Oranges and Lemons - Sun 1 Sep 2019


A circular walk visiting the churches mentioned in several versions of the Oranges and Lemons rhyme.

9.30am meet between The Gilbert Scott restaurant entrance and vehicle ramp to the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel (at St Pancras International Station), Euston Road, London, NW1 2AR;
Grid Ref TQ301828, OS Land Ranger Maps: 176 and 177. See picture:

Meeting place

PLEASE CHECK TRAIN JOURNEY PLANNERS CAREFULLY
It looks like there are planned engineering works on the Peterborough to London line between Peterborough and Hitchin and on the Bedford to London line between Bedford and Luton.
If you are travelling to Euston Station allow enough time to get to the start point.
If you are delayed please contact Terry on 07932 627476 for advice  about meeting up on the route.
We must leave the start promptly to make sure we get to St Dunstan’s Church, Stepney for the morning break while the church is still open.

Distance
The walk is approx 17 miles if you start and finish at St Pancras.
A map of the route is here Map

It‘s possible to leave the walk at several places – most conveniently at:

  • approx 11.5 miles just after St Pauls Cathedral, from St Pauls Tube station.
  • approx 13 miles, just after St Sepulchre, from Farringdon using the Tube or the northbound Thameslink. (Note: City Thameslink station is closed on Sundays). 
  • approx 14.5 miles, just after St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, the last church of the walk, from Leicester Square Tube or Charing Cross station.
 
Information about the nursery rhyme and all the churches we will be visiting is here Information Sheet
 

Other things
Because of the way the route pans out we will have two longish breaks (30 – 40 minutes); think of it as ‘first’ lunch and ‘second’ lunch or early tea!

The first stop will be Stepney after about 5 miles at around 11.15 / 11.30am; the second is at St Pauls Cathedral, about 10.75 miles, at around 1.50 – 2.05pm.
Please note - public loos are few and far between, especially in the morning; please make sure you are comfortable before we set off – there aren’t any suitable woods or bushes on the route!
In between our two long breaks (where loos are available), we can have quick loo stops, if needed, at the Tower of London – you’ll need ,50p here and public loos at St Clement Danes in the Strand.

There won’t be time for stops to buy food and drink on the way; please make sure you bring enough to keep you going.
On the way back to the station we hope to stop for a drink (and possibly food) in the Wetherspoon’s pub - the Montagu Pyke - in Charing Cross Road.
This is a short way after St Martin in the Fields, the last church on our Oranges and Lemons trail.
This is optional and may not be possible if the pub is very busy, it’s not a particularly large Wetherspoon’s.

After the pub we will work our way back toward Euston Road for Euston, St Pancras and Kings Cross Stations.
If you are leaving the group before the pub, or going to another station, you’ll have to make your own way back. A route note will be available to these 3 stations
but a London street map may be useful if you aren’t familiar with the area.

Walkers have the chance to enter an exclusive raffle for  an Oranges and Lemons mug depicting 6 of the churches on our route.
This is one of a limited edition (I think 250 or less) designed by a very talented young illustrator, Laura Davies, who specialises in doing fabulous lines drawings of churches - https://www.facebook.com/lauradaviesillustrator/ . Proceeds will go to the Bedfordshire Association of Church Bell Ringers Bell Restoration Fund (registered charity 263781).

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