A free weekend, and no girls with us? What to do? What to do?
With time on our hands we decided to take a walk into Pangbourne for a little pub crawl, taking in some of the wonderful countryside around Woodcote along the way.
The planned list of pubs was as follows:
- The Greyhound Inn (Whitchurch-on-Thames)
- The Ferryboat (Whitchurch-on-Thames)
- The George Hotel (Pangbourne)
- Swan, RG8 7DU (Pangbourne)
- The Cross Keys (Pangbourne)
After a lazy start to the day we headed out the door towards Whitchurch-on-Thames. It was a lovely walk through some familiar, and some unfamiliar, paths and woods.
At one point we got a little lost – as you can see on the route plot below – but we managed to get ourselves back on track and a little before midday we reached the first pub: the Greyhound Inn in Whitchurch-on-Thames, on the Woodcote side of the Thames.
We weren’t planning on eating there but as we ordered our drinks, having heard the previous person order food, we agreed that we were actually a little bit peckish so we ordered a basket meal each. I guess the hope was that it would keep us going for the rest of the day until we got back home again?
The beer was lovely and the basket meals (sausage and chips and scampi and chips) were really good and did us a treat! After a not-too-long walk, sitting in the sun with our boots off was glorious!
Food eaten and pints drunk, we headed round the corner – literally – to the Ferryboat, a pub we’ve driven past more times than we can mention since moving to Woodcote, crossing the Thames at the toll bridge from Whitchurch-on-Thames to Pangbourne.
We strolled into the pub and ordered our drinks at the small bar. Considering its opening times on a Sunday, and the fact that it was full of people eating, the pub clearly wasn’t your typical walk in pub. That wasn’t a problem though as we ordered our drinks and headed out to their small courtyard, sitting in the sun again enjoying a chat and a nice pint.
The next pub – the George Hotel – was a slightly longer walk, all 5 minutes of it that is! We weren’t too sure what to expect but to be honest, when we walked in and saw the wood-clad bar and fake-wood-carpet – yes, you read that right, carpet to look like a wood floor! – we weren’t too hopeful.
Add to that the fact that the only ale pump they had was off and I’d struggle to actually offer anything in way of a compliment for the place.
Guinness and a lager ordered we drank up and it wasn’t too long before we headed out of the door towards the next pub.
The walk to the Swan was another short affair. We walked past the Lamborghini showroom on the way, drooling over the beautiful cars, and it wasn’t long before we got to the pub, ordered our drinks and sat on a table right by the river. Much much nicer than the George Hotel that’s for sure!
After a lazy sit and drink we headed back into the centre of Pangbourne to the Cross Keys. But when we got there it was just closing up for the day. I was a little surprised as I was convinced I’d checked the pub opening times and I expected it to be open all day. No pint this time!
Finding ourselves at an unexpected loose end we crossed the road and had a look around St. James the Less church. Surprisingly we found the church open – a rarity in this day and age sadly – and inside we found a large 17th century monument to Sir John Davis, which interestingly was made of chalk of all things.
The monument showed him clad in his armour with his two wives beside him and his dog at his feet. I guess that probably explains why the church was open?
Having now run out of pubs we decided to head home, taking a slightly different route this time.
The hill out of Whitchurch-on-Thames was “interesting” but after that it was pretty much flat and it wasn’t long before we reached Woodcote.
Having missed out on a pint at the Cross Keys we decided to have a final pint at the Black Lion to top off a wonderful day’s walking and drinking. It would have been rude not to seeing as we had to walk past it to get home!
Great day. Great walking. Great weather. Great company!
Photos
Woodcote to Whitchurch-on-Thames Route Details
If you’re interested you can download the KML file and/or GPX file of the plotted route. Please be aware though that the route was hand-plotted and so may not be 100% accurate.
Walk Statistics
Unfortunately, full walk statistics aren’t available for this walk as we forgot to record them.
| Miles | Start (HH:MM) | Finish (HH:MM) | Breaks (HH:MM) | Walking (HH:MM) | Pace (MPH) | Steps Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.67 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Route Map
Elevation Details
| Start Elavation (m) | End Elavation (m) | Max Elevation (m) | Min Elevation (m) | Total Climb (m) | Total Descent (m) | Climbs on Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 171 | 43 | 184 | 43 | 95 | -223 | 0 |
Whitchurch-on-Thames to Woodcote Route Details
If you’re interested you can download the KML file and/or GPX file of the plotted route. Please be aware though that the route was hand-plotted and so may not be 100% accurate.
Walk Statistics
Unfortunately, full walk statistics aren’t available for this walk as we forgot to record them.
| Miles | Start (HH:MM) | Finish (HH:MM) | Breaks (HH:MM) | Walking (HH:MM) | Pace (MPH) | Steps Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.31 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Route Map
Elevation Details
| Start Elavation (m) | End Elavation (m) | Max Elevation (m) | Min Elevation (m) | Total Climb (m) | Total Descent (m) | Climbs on Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | 171 | 185 | 43 | 172 | -44 | 1 |
Climb Details
| Rating | Start Point (miles) | End Point (miles) | Length (miles) | Start Elevation (m) | End Elevation (m) | Average Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 3.31 | 3.31 | 43 | 184 | 2.5% |
More information about climb ratings can be found at Map My Walk.