The southern circular walk in Red starts at Rushall Manor Barn car park and takes walkers down to the Pang and then along its banks to Bradfield College. The walk includes both water meadows and ancient woodland and incorporates sections of both the Berkshire Circular Walk and the Down the Pang West Berkshire Countryside walk.

In Bradfield the church, college and mill together with 17th century and Georgian cottages form an attractive group. Turn left and follow the footpath to the old gas works. Take the footpath on the left and at the stile take the path that crosses over the field to join Back Lane. The route then turns northwest through Greathouse Wood then turns southeast at the reservoir along a grassy path to reach Owl Pit, a site of regional geological interest.

Walkers then return westwards through bluebell woods in Owl Pit Copse, on through Round Copse and pass Oaklands Copse teaching centre before returning to the end of the walk at Rushall Manor Barn car park.

iOS users can download the free Footpath app to follow their position or use Google maps to track their journey.

The northern circular walk shown takes walkers northwest up through Rushall Copse (a bluebell wood) then along the footpath to Mirams Copse. There the path forks, take the northeast path which crosses various butterfly and moth-rich rides before reaching Scratchface Lane.

Walkers then cross over through the gate and take the footpath in the copse to the right. This continues until it joins the Greathouse Wood gravel path. At the reservoir sign take the grassy path to the right which runs southeast down to Owl Pit copse.

After visiting the geological site walkers can return through bluebell woods in Owlpit and Round Copses before crossing Scratchface Lane. The path opposite takes walkers past the Oaklands teaching site and returns to Rushall Manor Barn Car Park.

This walk is primarily through ancient woodland.

Artesian springs have developed because of the layers of impermeable clay above and below the porous chalk in the area. This causes a build-up in downward pressure of water from higher parts of the water table over the Downs. Water is then forced out through fissures.

The blue colour is almost certainly derived from the fine particles of a mineral called glauconite which is blue-green in colour and transmits or reflects the light that reaches it in the fine sands on the bed of the pool. Chalk, in common with other rocks of marine origin, contains particles of glauconite which would be insoluble and left on the bed of the pool when soluble elements of the chalk were removed in the water flowing away. The water maintains a constant temperature of about 7-9˚C all year. Glauconite indicates seawater conditions.

The confluence of the Blue Pool flow with the River Pang adds about 50% of the River Pang’s water. At the confluence the Upper Pang becomes the Lower Pang and the doubling of the river width is easy viewed from the public foot path.

The only public access to the Blue Pool is at the south western corner.