FINCHAMPSTEAD GR814635 (Ex 160)
The car park is called Simon's Wood Car Park in
Wellingtonia Avenue on the B3348, about half-akilometer west of the roundabout with the A321.
Wellingtonia Avenue is significant for its giant redwood trees which line the road on one side.
These massive trees are among the largest plants on earth and they have the ability to withstand galeforce winds.
Finchampstead Ridges
1. Enter the woodland through the gap (with horizontal wooden poles) in the far top left-hand corner of the car park. Walk-in and immediately bear left of the holy bush, and then walk straight ahead. A muddy section bears round to the right and meets a path which, on turning left, reaches Wellingtonia Avenue; if you have any problems then just go back to Wellingtonia Avenue and turn right, otherwise, turn right and, in 20 metres, cross over opposite "Edge of the Hill". Turn right behind the large roadside direction indicators and bear left alongside the single-wire fence on your right. Very shortly, turn hard left going steeply downhill. On the way down, take the 2 nd path on the right. This level path leads through the ferns; go over a crossing track to continue ahead and then follow the path when it bears right.
2. Keep going all the way to post No 16, where you then walk down between the fences to meet the road.
Turn left here past thatched "Warren Cottage". At a wooden barrier, on the left, turn back onto
Finchampstead Ridges and follow the main path. Later, you will pass a pond on the left where it's a bit muddy and, at the end of this path, you turn right through a barrier, and then left along the public right-ofway past "Rorke's Drift".
3. Stay on this path all the way back to Wellingtonia Avenue at "Barn End". Cross the road to Simon's Wood and, after about 20m, turn left on the narrow overgrown path. At the giant redwood tree, turn right back into the car park.
Finchampstead Ridges & Simon's Wood
The Wellingtonia Avenue was planted in 1869 as a monument to the 1st Duke of Wellington who lived in nearby Stratfield Saye. The heathland or Finchampstead Ridges and Simon's Wood is a small part of an increasingly rare man-made habitat, characterised by dwarf shrubs such as heather and gorse as well as pine trees which are all the result of the acidic soils of this area. This area of wet woodlands and lowland heath supports many birds and invertebrates. Under the auspices of the National Trust there are organised nature trails in Simon's Wood and the Ridges, for which there is a charge of £2.50 per person – details at www.nationaltrust.org.uk www.spanglefish.com/localwalks

FINCHAMPSTEAD
GR814635 (Ex 160)
The car park is called
Simon's Wood Car Park in
Wellingtonia Avenue on the B3348, about half-akilometer west of the roundabout with the
A321. Wellingtonia
Avenue is significant for its giant redwood trees which line the road on one side.
Simon's Wood
1. . Enter the woodland through the gap (with horizontal wooden poles) in the far top left-hand corner of the car park. Walk-in and immediately bear left of the holy bush, and then walk straight ahead. A muddy section bears round to the right and meets a path which, on turning left, reaches Wellingtonia Avenue; if you have any problems then just go back to Wellingtonia Avenue and turn right, otherwise, turn right and, in 20 metres, cross over opposite "Edge of the Hill". Turn right behind the large roadside direction indicators and bear left alongside the single-wire fence on your right. Then continue in a direction more or less parallel to the road but avoid dipping down to the left away from the road.
2. At a point where the path directly ahead dips steeply down, go no further, because this is where you need to emerge back on to the road and cross over. Turn left past Ridge End and, at the bend, turn right along the Private Road (restricted by-way).
3. At White Lodge, bear right along the footpath, which gets a bit muddy until, at a public footpath sign on the tree, you turn left. In about 200 metres, at a minor unmarked woodland track, turn left and go over the boards, then follow the path alongside the wooden fence, cross a main path and go over more boards.
4. This woodland path bears right alongside a wire fence and eventually comes to a stagnant ditch where boards allow you to cross. Continue ahead over more boards and then along the woodland path until you reach the pond, where there's a bench seat just to the left. Rest awhile and watch the ducks, then go anticlockwise close to the edge of the pond.
5. Cross the wooden bridge and bear right along the main path then, just after a turning on the left, enter the woodland and follow the path which leads back to the car park.
Finchampstead Ridges & Simon's Wood
Refer to footnotes under the Finchampstead Ridges walk. www.spanglefish.com/localwalks

www.spanglefish.com/localwalks