The Cascade loop from Virginia Water

Home Counties (Leg 8 Report)

Distance covered:    14.6 miles / 23.6 km


By 8:00am Acorners (Perlus, Nick, Kray, Darren Ofege, Meto and Alfred) and guests(Sena & Michel) had all arrived at the Virginia station car park.

Sena looked the part.


Nick, obviously extremely embarrassed by his failure to articulate the pre-hiking brief to Michel and hence the latter’s sporting of trainers without a bag pack, quickly offered his guest a spare pair of hiking shoes.


The wry smile etched on Kray’s face gave away his thoughts (he seemed to be saying to himself “WTF are/were you thinking?”)


Very soon we were on our way.


The guests were not shy. Sena quickly settled in, working the group, taking turns to interact with each Acorn while we got in our gates and respective strides.


About 500 metres in, Michel asked, “guys ibi your pace this?”. Wow!!!! Echoing the very words Kray had uttered to Alfred a couple years ago during the latter’s initiation. This time Michel’s words characterised trepidation expecting a response of encouragement. “This is the warm up” was Kray’s rebuttal.


A kilometre in, Perlus was still with the pack. It wasn’t for want of being polite to his guest (Sena). He couldn’t download his Komoot app, compromising his navigation.

The formation stayed pretty compact and very fluid with Perlus and Kray leading the way, Sena, Meto, Darren, Ofege & Alfred following closely behind. Nick and Michel, who was already struggling for pace stayed at the back. Just before the 6km mark, Meto and Alfred eased off to allow Nick and Michel to catch up. (They were actually jogging)


Michel at this point seemed to be enjoying interesting conversations with Nick about what can only be described as his view of behaviour of particular ladies in Accra setting themselves up for careers in the red light district.  This caught Alfred’s attention, quickly reacting he’d love a chat over a drink with Michel. This is the kind of discussion potentially required to keep Perlus’s pace in check.


Typically, 6-8km into a hike, there would have been a couple of elevations to raise the heart rate.


This route being flat, offering very minimal challenge became quite frustrating. Kray noticed a hill outside the loop and suggested we take a climb. By consensus we decided to stay the course. Within minutes, we met a group who were literally and metaphorically taking a walk in the park. One of the crew was puffing on a cigar. Acorns can boast of a few connoisseurs (whiskey, cognac, cigar, wine etc), but they mean business when hiking, and expect a real aerobic and fitness challenge. This flat terrain presented no such.


At 10km there was a slight elevation which spurred on Perlus and Kray. They attacked it, and from then on were out of sight. Kray had managed to restore his app allowing Perlus to leave Sena who had began to feel the effects of this hike in spite of his fitness though other activities.


We were hiking at the heart of Guildford & Windsor. Hardly surprising that we encountered a few deers (presenting Meto lectureship opportunities,  educating a few of us on the territorial behaviour of deers, and for Nick to imagine how different species of meat would flavour a well prepared light soup). Then the waterfalls which enhanced the scenic experience of a country side representative of true Britishness.

Nine kilometres to the end was focused on taking care of our guests, and musing to ourselves the easiest challenge a hike could present. By far the least challenging hike we’ve embarked on.


Darren and Meto powered ahead to keep pace with Perlus and Kray.

Alfred & Ofege stayed with Sena, while Nick ensured Michel managed his energy to complete the course. 23km done.


At the car park we celebrated our guests, stopped by a pub for a round of drinks before heading home.


It was, by our high standards a walk in the park, no more a challenge to our heart rates than waking up in the morning for a brief stroll to visit the bathroom, to our guests a test of initiation fitness.


Great thanks to Darren for organising this.


Bring on the next walk!!


Acorns!!! Let’s go!!!



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Alfred Walter October 16, 2024
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