Date: 6th June
Time:18:00
Where: The Plough, at the junction of Abinger Road and Wolvens Lane, Coldharbour, RH5 6HD
Designer: DT.
Pub: The Plough
Route:
The walk will start by going south east past Anstiebury Mound, then on to find the Roman Road, then will swing West and North to get to the tower on Leith Hill. We will then enjoy the glorious view. At that point the chance of a devious short cut may be too tempting for some, but anyone with a little more determination will want to continue north to get to Tilling Springs, before returning to Coldharbour.
Report:
The walk was accomplished last night by eight of us: Dawsoa, Mr Loveridge, Simon Barnes, Pete Forman, Zimms, Rob Russell, Ian Clement and Yours Truly.
A First, I think, in that seven of us were all there on time and waiting for Rob to arrive, when we heard the flapping of feet and Rob RAN around the corner and into sight. He only lives “A couple of miles away” so he ran to the start. The average level of fitness on this walk was very high, with seven of us contributing very little to it.
We started heading south from Coldharbour and those of us without waders were immediately soaked as the grass was long and the rain had just stopped. We got through the fields and found the Roman Road without problems, then continued south and west. Mr Ian Clement had to have the concept of a view explained to him, which is a concern. We saw some deer in the fields and plenty of pheasant and rabbits.
It had to be said that we were slightly competent. Nobody fell over a stile, or lost anything, or wandered off in the wrong direction, or went too quickly, or too slowly.
Eventually we got through some woods and could see the Leith Hill Tower, which we approached from the south. We took the direct route straight towards it, but Ian needed a rest near the top of the tree line. Fortunately there was a bench and a view.
At the top we took the opportunity of having a good faff. Some people wanted to go straight to the pub, as my efforts to sell them the idea of a couple more miles to see Tilling Springs were in vain. We headed off towards the pub, but at the last moment decided that we should continue on, so we turned north and wandered along the track to Tilling Springs, and even Zimms agreed that it was actually quite nice. Mr Loveridge took photos.
We headed back towards Coldharbour and the cars. Rob started to run home. Dry shoes were a pleasure to put on and the pub’s own beer was particularly good.
DT.
