Lardon Chase, Streatley and Goring Gap, great dog walk in Berkshire

This circular hike from Lardon Chase to Streatley, crossing the River Thames and entering the Goring village, offers a delightful mix of woodland trails, sweeping vistas, and historic charm. It makes for an excellent long dog walk in Berkshire.

Our first hike in the Lardon Chase was a short walk, and we stayed within the Lardon Chase site. This time around, we went for the full trail described on the National Trust website, and it was a good call. It was such a great walk with loads to see, and the girls absolutely loved it.

Distance	Total Time	Difficulty
7.18 km	02:05	Moderate

The designated walking trails are well-maintained and clearly marked, making it easy for you to explore the area without losing your way.

Lardon Chase is conveniently located in Berkshire, just a short distance from the town of Streatley.

As mentioned in our first post on the Lardon Chase walk, an important note is that you should use the whole address rather than just the postcode in your GPS. We started with just the postcode and ended up a few miles off in a residential area, so please use “Lardon Chase, The Coombe, Streatley, Berkshire, RG8 9QT”.

Don’t forget to check the post notes at the bottom of the page, with maps, a detailed table about the hike and links to everything mentioned in the post.

The Hike

The gang started the hike in the car park, but this time instead of going through the gate into Lardon Chase, we walked out of the car park and crossed the B4009, getting to a footpath called the Holies part of the National Trust.

This section took us through a peaceful woodland, and the girls were very excited. Soon we started to walk down a slope towards a gate as we could see a dry valley called The Coombe to our left.

The rich scents of pine and earth mingle in the air, inviting your furry friend to revel in the sensory delights of nature.

We crossed the gate, and soon the trail’s landscape changed from woodland to grassland with lovely views before starting to descend again.

The gang continued to follow the wider track and crossed other two gates, getting to a valley, and again could enjoy lovely views from there.

At the foot of the hill to the left is a gate to the A329 (Reading Road). There is a great-looking self-catering accommodation building called Linden Cottage by the gate.

Here the National Trust instructions for the walk don’t seem to be correct, but we adapted as we often do in these cases, crossed the road and walked on the parallel pavement until we found a sign-posted footpath to our right.  

This section is quite different from the first part, walking by hedges and fences until we got to Vicarage Lane, turned left, and continued until reaching the High Street in Streatley.

From there we turned right and got the bridge over the River Thames. Again, lovely views here. There are restaurants and cafes by the river on the Streatley side of the bridge.

On the Goring side of the bridge, we continued to walk and turned the first road to the right. There is a little garden on the corner, and from there, we got to Ferry Lane. In this section of the hike, we saw beautiful cottages. It was Goring that we found the only two dog waste bins on this walk.

This little road took us to the river, from where we could see some boats and beautiful houses. We continued by the river until we got to the bridge again.

We retraced our trail back to the High Street and continued a little uphill through some houses, getting to Lardon Chase gate at the foot of the hill.

At this last section, we went up the hill, the most challenging part of the walk but not too difficult.

In the end, just before getting to the Lardon Chase entrance, the gang took a moment to appreciate the stunning panoramic views that stretch across the Berkshire Downs. It makes for a lovely goodbye.

A great long walk and I can’t help but feel grateful for the time spent exploring this remarkable corner of Berkshire with our girls.

Cheers,

Ademar