Description
If you have tried our two linear walks between Mortimer and Bramley – ‘Walking The Line’ and ‘When in Rome’, perhaps you now feel ready to put the two together for this slightly more challenging circular walk from Mortimer. The challenge is mainly the distance – being almost 12 miles. The terrain is fortunately all quite flat. While the directions are written from Mortimer, there is also the option to mix things up a bit by starting from Bramley (point 8 on the map) and finishing at no 7.
Walk Instructions
- At the main road turn left & walk down to the roundabout. Turn left again & walk 250m before yet another left in the direction of the church. Bend left past the church wall. At the end turn right to follow a garden hedge out towards the fields. Continue for 300m until you reach a footbridge. Cross & turn left following the field/stream bank. You will go through a couple more kissing gates & bridge before the path finally bends to the RHS in the field corner.
- Follow the path towards a red brick house in the distance. Go through the metal kissing gate to reach a lane. Turn left & follow the road for 600m, passing Brocas Lands Farm. After the farm there is a track straight ahead with a metal barrier overhead. Take this & follow it all the way to the road.
- At the road turn right & immediately right again to visit the remains of the Roman Amphitheatre. After looking around the ruins take the path to the right of where you entered. Cross the road to reach the track along the Roman wall. Follow this to the right all the way to a crossroads with a main gravel path. Go straight ahead.
- A short distance further on there is an offset junction. You want the wide path on the far RHS marked Silchester trail. Stay on this for 700m until you reach two roads in swift succession. Cross both. After the second continue ahead until you reach a clearing. Here bend left across the common towards the pub/picnic benches/pop-up café.
- With the pub ahead look for Dukes Ride on the RHS. Walk a short distance until you see a black bin & fingerpost on the RHS. Take the path ahead into the woods. Stay on this for 1km (ignoring signs to Upper Inhams Copse Nature Reserve), until you reach a junction in a clearing with a sign to Pamber Forest Reserve ahead.
- Turn left & cross the bridge. Stay straight ahead on this path for 1km, until you reach the road. Cross diagonally to the right to a black bin in order to rejoin the path through the woods. After reaching a field of Guinea Fowl turn left & head towards a gate and road. At the road turn left & left again at the next junction.
- Just before the Silchester sign take the path on RHS and follow this along the field into the woods. Keep the picket fence to your right through the woods. This path eventually comes out beside the entrance to the Electricity Sub Station. Turn left onto the lane & follow all the way to the main road.
- At the road you have options. If you would like to buy some food from Bramley Bakery and use their toilets turn right and gradually bend around to the left crossing the recreation ground to reach the station. The bakery is beside the station. If you prefer to continue turn left and walk up Minchens Lane. Although there is no pavement, at most times of day this is relatively quiet. At the top turn right and cross the railway bridge.
- At the sign to Hollycross Farm turn left. Go straight through the farmyard into the fields beyond. At the tree line, the path bends to the left and reaches a ‘No Public Right of Way’ sign. Turn right and follow the path diagonally across the field towards some trees.
- At the trees there is a wooden footpath post indicating 2 paths. Follow the one going left. It continues around the edge of the fields until it reaches a road with buildings off to the right.
- Turn right and walk past the buildings on the wide track. The path climbs gradually.
- At the top of the hill there is another No Public Right of Way sign off right on the main track. At this point there is a narrow footpath ahead across a field towards some trees. Don’t go more than 3 or 4 meters into the trees before turning right to reach a field. Head down the hill to the drive of Jackdaw House to reach the road. The people who live here are very used to walkers going past their house. It used to be a pub (the Silchester Arms), that was well-used by people walking between the local stations.
- Turn left at the road and immediately look out for the sign to a footpath through the RHS hedge. The path continues along the RHS of the hedge ahead. Go under the powerline & cross the railway bridge. Follow the path down to a stream, go through a kissing gate & turn right. You should now recognise the path you started on.
- Walk along the field edge for nearly ½ a mile until you reach a footbridge on the RHS. Cross the stream & continue following it, but now keeping it on the LHS. Follow this path until you reach the church & road ahead. Turn right at the road & right again at the roundabout to return to the station.
Useful Link
Silchester: The Calleva Arms pub Tel: 0118 970 0305. Open from 12, closed Mondays & Pop-up Café on Weds & Friday 8.30-4.30.
Both have toilets.
Bramley: Bramley Bakery, beside the station. Open most days 07.00-16.00. bramleybakery.co.uk There is a toilet. (a diversion off the route)
Start and End
Mortimer Station
Distance
11.6 miles
Time
5 hours 30 walking time plus breaks
Grade
4/10 – Mostly flat with one gradual climb
Accessibility
Not push/wheelchair accessible
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