Twelve of us set off down Portway today in a cold wind and under a cloudy sky. Most of the Autumn colour has passed but later, in the sunshine, we saw some beautiful trees. We continued along the edge of the newly ploughed field and into the pasture that had no grazing sheep or cows today. We were soon across the stream and on our way up to the B4100 which we crossed into Upper Aynho Grounds. It was here that the woods were still looking good. Shuffling through layers of colourful leaves we reached the bottom of the valley and continued up into Warren farm. Emerging from the woods we came upon a small herd of Aberdeen Angus cows. They showed a slight interest in us but were not unduly disturbed. beyond them were the horses and on the slope opposite sheep still grazed. We took Mill Lane towards Croughton but branched off along the footpath behind the village and entered it through the churchyard. The trees and leaves along here were lovely. We crossed through the village and continued across fields to Cut-throat Corner and followed the route along the bottom of the Camp and up to the ridge. We were soon back at the pavilion for the usual enjoyable refreshments.
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