Don’t forget to look up!
Sometimes, when out walking, we forget to look up and we miss some glorious sites. The cover photo is one we caught. But who knows how many got away!
Since our last newsletter we completed our season with our last customers staying at Norfolk House in Maidenhead. From our latest tally, we delivered just short of 1,800 bags, and had 513 room bookings. Thank you for all of you who walked with us. It has been a pleasure to serve.
Last week we were able to take a short break to the Lake District although the weather was not on our side. The photo below is from a short walk around Buttermere.
Route News
It’s not only in the Lake District that it’s been raining. The south of England has had its fair share. And for the first time in many months we can announce that the Path is muddy in places. There are no flood warnings or alerts on the Thames although there is a warning in place on Chertsey Bourne which is, of course, a tributary.
A statue of Virginia Woolf is due to be unveiled along the riverside at Richmond next week. She lived between 1915 and 1924 in Paradise Road, Richmond which now looks directly onto a multi-story car park. The statue has been long in the making as we reported on this story last November!.
Diversions currently in place:
Diversions remain in place around the closed boardwalk upstream from Marsh Lock, Henley. If walking downstream, there seems to be a sign missing: if you get to the fenced off boardwalk leading to Marsh Lock then you’ve missed the turn. There is a path leading to your left about 20 yards before the boardwalk. This diversion will probably remain in place throughout all of next year.
It is with regret that we have had to increase the price of our bag transfers. The cost of fuel remains about a third higher than this time last year. The new prices will be:
Our prices remain extremely competitive when compared with the only other provider that we know of.
This increase, together with cost pressures we are seeing from hotels, has forced us to change the rates for our packages which have all increased by £10 i.e. £75/£100/£125 for bronze, silver, and gold have gone up to £85/£110/£135,
Some good news is that we have been able to recalibrate the classification of some of our hotels. So, for instance, the following hotels have dropped from gold to silver:
Rose Revived at Newbridge
Harcourt Arms at Stanton Harcourt
Miller of Mansfield at Goring
Leander Club, Henley
For those unfamiliar with our bronze, silver, gold tiers, these reflect the relative cost of accommodation thus allowing you to tailor your itinerary to fit a budget.
Once again, our packages are priced well below the market with our largest and cheapest competitor averaging 13% more.
For those who have already made bookings or have received a quote, the previous prices will still apply.
There’s still time to catch part of the London Luminaries lecture series this autumn. The remaining events take place at Fulham Palace and Chiswick House. Likewise, Dorchester Abbey’s autumn season is not yet finished with Mozart’s Requiem being perforrmed this Saturday by the Benson Choral Society, followed by Mendlessohn’s Violin Concerto by the Orchestra of St John’s on November 26.
Then, on December 8, Dorchester Abbey is hosting a Candlelit Christmas Evening with Sinead Cusack and Jeremy Irons and music from the Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford. Now that’s an event not to be missed.
We have a backlog of hotels to add to our route planner and we hope to get to these during this month. These include the Porterhouse in Oxford (Gold), Hotel du Vin in Henley (Gold), the Foresters’ Arms at Hampton Wick (Bronze), and the Wellington at London Waterloo (Silver).
Another is the Springs at North Stoke. This hotel/spa/golf course is easily accessible if walking on the Ridgeway alternative between Goring and Wallingford. It has been seriously redeveloped and now comprises a number of lodges that are reasonably affordable considering the location and facilities offered. The hotel used to be owned by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple and was famous for its guitar-shaped swimming pool. Sadly the pool was replaced as part of the redevelopment.
That’s all folks. Mind how you go!
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