Seventeen members met at Tower Hill station on Tuesday 27th December on a mild and sunny morning for a walk alongside the Thames to Greenwich. Skirting the Tower of London, we had a look at the execution site where Thomas More amongst others met his end and then the low-tide beach which was popular with East End kids before the War. Leaving the tourist crowds behind, we passed St Katherines Dock and joined Wapping High Street with its historic pubs the Town of Ramsgate & the Prospect of Whitby. We resisted the temptation of sampling their wares and carried on past Shadwell & Limehouse Basins to West India Quay where we had our lunch stop at the Ledger Building. Refreshed we walked through the Canary Wharf complex with its assortment of skyscrapers reminiscent of a Batman movie. Views of the South Dock and the Millwall Dock followed before we entered Mudchute Park which was formed from the spoil excavated from the adjacent docks in the 1860s. We had a look at some of the animals in London’s largest city farm before heading to Island Gardens with its fine view of Christopher Wren’s Naval College and the Royal Observatory on the high ground behind. The foot tunnel took us to Greenwich town centre and the finish of the walk. The group went their separate ways including a few who had coffee in the Gate Clock hostelry enriched with a tot of whisky!
After a two-year interruption, we decided to resume the snow-walking weekends. This time, we stayed four nights to be able to do three walks. As the time to leave got nearer, snow was lacking in the mountains. Would it just be a walking weekend? Never mind, we were keen to see the mountains. At Heathrow, one member of the group was missing but we were eventually reunited at the gate (phew!) and eight Poly Ramblers flew to Munich on Friday 13. After travelling on three different trains, we finally arrived in time for dinner at the Hotel Goldene Rose in Reutte, a small Austrian market town located on the river Lech. Continue reading SNOW WALKING WEEKEND – REUTTE, AUSTRIA. JANUARY 2023→
On a bright but cold Sunday morning, twenty-seven members gathered at Tottenham Court Road station for a short walk to whet appetites for the Club Xmas Lunch later that day. The Bloomsbury area with its literary connections and numerous fine squares was the location for the stroll. The group first headed for the perfectly preserved Georgian Bedford Square which was the centre of British publishing until the late 1980s. Passing many blue plaques, we then moved on to London University’s imposing Senate House on which George Orwell is reputed to have based his ‘Ministry Of Truth’ in the novel 1984. Next, three squares Russell, Woburn and Gordon followed in quick succession before reaching Tavistock Square with its memorial stone to conscientious objectors at one end and a statue of Gandhi at its centre. The eclectic neighbourhoods of Tavistock Street and Lambs Conduit Street on either side of Brunswick Square were traversed before Red Lion was our final square where the Ethical Society has its headquarters at Conway Hall. A few minutes more and the walking group were inside the Freemasons Arms pub in Long Acre. There a further sixteen members and one guest joined the party before adjourning to the upstairs function room for an excellent repast served by the efficient and friendly staff. Our chair Hilary thanked everyone for their contribution to the Club over the past year before everyone headed home to the prospect for many of heavy snowfall overnight.
Ten members met up at Manor Park station on Sunday 27th November for a figure-of-eight pleasant meander along the borders of Epping Forest. Initially, the route skirted the perimeter of the Grade-1 listed City of London Cemetery, one of the largest municipal cemeteries in Europe. It was established in 1826 and covers 200 acres. Bobby Moore amongst many others is buried there. The River Roding then came into view and the group followed it until we reached the entrance to Wanstead Park. Soon the welcoming sight of the Tea Hut appeared where we stopped for some refreshment. The park was a formal landscape surrounding Wanstead House but now only contains fragments of the estate. These include two follies. One called the Temple which is now a visitor centre. The other is a grade 11 listed building called the Grotto which was patially destroyed by fire in 1884. It is now being restored along with its landing stage. Both were seen before we passed the Tea Hut again and continued our walk alongside Heronry Pond. Leaving the park, we soon crossed Wanstead Flats to the Golden Fleece pub where most of the group had an excellent late-lunch. It was the venue of the Club’s Xmas Lunch in 2011. A short walk then took us back to Manor Park station.
Twenty-four Poly Ramblers braved the cold weather and train strike to meet at Sloane Square Station for a short walk to Battersea Power Station. We struggled our way through the Christmas shoppers to pause at all the glitz outside the Saatchi Gallery. Shortly afterwards a turning down Cheltenham Street led us towards the Chelsea Pensioners Hospital followed by the Army Museum which I was told houses the skeleton of Napoleon’s horse! We continued our way to arrive at the Chelsea Embankment to cross the Albert Bridge and the gate leading us into Battersea Park. The walking group stopped to admire the London Peace Pagoda unfortunately it was too slippery for us to walk all the way around it, this was followed by a short exploration of the Festival Gardens also rather slippery. We arrived at Battersea Power Station passing under the bridge with yet more ice! The Power Station, all lit up with a fairground and ice rink, was a magnificent sight. We just had time to visit the exhibition of the history of the Power Station before there was a rush to catch trains home.
