Details about our hike in the Spanish Pyrenees.
Read MoreMy Doorstep Walk - Witney & Crawley loop
Fitness level: Beginner
Distance: 8Km
Elevation gain: 65m
Lowest to highest elevation: 23m
What is a doorstep walk?
I think everyone should have a doorstep walk.
A doorstep walk, is a walk that you can do, from your doorstep. Or at least something close to your house.
This could be the route you take walking your dog, or just a nearby park.
Maybe you live close to the beach, and can drive and park in the public car park, and do a little loop.
It shouldnt matter if you live in the country, or in a city. There must be a nice little route you can take.
Sometimes, you can incorporate a quick stop at the shop in with your walk.
Now, I'm lucky enough to live in oxfordshire, on the edge of the cotswolds.
Witney is a lovely little town first made famous for its woolen blanket factories. With the river Windrush as the power source for all the mills, it was a hive of industry in the area.
The factories have all now gone, and some of the old industrial buildings are now up market apartments The river still remains, and is the focal point of the town, and of my walk.
THE WALK
We start our walk at the old 'Bathing Place'. (This can be found just off the A4195 - at the end of Loom lane)
A Video of the walk can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXmm-G78vbg
Map of walk
( http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9868762.New_lease_of_life_for_bathing_place/ )This is on the edge of where the 'Jacobs mill' used to be, and where the mill workers used to swim in the river. This dates back to the early 1900s, and has since been restored.
A great place to have a peacefull picnic, and there are a few benches.
Following the river, on your right, you walk along the flood plain, that can be wet in the rainy season.
You will pass the Audley travel agents just over the river. this used to be a mill , and you can still see where the water wheel used to be.
River Windrush floodplain
Just after the travel agents, you can make your way left, away from the river, towards a gate, and turnstile. stay straight, going up the hill, where you will cross a road. go over, and into a small field.
cross this to another turnstile, into a wooded area. Be careful going down through the woods, as it is steep, and can be wet and slippery, with exposed tree roots.
At the bottom of the hill, go left into a turnstile, and follow the path. to your right, you will see a restricted wildlife area, which is great to look out for birds.
follow the path through a few fields, with a farm house on the hill to your left. (Hill Grove Farm).
Just past the farm, through a turnstile , you will meet up with the river, to you right. Walk along the hedgerow to your left, over another turnstile.
The next open meadow, is a great place to have a picnic, especially in the summer. you can keep an eye out into the woods on the opposite bank, for some water voles, and birds.
on the oppositeend of the meadow, is another turnstile, taking you into another wooded area. This area can be quite muddy too, if its been rainy. the woods open up to the river , and a small foot bridge. Cross the river here. This is also a popular place for a hot summers day swim.
A turnstile just after the bridge, will give you a view of the Minster Lovell ruins. (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/minster-lovell-hall-and-dovecote/ ) Its here that you can go straight, to the ruins. this is also a populate picnic place, and swimming area.
The house was built in the early 1400s, and subsequently abandoned and demolished in the mid 1700s.
(http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/minster-lovell-hall-and-dovecote/history/)
St Kenelm's church is also on the grounds, ans well as the iconic dovecote.
After a walk around the ruins, head back out through the iron turnstile, and this time head left, to the opposite end of the field, towards the middle of a hedgerow. (if you're at the road, you have gone too far left) there is another turnstile, here, and you will follow a narrow path, with a wire fence to the right, and an old stone wall to your left.
the narrow path ends at a a turnstile, and joins a farm track. follow this track up hill, between the trees.
CRAWLEY VILLAGE
As you get to the top of the hill, you will see the valley view open up to your right. and a few houses on your left. This is the village of Crawley. Follwo the road right, and past some beautiful cotswold cottages overlooking the valley. follow the road down into the center of the village.
At the crossroads, you will need to turn right, but not before you pop into the pub, for a well deserved drink. (https://brakspear.co.uk/pub-finder/lamb-inn/)
After a stop at the pub, continue down the road, turning right, from where you came. keep to the right, on the straight road, towards the bridge, and traffic lights ahead.
Cross the bridge, and pass the small industrial units to your right. Just past this you will see a small gate to your left, with a 'foot path' sign. turn into the woods here. follow the wooded path unto you get to another turnstile. This is , you will notice, where your path from earlier, will cross. you can now either turn left, and follow the path back from where you came, or go straight, and follow the path along the hedgerow.
This will lead you back to the bathing place, and your starting point. This hedgerow, is also a great place to find blackberries, and sloes (in the autumn).
Some sloes we picked in autumn 2017 for Sloe-Gin
And that brings us back to where we started.
This is a very easy leisurely walk for all ages, with a fairly flat profile.
This shouldn't take more than 3 hours, even with a quick stop at the pub :)
Boesmanskloof Hiking Trail - South Africa
Fitness level: Moderate
Distance: 20Km
Elevation gain: 913m
Lowest to highest elevation: 465m
SOUTH AFRICA.
growing up in south africa is a great thing.
The diverse cultures, the landscape, and the weather are all beautiful.
When I moved the the UK, and met Claire, I always had difficulty explaining just what its like being in SA.
The small nuances, like the difference between "now", "now-now", and "just now" (hint, none of these mean immediately).
The really sums up the general attitute in SA. Things will get done, but seldom need doing this instant.
You might think this is lazy, or inefficient, but with stress levels reduced, things get done right.
Now, I'm not here to explain the South African work ethic.
I'm here to talk about the beautiful, and mesmerising landscape, and getting out there, to see these views first hand.
Taking Claire to SA, was the best way for me to explain just how unique the little tip of a continent can really be.
So, it has to be said that our 2 weeks in SA wasn't all walks and hikes, we had to cram a lot into the 2 short weeks.
I've lived in many parts of SA, and I've made many life long friends, all of whom demand of you to 'pull in' and have a 'braai' when you pass by.
Unfortunaltely, we couldn't stop everywhere (Sorry Simon in Plett. next time bro, I promise).
OUR TRIP
Our trip started in Johannesburg, when we landed. A lovely sunny, early summer day in November. Temperature at around 32 degrees.
We hired a car, for the 2.200km drive.
Our first stop was near Thabazimbi, where I grew up. We spent 2 nights in a private game reserve a stones throw from the platinum mine that I called home for so many years.
Next stop was really just an overnight stop at a small B&B on our way to the coast. The Gariep Dam, was a natural halfway stop between the north, and the coast. and the views over the dam were immense. (Even in a drought, and the dam almost half empty, its massive.)
Next was Port Elizabeth, and the garden route, throught Knysna.
GREYTON
OK, I don't want to ramble on about our holiday too much, but this is where we finally made it to Greyton - the starting point to our walk for this post.
Greyton holds a special place in my heart. Not only is it a lovely little town, Stuck in time. (most of the roads are still gravel, since they were created in the early 1800s). This little town was my home for 1 year. I went to the little boarding school, on the hillside. For just 1 year when I was 8. (We moved to Thabazimbi after that.)
You might be thinking, "how does living in a town for 1 year make such an impression?". Well, the mountain does that to you.
I remember sitting on that hillside, looking up at that mountain, and making a promise to myself that one day, I would climb that hill.
To my delight, when we arrived in this little town, it looked exactly the same.
The school was still there, but the boarding house part was now an 'Eco hostel'. (https://ecolodgegreyton.co.za/)
My old school's rugby pitch.
We checked in at the Old Potter's Inn (which is now a brewhouse too) http://www.greytontourism.com/accommodation/old-potters-inn/ , and had a lovely dinner next door in the 1854 Restaurant.
Claire said this was the best starter she's ever had in her life.... (it was springbok carpaccio... in case you're wondering)
(http://1854.weebly.com/)
Best Starter ever!
PLANNING THE WALK.
We settled in fairly early after planning our walk and having a few brandies, and good SA wine.
The next morning, we set off. But not before having a hearty fried breakfast at the oak & vigne cafe (http://www.greytontourism.com/restaurant/the-oak-vigne-greyton/ )
Now, before you set off on your walk, you will need a permit from Cape Nature. (http://www.capenature.co.za/permits/?permit_type=hiking)
Since it can be quite a demanding walk, its good for the authorities to know who is on the mountain.
Its better to book early, but if you have left it late, go to the greyton tourism office (on Main road).
The Boesmanskloof (bush man's mountain pass), is a mountain pass between the towns of Greyton and McGregor.
The pass dives through the Riviersonderend mountain that forms part of the Overberg area.
(Riviersonderend translates as "River without an end").
There is a famous story that they were going to build a road through the pass, but the person charged with planning it, ran away with the money.
Im not sure how true this is, but it makes for some interesting stories none the less.
The distance from the greyton side, and the McGregor side of the pass is 14km, but with quite a bit of elevation difference.
The suggested route to take, is to do a 'there and back' , with an overnight stay at "De Galg" before returning.
Alternatively book a taxi or friend to pick you up on the De Galg side, to take you back.
Our predicament was that we only had the one night stay in greyton and needed to arrive in Cape town that night.
So, we decided that we would walk to Oake's Falls, and then head back.
This would be a total of 20Km. Which is manageable for a day hike.
I have to thank the manager at the Old Potter's Inn.
She graciously let us keep our room until we got back from the hike, to shower, and pack up before driving to Cape Town.
This was fantastic, because we needed a little break after quite a strenuous walk.
THE WALK
We set off from the B&B after giving Pebbles the cat a quick pet. (and inspecting the strange wooden horse in the back.)
Pebbles the cat.
A quick stop at the local general traders for some supplies. (AG Osman & sons)
Some bread rolls, ham, cheese, potato crisps and a few cans of soft drink.
Interestingly the store had a big tank of purified water to 'fill your own'.... which I think is great... we don't need more plastic littering the reserve.
At 9:30am, with supplies bagged, and trusty Garmin GPS watch tracking, we headed out to the edge of town, to the start of the trail.
We passed a small group of, what looked like high school girls, coming back from a hike. Im not sure where they went, but it looked like they were nearing the end of their walk. which made me worry that we might be setting off a bit late.
As I usually do, I took a picture of the trail map at the start, before heading for the hills. (this isn't the only trail on the mountain pass)
Start of the Trail
The first 2km of the trail were easy. the white pebbly river looked great in contrast to the dirty brown water.
(as a side note, the water is super clean spring water, its just tainted brownish red from the plants in the area.)
The climb from there on out, is quite harse. the day was heating up quite a bit.
I believe it was pushing 30-34 degrees that day, with little to no wind.
Always time for a selfie.
The path follows quite a few switchbacks in the trail as you ascend, which hides and then reveals some breathtaking views of an ever shrinking greyton town.
It is a bit of a struggle getting up that first few km's of steep incline, and we glad to have brought our hiking boots.
our first stop was at 'Breakfast rock' which is a great lookout point, and the highest point of our walk. (the McGregor side, is slightly higher), and time to rest up, ready for the next leg.
This point, is the halfway mark, if you were going all the way to McGregor. which to us, meant we were getting close to our halfway mark (and lunch) at Oakes Falls.
Breakfast Rock.
The next 2 km are a fairly easy going, slightly downhill walk. but, best be careful, the loose and flat shale rock, make for some unsteady descent.
Just as we arrived at Oakes falls, we passed a group of high school boys this time, carrying big backpacks. I guessed this was the 'back to greyton' leg of their 2 day hike.
Its good to know that this walk is so well used.
The falls were a welcome sight, and we sat down for a nice picnic. and of course... a little swim in the pool under the falls.
Oakes Falls.
WATER ISSUES
At this point I would like to fully disclose that we realised that we hadn't brought enough water.
I believe we packed about 3 litres of water. (and 2 cans of soda), but we were almost dry by the time we got to the falls.
We totally underestimated how much water we would need, and it was a difficult decision time.
Swimming at Oakes Falls.
We agreed that there would be enough water left for one of us. and so I said I would fill my water bottle from the falls.
Theoretically since this is a spring, it should be safe to drink.
Also, as we are high up, there would be no towns upstream, to 'dirty' the water.
But even with all that, its still a massive risk to drink un treated water from an unknown source.
So,we put all the water into one bottle, and I filled my empty bottle directly from the falls. that way, if I get ill, it is only me, and Claire could still drive to cape town.
(Moral of the story.... always pack more water than you think you will need).
GETTING BACK
After a good swim,and cool down, we started our return leg.
Again, the loose shale rocks proved to be even more difficult on the way back up, but we pressed on. We were both quite tired by now, and since we had already seen all the sights, this was just an exercise in getting back.
Our conversation also became less, as we pressed on. The worry of water still on our minds.
Breakfast rock was a welcome sight, because we knew that its a straight shot downhill all the rest of the way.
the rest of the walk was good. the switchbacks that showed Greyton getting smaller with each turn, were now showing our destination get ever closer. This spurred us on, and we tried to hurry along a little.
It was nearing 5pm with the sun casting long shadows by the time we got back into town. With no water remaining, we went straight to the shop. Some much needed water and sugar, in the form of a few cans of schweppes granadilla twist (passion fruit).
It may have been the thirst speaking, but Claire maintains that this was the best soft drink she's ever had. (best drink, and best food... Greyton is proving popular).
Arriving back at the B&B , Claire and I had a little rest, showered , packed and headed out for the quick 2 hour drive to cape town.
CONCLUSION
The walk can be quite hard in parts, but worthwhile and rewarding. My recommendations are that you pack more water than you think you might need (especially if its hot), and wear sensible shoes (suggest hiking boots). the terrain can be rough, and some sections can be loose and slippery.
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Walking
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