Robust Rambles

Section 40 Return

Aldermaston to Silchester

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

With The Hind’s Head pub on your right, walk down the road away from the road junction towards a school (a sign is visible). Soon pass the school on your right and continue along the road for 50 metres.

Turn left off the road over a stile by a metal fieldgate into a small pasture. Go up by a fence on your left to a further gate and stile and continue to a third.

Over this stile turn diagonally right to cross the centre of the field towards the far opposite corner. Just short of the corner, cross a stile on your left and go over to a further stile and footbridge. Cross the centre of the field beyond.

At the far side cross a footbridge and reach an old farm track. Turn left on this, now rather overgrown, and continue gradually uphill by fields for some way.

At the top of the rise enter a wood. At a Y-fork bear left to soon reach a metal fieldgate by logs. Go straight on on a wide gravel track. At a junction by a pond, go straight ahead passing the pond on your left.

At the next metal fieldgate pass through a kissing gate to a gravel track. Cross this and a ditch beyond to continue on a path into trees. Keep along for ¼ mile (very wet in places). Emerge through a metal fieldgate onto a road. Cross to a path opposite and continue between fences to a busy road.

Turn right along the road, past a gate to a government research establishment, down to a major road junction. Here turn left along a main road. Cross to the other side where a belt of trees and grass runs along between the main road on the left and a line of houses on your right. Keep up this grassy way for nearly ½ mile.

Eventually reach a crossroads at Almswood Road where the houses begin to swing away to the right. Here bear left up to the main road and turn right along the pavement to a traffic light junction. Use the lights to cross to the far side and turn right a few paces then left into a byway called Falcon Fields. Walk directly away from the main road onto a concrete track which soon becomes grass between hedges with fields on your right.

Pass an isolated house surrounded by vehicles and continue to a road junction. Go straight across. In 100 metres the road bears left into an estate of mobile homes. Here turn right between trees.

Immediately turn left on a path going along by a wooden fence on your left, parallel with a road and passing the mobile homes. At the very end continue straight on into a wood between white topped posts. Soon reach a wide gravel byway. Turn left on it.

In 10 metres bear right on a high footpath. Drop down steps to a tarmac drive and turn right. Soon pass a house entrance and continue on an enclosed grassy path through trees. Go through woods for some way to a T-junction of paths. Turn right downhill. Ignore all paths to the left and right and keep downhill.

At the bottom of the slope reach and walk along a boardwalk. At the far side climb up to the edge of the wood and bear right on an enclosed path by a field on your left (It was intended to use a path across this field but there is no trace of this and much development at the far side.). The path leads to a rough drive and this continues to a main road. There is no alternative to turning left on this for nearly ½ mile passing The Pelican pub as you go.

Eventually pass the last house on your right and reach Impstone Road. Cross to a footpath into woods and heathland.

Follow this lightly gravelled path across the heath for ¼ mile. Ignore all paths off to your right. Eventually reach an open grassy space with a house beyond. Here turn left to a fieldgate and equestrian gate. Go through to soon cross a drive.

Continue to pass under power lines. From now on simply continue forward on the gravelled path with power line poles on your left. Pass houses on your right and their entrance drives (also gravelled) and finally emerge onto a green with the Calleva Arms ahead and the start of the section in Silchester.