A possible new LDWA adventure in 2017?!

The London Countryway is a 240+ mile route round London, mostly outside the M25, which was devised in the late 1970s by Keith Chesterton and described by him in the out-of-print "Guide to the London Countryway" (Constable, 1981, ISBN-13 978-0094639607).

A more recent and very thorough route description (with commentary) by Des de Moor can be found at: http://desdemoor.blogspot.co.uk/p/london-countryway.html.

There is more information on the LDWA website at https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=London+Countryway 

Here's an overview of the Route of the London Countryway

Dick Bowman walked the Countryway in 10-20 mile stages over three months between October 2016 and January 2017; finding it very rewarding in terms of variety and in relatively easy transport links (although mostly outside of Zone 6 stage endpoints are all at rail stations).  It's not explicitly signposted and the precise route is - at times - flexible. 

Photos, GPX files, and GPS tracks from Dick's winter scouting trip are all viewable and downloadable at walks.dickbowman.com/lcw

Which leads to a plan...

On 6 May Dick is scheduled to lead a walk called "London Countryway Starter"; this will cover the first 2 of Des de Moor's sections, starting at Gravesend and finishing at Borough Green.

After that his intention is to complete a second circuit, this time in warmer and sunnier weather, inviting any and all to join him for as many or as few stages as suits - plans are a little flexible at the moment, and may include both midweek shorter stages (about ten miles) and longer weekend stages (about twenty miles).  The idea is that these will be interwoven with the "official" London LDWA group walks and announced as popups a week or two in advance.  More precise planning probably gets done on the 6 May walk.

To keep up to date with what Dick's plans are - and join his mailing list - please drop him an email at countryway@ldwa.org.uk.  There are no time limits and you're free to walk as much or as little as you like.

Incidentally, Hampstead Ramblers are also making their way round - their schedule looks to be of the order of two years for a round trip.

The London Countryway is not as well known as some of the other circuits of London - which is a little unjust.  Let's take this opportunity to put it back on the map.