Our walks now are half day walks of about five miles followed by refreshments at a pub or tea room, which is our “new normal”. We aim to walk every month depending on availability of walk leaders.

The u3a Walking Group 3 is aiming to organise ten or eleven walks for 2026. Most of these will be between 4 and 5 miles long, and designed for a half-day walk. But not all of them will be through the countryside.
The sun finally came out for us on 18 March, and sixteen walkers emerged into the warm air for a good four mile morning walk!
Chawton village is south of Alton, and is well known for containing Jane Austen’s house, and the Chawton House where her brother lived. But there is plenty of marvellous countryside surrounding the famous buildings, and this is what our walk leader Charlotte Farmer led us through.
There are plenty of beautiful houses alongside the quiet lane to the south of the village – we noted that even the primary school had several flint walls! Then we turned east, and we were walking through flat wide fields covered by wet grass; this was not really surprising for a spring emerges amongst this open ground, and a small stream was flowing beneath our route!
Then along the narrow lane with more old brick houses beneath thatched roofs, and countryside fields that lead us to Upper Farringdon. And that is where we passed the local parish church, and its two yew trees - one is 3,000 years old, the other is “only” 2,000 years old. The elder of the two is one of the oldest ten trees in the United Kingdom (still growing) – a 2022 campaign raised £13,000 to preserve its stability.
Then on to paths through woods and even more open fields. There were fewer houses as we progressed back to Chawton. But still interesting – a totem pole in a back garden was a surprise! Our monthly walks are usually 4-5 miles long, and some members stop for lunch afterwards. A relaxing way to get to know others after all of the walking. Do feel free to contact markbrown86@gmail.com if you wish to view our timetable.
Mark Brown

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