The Newbury Pub Ambling Group

The NPAmG as it is now known, originated as the Wednesday Walking Group in the 1970s, when some employees of a Government defence establishment not far from Newbury decided to go out for a walk once a week during the summer. Wednesdays were chosen as being half-way through the week, and people met at a prearranged pub at 7pm (or 6.30 when daylight was limited) to go for a fairly stiff walk. Sometimes, not to be thought churlish, a quick half (or pint) was taken before leaving the establishment. The walks tended to be five miles or so, though once we went as far as eight. On our return, a sandwich or light supper was the order of the day, and several pints were drunk.
Most of the group, though 35 years older and mainly retired, keep up the tradition and walk or rather amble about three or four miles on Wednesday evenings in the summer, or on Wednesday mornings during Greenwich mean time. We are also down to only one or at most two pints, and a sandwich or light lunch is taken in the pub.
Once a month we allow the ladies to come out on a Monday morning, though we find an increasing tendency for pubs not to open on Mondays. There is also the problem of country pubs closing and being converted to private houses or other businesses. It is also increasingly difficult to find pubs that serve simple sandwiches: they want to serve something more expensive! (The ladies don't seem to mind this).
All are welcome to the benefit of our experience! Note that the list of pubs is not exhaustive - they were chosen by the website designer, who is responsible for the comments on this site (but not for the pubs' own sites, or the pub directory sites). All routes suggested are either public rights of way, or permitted paths, but note that the site is provided in good faith and the website designer cannot be held responsible for any mishap to the user.

To use the site, from the Home Page select which area you want to go to, and then one of the forty or so pubs. Each county page leads to pub pages with a photograph and brief appraisal of each, an OS map marked-up to show the walk (amble) and a brief description of it. The map scale is evident from the kilometre grid. Just print the page, and take it with you.
If you click on the pub picture, you will go to the pub's website or to a website describing the pub (if one is available).
The K&A page is different; it stands alone as no map and little guidance are required, while the pubs own websites (where available) are linked directly, as is the National Rail Travel Planner.

Please use the link on the Home page to contact us with any comments or corrections.

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