In anticipation of unpopular weather, we planned a shorter walk (5 miles) for the Long Walkers and the Amblers together. Unlike previous years in January, the weather was surprisingly pleasant, and 18 of us turned up, which for me is the largest number I have led on a walk.
In order to be able to park, our starting point was a little bit obscure (Hiscocks Drive), but everyone who registered found it OK, and we started at 10 a.m. on the dot. Everybody really enjoyed it, even though the tunnel we had planned to go through (which was the first of the Two Tunnels) was closed due to previous flooding. You can see the route we took here:
If you are thinking of doing this walk yourself (we went around anti-clockwise, avoiding going up a very long and steep set of steps by going down them instead), then you will want to take note of how to get from the eastern tunnel exit to Greenway Lane. At the exit of the tunnel, continue along the path until you find a ramp off the path on the right-hand side, which doubles back and goes through the woodland you have just passed on your right. Follow the main path through the woods until you find a narrowly enclosed path to your right, and go up it. This will take you up a flight of steps onto Greenway Lane, and from there you can take the public footpath that takes you around the edge of Beechen Cliff School.
It was good that we went this week and not last. You can see from the photo above that the river was back to its normal level. We saw evidence of just how high the water had been as we walked along beside the river.
On our approach to the Destructor Bridge, we were prompted to discuss what kind of activities would require a risk assessment for health and safety purposes. From what we could see, there appeared to be a significantly safer route for crossing the river on a bicycle.