Generally, I'm pretty self-motivated to work out, but every once in a while, I decide I should exercise my social skills, too. So on a sunny Good Friday, I joined the Capital Walkers, which is affiliated with the Ramblers organization, for an 8-mile jaunt along the Wandle Trail. I chose this as an easy foray into the group's regular rambles because the walk started at a nearby train station. In fact, I had run and biked along the trail before, but I was interested in seeing where it went farther afield.
Our lunchtime spot, Morden Hall Park, was new territory for me (left). The former deer park was overrun with kids participating in an Easter egg hunt, so I decided it would be better to return at a later date to discover more about the park's milling history. We followed the River Wandle, which once powered 100 mills (right), to its source in Carshalton, where we cheered our rambling achievement with the selections on tap at a beer festival at The Hope.
Somewhere in between all the jogging and sipping, I squeezed in a bike ride with the London Cycling Campaign. Once again, I chose the easy route in trying out the group's regular rides: The Country Estates of West London Ride started at another nearby train station (although I actually cycled to the start this time). Near the start in Richmond, we pedaled past then across the River Thames (left). Toward the end of the ride, we crossed another waterway, the Grand Union Canal (right).
The ride almost took a terrible turn when a father and son swerved and fell into the canal, but we managed to fish them out quickly, so the overall trip wasn't tarnished. Not even rain could ruin our tea break at Osterley Park and House (top left), where I took shelter from the quick shower in the neo-classical party palace's stables (top right). Toward the end of the ride, I stopped for a quick snap of Syon Park (bottom), where Henry VIII's corpse exploded during an overnight stop by his funeral cortege. Although my muscles were tired, my body remained intact as I rode the final leg back home.
As few weeks later, I was waterside once again, this time on my feet as I traversed part of the River Wey near Shalford Park in Guildford (left). It was hardly a grueling hike, but my friends and I nonetheless hailed our stroll with drinks at The Weyside (right). Having seen the brewery from the train once before, and having come to town a week earlier than its open day, I opted for a cask offering from the Little Beer Corporation: its Little Haka English bitter.
We actually were in town for an indoor pursuit: a matinee of The Merry Wives, an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. The theater, open since 1965, is famous for launching the careers of actors like Ingrid Bergman. But there are more historical buildings in town, such as Guildford Castle, a 12th-century fort surrounded by modernized grounds, including a bowling lawn (left). The castle gardens provided a lovely backdrop for a picnic (right).
We obtained our lunch from vendors at the Saturday market, lined up along one of the town's medieval streets. We also dropped by a craft market at the Guildhall, an Elizabethan structure likely built on the site of an original medieval hall. A Middle Ages room that has survived is The Undercroft, where a merchant likely sold take-out wine by the pitcher right below the High Street (left). Outside of town lies the ruins of St. Catherine's Chapel, built on the site of a previous chapel in the 14th century (right).
