Seventeen walkers and three dogs met at St Andrew’s Community Church ready for Paula’s walk. Many of the group had arrived early to take advantage of a toasted tea cake and a hot drink in the church.
Before we started, Paula told us that she had decided on a slightly revised route which didn’t go through Monk Wood to avoid a very muddy section. We started by walking through Sindlefingen Park and through the estate heading for Cowley Lane via Spring Wood and Spingwood farm. After turning left onto Cowley Lane we continued until we reached a right turn just beyond Cowley Hall. We then crossed fields to pick up a footpath running alongside Great Brind Wood. This path eventually took us into the narrow wood that runs the length of Barlow Fishing Ponds. We followed the path through the woods until we reached the entrance to the cafe at the far end. This was our coffee stop where some of us (me) took advantage of a two for one pound offer on tam tarts/Bakewell tarts.
Our route back took us up Gateland Lane (also known as Red Lane) to meet with Barlow Lees Lane. After a short time on the road we climbed a ladder stile on the left to skirt Lees Wood, continuing across fields to meet up with Cowley Lane once again. Here we turned left onto the road and continued until we met a path on the right just before Cowley Hall. This path took us all the way back to the start via Telly Tubby Land.
Many thanks to Paula for leading us round this lovely walk and for avoiding the worst of the mud.
