Richmond Park and Windsor Great Park

Saturday 1st and 15th February 2025

In February 2024 I spent a day walking around the Royal Parks in central London and so when I discovered there were cheap train tickets available to London I decided I would return and look at some of the other Royal Parks, those further away from the centre of London that I had never been to before. My target at the beginning of February was Richmond Park so after a trip on the London Underground I arrived in the town of Richmond and immediately set off through the streets of the affluent district until I reached Cambrian Gate, which brought me into the park. Unfortunately the weather was not great for this walk with thick clouds and it was very cold so I was soon wrapping myself up in everything I could find in my rucksack as I slowly made my way along the busy path filled with runners, cyclists and other walkers. It was a bit of a challenge for me to weave through the crowds and with poor views across the vast, featureless grasslands I was not inspired by my first visit to Richmond Park. My route followed the Tamsin Trail around the edge of the park, but after passing Sheen Gate I came away from the crowds, to pass to the right of Adam’s Pond, but this just took me onto muddy grass so I soon returned to the surfaced path and followed it around the eastern edge of the park eventually leaving through Robin Hood Gate.

After crossing a busy road I entered Wimbledon Common, which is not a Royal Park, but reminds me of the children’s characters, the wombles, which live on Wimbledon Common and make use of the rubbish that others have left behind: an excellent way to live your life. I didn’t see any wombles, but the walking was much more interesting as it took me through woodland that was more varied than the parkland I had seen in Richmond, though the path was very muddy. After a while I checked when I needed to be back in Richmond to catch the train and I realised that it was a lot earlier than I had planned so I needed to cut short my intended route, which would have taken me through Putney Heath, and instead took a course through the common, avoiding golfists, that soon, despite missing a turning, brought me back on track. Eventually I was back at the point where I had entered the common and now re-entered Richmond Park to continue along the Tamsin Trail through more appealing scenery than I had seen earlier with more woodland as I slowly made my way around the park, eventually climbing a hill to reach Pembroke Lodge whose gardens were beautifully decorated with snowdrops and where I had murky views to the west.

The snowdrops and extensive views continued past King Henry VIII’s Mound and made up for my disappointments with the rest of the walk. Soon, I left the park through Richmond Gate, but the delights continued with the view west from Richmond Hill over a wide turn in the River Thames before I finally returned to the train station in Richmond. Two weeks later I was back in London and further out to Windsor where the impressive walls of the castle loomed over me as I headed south and soon joined the Long Walk, which stretches from the castle and into Windsor Great Park. The weather was no better now than it had been in Richmond Park, even a little worse with drizzle in the morning, so the views were worthless while planes coming into land at Heathrow airport passed overhead. Despite the poor weather and scenery I was enjoying the chance to get out and not be stuck indoors all day. My route, from the O.S. Maps app, took me off the avenue and across grassy fields eventually leading me onto better paths and finally onto roads through the park, until eventually I branched off along a muddy, grassy lane, actually Queen Anne’s Ride, that led me to a statue of the late Queen on horseback erected to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.

My proscribed route would have had me continuing beyond the statue, but I decided that I wanted to avoid the mud and keep to the tarmacked roads, however, if I had tried to continue I would have found my way barred as it is a private area, which I also found later when I tried to follow the route past Round Oak. Instead, I stayed on Duke’s Lane until I reached a track that is open to the public and took me through delightful woodland that brought me to Blacknest Gate where I turned back into the park and crossed Five-Arch Bridge across Virginia Water before branching into the Valley Gardens. These were pleasing for me to walk through even though there were no flowers, despite thick compost lying on the ground, and on the far side I passed the Canadian Totem Pole and turned north to pass the Savill Garden, the Cow Pond and Cumberland Lodge. Once again the private areas blocked my route and this time I was confused as Ordnance Survey Maps show the route of the Three Castles Path also going through the private area. I should have gone around, but instead I kept to my prescribed route even though this necessitated climbing over a tall gate at the end, which brought me to the foot of Snow Hill with the statue at the top to King George III that is called the Copper Horse. From this point the entire length of the Long Walk lay before me disappearing into the mist with Windsor Castle at the far end and so now all I needed to do was follow this all the long way back into Windsor. These were both enjoyable walks, despite the poor weather, and provided me with the chance to start my training for my ambitious plans this year.

Spring Walks

Last spring I did some walks in the Peak District with someone I used to work with and a couple of weeks after a walk around the Derwent Valley near Matlock we were back to do a walk I have done many times before ever since my first ever walking holiday in 1998 and most recently in 2020, straight after lockdown. I have many fond memories of walking through Lathkill Dale so I was eager to show its delights to my friend with the first treat being on the descent into Cales Dale, a short branch off Lathkill Dale, where early purple orchids decorated the steep path.

Once we were in Lathkill Dale the scenery through a narrow gorge was spectacular, though grey skies marred the scene, but the delights continued past the point where water was seemingly coming out of solid rock. Later, when woodland covered the valley floor, an abundance of wild flowers delighted me, including dog’s mercury, red campion and forget-me-not, but it was the bluebells that were most appealing to me.

I always walk around the Charnwood Forest at the beginning of May to see bluebells and last spring was no exception, but hot weather had forced the bluebells to go to seed by the time I was able to do the walk. The best display I saw was near the exit to the Outwoods, which are famous for their bluebells, but it was wild garlic that covered the woodland floor and was the highlight of the walk.

A week later I was walking on my own again and I decided that I would return to somewhere that I had previously visited in 2019 when exploring a part of Birmingham that had been the childhood home of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of “The Lord of the Rings”. I caught a train to Hall Green station and from there I headed to Sarehole Mill, which I have fond memories of exploring five years previously, so I was disappointed to discover that the museum was closed. Instead I set off along the route of a walk on the O.S. Maps app from Country Walking Magazine that follows the River Cole along a cow parsley lined path that was plagued with litter. At a ford I turned left to pass Tolkien’s childhood home and enter Moseley Bog, which was a fabulous place and I wandered carefree through the nature reserve including Joy’s Wood with no thought of where I was going. Although a small place, because I was completely lost and wandering aimlessly around, it seemed vast and intricate with varying landscapes from the wetland around the bog through the dappled shade of woodland to banks of wild garlic.

It was only when I referred to a map that the nature reserve suddenly felt much smaller and less fantastical. It is no wonder this place inspired Tolkien to create the woodlands found in “The Lord of the Rings”. The rest of the walk couldn’t hope to enthral me as much as Moseley Bog had as I crossed Swanshurst Park, around Moseley New Pool and onto Billesley Common. In Chinn Brook Nature Reserve I veered off the prescribed route to have a wander around and discovered banks of cow parsley and wild garlic, which I loved walking through and breathing in the rich smell.

At the far end of Chinn Brook Meadows I wandered around the Mill Pool of Trittiford Park where I had stunning views across the water in the sunshine before a slow walk through the Dingles beside the River Cole brought me back to Sarehole Mill. This was a great, though short walk, in warm weather through the Shire Country Park which was very relaxing for me, especially while walking past rich growths of wild flowers. I love walking in the spring, but it is always frustrating to find I am either too early or too late to see the displays at their best. Often they are already going to seed but if I am lucky I can find some late bloomers that provide me with a taste of what I could have seen if I had been there just a couple of days earlier.

By June woodlands are too dark for wild flowers to thrive and they have begun to set seed while meadows now take centre stage. Though not as dramatic as their woodland counterparts, there are still examples of meadow flowers that enthral me, most notably spotted-orchids. My friend and I took a walk through Monsal Dale and Chee Dale last June and I found a fabulous display of spotted-orchids beside the Monsal Trail that I loved to see, but with the fading of wild flowers then other scenes can grab your attention and when the sun is shining light up your life.