A lovely sunny day for the first walk of the New Year saw sixteen of us set off down Millers Lane and along the stone wall to Souldern. We skirted round the back of the village and headed down the long winding farm track passing through the very tidy farm yard and on to the much admired viaduct. Beyond this several rabbits were enjoying the sunshine but disappeared rapidly at our approach. The views from this part of the track were superb in the sunlight. We could see Aynho church tower on the horizon. The swing bridge over the canal had been repaired recently. it now has brick foundations restored and approach tracks more even if still muddy from the recent work. The canal itself was icy in places and the frost by the gates formed white shadows where their bars had kept the sun off. We reached Wharf Lane at Souldern Wharf and were soon confronted by two very large articulated lorries which completely filled the road. We avoided them safely and took the path down to the valley and followed the route through the motorway underpass and on to the ford. Unusually the track is still well clear of water. back onto Millers lane we continued up and through the village and back to the pavilion where to everyone’s delight Anita was back with the usual wonderful refreshments. We had walked 7.2 miles.
