Begin the walk with a very short detour. From the car park turn right to the mini-roundabout, walk along to the church and adjoining Church Cottage (Kenneth Grahame’s former home). Retrace your steps to the main road, keep the Cross Keys pub on the right and turn right at the mini-roundabout. Cross the Pang, and immediately past the mini-roundabout on your left, turn right into The Moors. At the end of the drive continue ahead on the footpath. Pass alongside various houses and gardens and patches of scrub, then go through a pretty tunnel of trees. Further on is a gate with a local map and an information board about the area. Beyond the gate the River Pang sweeps in from the right.
Follow the path parallel to the river, with willow trees along the bank. Make for a footbridge but don’t cross it. Instead, turn sharp left and walk across the open meadow to a kissing gate in the far boundary. Once over it, keep alongside the hedge on the left. After 100yds (91m), you will see a World War II pill box ahead. Turn right here at a path intersection and cross a footbridge. Continue ahead to a gate with a short footbridge. Go straight across the field and exit left onto the road over a stile.
Follow the lane left between hedges and oak trees and walk along to the A329. Go diagonally right to the footpath by the sign for Purley Rise and follow the path north towards distant trees, a steam on your left. Go through a kissing gate, turn right and follow the concrete track as it bends left to run beneath the railway line. Once through the tunnel, bear right to a kissing gate and then follow the track along the left edge of the field, beside a rivulet. Ahead on the horizon are glorious hanging woods on the north bank of the Thames. Pass a small concrete bridge to the left (don’t cross it) and continue on the footpath as it crosses this gentle lowland landscape. Go through a gate and walk across the next field to reach the riverbank.
On reaching the River Thames, turn left through a gate, cross a footbridge and head towards Pangbourne. Follow the path to Pangbourne Meadow and ahead is Whitchurch Bridge. As you approach it, begin to veer away from the river bank towards a car park (signposted 'public toilets'). Turn right onto a path which leads back to the main road. Turn left, pass beneath the railway line and turn right at the next junction to return to the village centre.
During the Edwardian era the Thames-side settlement of Pangbourne became especially fashionable with artists, writers and anglers, yet apparently it did little to ignite the interest of one renowned literary figure. ‘Pleasant house, hate Pangbourne, nothing happens’, wrote D H Lawrence in 1919,... when he and his wife rented a cottage in the village. Popular Pangbourne On the other hand, D H Evans, who founded the famous West End department store, clearly found Pangbourne to his liking. Towards the end of the 19th century he built seven very distinctive villas in the village. Known as the Seven Deadly Sins and distinguished by domes, turrets, balconies and gables – look for them on the right bank above Whitchurch Lock – the villas were not popular with everyone. There were those who claimed the seven villas had been built to house Evans’ seven mistresses, while others believed he lived in a different one each day of the week. Lady Cunard, noted for her notorious parties, bought one of the houses. One local resident claimed the parties were riotous and wild, but added, ‘anything would have seemed wild compared to life in Pangbourne’. The spacious meadows, glorious hanging woods and varied assortment of pubs and hotels have made the village one of the most popular destinations on this stretch of the Thames to this day. The only real changes are a few more shops and a lot more road traffic. One man whose love for this river lasted a lifetime was Kenneth Grahame. He wrote The Wind in the Willows in 1908 and found the inspiration for his delightful story here. Grahame was born in 1859 and first came to live in Berkshire when he was five. His strength lay in his ability to create a magical world for children, providing a fascinating insight into a child’s imagination and their view of the puzzling adult world. Grahame and his wife became parents rather late in life and it was their son’s bedtime stories, as well as letters sent to the boy by his father while away on holiday, that formed the basis for Grahame’s classic book. Both father and son drew on their love of the Berkshire countryside and its wild creatures to complete the story. Having lived for much of his life in the Thames Valley, Grahame eventually moved to Pangbourne in 1924, buying Church Cottage in the centre of the village. His beloved Thames was only a short walk away, and he died here in 1932.
Berkshire consists of two distinct parts: the western half, which is predominantly rural, with the Lambourn Downs spilling down to the River Lambourn and the Berkshire Downs to the majestic Thames, and the eastern half of Berkshire, which offers plenty of opportunity to get out and savour open spaces. Reading and Newbury are the county’s major towns, and the River Kennet flows through them both.
Begin the walk with a very short detour. From the car park turn right to the mini-roundabout, walk along to the church and adjoining Church Cottage (Kenneth Grahame’s former home). Retrace your steps to the main road, keep the Cross Keys pub on the right and turn right at the mini-roundabout. Cross the Pang, and immediately past the mini-roundabout on your left, turn right into The Moors. At the end of the drive continue ahead on the footpath. Pass alongside various houses and gardens and patches of scrub, then go through a pretty tunnel of trees. Further on is a gate with a local map and an information board about the area. Beyond the gate the River Pang sweeps in from the right.
1 of 4
Follow the path parallel to the river, with willow trees along the bank. Make for a footbridge but don’t cross it. Instead, turn sharp left and walk across the open meadow to a kissing gate in the far boundary. Once over it, keep alongside the hedge on the left. After 100yds (91m), you will see a World War II pill box ahead. Turn right here at a path intersection and cross a footbridge. Continue ahead to a gate with a short footbridge. Go straight across the field and exit left onto the road over a stile.
2 of 4
Follow the lane left between hedges and oak trees and walk along to the A329. Go diagonally right to the footpath by the sign for Purley Rise and follow the path north towards distant trees, a steam on your left. Go through a kissing gate, turn right and follow the concrete track as it bends left to run beneath the railway line. Once through the tunnel, bear right to a kissing gate and then follow the track along the left edge of the field, beside a rivulet. Ahead on the horizon are glorious hanging woods on the north bank of the Thames. Pass a small concrete bridge to the left (don’t cross it) and continue on the footpath as it crosses this gentle lowland landscape. Go through a gate and walk across the next field to reach the riverbank.
3 of 4
On reaching the River Thames, turn left through a gate, cross a footbridge and head towards Pangbourne. Follow the path to Pangbourne Meadow and ahead is Whitchurch Bridge. As you approach it, begin to veer away from the river bank towards a car park (signposted 'public toilets'). Turn right onto a path which leads back to the main road. Turn left, pass beneath the railway line and turn right at the next junction to return to the village centre.
During the Edwardian era the Thames-side settlement of Pangbourne became especially fashionable with artists, writers and anglers, yet apparently it did little to ignite the interest of one renowned literary figure. ‘Pleasant house, hate Pangbourne, nothing happens’, wrote D H Lawrence in 1919,... when he and his wife rented a cottage in the village. Popular Pangbourne On the other hand, D H Evans, who founded the famous West End department store, clearly found Pangbourne to his liking. Towards the end of the 19th century he built seven very distinctive villas in the village. Known as the Seven Deadly Sins and distinguished by domes, turrets, balconies and gables – look for them on the right bank above Whitchurch Lock – the villas were not popular with everyone. There were those who claimed the seven villas had been built to house Evans’ seven mistresses, while others believed he lived in a different one each day of the week. Lady Cunard, noted for her notorious parties, bought one of the houses. One local resident claimed the parties were riotous and wild, but added, ‘anything would have seemed wild compared to life in Pangbourne’. The spacious meadows, glorious hanging woods and varied assortment of pubs and hotels have made the village one of the most popular destinations on this stretch of the Thames to this day. The only real changes are a few more shops and a lot more road traffic. One man whose love for this river lasted a lifetime was Kenneth Grahame. He wrote The Wind in the Willows in 1908 and found the inspiration for his delightful story here. Grahame was born in 1859 and first came to live in Berkshire when he was five. His strength lay in his ability to create a magical world for children, providing a fascinating insight into a child’s imagination and their view of the puzzling adult world. Grahame and his wife became parents rather late in life and it was their son’s bedtime stories, as well as letters sent to the boy by his father while away on holiday, that formed the basis for Grahame’s classic book. Both father and son drew on their love of the Berkshire countryside and its wild creatures to complete the story. Having lived for much of his life in the Thames Valley, Grahame eventually moved to Pangbourne in 1924, buying Church Cottage in the centre of the village. His beloved Thames was only a short walk away, and he died here in 1932.
Berkshire consists of two distinct parts: the western half, which is predominantly rural, with the Lambourn Downs spilling down to the River Lambourn and the Berkshire Downs to the majestic Thames, and the eastern half of Berkshire, which offers plenty of opportunity to get out and savour open spaces. Reading and Newbury are the county’s major towns, and the River Kennet flows through them both.
