成人快手

Wallingford Wander

Walk Details: Wallingford Wander
Start Point: Wallingford Museum, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Wallingford Museum: 01491 835065
Ordnance Survey: Landranger sheet 175 - SU606895
Distance: approx 2km (1.2 miles)
Time: approx 1 hour

Walk Conditions:
The circular walk is on a level path starting from Wallingford Museum. Paths are of varying width and a mix of tarmac and compacted earth/stone. The walk is wheelchair and buggy friendly.

The castle meadows does require some uphill walking and some steps if walkers want to get right to the top of the Motte.

Start at the museum, cross over the road onto the common. Carry on walking over the path to the far right hand side of the common. Walk up a slope and turn left along the path. keep going straight until you reach the very end of the road.

Have a look at the green earthwork banks surrounding the Kinecroft.You're now looking at the fortifications of this Saxon town, founded by King Alfred. Standing on the top of the banks, looking down to the ditches below, you can see just how high these fortifications would have been, providing excellent defence against the Vikings.

The museum is a typical Saxon house made of mud (locally known as Cob), and would have been replaced by a timber built building in medieval times. But come the 16th century, fashions dictated that timber be covered with flint and chalk.

Turn right then cross the road and turn left into Lower Wharf. Keep going to the bottom of the road where you come to the river. Then turn back round and look out for an alley on your right.

Look at the stonework of the Malthouse, it's a grey/creamy colour which the Victorians named Clunch. At the bottom of the building you'll see some red-brown bricks that are made from very good quality clay that was laid on top of the chalk hills many years ago and have since been turned into the well-known Nettlebed bricks.

Look across to the river and you'll see some meadow land that forms one of many local conservation projects. It was originally a hay meadow rich in wildlife so now work has to be done to restore it to its former state.

Go straight to the bottom of the alley and turn left into the church ground. After viewing the church come back out of the gate and turn right down Thames Street until you come to Wallingford Rowing Club.

Take a look at the walls of St. Leonard's Church and you'll see a variety of building materials that trace the geological history of the town.

The angular pebbles have come from the tops of hills made from the ancient Thames gravels from the Ice Age. The rounded pebbles have come from the local rivers, while the chalk is of course that Prehistoric clunch.

The Churchyard is a haven for wildlife. The meadow area on one side of the church is covered with Cuckoo flower in spring. The Orange Tip butterfly feeds on these so you'll also see many of them in the area. Watch out for the Banded Demoiselle, a striking dragon fly that visits from the riverside.

Keep walking past the rowing club then turn left up into a car park. Cross over the car park heading right. Turn right when you get to the road, walk until you come to Mousey Lane on your left, go along this until you come to the Market Place.

Stand opposite the car park and you'll find yourself in the churchyard of St. Michael's. Underneath your feet can be found 35 burials dating back to the 13th century, and beneath them is a bell-pit, 3.6 metres in diameter and 2 metres deep in which the bells of the church were cast.

Take a look at the gas light in Mousey Lane. There's something odd about it. Yes, you've guessed it, it's at the wrong angle! Developers reinstated it recently but returned it to the wall at 90 degrees instead of 180 degrees.

Take some time to walk round the Market Place, then walk up the narrow street surrounded by shops opposite the Town Hall (St Marys Street) until you come to the main road (High Street) then turn left. At the cross roads turn right into Castle Street and keep going until you see the path for the Castle Gardens on your right.

If you were standing in the market place back in the Middle Ages, you would have been speaking French with all the merchants there.

Wander down the street alongside the Corn Exchange and you'll be walking along what was originally a 10th Century Saxon street.

Walk into the Castle Grounds - here you can see where the Castle used to lie. Feel free to wonder round.
Stand at the top of the Motte at Wallingford Castle, if you were stood here 12,000 years ago and you'd see a family of mammoths strolling along the hilltop, along with bison, munching their way through the tundra vegetation.

The Castle would have had a massive impact on Wallingford as it occupied one quarter of the town. It was even bigger than Windsor Castle.

To get back to the museum - turn left into Castle street then at the cross roads turn right and keep going until you arrive back to the museum.