Explore London (Thursdays) 2024 Programme
Date (Thursdays) | Leader(s) | Route / Places of Interest |
January 25th | Annual lunch at Onslow Arms | |
February 22nd | Ann and David Harrison | Covent Garden area |
March 28th | ||
April 25th | Barbara Dale and Clare Hewlett | |
May 23rd | Sheila and Mike Keogh | |
June 27th | Jane and Ray Gross | Tower Bridge area |
July 25th | Jennifer Dane and Brenda Gazzard | |
August 22nd | ||
September 26th | Norma Farrer and Margaret Arnold | |
October 24th | Heather Ayton and Julia Evans | Hoxton area |
November |
Explore London (Thursdays) 2023 Programme
Date (Thursdays) | Leader(s) | Route / Places of Interest |
26th January | Annual lunch at Onslow Arms Clandon | |
23rd February | No walk | |
23rd March | Ann and David Harrison | Kensington area |
27th April | Sheila and Mike Keogh | Regents Canal Mile End to Kings Cross |
25th May | Margaret Arnold and Norma Farrer | Hammersmith to Chiswick |
27th July | Clare Hewlett and Pat Harryman | Dulwich area |
24th August | Elaine Jones and June Blackwell | Earls Court Area |
28th September | Liz Onslow and Elisabeth Burke | Regents Canal |
26th October | Ray and Jane Gross | Fitzrovia |
23rd November | Julia Evans and Heather Ayton | Pimlico Area |
December | No walk |
Explore London (Thursdays) 2022 Programme
Date (Thursdays) | Leader(s) | Route / Places of Interest |
27th January | Annual Lunch at Onslow Arms | |
February | No walk | |
March | No walk | |
28th April | Clare Hewlett and Pat Harryman | “Summary of Mayfair walk – April 2022 We shall leave Horsley by the first off-peak train. Currently 9.18 but will confirm the time nearer the date as they seem to be changing the timetable fairly frequently. We shall need Travelcards. Bring your Senior Railcard if you have one otherwise we shall try to form small groups for a discount. We shall go to Green Park, via Vauxhall, for a walk around Mayfair. It’s not just posh shops, so very different from its origins. We shall see graceful Georgian architecture and blue plaques of a number of the famous people who have lived in this area in the past, an interesting church, beautiful public gardens as well as a village within a village, Shepherd’s Market. The walk is approximately 2 miles and flat easy walking. |
26th May | Elisabeth Burke and Liz Onslow | Our walk starts a bit further afield to take in new and interesting places including Portobello Road, the antique markets, two important churches and the very smart mews and historic buildings in Notting Hill Gate. It is appro 4 and a half miles and requires 2 underground trains with several steps. We have found a coffee shop 5 minutes from the tube station with facilities and booked lunch in a pub near the end of the walk. A travel card will be required for the journey and starting from Horsley Station at 9.00 |
23rdJune | June Blackwell and Elaine Jones | IMPORTANT - The June walk was due to take place on Thursday 23rd June. However, there is a planned rail strike that day. Although one hopes that some form of mediation is successful before then there is no guarantee of this.
We have therefore decided to change the date to THURSDAY 3Oth JUNE.
“The walk will be led by Elaine Jones and Jun Blackwell and details are below.
Meet at Horsley Station at around 9.00 a.m m to catch the 9.18 train. Please bring your senior railcard if you have one.
We travel by train and tube to Shadwell Station. The walk will be around Docklands, taking in St. Paul’s Church, Shadwell and Limehouse Basins, The Prospect of Whitby and The Grapes pubs and the West India Docks.
Coffee is five minutes from the station and we will stop for lunch in the West India Docks before a visit to the London Museum of Docklands.
The walk is approximately three miles.
We will catch the train from Canary Wharf for our journey home.”
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28th July | Sheila and Mike Keogh | “Our walk starts from King’s Cross station and we go from there to join the Regent’s Canal a few hundred yards away. Along that stretch we will stop for coffee at the historic German Gymnasium, built in 1865. We then walk along the Canal itself passing the new development on the site of the old coal yard and sidings, Camden Market, London Zoo, Regent’s Park and Lisson Grove until we reach Little Venice. Here we will have lunch at the Cafe Laville (cafelaville.fr@gmail.com) which sits across the top of the canal. After lunch, the short final part of our walk takes us through Little Venice itself and the Paddington basin to the end of the walk by the new Elizabeth line at Paddington station. From there we take the underground back to Waterloo for the train back to Horsley.
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25th August | Margaret Arnold and Norma Farrer | Cancelled due to extreme weather |
22nd September | Heather Ayton | “Walk through Battersea Park and Battersea Power Station David Harrison will count you in at Horsley Station and I will join the train at Effingham Junction. We travel to Clapham Junction, change trains towards Battersea Park. The first half of the walk will be through the park, first having coffee there. We see the bandstand, fountains and gardens then head toward the Buddhist Peace Pagoda with its splendid golden panels. A walk along the river then down Carriage Walk takes us back into the park passed the Zoo back to the Rosery Gates. A short walk takes us past the Battersea Dog and Cats home to Battersea Power Station to see the re- development of the enormous site, the gardens, water features, the childrens’ play area, the relaxation area, the many restaurants and commercial outlets. We stop for lunch in the complex before returning to Waterloo via the new Northern Line extension. A One day Travel card will be needed. Meet at Horsley Station at 9.00 a.m. or elsewhere please advise. |
27th October | Doris Borland and Julia Evans | “Meet at Horsley Station at 9am for 9.18am train to Wimbledon. Please bring railcard if you have one. Take 93 bus in Wimbledon to Putney Bridge & ensure that you have bus pass with you. Coffee will be at Putney Pantry located within St Mary's Church, Putney. Afterwards walk across Putney Bridge & through Bishops Park to Fulham Palace, home of 133 Bishops of London for over 1,300 years. We have booked a 90 minute fully guided tour starting at 11.45am at a cost of £8 per person paid in advance. The Palace has been fully renovated & has a fascinating history. There will also be an opportunity to browse in the small museum or visit the walled garden once the tour is over. We will then walk through the grounds of All Saints Church & back over the bridge to lunch at The Rocket. This is a J.D.Wetherspoons pub with lovely views over the River Thames. It will be approx 2pm before we order lunch so do bring a snack to keep you going if you would like to! |
24th November | Tony Dinkin and David Harrison | Tour of Lincolns Inn with lunch |
December | No walk |
Explore London (Thursdays) 2021 Programme
Date (Thursdays) | Leader(s) | Route / Places of Interest |
Jan- June | Cancelled | |
22nd July | Ann and David Harrison | South Bank |
26th August | Sheila and Mike Keogh | South Bank |
23rd September | Cancelled | |
28th October | Denis Smee/June Blackwell | Meet as usual at Horsley Station around 9.00 a.m. to catch 9.18 train to Waterloo. The walk will commence at Waterloo and cover the Whitehall and Westminster areas with lunch at the Tate Gallery. There will be time to explore the gallery afterwards before returning to Waterloo and catching the train back to Horsley.
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25th November | Margret Arnold/Norma Farrer | Covent Garden “Meet as usual at Horsley Station around 9.00 am to catch 9.18 train to Waterloo. Only a day return will be needed as we will go over to Waterloo East and catch an overground train to Charing Cross. From there we will make out way to Covent Garden where our walk will actually begin. Perhaps have 15 minutes or so there and hopefully there will be some entertainment in the piazza as has been the case the times we have been to recce. Maybe some Christmas music as it will only be a few weeks to the festive season. There is also another an interesting indoor market opposite and hopefully after our Covent Garden and St Giles walk and we return to Covent Garden there will be time after lunch to explore both and maybe pick up a few Christmas presents. As it will be the end of November and probably cold we have arranged a walk of only about 2 miles but taking in some interesting churches, including St Pauls which is known as the Actors Church, small gardens, many well known buildings and Blue Plaques and even passing a music shop that used to be the recording studios for many famous artists including Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Elton John and many more. |
December | No walk | |
Explore London (Thursdays) 2020 Programme
Date (Thursdays) | Leader(s) | Route / Places of Interest |
January 23rd | Lunch at Onslow Arms | Attended by 31 members |
February 27th | Ann and David Harrison | Greenwich area - including the covered market, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Naval College and Painted Hall |
March 26th | Cancelled | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
April 23rd | Elisabeth Burke and Anne Heaney | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
May 28th | Mike and Sheila Keogh | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
June 25th | Denise Smee | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
July 23rd | Margaret Arnold and Norma Farrer | Cancelled |
August 27th | Doris Borland and Julia Evans | Cancelled |
September 24th | Liz Onslow and Eric Mason | Cancelled |
October 27th | TBA | Cancelled |
November 26th | Barbara Dale and June Blackwell | Cancelled |
December 17th | TBA | Cancelled |
Explore London (Thursdays) 2019 Programme
Date (Thursdays) | Leader(s) | Route / Places of Interest |
January 24th | Lunch at Onslow Arms | |
February 28th | No walk | |
March 28th | Ann and David Harrison | Train and tube from Horsley to Cutty Sark. Coffee, Greenwich Market, The Royal Observatory, Lunch, The Queens House, Royal Naval College, National Maritime Museum |
April 25th | TBA | No walk |
May 23rd | Elisabeth Burke | LONDON WALK Thursday 23rd May Notting Hill Gate to Chelsea Approx 3 mile flat walk.
Gather at Horsley station at 9.00 am to catch the 9.20 train to Wimbledon. Change to the Underground to Notting Hill Gate. Coffee/tea and snacks at a nearby cafe and then a gentle walk in that area. We are due to visit the impressive Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Sophia at 11.30. Afterwards we will walk through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, actually following the course of the Westbourne River to Knightsbridge, where we plan to have lunch at The Tattersalls Tavern. After lunch we will walk through some of the attractive back streets to Sloane Square and then take the Underground to Waterloo station and return to Horsley. Please remember to bring Senior Railcards and also (in case) your bus pass if you have one.
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June 27th | Clare Hewlett and Sarah Veys | London Walk - Thursday 27th June To be lead by Clare Hewlett and Sarah Veys Approx 5 miles of mainly flat walking The emphasis is on green parts of London, with some aquatic bird life! Meet at Horsley station at 9.00 am approx to catch the 9.20 train to Waterloo. We shall need travelcards to use on the tube at the end of the day. A stop for coffee (and cake?) then along the river (the Albert Embankment), across the river then through Westminster to St James' Park, to Buckingham Palace and then on to Hyde Park. Lunch at the Serpentine Cafe. We carry on through the park; we can see en passant the Princess Diana memorial, Round Pond and Kensington Palace. ** We leave the park at the Bayswater gate and take the tube from there to Wimbledon, and then pick up the train back to Horsley. ** Please note there is some slight duplication of last month's walk, but only about 15 minutes of the total. If you wish to join us please contact Clare on clare.hewlett@talk21.com or 01483 283635. |
July 25th | Margaret Arnold and Norma Farrer CANCELLED DUE TO EXTREME HEAT | Charing Cross, Embankment, Fleet Street, Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern and South Bank (approx. 4 miles) Norma and I plan to start our walk from Charing Cross Station so a day return to Waterloo is all that is necessary. Meet as usual at 9am at Horsley Station. Please bring your senior railcard if you have one. First stop will be for coffee at St Martin in the Fields Crypt. A walk around Trafalgar Square, Strand then down Villiers Street taking in Benjamin Franklin House. See the blue plaque of Rudyard Kipling and the Ship and Shovell, which is the only split Public House in London. Then onto Watergate Walk where Samuel Pepys lived. Walk through Victoria Bank Gardens and exit near The Savoy ; re-join the Strand and visit Somerset House for around half an hour. Opposite Somerset House is St Mary le Strand Church. which is isolated in the middle of the road. This is the church for the Womens’ Royal Naval Service (Wrens) and a couple of hundred yards further on is the St Clement Dane Church, which is the church of the RAF and is famous for being “The Bells of St Clement” in the nursery rhyme. Pass Royal Courts of Justice and Middle Temple Lane. We are now in Fleet Street where all newspaper offices used to be. Lunch is booked at All Bar One, a very pleasant and reasonably priced restaurant. After lunch walk to St Paul’s Cathedral, then cross over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, where you could visit many free exhibitions or alternatively go and look round The Globe Theatre. A gentle stroll along the South Bank brings us back to Waterloo Bridge and Station. If you would like to go on this walk please contact Margaret Arnold as below. Margaret Arnold – 01483 283585 or 07813 826996 email margaretarnold666@gmail.com
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August 22nd | Heather Ayton and Julia Evans | Please meet at Horsley station at 9am with your railcard & purchase a Travelcard. We will travel to Goodge Street station to start our walk from Soho to Trafalgar Square. After coffee we plan to visit Pollock's Toy Museum which has been operating since the 1950s in the 1760s building. Entrance is £6 for Seniors. We will walk through Soho Square & Berwick Street Market where we will have lunch in the Mediterranean Café. After lunch we will walk along Carnaby Street into Golden Square & Rupert Street Market. We then walk through Chinatown where we will visit Notre Dame de France, the French Catholic Church in the West End. From here we head for Trafalgar Square & the subway to Charing Cross Station for our return journey.
The walk is 4.5 miles approx. & flat.
Please contact Heather Ayton on 01483 284383 or graham.ayton91@btinternet.com if you would like to join the walk. |
September 26th | Liz Onslow and Eric Mason | The walk is based on Hampstead Heath so is hilly in parts with some rough paths, do bring a walking stick with you if you need one.
The distance is 4.3 miles. START Horsley Station 9 a.m. TRAVEL CARD required.
Our walk begins in Hampstead Village, first stop a very nice coffee and pastry shop. We then proceed along Flask Walk and Well Road, stopping to look at some interesting houses that have had some famous owners, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, J.B.Priestley and John Constable, and so on to the Heath, passing a lovely lake and bridge. We stop for lunch at Kenwood House, either in the café or if you prefer take a picnic and sit on the grass or a seat on the terrace and admire the wonderful view across the Heath, not missing the sculpture by Henry Moore.
After lunch it is down-hill to more lakes and a swimming pool taking in a marvellous view of London and it’s skyscrapers, the Shard, the Mobile Phone and the Cheese Grater to name a few. A short steep climb up West Hill turning into Swains Lane and then into Waterlow Park which sits between the two famous Highgate cemeteries, a lovely park with a café, toilets and pretty gardens. Around the corner to the Archway underground station to start our journey home. |
October 24th | Margaret Arnold and Norma Farrer | Charing Cross, Embankment, Fleet Street, Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern and South Bank (approx. 4 miles) Norma and I plan to start our walk from Charing Cross Station so a day return to Waterloo is all that is necessary. Meet as usual at 9am at Horsley Station. Please bring your senior railcard if you have one. First stop will be for coffee at St Martin in the Fields Crypt. A walk around Trafalgar Square, Strand then down Villiers Street taking in Benjamin Franklin House. See the blue plaque of Rudyard Kipling and the Ship and Shovell, which is the only split Public House in London. Then onto Watergate Walk where Samuel Pepys lived. Walk through Victoria Bank Gardens and exit near The Savoy ; re-join the Strand and visit Somerset House for around half an hour. Opposite Somerset House is St Mary le Strand Church. which is isolated in the middle of the road. This is the church for the Womens’ Royal Naval Service (Wrens) and a couple of hundred yards further on is the St Clement Dane Church, which is the church of the RAF and is famous for being “The Bells of St Clement” in the nursery rhyme. Pass Royal Courts of Justice and Middle Temple Lane. We are now in Fleet Street where all newspaper offices used to be. Lunch is booked at All Bar One, a very pleasant and reasonably priced restaurant. After lunch walk to St Paul’s Cathedral, then cross over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, where you could visit many free exhibitions or alternatively go and look round The Globe Theatre A gentle stroll along the South Bank brings us back to Waterloo Bridge and Station. If you would like to go on this walk please contact Margaret Arnold as below. Margaret Arnold – 01483 283585 or 07813 826996 email margaretarnold666@gmail.com |
November 28th | Hazel Jones and June Blackwell | >> Meet as normal for the 9.20 train. Return ticket to Waterloo. Coffee at Carluccios at station. Walk over Waterloo bridge, along the embankment to the Central Church of the RAF, in the Strand. Walk to Freemasonry library and museum for a short tour. Wander around Lincoln’s inn and Lincoln’s Inn fields where we will have lunch. After lunch we will visit the Silver Vaults and the St. Ethelred Ely Church. We aim to catch the 4pm train home. This is an easy and relaxed day and should the weather be foul we can replace some walking with a bus ! > > Walk organised by Hazel jones and June Blackwell. June can be contacted on junebwell@gmail.com |
December 19th | Anne and Bengt Magnusson | Cancelled due to bad weather and raIl problems |
2018 Walks
Date (Thursdays) | Leader(s) | Route / Places of Interest |
January 25th | Clare Hewlett | Lunch at La Meridiana |
February 22nd | John and Trish Kettle | “WAPPING TO LIMEHOUSE
Meet at Horsley station at 9.00 to catch 9.20 train to Waterloo (please remember your Railcard).
Travel to Tower Hill by Underground or River ferry (depending on weather)
Start the walk at St Katharine’s Dock with coffee/tea at cafe overlooking the yachting marina.
The easy level walk continues along Wapping High Street passing many old warehouses and new developments with an interesting mixture of very old and very new architectural designs.
We pass the boatyard of the River Police and several old wharfs before reaching the Prospect of Whitby pub where we will stop for lunch. (The pub menu is varied and reasonably priced.)
After lunch we walk through King Edward Memorial Park and on to Limehouse Basin.
The walk finishes by passing the famous parish church of Limehouse –St Anne’s – and then to Westferry station where we travel by DLR/City line back to Waterloo.”
If you would like to go on this walk please contact John or Trish Kettle on 01483 283724 or jpkettle7@gmail.com. |
March 22nd | No walk |
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April 26th | Ann and David Harrison | Ann and myself will be leading the next London walk on Thursday 26th April, details as follows:-
Meet at Horsley Station at 0900 to catch the 0920 train to Waterloo (remember to bring your railcard) and then the tube to Piccadilly.
Coffee at “Caffe Concerto” in Regent Street, walk up part of Regent Street and then into Carnaby Street to see the fashion shops, Kingsley Court (shops and an al fresco dining area, the famous “Shakespeare’s Head” pub and the renowned “Liberty” store.
Cross back over Regent Street and go down Maddox Street to see St. George’s Church, Handel’s House in Brook Street and then Hanover Square to see one of the few remaining Cabman Shelters, the statue of William Pitt and the house once occupied by the French statesman Tallyrand.
We then walk up to and cross Oxford Street and go down Wigmore Street to St. Christophers Place, where we will have lunch at the “Cote” restaurant. This offers a very good value set two or three course set menu.
After lunch we will visit “The Wallace Collection” in Manchester Square. This is a fascinating museum, free to enter, with renowned collections of armoury, porcelain, furniture and paintings (including the famous “Laughing Cavalier”). We reckon on about an 45 minutes there.
At this point (probably around 1515) anyone who is feeling tired can catch the Jubilee line to Waterloo and return to Horsley. However, the intention is to continue the walk down New Bond Street (surely the most expensive shopping street in London –bring a high limit credit card!), into Old Bond Street and down to Piccadilly. We pass “Fortnum and Mason” and visit the market in the grounds of St. James’ Church. If time permits we can also take a stroll down “The Burlington Arcade”, before returning on the tube to Waterloo and thence to Horsley.
If you would like to come on this walk please contact David Harrison on 01483 280260 or e-mail david.harrison007@btinternet.com |
May 24th | Elisabeth Burke and Sarah Veys | Catch the normal train from Horsley at 9.20 to Waterloo. Exit station by main entrance and through the pedestrian subway. Opposite is the former hospital for children and women. It was closed in 1976 because of the controversy about Dr. William Sergeant who used tranquillisers and ECT (brainwashing) On the junction of Waterloo Road is the church of St. John the Evangelist. It was badly bombed during the war but was restored and became the Festival of Britain Church The church is used by orchestras and may have something on most Thursday mornings. Follow path behind the church to Roupell Street with its well preserved listed buildings. Turn into Windmill Walk and on to the Cut Stop at the Young Vic theatre for coffee .
Various small streets with interesting houses past the London Ambulance Service Building and Morley College which was opened in 1889 for working men and women. Note the traffic islands where clandestine gardeners have developed the open spaces and sell lavender bags every year to support the project.
Walk down St. George's road to St. George's Catholic cathedral designed by Pugin. Ahead is the dome of the Imperial War Museum Plenty to see here and we could have lunch in the cafe. Coming out of the museum bear left into the Tibetan Peace Garden opened by the Dalai Lama in 1999. Exit the park turning right towards West Square This is an elegant square, where Charlie Chaplin may have lived at no. 39 Note also the mulberry trees. Down Orient Street in SE corner of the square and follow footpath through allotments We soon come to the churchyard of St. Marys Newington, which used to be part of Surrey! Follow the map south looking for red brick circular tower which used to be a fire station in 1869 As you continue you pass a former court house which has been preserved and is now Jam Yang Buddhist centre. This is a fascinating place and worth a tour and a stop for tea. Nearby is the Tavern. Nearby and not open often is the cinema museum which is most famous for being the Lambeth Workhouse, where conditions were degrading . From here gradually walk towards Elephant and Castle underground station. Take the Bakerloo Line back to Waterloo. |
June 28th | Clare and Bill Hewlett | This is an easy walk, approx. 4 miles ( with a possible extension of approx. a further mile, see below.) with level walking on firm tracks and some grass. It is part of section 7 of the Capital Ring, mostly along the river Thames. The route takes in Richmond river front, Old Deer Park, Richmond Lock ( there are steps here 36 up, 36 down), Syon Park, Brentford Lock and the Grand Union Canal. Finishing at Brentford station for return to Horsley via Clapham Junction. (The more energetic can go on towards Osterley Lock and then to Boston Manor underground for the trip home. We have not as yet walked this extra bit). Meet at Horsley station to catch the 9.20 train. We shall take the train to Richmond, via Clapham Junction. Have coffee in Richmond and, en route to the river see vestiges of Tudor history. Lunch will be at Syon Park Garden Centre - a good selection of hot meals, sandwiches, soup etc so hopefully something to suit everyone. To sign up please contact Clare on clare.hewlett@talk21.com or 01483 283635. |
July 26th | Liz Onlow and Eric Mason | The walk is based on Hampstead Heath so is hilly in parts with some rough paths, do bring a walking stick with you if you need one. The distance is 4.3 miles. START Horsley Station 9 a.m. TRAVEL CARD required.
Our walk begins in Hampstead Village, first stop a very nice coffee and pastry shop. We then proceed along Flask Walk and Well Road, stopping to look at some interesting houses that have had some famous owners, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, J.B.Priestley and John Constable, and so on to the Heath, passing a lovely lake and bridge. We stop for lunch at Kenwood House, either in the café or if you prefer take a picnic and sit on the grass or a seat on the terrace and admire the wonderful view across the Heath, not missing the sculpture by Henry Moore.
After lunch it is down-hill to more lakes and a swimming pool taking in a marvellous view of London and it’s skyscrapers, the Shard, the Mobile Phone and the Cheese Grater to name a few. A short steep climb up West Hill turning into Swains Lane and then into Waterlow Park which sits between the two famous Highgate cemeteries, a lovely park with a café, toilets and pretty gardens. Around the corner to Archway station to begin the journey home. Cancelled due to extreme temperature |
August 23rd | Margaret Arnold and Ann Heaney | Ann Heaney & I are planning this walk to begin from Waterloo to Chalk Farm tube station. We hope to have coffee in the Cowshed coffee house where we can view their beauty products. From there we will walk up Primrose Hill to the view point with amazing views over London. We will then go past London Zoo and enter Regent's Park to see the fountain a gift from Parsee & inaugurated by Princess Mary in1869. We will enter by the gilded Jubilee Gates and go into Queen Mary's Walk where we will walk round the pond to see birds, the waterfall and the many bridges. We will go to the Regent's Bar & Kitchen for lunch. We will then circumvent part of the lake and go into St Mary's gardens to see the many statues including the Boy and Frog statue. We hope that as this walk includes water and gardens it will be appropriate for this hot weather. - |
September 27th | Walk cancelled. Clash with U3A wine trip to France | |
October 25th | Heather Ayton and Julia Evans | Meet at Horsley station at 9am with railcard. Catch train to Kew Gardens station via Clapham Junction. The walk crosses Kew Green & follows the River Thames among the Thames Path for much of the time past many lovely C18 houses. Lunch will be at a C17 pub, The Bull's Head in Strand-on-the-Green. Afterwards we will stroll along Chiswick Mall & through the grounds of Chiswick House, past Kelmscott House, the home of William Morris to Hammersmith Underground Station for the return journey. Distance 5.5 miles flat. |
November 22nd | Hazel Jones and June Blackwell | St James Area Meet at Horsley Station 9.00a.m. to take the 9.20 train to Waterloo. Please bring your Travel Card.Travel by tube to Piccadilly Circus via the Bakerloo line. We will concentrate on the St James area which is packed with beautiful architecture and places of interest, starting with coffee and a private guided tour of the State Rooms of Spencer House. A walk through the new extension to the Royal Academy and a visit to Christie's Auctioneers will be included. Lunch will be at Davey's Restaurant. The walk is flat and of low mileage! Please email Hazel Jones tjones869@aol.com to join the walk. |
December 20th | Liz Onslow and Eric Mason | CHRISTMAS WALK
We meet up at Horsley Station by 9 a.m.. The walk takes in the shops and Christmas lights around the west end of London. There will be a coffee stop in St. James’s Park and lunch at John Lewis, Oxford Street. The following area is covered:- Waterloo, The Royal Festival Hall, Hungerford Bridge, Horse Guards Parade, St. James’s Park (coffee), Haymarket, Jermyn Street, Piccadilly Arcade, Burlington Arcade, Bond Street, Oxford Street,(J.L. lunch), Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, Strand to Charing Cross and over the bridge to Waterloo. Return rail ticket required from Waterloo, if you plan to leave the walk early please purchase a ticket with your travelcard at Horsley. Please advise Liz Onslow at lizonlsow@gmail.com if you are coming on this walk. |
2017 Walks
26th January 2017 | Lunch instead of walk | The Onslow Arms at 1.30 p.m for the 28 people who had booked and paid. Lunch took place and was enjoyed by all who attended. |
23rd February 2017 | Walk cancelled due to no walk leaders. | |
30th March 2017 | Sarah Veys and Elisabeth Burke | Meet at Horsley Station at 9.00 a.m and proceed by train and tube to Bethnal Green. The walk will be from Bethnal Green to Mile End, including the Bethnal Green Library and St. John’s Church designed by Sir John Soane and on to the Museum of Childhood. It will then proceed through Victoria Park and cross the Regents Canal, when we will have lunch. In the afternoon there will be a leisurely stroll along the canal, with it’s variety of barges, boats and interesting architecture, followed by a tube back to Waterloo and a train back to Horsley. |
27th April 2017 | Margaret Arnold and Jean Waterer | A walk of approx. 3 miles around Bloomsbury. Meet at Horsley Station at 9.00 a.m.and proceed by train and tube to Russell Square station, where the walk will begin. We walk from Russell Square to the Charles Dickens Museum, which is housed in the only surviving house where Dickens lived. We will have coffee first in the charming cafe in the Museum. The Museum is rated as outstanding by Trip Advisor. The cost for pensioners is £7 and the visit should last about 1.½ hours. From here we head to Queens Square (described as a Bloomsbury gem) to see the statue of Queen Charlotte and have lunch at the Queen’s Larder public house so named because Queen Charlotte supposedly rented a cellar beneath the pub to store her husband George 3rd’s favourite food. Some members of Bookham U3A recently ate here and said the food was excellent value for money.
We next go to the nearby church of St George the Martyr. The building is 200 years old but its history goes back 800 years. The poets Ted Hughes & Sylvia Plath were married here. Not only the interior of the church but the surrounding gardens are worth visiting as they are closely linked to Dickens.
We return to Russell Square and walk around the square visiting one of the last remaining cab shelters. The suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst lived in this square. We return to Waterloo from this tube station. |
25th May 2017 | Liz Onslow and Eric Mason | The walk is based on Hampstead Heath so is hilly in parts with some rough paths, do bring a walking stick with you if you need one. The distance is 4.3 miles. START Horsley Station 9 a.m. TRAVEL CARD required.
Our walk begins in Hampstead Village, first stop a very nice coffee and pastry shop. We then proceed along Flask Walk and Well Road, stopping to look at some interesting houses that have had some famous owners, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, J.B.Priestley and John Constable, and so on to the Heath, passing a lovely lake and bridge. We stop for lunch at Kenwood House, either in the café or if you prefer take a picnic and sit on the grass or a seat on the terrace and admire the wonderful view across the Heath, not missing the sculpture by Henry Moore.
After lunch it is down-hill to more lakes and a swimming pool taking in a marvellous view of London and it’s skyscrapers, the Shard, the Mobile Phone and the Cheese Grater to name a few. A short steep climb up West Hill turning into Swains Lane and then into Waterlow Park which sits between the two famous Highgate cemeteries, a lovely park with a café, toilets and pretty gardens. Around the corner to the Archway underground station to start our journey home. |
22nd June 2017 | Clare and Bill Hewlett | We were given a book at Christmas; "111 places in London that you shouldn't miss". We are not proposing to visit all 111 of them at once but have used a small selection of them as the basis for our walk. They are not the mega icons that everyone knows but smaller items of interest, perhaps with some local history, mainly around the St. James' area. Amongst other things these will include a monument to a man who inspired a well known nursery rhyme, a club where its members preferred aesthetics over ice in their drinks, various blue plaques, including one to a Horsley celebrity, the prototype of an iconic piece of street furniture and a stranded river mooring! We may be able to pop in and eavesdrop on an auction at Christie's. Apart from such locations of interest you will have the opportunity to window shop for amazing 'high end' baubles in several different arcades as well as appreciate fine art in all its forms at the myriad art galleries in the area . We think the distance is about 4 miles in total, mainly flat walking but there is one longer flight of steps. As usual we shall take the 9.20 am train from Horsley, meeting at 9.00 to sort out tickets etc. We shall only need a day return to Waterloo as we do not plan to use the Tube. We shall have a coffee/loo stop at a café not far from Waterloo before we cross over the river. We have booked tables at a pub for lunch. It offers a standard pub type menu, with hopefully something to please most people - from soup, to main courses via sandwiches. We hope that you will join us. Please contact us (Bill and Clare Hewlett) on 01483 283635 or via e-mail bill.hewlett@talk21.com to book a place. |
27th July 2017 | Denise and Clive Smee | "Wimbledon Walk
Meet at Horsley Station just after 9.00am on July 27th to take 9.20am train to Wimbledon. After coffee climb up to the high ground overlooking the River Wandle where the healthy position 150 feet above sea level and proximity to London combined to make Wimbledon a desirable retreat for wealthy merchants and professional men from Tudor times onwards. Visit St Mary's Church with memorial to the Cecils and to Sir Joseph Bazalgette. Proceed to the High Street, the nucleus of the old village and then to the southern tip of Wimbledon Common with its fine houses on the south and west sides, including Claremont House, Southside House, Chester House and Cannizaro House. Between the mansions on the south and west sides we will visit the Crooked Billet. We will also visit the splendid grounds of Cannizaro House which are now public property. Proceeding further into the Common we proceed round the isolated square of houses known as West Side, North View and Camp View , the last after the iron age hill fort known as Caesar's Camp. Back across the Common we re enter the High Street and pass Eagle House , Wimbledon's second oldest house. The descent to the station starts at the Ridgeway, the former prehistoric track running to a ford over the Thames at Kingston. A little further down we pass close to where the original Wimbledon croquet and tennis club was founded in 1868. " |
24th August 2017 | Julia Evans and Doris Borland | Meet at 9.00 at Horsley station to catch 9.20 train to Wimbledon. Take District Line to High St Kensington. Coffee at Bill's in station concourse. (Please bring your railcard if you have one). Visit Kensington Parish Church, St Mary Abbots & then walk through side streets past Queen Elizabeth College & Holland Park Comprehensive School. Walk through Holland Park to the Ice House, where there may be an artist in residence & then past some large houses owned by famous people. Cross Kensington High St & head for lunch at The Scarsdale Tavern, a typical London pub. Afterwards walk back to Kensington High St through a lovely residential area. We then hope to visit the Kensington Roof Gardens for a drink before heading home but this will only be possible if there is no function taking place. Please bring ID & we will phone the day before to see whether the gardens will be open to the public. Distance approx. 3 miles & flat. |
28th September 2017 | Ann and David Harrison | Cancelled |
26th October 2017 | Hazel Jones and Heather Ayton | “We meet as usual at Horsley Station at 8.00 am for the 9.20 to Waterloo, up the escalator for the Waterloo East line and the train to Blackheath (Dartford) – 17 minutes. Please bring your senior Rail Card if you have one.
Blackheath village in the 17th century and 18th century became a very desirable residential area for the rich, powerful and famous, who purchased huge tracts of land and built themselves enormous residences. Our walk is in the nature of an ‘architectural/historical trail’ to see the varied and interesting changes made to these properties by time, the arrival of the railways (1849), and increasing population and particularly by Victorian philanthropy and energy in the form of numerous churches, schools and colleges, a theatre, The Literary Institution, the Concert Halls (which we hope to visit), The Conservatoire and the Art School.
The walk is 3 miles long with only one steep up/down stretch.
On arrival coffee at the Café Rouge. The morning’s walk takes us past the 18th century Hare & Billet pub and pond, many fine houses and terraces formerly part of huge estates (with names like Cardigan Place, Aberdeen Terrace, Granville Park), which illustrate the developments that have taken place over the years, to Pagoda House, built in 1760, which survived when the original Montague House was demolished in 1815, was used as a summer house for the Earl of Cardigan and later by Caroline, Princess of Wales. It is now a private home. We continue to pass a variety of large 19th century architect designed buildings successively reconstructed to suit either changing fashions or to meet growing demands particularly for schools and flats. Blackheath Hospital for example includes two private 19th century houses. Lunch at Strada. The walk continues through the gated Cator Estate, considered the finest residential area in Blackheath in the 19th century, a quick look in at Morden College (almshouses in Wren style, founded in 1695), the magnificent crescent, The Paragon (7 blocks of housing), the pub where the first rugby team was selected in 1871, back past the common and down to the station.”
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23rd November 2017 | Lesley and Geoffrey Tregaskes | Covent Garden – its piazza, people, theatres and thespians In this walk of about 4 miles, we hope we can explore some of the little streets and alleyways around Covent Garden as well as having time to explore the piazza itself. Our walk will take us past many theatres and other places of interest. We will walk across the Thames on Hungerford Bridge and go through the only pub in London to be on both sides of one street, before stopping for coffee in St Martin’s-in the-Fields crypt. We shall then go up towards the Seven Dials via St Martin’s Lane and little alleyways, thence making our way to the Covent Garden piazza, where the old fruit and vegetable market is now populated by lots of individual traders inside, and generally street artists on the outside. We shall visit St Paul’s Church, known as the actors’ church, and lunch nearby. Depending on timing, people may want to explore the different stalls and areas of the old market building either before or after lunch. The walk will then continue along the south side of the piazza, past the London Transport Museum, into Bow Street and through to Drury Lane. Drury Lane leads us down to the Aldwych where we shall go through India Place and cross over by St Mary-le-Strand to Somerset House. Then we can stop for tea in the Courtauld Institute café. It may be that at the end of November the central area of Somerset House will have been turned into a skating rink, as in past years – but skating is not compulsory! Depending on the weather, which might be quite inclement, we can either take a bus back to Waterloo from the Strand side of Somerset House, or we can walk along the Strand and John Adam Street back to Charing Cross underground station and then Hungerford Bridge back to Waterloo.
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14th December 2017 | Allan and Diana Piggott |
“Catching the usual 09.17 train to Waterloo, we will then take the Drain to Bank as we have an 11.00 appointment. (Please remember to bring your railcard).
We plan to find many of the hidden livery company halls and maybe get a peek inside one or two (not guaranteed). The flat walk will be less than four miles, with lunch in a city hostelry.
In the afternoon we will return over the Millennium Bridge.
We will discover where the expression ‘at sixes and sevens ‘ originates. The answer lies in the precedence of the livery companies and a violent incident in 1484 during the Lord Mayor’s river procession.”
Please contact Allan Piggott on 01483 282411 or allan.piggott@btinternet.com Please note new date |