SOUTH EAST
■Distance: 6¼ miles/10km ■Time: 2¾ hours ■Grade: Moderate
CHOSEN BY… ANDY WEEKES
Sitting on what is thought to be a Roman road, Tidmarsh nestles in the valley of the River Pang, guarded by Second World War pillboxes and woodland.
Tear yourself away from the 13th-century thatched pub – the Greyhound has been here for 800 years and survived a devastating fire in 2005, so it will still be there at the end of your walk. Head east out of the village, crossing the Pang and up into Sulham Wood.
Following the contours northwards you might just spy the glint of the distant Thames before curving round and brushing the western tip of Reading. Turn your back on the urban sprawl and bask in the romance of Wilder’s Folly, a Georgian tower built so that its owner could gaze upon the same landmark as his love when they were apart in their homes.
Follow cupid’s arrow to his grand house in tiny Sulham before retracing your path back to Tidmarsh to raise a glass to the happy couple.
Take footpath on the L, crossing a footbridge into a field. Follow the footpath heading east. At a lane, turn L then pick up the footpath on the R. Follow it to the R then L round the field boundary up to the woods.
Just inside woods, ta
