SE500 Golden Autumn in Goring - a two part walk

Location

Oxfordshire/Berkshire border

OutdoorLads shares the exact meeting point with people who have signed up, closer to the date. See the OutdoorLads listing for details.

About this event

A walk including the glorious colours of autumn through fine woodlands, as well as taking in the best of the vistas of the Thames Valley from grassy hilltops above Goring. Take the challenge of 500 metres of ascent over the walk, or choose half of it if you prefer a more gentle ramble!This is a 2-part walk:Part 1 – East of Goring: 12.2km with 269m of ascent with gentler slopes and woods.Part 2 – West of Goring: 7.1km with 273m of ascent, including steeper slopes and open views.Total: 19.3km and 542m of ascent.You can choose at the end of Part 1 whether to continue with Part 2 or complete your walk at the station.Meeting at Goring and Streatley Station, the morning walk takes in several attractive woodlands and views over farmland from the east of Goring. The rolling hills take the Chiltern Way, which we follow to start with, up over attractive rises giving good vistas west and south across the Thames valley. The morning walk consists of gentler slopes over a longer distance of 12.2km and 269m ascent.Returning to Goring, Mill Cottage on the right can be seen. This was the house of musician George Michael. The village church is dedicated to St Thomas Becket and dates from the early 13th century.There is an 18th-century coaching Inn, the Miller of Mansfield, as well as a couple of cafes and several small shops. We shall take lunch here, so you can choose to bring your own and use the benches in Rectory Garden, or get some food in the Inn, cafes, or buy from the shops.At this point, you will have completed 12.2km. You have the option of continuing your walk to achieve the accolade of completing an SE500, or gracefully bowing out to return to the station, which is a stone's throw away.After lunch, our walk takes us through the village and across the Thames bridge to the west bank. Originally a ferry, a wooden bridge was first built in 1837, and the weirs form an attractive backdrop. On the west side, the land rises steeply over the grassy slopes of Lardon Chase to the top of Lough Down hill (138m). This is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and has been preserved by the National Trust. Chalk-loving plants have been encouraged, and the slopes support a wide range of flowers and butterflies.There is then a descent and ascent by a golf course and up into Common Wood. In clearings on the top are three labyrinth mazes formed by shallow mounds of earth and grass. The woods themselves include traditional oaks and chestnut.Descending back to Goring station after completing the afternoon's 7.1km and 273m of ascent, you have achieved over 500m of ascent in total, over just over 19km - a great achievement helping to burn off around 2,100 calories!Well behaved dogs are welcome on this walk. You can follow the route on OS Maps.Photo creditsFarmland Photo: Andrew Smith © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Downs Photo: Andrew Smith © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Chalkwood Photo: Shaun Ferguson © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Sheep Photo: Graham Horn © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Lough Down Photo: Bill Nicholls © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Streatleycountryside Photo: norman griffin © (cc-by-sa/2.0); The Miller Photo: Colin Smith © (cc-by-sa/2.0); TheSwan Photo: Mark Percy © (cc-by-sa/2.0); TheHolies Photo: Andrew Smith © (cc-by-sa/2.0);