Thetownend.com

Really want to make it to today's game, but after the fun I had driving yesterday thought I'd ask if anyone knew what the road conditions are like around Marlborough, particularly on the fucking big hill that ends near Tesco.

I'm sure Reg posted a decent walking route from Marlborough to Old Town on here once.

Easy walk along the old railway path from Marlborough all the way to Coate, then just a short stroll down Queens Drive to the CG.

Marlborough has a Tesco now?? What's the world coming to ???

How the actual fuck did this turn into a thread about walking?

F that!

Park at the bottom of the hill, walk up to Tesco, buy a shit load of value table salt, salt the hill on the way down, wait, job done.

Dont get me started!

I suppose even Marlborough has a few token poor people who can't afford Waitrose :hmmm:

So then...what is the furthest that anyone has walked to a game at the County Ground?

Used to walk all the time when I lived in Old Town, but nothing impressive about that.  Also used to walk sometimes from Freshbrook when my parents lived there - best part of an hour from there.  And I cycled from Oxford to buy Wembley tickets in 1993.

I remember reading somewhere about how Harold Fleming would finish work on a Thursday afternoon on the farm where he worked near Andover, Andover FFS (probably ploughing the fields by hand or something) and set out to walk the God-knows-how-many miles to Swindon for the game on a Saturday, score a hat trick and then walk back again.

CHECK.....MATE 8)

Folk used to do things like that.  So impressive.  I'm sure John Arlott, who supported Reading, used to routinely cycle to Elm Park from Basingstoke for home games.

I think Harold Fleming's in the lead, though.  According to Google Maps, Andover to the County Ground on foot is 32.3 miles and would take nearly 11 hours.  Don't expect he would have been able to do that regularly, but don't doubt he did it at some point.

Not much help but people from Malbrough managed to make it into work last night and we sent the driver out to Malbrough DO.

Did he walk to away games too?

A very brief investigation would suggest that the 'walking from Andover to Swindon' thing may have been an urban myth. Fleming's parents it would appear, moved from Andover to Swindon when he was a kid and he went to school in Swindon and worked at the GWR works whilst the parents owned a butcher's shop in Market Street.

I'm still going to choose to believe it nonetheless.

What do you reckon Reg?

No one in Marlborough is poor....but hang on in my opinion the Town is a lot poorer for building this monstrosity.

Just my opinion let me make that clear......oh and they are building a Waitrose at Wichelstowe,so it cannot be that bad to shop at.

I'd have thought a pre match walk from Andover would be pushing it, especially when you could get a train up to OT. 

Alfred Williams used to walk daily to and from his cottage in South Marston to The Works. In his book he tells the story of fellow worker, who did a similar daily hike, but in a spell of wet and cold weather like we've just had, got a few too many soakings and died.

There's a few decent routes from Marlborough to Swindon....the best is to use the old railway to near Ogbourne St George, then veer off for Southend, then follow the Ridgeway Path up to Barbury, drop down the hill and hop over the fence, to the path for Overtown Farm....follow the lane round to the right, although you can drop down to Wroughton if desired  by going straight on, which brings you out by Halcrow up at Brimble Hill... tiny bit of road walking leads to the top of Ladder Lane, follow that down to Piper's Way, cross into the Great Copse, then out by Intel and back on the old railway which leads up to the side of The Wheatsheaf

Mr leef, are you from the Marlborough? Assume you're referring to the fiasco with planning permission being allowed for the 'business park' only for it to sit empty for five years and cllrs allowing new uses (tescos) which will impact on existing retail in the high street area

Marlborough isn't as posh as people make out, but its a cracking town to grow up in. Plenty of decent boozers that actively encouraged under aged drinking (might be different now). Decent muff compared to other places I've lived.  Always fancied moving back if I found myself in the shire again.