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Welcome to LDWA Thames Valley's Monthly Newsletter
Forthcoming Social Walks
Normally we aim to have at least one Social walk every Sunday, this will generally be a 20 Mile and or 15 Mile Social Walk.
Sun 6th Jul 2025 08:00, c33ml. Lane End: c.p by the traffic lights. (GR SU807918).
C3200ft Ascent. Note the earlier start time, bring plenty of water & food (Water top up available at 26m).
Sun 13th Jul 2025 09:00, c20ml. 09:00 Moulsford: Recreation Ground (on A329). (GR SU590838).
Circular around SOxon hills & with views of Thames. 1199 feet ascent.
Sun 20th Jul 2025 09:00, c18ml. Lane End village c.p, by the traffic lights. Maps: Exp 171,172 (GR SU807918).
Circular through Piddington, Slough Farm, Beacons Bottom & Fingest with a number of hills & views. 2300 ft ascent. Followed by committee meeting in Lane End hall, all welcome.
Full Programme of Social Walks (there might be short notices walks added later)
Walk Leading Opportunities
There are opportunities to lead a Social walk on:-
Contact Andrew Beck (Walks Coordinator) at tv.walks@ldwa.org.uk if you would like to lead a Social Walk.
The Thames Valley Area can be seen here with a map of known walk start points.
If you have not lead a Social Walk contact the Walks Coordinator and assistance in planning and leading can be provided.
Other News
ICE Tags
Those of you who have been on a recent walk are aware we have been instructed now to add the LOCATION of your In Case of Emergency details on the walks register. This is initially causing some delays. We are aware that there are objections to this and questions as to how useful this might be but we feel we can comply in a way that causes minimal work to the leader.
Therefore if you attend a walk , please could you have your ICE details in your phone (accessible through the Emergency Call button), on a tag attached to your rucksack , or in a card in your wallet (e.g. the Ramblers and past LDWA membership card) . We will be distributing free rucksack tags at the start of the walks on 13th, 20th July. Please have your name and ICE phone contact as well as any relevant medical issues ready on a piece of card or paper to insert into the plastic tag. This should be around 40 x 25 mm (the tags are 50 x 35)
On an Android phone you can set the Emergency contact information by going to Settings->About Phone->Emergency information and adding an Emergency Contact
On an iPhone Open the Health App->Profile icon->Medical ID->Edit Emergency Contacts
On a Samsung Android phone you can set the Emergency contact information by going to Settings->Safety and emergency->Emergency contacts->Add a member
Thereafter all the leader has to do is record one of the three options described
To find a phone's emergency contact generally you click on the screen and at the Lock screen you click on the Emergency Call Button.
MARSHALLING- MARLOW DONKEY AND JURASSIC 100
Thanks to everyone who replied on marshalling at the Marlow Donkey this year – we now have enough marshals so wont take any more offers at this stage.
Thanks to everyone who marshalled at the Flower of Suffolk 100. As we were not originally asked and as we now understand that all checkpoints have been assigned at the Kent 100 next year, we will not be doing a checkpoint, though individuals may opt to for instance join a BBN checkpoint. We will therefore revert to our original policy of marshalling on alternate 100s and we have now been approached by Cornwall and Devon group regarding the ‘Jurassic 100’ to be held May 27-28 2027. The route seems to start in south Devon and stray into Dorset and Somerset. At the moment we are considering at least contributing to a checkpoint near Chard in Somerset, which is 2.5 hours drive from Reading and nearest to us. This would be an overnight circa 12 hour stint and if we get enough marshals, we would do shifts so others could rest. We’d likely book a local Travelodge so we didn’t have to drive home before resting. All expenses would be paid. We have to let Cornwall and Devon know in July so if you PROVISIONALLY would be willing to help, please email Duncan at thamesvalley@ldwa.org.uk
If we don’t get enough replies, we will decline.
Challenge Walk Reports
No Reports
Social Walk Reports
Yew’ll Love This Walk, June 8th
A good turnout of 17 (the highest for some time for a walk with no free food!) was recorded at Maidensgrove Common for a theme walk on ancient and veteran trees, with an emphasis on yews, the oldest living organisms in our region. Since we haven’t has a 15 miler for some time due to a paucity of leaders (help!) , the 17.5mile distance and the attraction of several short stops to slow the pace no doubt accentuated the turnout. Duncan explained the route was essentially triangular, with the axes provided by the start and the ancient yews in Ipsden and Britwell Salome churchyards. He gave the group the challenge of explaining the association of ancient and veteran yew trees with churchyards, given that four would be visited, all with yews, with different relationships apparent between the Norman age of the churches and the apparent (though difficult to assess) age of the yews. Thus they sometimes postdate the building of the churches and sometimes predate them, with the yew in Britwell Salome churchyard seemingly be well over 1000 years old. Even the Woodland Trust don’t have an explanation for this!
Explanations proposed varied widely, but there was general agreement that the unusual age of the yews could have been thought to have given them some spiritual status, not only to the Norman churches but also to any preceding pagan sites. Perhaps the people at that time considered them immortal, perhaps even dating to the Creation, which before the advent of the science of geology, was thought to be only 6000 years ago, not far from the time scale of some yews elsewhere in the UK.
A theme walks on Oaks, the second oldest tree, may follow. Anyone with any other ideas on theme walks – geology, landforms, botany, history????????
 
Local Challenge Walks
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