24/02/13 Alexandra Palace to Hyde Park

Alexandra Palace to Hyde Park, London (Andrea, Derek, Mark, Peter, Tony)

We chose a very cold day for this walk but we soon warmed up as we ascended the hill at Alexandra Palace and on to Highgate Wood. The route then winds through some suburban roads before entering Hampstead Heath at Kenwood where we gained some excellent views across the London skyline. We followed the lower path besides the lakes and exited the heath close to the south west corner not far from Hampstead Heath overground station. Polly's Cafe was a fine half way point to stop off for lunch before heading up hill to Belsize before re-entering the parks at Primrose Hill. We gained some good views of the skyline again then crossed the canal at London Zoo into Regents Park. Our busiest section of the walk was along Baker Street, leading into the very busy Oxford Street before finishing at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park.

Distance: approx 8.5 miles

Above: Peter, Derek, Andrea and Mark in Regents Park

Sunday Feb 24th - London Walk Update

A quick update on the London walk..

We will start this year's London walk at Alexandra Park overground railway station. The walk will take us to Hampstead Heath, on to Primrose Hill, Regents Park, Hyde Park before finishing at the Serpentine. The total distance is roughly 8.5 miles, mostly easy, flat walking with a few moderate hills. No special gear needed, just comfy footwear.

The plan is to meet at the station at 11am and I think some of us can travel in together, I'll be in touch if I know you're coming. The First Capital Connect service from St.Albans (9.45am) and the 10.03am from Stevenage on the Cambridge line arrives in under an hour.

There's a footbridge over Alexandra Park station to the park side - we'll meet on the park side of the bridge. Remember to keep your mobile handy in case we need to get in touch when we arrive. At the end of the walk we'll be a short distance from Hyde Park Corner underground station. 

I think we'll be about half way near Belsize Park where there's plenty of places to get lunch.

If you think you might come and haven't let me know please drop me a line!

Walking Weekend 2013

Hello and happy new year!

Another year is here already and it's a great time to think about doing some more walks. With the summer I've been planning this year's walking weekend and for next month I'm arranging another London walk. I hope you can make both!

WALKING WEEKEND 2013

This year we're taking on one of the most spectacular sections of coast path in Britain - Lynton to Combe Martin in the Exmoor National Park. Our walk will start in Lynton where we'll head west along the remote north coast of Devon, weaving in and out of coastal valleys, climbing to cliffs several hundred feet above the sea. The challenging route passes Castle Rock and the Valley of Rocks allows us a chance to recharge at the Hunters Inn half way. They will be a chance to end your walk here return to base or you can push into the second half of the walk past Heddon's Mouth and the breathtaking Hangman Point. The total distance of the walk is approx 13 miles or around 6 miles for the 'half' walk to Hunter's Inn. At our destination we'll embark on plenty of refreshments before arranging transport back to our accommodation.

The dates for this year's walk is Saturday 6th July and as usual we'll arrange car sharing on Friday morning, returning after two nights on Sunday 7th (remember to book the Friday off work!). Weather and by-law permitting I'm hoping we can do a barbecue on the beach one of the evenings.

I've yet to arrange any accommodation but there's plenty of places we can stay in Lynton (or Lynmouth in the valley below). There's a YHA in the moors around 25 minutes from the coast but seeing as this is a coastal walk this year we might not stay at a YHA. As always though the emphasis will be on value for money. If you know Lynton/Lynmouth and know some good, affordable accommodation please let me know. 

I really hope you can come this year, if you think you might come along let me know and I'll keep you updated with information on accommodation and things.

Here's a bit more info on the NT site if you're interested:- http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/walksdb/138/