National Grade: Moderate  Distance: 9.3miles / 15m  Leader: Fiona Kennedy  Date: July 29th 2026 

With one of the hottest days of this hot summer forecast this was a late replacement into the programme and Fiona had a shorter and much more shady walk ready to go in Black Park and Langley Park. Eight of us turned up to join Fiona so there was no backing down! The sun was beating down from a spotless blue sky as we met in the shade near the Go-Ape ticket office and after our introductory words and with coffees drunk, we set off and soon were at the tranquil lake. Despite being school holidays, it was relatively quiet. Thankfully this walk was in the shade of woodland for much of the day and with a gentle breeze never felt too hot. Crossing the busy A412, we stopped in Langley Park to admire the view of a sightline to Windsor Castle. Zooming in with our phones allowed us to see the familiar castle shimmering in the distant haze. A passer by offered to take a group picture so we are all in it this time. We shortly arrived at our first cafe stop where we sat and chatted and had drinks and ice creams. There was a more leisurely feel to the walk than on some Wednesdays. Our walk weaved around through named gardens and arboretums and we learned of how Langley Park was associated with the 3rd Duke of Marlborough, who after being evicted from his family home in Blenheim Palace, acquired Langley Park in 1738. At that time, rhododendrons were becoming very popular and the grounds of Langley Park were planted up with rhododendron groves, many of which exist today and our walk weaved through many of them. We walked up close to Langley Park house which was very impressive and certainly well outside our price range! Fiona told us how much of the overall planting and landscaping in the park was designed by our frequently encountered Capability Brown. Actually called Lancelot Brown, he acquired the nickname Capability from his frequently quoted expression to his clients that’s his creations had “Capability for improvement”.

Crossing back over the A412, we returned to Black Park and shortly afterwards we arrived at lunch stop around shady picnic tables and a cafe by Blackpark Lake. Refills of water and more ice creams were popular additions to our picnic lunch. Moving on again after lunch we weaved through the woodland heading northwards to arrive behind Pinewood Studios. Although we could only see it through the boundary fence, the buildings were massive and the site appeared very prosperous. No doubt a good sign of the healthy state of British film production. No celebs were spotted and we continued on, crossing the route of the Black Park Park Runs on at least two occasions. The return leg to the car park took us through Go-Ape and children having fun high up in the tree tops. One little girl lost her nerve right at the end and had to be coaxed back from the brink of her zip wire return back to ground. Despite the temperature well into the mid 30s, the walk had been pleasantly shady and comfortable. We thanked Fiona for pulling this together at short notice and returned to our air conditioned cars for our relatively short journeys home.

Report by Simon Thornhill