We had a brilliant walk into Chippenham this sunny morning with Diane showing her fellow Pewsham Belles her favourite walk into town from the Community Centre, avoiding the traffic. There are plenty of little hidden snicket ways to get out of Pewsham via the Turnpike and once the London Road is crossed over and you walk into Hardens Lane, the town is left behind completely. We then picked up the old railway path and after watching a family canoeing on the river we dropped down into Monkton Park for a welcome cuppa and bacon butties all round at the Tenth Hole Tea Room. Thank goodness we managed to find a fair amount of shade along the way! Then it was back to Pewsham Community Centre along Monkton Park into Long Close; across London Road into Cricketts Lane followed by Forest Lane and back to our starting point. It was a good four miler with very little traffic and surprisingly rural and green along the way. Here's a taster of our route and what we found; as you can see, there are some signs that autumn's on its way...
Here's the map of our route:
In Summary Start point: At Pewsham Community Centre Distance: About 4 miles Difficulty: Easy - mainly flat estate paths and roads, a quiet country lane, the old railway path (watch out for mud and cyclists!) and paved pathways in Monkton Park Walk time: Around 2 to 3 hours (allowing for canoe and river life spotting, cafe time and a slower time in the heat!) Cafe: The Tenth Hole Tea Room in Monkton Park (right by the pitch and putt and crazy golf courses) about two thirds of the way round. There is also the possibly of a pub stop at the Pack Horse towards the end or at the Old Lane at the end of the walk Map: See above Alternative variations: The walk can be extended slightly to include the whole of Monkton Park, possibly with a stop for a cuppa at any of the possibilities in the town centre instead of The Tenth Hole (though it does look like this cafe has the most extensive opening times of Chippenham's options, in the summer at least. Worth checking first during winter opening). Cafe Spero at the Elim Pentecostal Church in Wood Lane is another option, but has limited opening hours (Thursday and Friday, hours vary), though the cakes always look yummy on their Facebook page! If one of Chippenham's other cafes in town is chosen, then a walk back to Pewsham via the High Street and along Wood Lane to the Community Centre may be the preferred alternative route Members living on Pewsham or in Monkton Park may prefer to start their walk from home or group walkers may prefer to meet more centrally in town, and change their route and refreshment stops accordingly. Parking (if needed): - At Pewsham Community Centre - free, though avoid school dropping off/picking up times for starting the walk as parking is at a premium during these times; or in one of the central car parks - Emery Gate or Bath Road - if starting in town