01/12/18 - London Countryway Stage 10 - Sunningdale to Windsor

Distance - 8 Miles
Start - Sunningdale
Finish - Windsor
Geocaches - 7
Pubs - Three Good Beer Guide Ticks in a Separate Blog
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9

The half way point of the London Countryway and it seems a good time to take stock.  Last December, I set off from Gravesend, vowing to make a monthly trip to the Smoke to knock off the individual stages.   I never expected that following a 30 year guide book would be so rewarding.   

It's exceeding both the Capital Ring and the London Loop - similar walking endeavours, encircling the capital. 

I've had the hop fields of Kent, Neolithic burial tombs, Medieval manor houses, the joy of walking the Greensands Way and North Downs Way through vineyards and the Surrey hills.   The paths have been excellent (and thankfully still there) and surprisingly, when you consider it's in the South East, a huge variety of wild terrain.   Woodland, vast expanses of common land, ancient sunken paths and  waterways.   Roads are rarely crossed, let alone walked.

It's the sheer variety of walking that make this route such a joy.

And today's leg adds something else, former Royal Hunting grounds, man made imitation Scottish Lochs and a little bit of Tripoli are tacked onto to the list.

Sunningdale Station is left behind to pick up the back alleys of this exclusive enclave of expensive housing.   All gated properties and when I cross a sports ground, of course its a Polo pitch.

The aim is Virginia Water - somewhere I've not walked before.  It was created to represent a Scottish Loch.  The man who commissioned it, the Duke of Cumberland, must have really enjoyed his involvement in the battle of Culloden Moor.   A battle so brutal it earned him the nickname "The Butcher" and forced a lot of 80s schoolchildren to watch documentaries on it.  I can still hear the voiceover repeating "severed below the knee".

Today, its a fine place for dog walking and Geocachers.

A first glimpse of Virginia Water

A notable Geocache is at Leptis Magna.  Unexpectedly, in a particularly leafy part of Berkshire, are the ruins of a Roman temple, stolen from Libya in the early 1800s.   English Imperialism at its finest.  For the Geocache, I have to collect the information from notice boards to find the treasure's location.

Plunder

Another Multi Cache available using information from the "Cascade"

After large spells of splendid isolation on the London Countryway, Great Windsor Park is packed with people enjoying the wood land and valley gardens.  Always something unexpected around the corner - whether its a Santa race or a 100 ft Totem Pole.

A gift from the Canada to the Queen in 1958.

The final highlight is the Copper Horse and the Long Walk.   I've been here before and its a hell of sight - although you do need better conditions than those experienced today to really appreciate it.  I have the horse to myself, making a lovely, if not slightly damp, stop off point for lunch.

Approaching from the South through the gloom

Mappiman's Lunch Spot

I'm not exactly sure how long the long walk is.   I'm tempted to describe it as "never ending".  It certainly feels it when you can see the entire route ahead in an unobstructed view of Windsor Castle and knowing that the Good Beer Guide pubs of Windsor (four for the thirsty) await at the end of the days walking.

Normally, my blogs end in the pub - but with this much work to do in Windsor, it's worthy of a separate entry.

Usually more handsome than this

Getting Closer

A last Windsor Glimpse before heading back to Waterloo

I'm half way through and I'm already excited as to what will be discovered in 2019.