Our outdoor excursions are normally held generally twice each month at a wide range of different locations. For around fifty years the society has arranged two kinds of excursion: field trips and Wednesday walks.
Field Trips
Field trips often go to a nature reserve with plenty of time to look at the specialities of the location. They are generally only a few miles in length and led by a knowledgeable naturalist. Some are targeted at a specific range of creatures: for example: birds, fungi moths or an aspect of natural history such as geology.
Wednesday walks
Our Wednesday walks are generally more informal than the field trips and of general natural history interest. From the earliest days this social occasion has ended with the option of a convivial pub lunch to end the morning exertions. Walks can be up to 4 ½ miles in length and so much of the time is spent walking. Details are published in the printed programme sent out to all members, the event calendar and the newsletter email. In the winter (October to March) we may need to change plans due to the weather and so we publish full details only a week in advance and at our evening meetings.
To see all our forthcoming excursions please see our outdoor programme or calendar of events
Here are reports on recent excursions. Click on the title to see the full report.
- Otmoor – 2 December 2023
Alan Parfitt led a walk at Otmoor on the morning of Saturday 2 December. It was a cold foggy day with the temperature well below zero – there would be no distant views across the wetlands. Adjacent to the car park is a field where scrub had been allowed to develop and where there were ... - Fungi at Padworth CommonMike Harrison led a fungus identification walk at Padworth Common on the morning of Saturday 18 November. The Common is managed by BBOWT, the local Wildlife Trust. Previous forecasts had been pessimistic about the amount of rain which was expected, but apart from a little light drizzle, the morning was mostly dry and surprisingly mild. ...
- Woodcote – 15 November 2023Rob Stallard led a walk around Woodcote on the morning of Wednesday 15 November, starting from the Highwayman at Exlade Street, between Woodcote and Checkendon. It was a beautiful sunny morning, following copious amounts of rain on the preceding days. Redwings were heard while the group were gathering. Turning left out of the car park, ...
- Turville – 25 October 2023Inge Beck led a walk on the morning of Wednesday 25 October which started near the church in Turville. Following prolonged overnight rain, the walk began in damp, grey weather conditions, but ended in glorious sunshine which emphasised the first of the autumn colour which was beginning to appear in the woods and hedgerows. The ...
- Moor Copse, Tidmarsh – 15 October 2023Jan Haseler led a walk at BBOWT’s Moor Copse reserve near Tidmarsh on the afternoon of Sunday 15 October. It was a day of bright sunshine but with a cool breeze. The walk started out southwards along the lane towards the road bridge over the River Pang, pausing after a short distance to inspect the ...
- Burnham Beeches – 30 September 2023Jim Wills led a walk round Burnham Beeches on the morning of Saturday 30 September. The underlying geology of the site is Chalk, which is almost entirely covered by the Sands and Clays of the Lambeth Beds. These are capped in turn over much of the site by Thames Gravels. Members and friends met at ...
- Swallowfield – 20 September 2023On the morning of Wednesday 20 September, Fiona Brown led a circular walk which started from the car park of the George and Dragon pub at Swallowfield. The weather forecast had threatened rain from 11am but the serious rain did not actually start until about 1pm, when the walk was almost over. The walk started ...
- Aldermaston Gravel Pits – 9 September 2023Graham Steven of Natural England led a walk round Aldermaston Gravel Pits, a new venue for the Society, on the morning of Saturday 9 September. There is no public access to the site, which is kept locked. Much of the site, which abuts the Kennet and Avon Canal, was formerly occupied by gravel pits. The ...
- Mothing at Tolhurst Organic – 19/20 August 2023Norman Hall and Paul Black ran moth traps overnight in two fields of Tolhurst Organics on the night of 19 – 20 August 2023. The farm produces stock-free organic vegetables in two fields of the Hardwick Estate, to the east of Whitchurch-on-Thames. It was the first farm in the world to be classified as stock-free ...
- South Stoke – 16 August 2023Fiona Cummins led a walk from South Stoke on the morning of Wednesday 16th August, starting from the car park of the Perch and Pike. Regrettably the pub had closed a few weeks earlier. The walk started out northwards, along a footpath between two houses, passing Elder bushes which already carried their crop of shiny ...
- Hazeley Heath – 6 August 2023Julia Cooper and Ian Duddle led a walk at Hazeley Heath near Hartley Wintney on Sunday 6 August.
- Mortimer – Saturday 29 July 2023Jan Haseler led a walk through the conifer plantations of the Englefield Estate, to the west of Mortimer on the Hampshire / Berkshire border, on the morning of Saturday 29 July. Target species was the Grayling butterfly. It is one of Britain’s fastest declining butterflies and has recently been upgraded to Endangered on the British ...
- Lambourn – 19 July 2023Rob Stallard led a walk at Lambourn on the morning of Wednesday 19 July.
- Tidgrove Warren Farm near Overton – 16 July 2023The field trip on the afternoon of Sunday 16 July was at Tidgrove Warren, south of Kingsclere, by kind invitation of Raleigh Place. It was a site which the Society had visited 5 years previously, in 2018. The estate is managed sympathetically for wildlife. It first entered the scheme for ‘Set-aside’ in1990, before signing up ...
- Riseley – 21 June 2023Cathy Harris led a walk to the Wellesley Water Meadow SANG on the morning of Wednesday 21 June, starting from Riseley Memorial Hall car park. A SANG is a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace which provides a place for dog walking and for the general public to walk. Any development within 5km of the Thames Basin ...
- Asham Meads and Woodsides MeadowSally Rankin led an all-day visit to two Oxfordshire meadow reserves of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) on Saturday 18 June. First destination was Asham Meads, near Murcott on the east side of the RSPB’s Otmoor Reserve. The walk started out anti-clockwise round Lower Marsh Field. The meadow was full of flowers, ...
- Beacon Hill, 10 June 2023Rob Stallard led a walk at Beacon Hill, south of Newbury and next to the busy A34, on the morning of Saturday 10 June. It was a hot day, with the temperature rising to nearly 30C. It was the Society’s first visit to Beacon Hill since 1981. The site is an Iron Age hill fort ...
- Hartslock – 24 May 2023Jan Haseler led a walk to BBOWT’s Hartslock reserve on Wednesday 24 May, on a warm sunny morning with a cloudless blue sky. Starting from the south-east end of Manor Road in Goring, the route started out along a footpath which led down to the River Thames. Tall Hemlock plants were growing in the adjacent ...
- Ibstone – 13 May 2023Inge Beck led a circular walk around the village of Ibstone on Saturday 13 May. It was a cold morning with a brisk northerly wind, but fortunately most of the walk was in sheltered woodland. Meeting point was the road verge next to Ibstone Common. After a short stretch along the road, the route led ...
- Nightingales at Pingewood – 3 May 2023John Lerpiniere led an evening walk to listen to Nightingales on Wednesday 3 May. While members gathered at the southern end of Pingewood Road North, two Swifts flew overhead and Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard. After a short walk eastwards along Berry’s Lane, the route led into the Searle’s Lane gravel pit complex. A big ...
- Harefield Copse and Boxgrove Wood, Tilehurst – 29 April 2023Rob Stallard led a well-attended walk through the woods to the west of the Little Heath area of Tilehurst on the afternoon of Saturday 29 April. Members gathered at the top of Pincents Lane, where Rob gave an overview of the local geology. The plateau at the top is very stony, with gravels laid down ...
- Hampstead Norreys – 19 April 2023On Wednesday 19 April, Marion Venners led a walk which started from the Village Hall car park at Hampstead Norreys. The route led across the sports field and into the churchyard, where an unusual cast iron monument to various members of the Lowsley family was inspected. Meadow Saxifrage was just coming into flower in the ...
- Loddon Lilies at Dinton Pastures – 2 April 2023David Owens led a walk to look at Loddon Lilies on the morning of Sunday 2 April. Meeting point was the car park of Showcase Cinema at Winnersh. Following weeks of rain, with particularly heavy and long-lasting rain on the preceding Friday, water levels were high and the River Loddon, which runs along the west ...
- Rotherfield Peppard – 15 March 2023On Wednesday 15 March, Jerry Welsh led a walk to Flowercroft Wood, starting from Rotherfield Peppard Church. Common Frogs and frogspawn were spotted in a small pond at the end of the car park. The walk started out south-eastwards along a track past the church, before turning right onto a footpath which followed the field ...
- Mosses at Greenham Common – 4 March 2023Sean O’Leary led a well-attended walk to look at mosses on the afternoon of Saturday 4 March, starting from the Control Centre at Greenham Common. Our last few moss walks have had some very cold weather, and our visit to Greenham Common proved no exception. Sensibly therefore, we started proceedings in the small woodland near ...
- Bucklebury Common – 22 February 2023Rob Stallard led a walk around Bucklebury Common on the morning of Wednesday 22 February, starting from the Cottage Inn at Upper Bucklebury. At the start of the walk, the weather was grey and damp, but by the end, the first sunshine was breaking through the clouds. Rob described the geology of the Common – ...
- Geology at Silchester Common – 4 February 2023Lesley Dunlop led a walk to look at the geology of Silchester Common on Saturday 4 February, starting from the car park on Impstone Road. It was a dull, grey morning, but not particularly cold. The walk started out northwards along the western boundary of the Common. Lesley explained that the underlying geology at this ...
- Burghfield – 18 January 2013Viv Rimmer led the walk on Wednesday 18 January. The original plan had been a circular walk along the Kennet and Avon canal, starting from the Cunning Man at Burghfield, followed by a loop back through the gravel pits. But after days of rain, the Kennet continued to rise, so that by the preceding Sunday, ...
- Reading Hydro scheme – 7 January 2023The first field trip of 2023, on the morning of Saturday 7 January, was a visit to hear about the Reading Hydro project, preceded by a walk around the Thames-side parks. Despite initial rain and a forecast of worse to come, 14 members turned out, meeting in Hills Meadow car park. The walk, led by ...
- Otmoor – 3 December 2022Alan Parfitt organised a visit to the RSPB’s Otmoor reserve on Saturday 4 December. It was a bright but chilly afternoon with a cold north-easterly wind. The track from the car park started out westwards for a short distance, then turned northwards into the reserve. To the left of the track was a damp pasture ...
