Pete's Walks - Kensworth
I did this local walk on Saturday, 25th December, 2010. I hadn't had a chance to walk in the snow we've had recently, so I popped out for a quick stroll here in Kensworth after opening my Christmas presents. The walk usually takes about 40 minutes, but with a few inches of snow on the ground it took me just over an hour.
I chose to do the route anticlockwise for a change, so I set off down Common Road and turned left into Malms Close. From there a footpath led between gardens, then turned left to reach a field corner, then turned right to drop downhill into a valley. Near the valley bottom the path turned left briefly then turned right to go up the other side of the valley. It was quite misty, so the photo opportunities weren't great. The path was clearly quite used, until I reached a path junction near the top of the slope, where no-one had walked the path before me as it crossed a field half-right to reach Hollicks Lane.
Common Road, Kensworth
Very misty as I cross the valley north of Kensworth, on the path from Malms Close to Hollicks Lane
The far side of the valley
Hollicks Lane, approaching Church End
I turned right along the lane, but after a short distance took a footpath on the left (shortly before the lane reached Church End). I followed a hedgerow on my right for some distance, before the path went through a small gap in the hedge. The path now followed a hedge on my left, which soon turned left. The path turned right in the next field corner. At the corner of a wood that was now on my left I turned left along the path round Kensworth Quarry.
The path from Hollicks Lane
Looking ahead along the Quarry path, from the point where I joined it
Shortly after the end of the wood, the Quarry path turned left and soon descended steeply back into the valley I'd crossed earlier. I could see an old part of the quarry to my right, with nice views ahead over the valley (the mist seemed to have cleared now, but it was still grey and overcast). The path went down a flight of 'steps', and at the bottom I left the Quarry path, turning left through a metal gate and following a path along the foot of a short steep slope called Codlings Bank.
A view over a disused part of the quarry
Looking ahead, back across the valley towards Isle of Wight Farm, Kensworth
The path along the bottom of Codlings Bank
The path then dropped down to a gateway at the bottom of the valley, where I turned right and followed a farm track back up hill. A little after going through a gateway the path left the track through a metal gate on the left, and ran past the edge of a small industrial estate to reach Common Road, Kensworth. I turned left to return to my home.
Looking ahead, the path goes through the open gateway, turns right and more or lss follows the hedge line uphill
Looking back across the valley to Codlings Bank
Back to Common Road, Kensworth
This short stroll blew away a few cobwebs, as I'd not done any walking at all for a couple of weeks for various reasons. I just wish I'd waited an hour or two, though, as later on there were clear blue skies and the scenery looked so much better!