walkerSOUTH EAST No. 115 September 2021 Love Your Loop - celebrating 20 years of the London Loop he first Love Your Loop festival manifesto commitment. Rainham Marshes with a chance to visit the close to many historic sites and buildings. The takes place throughout September We're delighted that the festival has met with RSPB reserve there. start and finish of all sections are accessible by Tto celebrate 20 years of London's such enthusiasm from Ramblers groups in both We are using the festival as an opportunity public transport. iconic London Outer Orbital Path, the Inner and Outer London already, and we're to build relationships with other organisations Clare Wadd London Loop for short. grateful for the support of all the groups and with an interest in the Loop and hope to Chair, Inner London Area The festival is intended to celebrate this Areas. At the time of writing, over 20 walks add some of their activities to the festival brilliant walking route, and to promote it to a from more than 10 different Ramblers groups programme. Details of the events can be found wider audience of the public and stakeholders, including landowners, park friends' groups have been added to the festival programme, at https://innerlondonramblers.org.uk. and local councillors. We also hope to use with more in the pipeline. The walks range The London Loop is mostly flat or gently the festival to bring pressure to bear on City from four to 11 miles and include circular sloping and stretches for 150 miles around Hall, Transport for London and the boroughs walks which incorporate part of the Loop, the outer edge of London. It passes through to continue to maintain and improve the route alongside complete route sections. The festival beautiful open spaces such as Hainault Forest in line with the Mayor of London's 2021 also includes a London Strollers walk around Country Park and Bushy Park, as well as passing Wealdway 40th anniversary Living with HS2 he Wealdway offers 82 other ways to improve and Coast Path in Kent and the he route of HS2, the high-speed railway HS2 is ramping up its activities with a lot of being built from London to Birmingham enabling work going on. Path closures have largely miles of fine walking promote the Wealdway, which Saxon Shore Way. The order and the north of England, crosses the been short-lived, or have come with diversions, from Gravesend to is perhaps not as well-known in which they get published will T T length of the Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes but the signing of such diversions is often poor, Eastbourne, crossing not just and used as it deserves to be. depend on progress dealing with and West Middlesex Area's territory and causes More and more fencing is appearing including the well-preserved medieval The waymarking of the route landowner objections to parts the Ramblers and other organisations much the fencing-in of all affected paths. We have taken landscape of the High Weald across Ashdown Forest has long of the Coast Path and possible concern in our attempts to defend the path HS2 to task about poorly placed signage for closed network and to enable people to understand but also the North and South been in need of refreshment, realignments of the Saxon paths but generally, access remains relatively good. where they can walk and when. One change on the cards is that whereas we had four Downs, the Greensand Because of constraints imposed Shore Way to take advantage Rob Jones-Owen of Hillingdon and District footpaths crossing points on the Stoke Mandeville/ Ridge and a good stretch of by the forest conservators, of new access provided Group writes: There have been significant Stone with Bishopstone/Aylesbury border, all within the Medway valley. After instead of using conventional as part of the Coast Path. disruptions to the path network in the London just over one mile, we have been consulted on nearly a decade of work by posts and waymarks, the route The work described here Borough of Hillingdon since the HS2 project reducing the crossing points to three by merging the was given the go-ahead some years ago. There middle two, roughly equidistantly. This is because Kent and Sussex Ramblers was marked by short oak posts and also Kent Ramblers' was petitioning to Parliament by local residents to and the Meopham Footpaths with grooves in the end-grain contribution to the cost of the there is now going to be a South East Aylesbury ensure the necessary footpath diversions would be Link Road running next to HS2, and more housing. Group, it was opened in being particularly weathered. new fingerpost at the junction reasonable and well signed. Assurances were given For safety reasons, Buckinghamshire Highways September 1981 at Camp We are working with Sussex of the Vanguard Way and the by HS2 at those select committee sessions. wants the crossing points of the road to be near Hill on Ashdown Forest. Ramblers to agree and install Eden Valley Walk (see page 2) At first local walkers were encouraged by the the roundabouts of which there are three. Having nature of the signposts used. The posts were fixed, To celebrate the Wealdway's appropriate replacements. is funded by sales of our current considered the implications we are in agreement the number of the footpath was shown and the on this although it is a shame that we should lose a 40th anniversary this year, When the Wealdway was walking guides (see www. diversion was clearly marked. Sadly, this encouraging Ramblers' groups in Kent and created, information boards kentramblers.org.uk/books). crossing point when we had to fight to get as many as standard has not been maintained. In the summer we did. Meanwhile, the Chiltern Society has erected Sussex, led by an enthusiastic were installed in Eastbourne, Robert Peel of 2020, Ruislip and Ickenham residents were sent signs on the diversion of the Chiltern Heritage Trail team in Tonbridge & Malling Gravesend and Tonbridge. Secretary, Kent Area an HS2 newsletter that identified two particular where it crosses the line of HS2 in Great Missenden. closures and diversions, one across the Ruislip Group, have put together a series We are not sure whether the For such a major project it is disappointing golf course and the other close to Bayhurst Wood. that there is no single map view of the changes of walks and a brief ceremony first of these survives - perhaps Residents were again assured that there would be is planned close to Tonbridge some observant reader could suitable signposting to ensure walkers would be able in place. It is difficult when planning a walk in the affected area to see what is open, diverted or Castle on the morning of tell us - but the others have to follow the diversions but this did not happen. The path across the golf course was certainly shown closed. It requires consulting the detail in many Sunday 26 September. We have seen better days so we are items on a long list of path closures. The path a dedicated web page with full investigating the possibility to be closed but anyone wishing to find a diversion would look in vain. Fortunately, Richard Kane, rights closures for HS2 construction in Bucks are listed details at www.kentramblers. of installing replacements. of way manager at Hillingdon council, was able to at https://bit.ly/2T9fKX3. Please report any org.uk/wealdway40 and we There have been at least intervene with the relevant contractors and eventually problems encountered to Buckinghamshire Council. look forward to welcoming three printed guides to the signs were put in place in February this year for the Ramblers members and Wealdway over the years but golf course path, and a little later for the path close to potential new members none is currently in print and Bayhurst wood. Unfortunately, the signs are not on posts and are of a temporary nature and can be blown on the anniversary walks. we have begun work on a new One of the short oak posts used to over or removed. As some of the paths will be closed for The anniversary has one alongside other guides to indicate the route of the Wealdway in many years, one would have thought that funds could prompted us to think about further sections of the England Ashdown Forest. Photo: Robert Peel be found to put in place more permanent signage. Roy Johnson of Aylesbury and District Group writes: Confusing signs at Denham Golf Club. Photo: Rob Owen-Jones 2 South East Walker September 2021 New sign for Vanguard Way smart new fingerpost for the Vanguard Way was A unveiled on 26 May at Cernes Farm, near Starborough in Surrey. It lies at the 22-mile point, exactly one-third of the way along the Croydon to Newhaven route, and marks its junction with the 15-mile Eden Valley Walk, which starts here. The post also carries fingers for the Tandridge Border Path, which passes this point. The cost was jointly funded by the Vanguards and Kent Ramblers, manufactured in oak by the Resourceful Wood Company of Selsey, West Sussex, and dug in by David and Emma Huxtable of Cernes Farm. In view of the uncertain Covid situation, the launch of a Vanguard Way Association (see SEW 114) has been postponed until spring 2022. Colin Saunders Members of the Vanguards Rambling Club gather around the new fingerpost, with farmer David Huxtable on the right. Photo: Alan Smith Woodley walks launched Pewley Down ot on the heels of designing Walks the Thames Path and parts of south Around Earley (launched at the end Oxfordshire.