Picture special: Berkshire Downs perfect place for CPRE’s first official ‘Countryside Day’

Even on a grey, drizzly afternoon in September, the stunning Berkshire Downs still have the wow factor, writes Andy Smith, a journalist and campaigner with the Berkshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural

It’s why the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) chose Streatley Hill – high above the Goring Gap – as the back-drop for the charity’s celebration of its first official ‘Countryside Day’.

This is to be an annual event to enable the charity’s supporters to gather together to celebrate the preservation of the English countryside and to spread the word more widely to local communities about CPRE’s work, as well as encouraging more people to get involved.

Local members of CPRE from Berkshire and Oxfordshire decided to hold a joint Countryside Day and to create an event on the Berks/Oxon county boundary which could look at the rolling rural landscape of this unique border country.

Activities were spread between the twin villages of Goring (Oxfordshire) and Streatley (Berkshire), which face each other across the River Thames.

While based at Goring Village Hall, which hosted an exhibition of the two CPRE branches’ work, the focus of the day was on the surrounding hills and fields, as well as the river that separates the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

The day included a gentle ramble along the riverside and through the two villages, and a more adventurous walk to take in the incredible rural landscape of Streatley Hill, Lardon Chase and Holies Down in the North Wessex Downs AONB, which featured poetry readings, ‘forest bathing’ and a mindfulness exercise.

These exertions were followed by a sumptuous afternoon tea for all the walkers upon their return to the village hall.

The day was a great success, with new members and volunteers being recruited to CPRE and more people in the local area being made aware of the charity’s mission and its campaigns to protect, promote and enhance our glorious countryside.

In two years’ time the charity celebrates its centenary – both national CPRE and the Berkshire branch were formed in 1926.

The charity’s archives, including important documents from the founding and earliest days of the charity, are held at the Museum of English Rural Life, in Reading, inextricably linking CPRE and the Royal County of Berkshire.

The charity said it was honoured to recently learn that King Charles III has agreed to be the new patron of CPRE, the late Queen Elizabeth II having been the patron for many years.

A series of major events are planned for the centenary in 2026, and Berkshire will be at the heart of these celebrations.