Wokingham Way
A 55-mile long-distance path in Berkshire and Oxfordshire which circumnavigates Wokingham, visiting Reading, Crowthorne, Bracknell, and Henley-on-Thames. With map, statistics, and GPX route file.
Statistics and Files
Grid Ref: SU 775 797
Distance: 55 miles (89 km)
Time: 22–28 hours
Duration: 4–5 days
Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps (1:25,000):
159 Reading, Wokingham and Pangbourne
160 Windsor, Weybridge and Bracknell
171 Chiltern Hills West, Henley-on-Thames and Wallingford
172 Chiltern Hills East, High Wycombe, Maidenhead and Rickmansworth
Summary
The Wokingham Way is a walk which circumnavigates the historic market town of Wokingham in Berkshire. It was conceived, designed, and laid out over a number of months by the Loddon Valley Ramblers with the aim of establishing a long-distance walk following the Wokingham Borough boundary as closely as possible, while prioritizing maximum scenic appeal.
The walk is immensely varied, ranging from the majesty of the broad River Thames north of Henley (passing the weir at Hambleden Lock) to ancient lanes, open fields, an Iron Age hillfort at Crowthorne Wood, and an enclosed deer park at Culham Court. It also includes sections of the Blackwater Valley with its lakes, passes the Select Car Leasing Stadium (formerly Madejski Stadium), and traverses central Reading along the Kennet and Avon Canal to reach the Thames. From start to finish, the route goes via Lower Shiplake, Henley-on-Thames, Mill End, Ashton, Holy Cross, Knowl Hill, Waltham St Lawrence, Shurlock Row, Binfield, Edgebarrow Woods Nature Reserve, Coppid Beech, Ambarrow Court, Eversley, Bramshill Plantation, Riseley, Beech Hill, Reading, Sonning, and back to Shiplake Station.