We are lucky to live in a village where we can enjoy interesting and varied walks in all directions taking the walker to bluebell woods, viewpoints, and fords. Footpaths in the parish include everything from short stretches through areas of woodland hidden in housing or industrial estates, to portions of two long distance trails. There is even a positive side to the housing boom, with developments at Peacock Farm, Woodhurst Park and Amen Corner making new circular walks possible, making existing paths easier to access, and giving us new parks to visit. For example, it is worth walking to Jocks Lane and then up through Woodhurst Park to get a great view back across to Binfield and to see and hear the wildlife in the woods there.
With the assistance of Binfield Parish Council we have updated a set of five short circular walks from the village. These can be found here - https://binfieldeg.wixsite.com/binfieldeg/binfield-walkers-pack, printed copies are available from the Parish Council, and two of the walks are available through the ifootpath app – www.ifootpath.com (links to the specific walks are included on the BEG walkers pack web-page).
We are now updating a set of walks and rides produced by local historian and walker Robin Mosses, who died in 2014. The path alongside Binfield Football Club was named in Robin's memory. Walks and Rides around Binfield was last updated in 1986 and was available for the princely sum of 75 pence. We will put suitable walks on ifootpath, and add links to the Binfield Environment Group website.
Rambling for Pleasure in East Berkshire (version 3, published in 2017, is available from all good book sellers for £7.99) contains one route from Binfield (with options to make 3 different walks out of it), and another couple of routes where you could walk from Binfield to join them. There are also a number of walks on the Bracknell Forest Council website - https://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/parks-and-countryside/countryside-walks/countryside-walking-routes including Walk 4 from the Binfield Walk Pack and a circular walk from Jocks Lane visiting three copses, Larks Hill and Garth Meadow. BFC also offer guided walks – see their countryside events page for more details.
The Bracknell Forest Council website also provides information on the Ramblers Route, which is a 26 mile/41.8km walking trail around the outskirts of Bracknell Forest made up of 2 loops, forming a figure of 8 circuit, and passing through Binfield. The Wokingham Way (http://www.lvra.org.uk/WokWay/index.html), is a 55 mile circular route around the boundaries of Wokingham parish that passes through Binfield, and is broken down into manageable stages.
There are a number of other long distance paths within a short distance of Binfield, including the Three Castles Path (from Windsor to Winchester), the Thames Path and the Blackwater Valley Path. The Wokingham Way links up with all three of these.
There are also a growing number of technology-enabled treasure hunting tools that can be used to give you ideas for local walks. There are a network of well-maintained geocaches (see www.geocaching.com) around Binfield, some of which require problem-solving to find, or are part of a set of related caches.
Things you can do while walking
If you don’t fancy a technology enabled walk, here are some other ideas:
* See how many different kinds of bees you can spot. The Great British Bee Count runs until the end of June - https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bee-count
* Take part in the Great British Wildflower Hunt - https://www.plantlife.org.uk/wildflowerhunt/
* Litter-picking. It has been shown that the less litter there is in a place the less likely it is that people will drop litter. If we each pick up a few pieces of litter every time we walk, we will make our paths even better.
* Hunt for dragons (dragonflies). July is The Dragonfly Challenge month - https://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/dragonfly-challenge
* See how many different kinds of butterflies you can spot. The Big Butterfly Count runs from 20th July to 12th August - https://www.bigbutterflycount.org/
Please let us know via the Binfield Environment Group facebook group or email binfieldeg@gmail.com, which of these activities you take part in and what you find. We’d also love to hear about, and see pictures of, your favourite Binfield paths.
