Linking Wokingham and Crowthorne

A classic market town, above the modern facades and away from the busy traffic, Wokingham is full of hidden corners and picturesque old buildings. Founded in the 13th century by the Norman-French Bishop Roger le Poore, the town was granted a charter by Elizabeth I in 1583. Until the 19th century Wokingham developed at a slow pace, but in recent years it has grown enormously, its rapid expansion influenced by its close proximity to London and the M4.

At the heart of Wokingham, in the Market Place, stands the impressive Town Hall, dating back to 1860. It was designed in flamboyant Gothic Revival style. Formerly the Town Hall served as a police station, a courtroom and a gaol. If you stand outside on Market Place and look up, you can spot ‘County Police Station’ inscribed in stone near the top of the building. It now houses shops, cafes and a good tourist information office.

Just a stone’s throw from the Town Hall lies Rose Street, one of Wokingham’s hidden treasures and the finest surviving example in Berkshire of a medieval ‘enclosed’ street. Founded in the early 13th century, Rose Street is wide at one end and narrow at the other. At the far end stands All Saints Church, originally a small Saxon chapel that was enlarged in the 12th century. Number 31 Rose Street was once home to James ‘Sooty’ Seaward. He was the  inspiration for Tom the chimney sweep, the central character in The Water Babies, by Charles Kingsley (1863).

At the far end of Broad Street and dating from the mid-16th century is the landmark black-and-white Tudor House, one of Wokingham’s most attractive buildings. Until the end of World War I it housed a school, and is now offices. Next to the Tudor House is Wokingham Police Station, built in 1904. The distinctive pagoda-style tower complements the building’s chimneys. The police have long gone and it is now residential.

Just off Market Place, Denmark Street, despite heavy traffic, still evokes memories of old Wokingham. Many of the houses here were built in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The Duke’s Head at the bottom of the street was originally three cottages with a pond at the back used for tanning hides.

Just outside the town is one of Britain’s most famous public schools. Wellington College dates back to the mid-19th century, when it was founded as a memorial to the Duke of Wellington, following his victory at Waterloo in 1815. When it first opened, it was a school for the orphans of army officers.

With the Town Hall behind you, walk down Denmark Street. Keep right at The Duke’s Head. Walk to the roundabout, cross Kendrick Close and Norton Road, and follow Finchampstead Road. Pass under the railway bridge, and take the footpath on the left at the next roundabout, just before Tesco. Pass through a gate, veer right by stables and follow a fenced track between paddocks. Make for a line of houses and continue to the Henry Lucas Hospital Almshouses.

Continue straight ahead on the footpath, then turn right onto a tarmac drive. Pass white gateposts and turn left at a pair of galvanised gates. A long straight stretch of track lies ahead, with the railway line to the right. Eventually pass an old wartime Nissen hut and a picturesque cottage on the right. Continue on for about 80yds (73m) and turn right by a yellow waymarker post.

Follow the track ahead between plantations of trees, ignoring all tracks to left and right. After 0.5 miles (800m) reach a T-junction with a small copse ahead; bear right, following the waymarker posts. Pass a gate, and turn right onto the B3430. Continue over the railway bridge, cross Lower Wokingham Road at the roundabout and turn into Hollybush Ride.

Continue past several houses. The road finishes at 'Diligence', left, but continue ahead at an intersection of tracks into Simon’s Wood. Soon turn left at the next junction. (Make a brief detour to see Heath Pond, visible to your left, with lillies in summer, and a bench to rest on.) Bear right to follow the byway, keeping right at the gates to 'Heritage'. Follow the track to a roundabout and take the Crowthorne exit. On the right are the playing fields of Wellington College.

Walk past the station and shops, and turn left into Ravenswood Avenue. Walk along to the Golf Club and follow the drive as it runs across the fairways. Look for a footpath sign, and continue with the course now on your right. Pass 'Dormy Palms' and take the next footpath left, following it along the woodland edge. Join a tarmac drive and pass beside the buildings of Ravenswood Village, a community for children with learning difficulties. At traffic lights continue ahead into Heathlands Road. On the left-hand side of the ride (opposite the entrance to Heathlands Court), turn left to join a path into Bramshill Forest.

Continue ahead and turn right at the next waymarked junction (galvanised gate left), following the 'Health Walk' route. Where the path bends right, go through a deer gate and carry on along the path through the middle of a large market garden area, passing dozens of polytunnels. Exit eventually through another deer gate and continue between fences and fields. Just after a gate marked 'School Grounds' take the narrow path which dives off to the left. Cut between laurel bushes and holly trees, through a dark cover of trees, to go through a gate, cross a drive, and continue ahead. Eventually you will come to a railway footbridge. Cross over it, and when you reach the road (Gypsy Lane) turn right.

Follow Gypsy Lane past the school to the next main junction. Cross Murdoch Road and follow Easthampstead Road towards the town centre. Bear right at the T-junction, facing the town’s busy one-way system, and walk to the Ship Inn. (Note that the pavement is narrow in front of the Ship as it goes round to the left; if the traffic is busy you may prefer to go around the back of the pub instead.) Follow Wiltshire Road (or Cross Street if you diverted behind the Ship) into Rose Street which leads back, across Broad Street, to the Market Place.