rain we have had this year. A little further on we stopped for a drinks break at Ridge Farm where a large collection of logs were very useful as seats. A pleasant walk along Stoner Hill brought us to the path that descends through Lythe Hanger, not the easiest pathway but luckily the chalk was not wet enough to be slippery. A walk past Lythe Farm and Rothercombe Farm eventually brought us back to The Seven Stars for a well deserved lunch. About 4.3 miles.

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Finchdean walk on 5th August 2026

After the cancellation of  last week's walk because of the excessive heat, Mark and Jo led a much cooler walk from The George Inn at Finchdean. After ducking under the London to Portsmouth railway line we found The Staunton Way as far as South Holt Farm where we veered right to go to the edge of Markells Wood. This wood was the proposed site of 4 oil wells in 2016 but after local pressure the project was finally abandoned in 2019. We had to fight our way past some fallen trees but eventually reached Horsley Farm and soon after that, found a spot (not totally ideal!) for our drinks break. A large pit with a few fallen trees was quite adequate and also in the shade. The weather was generally very good to us, with a warm day but a cooling breeze.

After walking across some open fields we realised that the area must have had some rain during the night as there were still a few damp patches but nothing like enough to turn the brown fields to green. We then turned into the woods going generally in the direction of Finchdean. The walk went along the hill above Old Idsworth Farm and later Old Idsworth Garden at the northern part of Markwells Wood. After picking up the Staunton Way once again, we reversed our earlier route and made a successful return to The George Inn, where we enjoyed some excellent food.

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Selborne Walk on 22nd July 2026

We all gathered together in the car park behind the Selborne Arms ready for Tim and Jane's walk around Selborne and to welcome guest walkers John and Jacqui. Luckily the walk didn't involve the wonderful Zig Zag path which is very much an uphill battle on a warm day! The path was originally cut by Gilbert White and his brother in 1773 to make the walk to Newton Valence a bit easier. We sensibly took the path below Selborne Hanger to reach the far end of Selborne village before cutting through Grange Farm. The footpath reached the B3006 Alton road where we paused for a water break, although the shade had been very effective at keeping away the sunlight. After crossing the road we took a footpath passing an incredible garden with hardly any room for many more flowers. It was then on to Hangers Way to find a suitable coffee stop spot. Suitably refreshed we headed for the lower edge of Combe Wood and then Priory Farm. The very shady walk back to Selborne was via the Writers Way and we were eventually permitted to walk past the Gilbert White Museum and to use their path to return to the car park. A tasty lunch was served with great efficiency in The Selborne Arms.  The walk was around 4 miles.

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Pagham walk on 15th July 2026

We met up earlier than normal at the RSPB car park at Church Norton next to the unconsecrated Chapel and extensive graveyard before heading off on the King Charles III coast path to the edge of the bird sanctuary. Turning right took us onto the pebble path and beach where we walked east to the spit in bright sunshine but before it got too hot. We then retraced our steps back along the beach, encountering some early sunbathers before stopping for our coffee break by the first coastal defence barrier. A couple of brave walkers had come prepared in swim suits and refreshed themselves in the sea. Continuing west past the coastal residences, some of which were repurposed old railway carriages, we headed to East Beach where we turned inland to Park Farm and onto the footpath through fields and onto Greenlease Farm to admire the collection of vehicles and talk to some drone pilots. Returning to the car park, we drove up to The Anchor Inn at Sidlesham for lunch.

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Earnley on 8th July 2026

We battled our way through the Goodwood Festival of Speed build traffic to meet up at the RSPB Medmerry car park in Earnley for our 4 mile walk in the bright sunny and hot weather. None of us took up Julie’s advice to bring binoculars to view the wildlife on the bird sanctuary, but Janet surprised us with a secret swim suit. The gravel paths down to Marsh Barn and then down to the coast were level and wide which made easy walking. Approaching the Periwinkle sculpture made with a metal frame and willow branches caused some merriment as to whether the subject really had been a Periwinkle. Several photos later we dropped down onto the beach with the low tide leaving lots of sand. The swim suit made an appearance for a quick splash accompanied by some paddlers while the rest of us relaxed on the benches overlooking the beach while we enjoyed our coffee break. We headed back along the beach as the tide turned and retraced our route back to the car park. Our lunch was at the Shore Inn at East Wittering.

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