Briefing Notes, 3/9/2016
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Winchester District Outing to Newbury and the Kennet Valley, Saturday 17th September 1016: Briefing Notes, 3/9/2016 Starting out from Winchester to Beenham: 30 miles, allow one hour. There are, of course, many ways of getting to Beenham: one is to proceed up the A34 as far as Whitchurch, turn off onto the B3400 for Whitchurch and on to Overton, where you turn left onto the B3051 for Kingsclere and continue towards Baughurst and Tadley. At Baughurst you join the A340, taking the second exit on the roundabout, and head towards Aldermaston and Reading. After about 5 miles you join the A4, where you take the third exit, for the A4 towards Reading. After about half a mile the road becomes a dual carriageway, and almost at once – opposite the Comfort Hotel – you turn left for Beenham. Halfway to the village there is a hard left bend followed by a hard right bend. As you come into the village there is a mini-roundabout, where you turn left. Just follow the road round – it makes no difference whether you stay on the main road – Back Lane – or cut through via Stoneyfield (on your left) – you will see the School on your right. You turn left before you reach the school, onto the narrow road towards St Mary’s Farm, and, just beyond, the church. Beenham: 09:15-10:00 a.m . 6 bells, Ground floor ring, tenor 9¾ cwt St Mary’s Church is in Church Lane, Beenham: Church Lane is opposite the School: its post code for SatNavs is RG7 5NN, its OS National Grid reference for map users or GPS devices is SU 590684. To park, just go past the church and there is a field for church users – opposite the south side of the church. Leaving Beenham for Bucklebury, ensure you turn left out of Church Lane, continue through the village, and at the T-junction turn left towards Chapel Row. At Chapel Row there is a fork in the road – left towards Upper Bucklebury, right towards Bucklebury – our next destination. Distance 3.6 miles, ten minutes should suffice. Bucklebury: 10:15-11.00 a.m. 8 bells, 13 cwt St Mary’s Church is in the centre of Bucklebury village, just past The Old Vicarage, on the right: its post code for SatNavs is RG7 6PR, its OS National Grid reference for map users or GPS devices is SU 552708. Just past the church, on the right, is a village hall with an extensive tarmac parking area. Leaving Bucklebury, continue westwards out of the village and turn left into Briff Lane – towards Upper Bucklebury. There is a fork in the road, with a little island. Keep right, and after about a quarter of a mile cross over Broad Lane into Harts Hill Road. This takes you all the way into Thatcham. You approach the main road (London Road) from the north, so you turn right. London Road becomes Chapel Street, and you turn left into Broadway, and follow the road round to the right, into Church Gate. St Mary’s Church is on the right, set well back from the road. Failing that first left turn, if you continue along Chapel Street/Bath Road you can turn left into Green Lane and left again into Church Gate. The distance is less than 4 miles from Bucklebury, and about ten minutes should suffice. Thatcham: 11:15 a.m-12:15 p.m. 10 bells, 13¼ cwt St Mary’s Church is on Church Green, parallel to and south of the main road – the A4 – through Thatcham. Its post code for SatNavs is RG19 3PN, its OS National Grid reference for map users or GPS devices is SU 516672. There is a small car park in the centre of Thatcham from which you can walk, but there should also be adequate on-street parking on/near Church Green. L U N C H – at the Sun in the Woods, Ashmore Green: 12:30-2:00 p.m. Leaving Thatcham, continue along the Bath Road for just over a mile from the junction with the Broadway. At the roundabout, go straight ahead, into Turnpike Road. Continue over three mini-roundabouts (the first two in rapid succession, the third is with a junction to the left – Avon Way), and turn right at the fourth, into Stoney Lane. The Sun in the Wood is in wooded countryside, on the left, about 1.1 miles from the junction on Turnpike Road. There is plenty of parking. You should aim to leave half an hour to reach St Nicolas’, Newbury, a distance of about 4 miles – but it is Saturday afternoon. Come back down Stoney Lane, turn right into Turnpike Road which becomes Kiln Road. Turn left onto Shaw Road (B4009) and take the second exit at the next roundabout, onto the main A339, a dual carriageway. Turn right at the next roundabout into Bear Lane, which becomes Cheap Street. Follow that round, where it swings to the right and becomes Market Street. Go over a mini-roundabout, and the road swings to the left, becoming Bartholomew Street. At the next mini-roundabout turn right into Craven Road, then take the first right into Oddfellows Road. Go all the way up Oddfellows Road, turn right into West Mills, and directly in front of you is the Church. Newbury: 2:30-3.30 p.m. 10 bells, 21½ cwt St Nicolas’ Church is at the end of a cul-de-sac, West Mills. Its post code for SatNavs is RG14 5HG, its OS National Grid reference for map users or GPS devices is SU 470671. Parking is not going to be that easy: there is on-street parking, both free, 1hr, or paid, by meter, £1/1 hour. As for the bells, they go nicely, don’t sound great. Leaving Newbury, retrace your route to arrive, get back onto the A339 heading north, and at the roundabout swing round to your left, onto the Western Avenue. This becomes the Bath Road. Carry on for about five miles, then look out for a turning to the left to Kintbury. Start looking carefully once you’ve passed the Halfway public house on your right. Cross over a level crossing, the road swings round to the right, and Church Street is third on your right past the level crossing (after Mill Bank and Forge Close). The total distance is eight miles and I have allowed 20 minutes. Kintbury: 3.50-4.35 St Mary the Virgin: 8 bells, 12¾ cwt SMV is halfway along a longish cul-de-sac, Church Street, with a fair amount of unrestricted on-street parking. Its post code for SatNavs is RG17 9TR, its OS National Grid reference for map users or GPS devices is SU 383670. Be aware, these bells are seriously noisy. Our final tower is in Hungerford, and the six miles there should take no more than 15 minutes: but I’ve allowed time for people to have afternoon tea or coffee, with the start time at Hungerford at 5.40. In Kintbury you have Chocochoux at No 1 Thatcher’s Yard (chocochoux.co.uk), which is on the High Street directly after the junction with Church Street. In Hungerford there is the Tutti Pole (thetuttipole.co.uk) at No. 3 High Street, quite close to the Kennet and Avon Canal and therefore about a quarter of a mile from the church. There is also the Eliane Café at 2-3 the Courtyard, 24 High Street (01488 686100), and Café Delice at 16 High Street (01635 867229). I should say, I haven’t checked these out. To reach the Church, turn left off the Bath Road at the roundabout into Charnham Street, which is still the A4, Bridge Street, then at the mini-roundabout take the first exit onto the A338, Bridge Street. Carry on until you’ve gone under the railway bridge, then turn right into Church Street, at the mini-roundabout. Continue for about a quarter of a mile, then turn right into Parsonage Street. Hungerford: 5.40-6.30 p.m. St Lawrence: 8 bells, 12 ¼ cwt St Lawrence’s Church is 200 yards along Parsonage Street on the left, just as the road bends round to the right. Its post code for SatNavs is RG17 0JB, its OS National Grid reference for map users or GPS devices is SU 334687. There is parking on the street; I gather the ringers park in the Surgery car park on practice nights. The Surgery is in the Croft, which is just along Parsonage Street, past the Church and to the right. Afterwards. Winchester is 33 miles and 45 minutes from Hungerford: you reach the junction with the Newbury By-Pass before you get caught up in Newbury. So you can be back home by 7.30; alternatively if you wish to make an evening of it, the John o’Gaunt, 21 Bridge Street, the Hungerford Arms, 113 High Street or the Sun Inn, 36 Charnham Street, Hungerford, all have a favourable ratio of good reviews on TripAdvisor, or there is the Dundas Arms in Kintbury (which you passed on your left after turning off the A4), which features in the Good Pub Guide. And Finally … Please can you be sure to let Jenny Watson ([email protected], or ’phone 01962 808167) know of your choices for the Pub Lunch by Sunday 11th September; and Please can you bring along donations for each of the towers. £1.00 per tower should suffice. Looking forward to seeing you on the day.