Thakin one

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Thatcham to Kingsclere (Thakin 1) review.

Note: I walked from Kingsclere to Thatcham.

This Slow Way follows the course of the Kingsclere Brook north through Hampshire from Kingsclere to its joining with the River Enborne. The walk crosses the river into Berkshire and then through fields and woods to finish in Thatcham on the Kennet & Avon Canal.

The route begins in the centre of Kingsclere village. There are nearby convenience stores, a café, and The Crown pub. Head down the lane left of the pub to find the somewhat hidden Brenda Parker Way sign (Photo 1).

Cross the busy A339 and follow field footpaths along the east bank of the Kingsclere Brook. There’s another hard-to-spot sign at Nutkin’s Farm (Photo 2).

It became a theme of this walk that the routes across fields and location of overgrown stiles were a challenge to spot (for example Photos 3 & 4). I was working with a paper map, so walkers with GPS may fare better. Note the Brenda Parker Way (a long-distance path across Hampshire) runs parallel for this stretch and is well signposted – an alternative route for the exasperated!

There's a short stretch of the Ashford Hill Road with a grass verge (Photo 5), followed by a quiet lane to a bridge over the River Enborne (Photo 6). The NE route then crosses fields and there’s an ascent up a lane into Crookham.

The Traveller’s Friend pub on the Crookham Common Road is vacant (as of June 2022). There’s a stretch to walk along this road; which has a grass verge and moderate traffic in the late afternoon.

The walk into Thatcham was the same route as Thatcham to Tadley (see Thatad 1): a mixture of tarmacked lanes and wooded footpaths.

The Slow Way crosses the River Kennet and Kennet & Avon Canal, passes the train station, and there’s an urban walk into the centre of town.

Overall, I enjoyed this walk despite some map-reading frustrations. No pub in Crookham means there isn’t a convenience break point. I noticed while writing this review that the Slow Way detours slightly to reach the vacant pub in Crookham. There’s a footpath to the west (SU528644) which provides a more direct N-S route into Thatcham, as well avoiding the Crookham Common Road walk.

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