Sixteen walkers set off from the village of Chaddleworth in West Berkshire on a gloriously sunny morning despite weather forecasts predicting cloudy skies! Our first port of call was the village church and its graveyard where there was a memorial to James Head whose daughter Mary Head married Thomas Hardy, the poet and author, in Puddletown Dorset in 1799. After a circuit of the village we then headed across fields until we reached the West Berkshire Gold club grounds which we traversed with some care aware of the imminence of flying golf balls! Exiting the Golf course we headed out over the fields again and descended into Great Shefford where we paused briefly for a coffee stop and where Bill regaled us again with more historical facts about  Thomas Hardy.

Heading back towards Chaddleworth we walked along a path which was originally the now defunct Lambourn Valley Railway Line and which ran from Newbury to Lambourn in the late 1890s. After a fairly longish incline we arrived back at Chaddleworth ready for a good hearty lunch which we all enjoyed at the Ibex Inn.

I hope all 16 walkers who took part in the walk enjoyed both the sunshine and the company.