From the Cookham Teapot to the Jolly Farmer - 6th April 2014

One of the cardinal rules for an EFOG walk is for the leader to know exactly where 'rest' stops are, and Eileen's chosen port of call on a lovely walk around Cookham, the town on the River Thames that inspired The Wind in the Willows was a real peach of a tearoom called 'The Teapot'.  The landlady was a bit surprised at having so many of us land on her doorstep early on a Sunday morning, but she came up trumps with a selection of tea cakes, crumpets and toast - all this before we even got started!

Once refreshed, we made our way past the Tarry Stone, a large rock that acted as a gathering point for the townsfolk, through the grounds of the the very attractive Holy Trinity Church and along the Thames path.  This area must have taken a bit of a hit during the flooding judging from all of the flood gates on people's back gardens and the proximity of the river, but the houses seemed to be in good repair. 

We then turned our attention to Winter Hill, a steepish section with nice views of the river.  It is a also a favourite with dog walkers, who were out in number, and their mad selection of dogs, one of whom thought it was a great sport to chase the ducks in the bottom of the hill much to his owner's chagrin.  Not that he would ever have caught a duck, they were far too canny, but he did cause quite a stir.

In the woods at the top of the hill there was a bit of discussion about what the instructions actually meant us to do, but with several maps and compasses to hand, we worked our way down the far side, through a chicken farm and into Cookham Dean where we stopped for lunch at the Jolly Farmer.  At least some of us did.  Naming no names, but a small section of the group had mistaken the entrance to a very high end spa as the entrance to the pub and had gone in to enjoy the facilities!  Redirected by bemused staff , they joined us in 'The Jolly Farmer'. This pub, quite apart from being very nice, is notable for being owned by everyone in the village in a co-operative, designed to stop the pub being closed and turned into housing.  The church opposite, St. John the Baptist, is also notable for being one of the few in the country to have two lych gates, one on each side, so that the funeral procession would not have to go all the way round with the deceased.

After lunch we headed down the hill again past Hillgrove farm and through a golf course, where a red kite that had been showing itself briefly during the day gave us a splendid aerial display across the fairways.  We made our way via the railway and the Fleet ditch back to Cookham and the ice cream van on the edge of the green, with a procession along a very interesting High Street back to the car park and the end of a lovely walk.

Text and photos by Sue C.    15th July 2014