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October 18, 2025 – The last post ended with my brother Tom and I going to London’s Clapham station, last August 11, and taking the train down to Winchester station. There we found a scene that took me back in time to Woodstock 1969: “The dregs of a young-folk music festival.”

That is, after a pleasant ride down to Winchester we were met at the station by hordes of mostly young folk, all carrying packs, tents and the like. My first thought: “Are all these going to hike the Canterbury Trail? With us?” But no, it turns out they just leaving the four-day Boomtown festival, in what seemed to me like an updated version of that Woodstock 1969. (Complete with locals complaining of “kids who haven’t bathed in four days, and smelled like it.”)

That was a bit past 10:00 a.m., which meant that after clearing the station we had hours to kill before check-in. (Once past all the young people leaving town by train.) We went to the Cathedral but it was so crowded Tom figured we’d come back later. We did go to the separate gift shop, and there I found a guidebook for the hike we’d begin next morning. Also a Pilgrim Passport in which we’d get stamps at churches and other points of interest along the way.

We had lunch at the Royal Oak, oldest pub in England, the same place I visited back in May. I had a pint of Estrella and pea and mint soup. (I’d eaten too well the past week in London.)

Later we ended up at Millstream Guest House, 8 Chesil Street in the east part of Winchester. (The part I didn’t get to visit in May.) A nice three-story apartment, but the top floor was too hot. (No AC, and it hit 87 degrees.) We’d be there two nights, not the usual one; no viable lodging between there and Alton. We’d hike halfway, to Alresford. (Pronounced “Al’s Ferd.”) We’d take the bus back to Winchester, then next day a bus back to where we stopped hiking, then finish hiking to Alton. (From then on we’d have a new place every night except for the two days off.)

Another part of the plan: Get up at 6:00 a.m. and get hiking by 7:00 to escape the heat of the day. And there was one more surprise that August 12 first day’s hike. “Along the way we saw something I never expected. These guys, professional roof re-thatchers. Re-thatching the roof of the place we stopped for a late lunch.” Complete with a “Master Thatcher” pickup truck.

That led me to ask myself, “Whoever heard of a ‘Master Thatcher?'” But apparently it’s a booming business. Thatching roofs, like they used to do in Geoffrey Chaucer’s day. (Of “Canterbury Tales” fame.) We talked to the guy, and one thing he said: “A newly-re-thatched roof should last 35 years.” I’d always associated thatched roofs with legions of rats in comfy nests, but apparently that’s no longer true. (As it was in Chaucer’s day.) ) “Who-da thunk it!”

Anyway, the place we stopped for lunch was the Bush Inn, Ovington. (Pretty much the only place we could stop, between leaving Winchester at 7:16 and 1:00 p.m.)

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This was supposed to be an easy day because we only had to pack half our stuff. (The rest we could leave back at 8 Chesil Street where we’d return.) But there were those long hours we had to hike before we found a place to refresh. We hiked a good four miles before reaching St Swithun’s Church in Martyr Worthy. There we got the first two stamps after the one at Winchester Cathedral. (And a hint about the Trail’s real name.) Then hiked another two miles, on past the Avington Park Golf Course. It had a nice concession stand and a sign outside, “Walker’s welcome!” (Where I’m thinking I would have stopped.)

And somewhere around that time I figured out that technically we were hiking not the Canterbury Trail but St. Swithun’s Way. (That’s what locals and path-signs all called it.) In other words, just as all Gaul is divided into three parts, what some call the Canterbury Trail is actually two separate trails. The St. Swithun’s part runs 34 miles from Winchester to Farnham. (And if I had to pick one part to skip this would be it, for reasons explained in the next post.)

The other, longer part is the North Downs Way. It runs 153 miles, starting in Farnham and ending in Dover, on the coast some 17 miles past Canterbury where we’d stop. And in my experience it’s much better marked and maintained, but that’s enough for this post. Two mind-boggling learning experiences on our first day’s hike. (“Intellectually or emotionally overwhelming.”) But we were finally on our way, with “visions of master thatchers dancing in our heads…”

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The upper image is courtesy of Boomtown festival 2025 line-up and essential info – BBC, part of a note that the “Reading, Boomtown and Truck festivals near Newbury announce musical line ups for 2025.” For comparison, from the last post see also Woodstock 1969 Aftermath Images – Image Results and Here’s Just How Miserable Woodstock Really Was – BuzzFeed News.

For more on roof-thatching see National Society of Master Thatchers, or Adam Follon Master Thatcher, “dedicated to providing a high quality range of thatching services using locally sourced materials and true craftsmanship.” Or see Thatching – Wikipedia:

…the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed – trapping air – thatching also functions as insulation. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. 

See also Do Mice and Rats Live In Thatched Roofs – Village & Cottage? The answer: It is quite common; “rats rodents do live in thatched roofs. They can squeeze themselves into tiny holes and crevices because of their flexible skeletons, slim build, long tails, and large feet so getting into thatched roofs is no problem.” Reasons: Access to food, protection from predators and the weather, and great nesting material. On the flip side: “Thatched roofs are made of straw, grasses, or reeds. They are still used in many parts of the world. There are many advantages to having a thatched roof, for example like the fact that it doesn’t need to be replaced often and it contracts and expands with the weather.” (Which is way more than I thought I’d ever learn about thatched roofs at age 74.)

For this post I reviewed or borrowed from A Canterbury hike preview, and A second (of three) Canterbury previews. (There were three altogether.) As for the May visit to the Royal Oak in Winchester, see A return, to “London, Liverpool and Stratford?”

Monday morning [May 12] we took the train back to London, with a stop off at Winchester. That was mostly to see the Cathedral where I’ll start the long hike to Canterbury in August, but also – as it turned out – to lunch at the oldest pub In England, the Royal Oak.

Re: “All Gaul.” See Commentarii de Bello Gallico – Wikipedia, the Latin for Julius Caesar’s book “Commentaries on the Gallic War” with that opening line.

“”Visions of master thatchers” is a variation on “visions of sugar plums danced in their heads,” from A Visit from St. Nicholas – The Night Before Christmas.

The lower image is courtesy of Thatching – Wikipedia.

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October 8, 2025 – The last post ended on August 8 and added, “tomorrow, Saturday August 9,” I’d meet up with my brother and settle into the apartment he rented across the intersection where Wandsworth Road crosses Queenstown. (And “magically becomes Lavender Hill,” as I wrote after visiting Victoria Battersea pub Friday night, minutes up Queenstown Road.)

I also said it was now a mere three days from the “arduous 134-mile hike from Winchester to Canterbury, carrying all my worldly goods in a 16-pound pack weighing heavily on my back.”

To review further, my companion(s) and I went to the UK to hike that 134-mile Canterbury Trail. And so far I’ve covered my last day in London, then my first day in London, August 6, and most recently the touristy stuff I did in London on August 7 and 8. Those were busy days, and compared to them, August 9th was pretty calm, although it did take a while to meet up with Tom.

I knew his flight arrived at 8:08, so after giving him enough time to get through security and take the Piccadilly Line to Wandsworth, I waited at the Caffe Nero around the corner. (Two doors down from the apartment.) Some time around 10:00 I got a WhatsApp message, “The people at the hotel never heard of you.” It turned out he’d gone to the Chelsea Guest House where I’d stayed the first two nights in London. (I’d booked Chelsea for two nights instead of three, but the switch to the Premier Inn, catty-corner from the apartment, worked out better.)

After exchanging WhatsApps I headed east on Wandsworth. We met up about midway, then hiked back to Lavender Hill and luckily were able to get in the apartment early. That was pretty much it for Friday excitement, except it turned out Carol would try to join us later, somewhere on the hike. (She had some back-home issues to attend to.) Plus Tom was a bit jet-lagged.

Saturday the 10th was busier. We hiked to Wandsworth Road Overground, and took it to the National Maritime Museum and Greenwich Observatory. My verdicts: “The museum was great, and free, but it cost 24 GBP for the observatory.” Then added, on the Observatory: “Not recommended. You get a great view of London from the top of the hill for free. Plus the Greenwich Tavern cost 30 GBP for a draft beer and falafel burger, but that was the cheapest.”

In other words I could have my great view of London in the distance – like at the top of the page – for nothing. In further words I didn’t get to go back to the Gipsy Moth pub in Greenwich that I’d visited last May. And thirdly, an alert to prospective visitors: Prices for pretty much anything in the UK – especially London – are pretty steep. (Still, I enjoyed the two trips.)

One other note about the Maritime Museum. It included a Polar Worlds gallery that I found fascinating. I took a picture of an the Arctic Exploration list of supplies. I noted what it said at the far lower left. “No beer! So I can scratch Arctic Exploration off my Bucket list.”

After those Saturday afternoon adventures we got on the bus, we thought heading back to Wandsworth. But in time I noted that it seemed to be heading east instead of west. We ended up in Blackheath, an “area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham.” (Though it once took its name “either from the color of the soil, or from the bleakness of its situation,” it is now “pleasantly situated on elevated ground, commanding diversified and extensive views of the surrounding country, which is richly cultivated, and abounds with fine scenery.”)

In other words we had a nice visit in Blackheath, before getting the right bus-and-train back.

We decided to go all the way to Clapham Junction instead of getting off at the Wandsworth Overground. We wanted to see how long it took to hike from there to 7a Lavender Hill, so we’d have enough time to make the return trip. Next up? On Monday August 11 we took the train from Clapham Junction down to Winchester station, and there found something reminiscent of Woodstock 1969. The dregs of a young-folk music festival, but that’s a story for next time…

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The upper image is courtesy of View London Greenwich Observatory – Image Results. It came with a post, Best View from Greenwich Observatory, London (Julie Millan), with background information and a number of other “best view” pictures. “From the top of the hill in Greenwich Park just outside the Royal Greenwich Observatory, you will find a fantastic viewpoint of the London skyline. From here you’ll be able to see notable landmarks such as the Shard, the Tower of London, and the O2 Arena.” 

Lavender Hill, London is a “vibrant Victorian street that uniquely blends historical charm and modern urban living. Positioned just south of Battersea and close to Clapham Junction station, Lavender Hill has something for everyone.” (From A Complete Guide to History, etc.)

The lower image is courtesy of Woodstock 1969 Aftermath Images – Image Results. And from a post, Here’s Just How Miserable Woodstock Really Was – BuzzFeed News.

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