For my fourth walk in the South Buckinghamshire Chilterns, I chose one from Nick Moon's book
Circular Walks along The Chiltern Way. Since I retired, I have ventured south of the M40 on three previous occasions. This time it was a fifty minute drive, so just once a year is enough. I parked the car, as instructed, on the verge of the green in Southend, a hamlet not even on my road map.
I started my walk at 10.30am. A bright sunny day with temperatures from 15C to 20C, just about perfect for a long walk. I only became hot on the last uphill stretch. The first third of the route is fairly ordinary as it mostly goes through woods. Pleasant enough, but nothing different from my local walks. Gussetts Wood and Great Wood are very similar to those around Dunsmore.
But the scenery changes completely coming down out of Great Wood with great views of the Hambleden Valley below.
I crossed over the road just after Bacres Farm ( in the foreground above) to pick up The Chiltern Way at Colstrope. This long and straight path along the valley is just superb.
At the village of Skirmett, the route heads off east and up into Adams Wood with a brief open area at the top of the hill before entering Fingest Wood with this time a downhill stretch. Coming out of the wood, there is a gate and then a bench situated well above Fingest with one of the best viewpoints in the whole of the Chilterns. I have never been in a prettier spot. The view down to Fingest is particularly splendid.
The bench was a perfect spot to have lunch and taken in the views all around. A couple from Beaconsfield came past and we compared notes on our walks. It was about 1.30pm that I started down the last stretch of hill into Fingest. The church there is very striking.
The route then takes a detour around Turville Hill and it was not long before the village of Turville itself came into view.
I had visited the village before as it was the starting point of one of my previous walks. It was very pretty in the afternoon sunshine. The church looked very fine.
The Chiltern Way then has one final long uphill stretch from Turville up to the starting point at Turville. The best bit about this section is the view back up the Hambleden Valley from where I was sometime earlier. A bench about half way up was a good place to have a rest. The sun had become quite warm and I was hot for the first time in the day.
I arrived back at the car about 2.45pm, so it had been a fairly long day. I must have walked about 9 miles, which is longer than my normal weekend routes. But it was a very enjoyable experience. I did wonder a couple of times if I was on the right path, but I managed to avoid getting lost in unfamiliar territory. It certainly makes a change from my regular walks.
For my fourth walk in the South Buckinghamshire Chilterns, I chose one from Nick Moon's book Circular Walks along The Chiltern Way. Since I retired, I have ventured south of the M40 on three previous occasions. This time it was a fifty minute drive, so just once a year is enough. I parked the car, as instructed, on the verge of the green in Southend, a hamlet not even on my road map.
But the scenery changes completely coming down out of Great Wood with great views of the Hambleden Valley below.
I crossed over the road just after Bacres Farm ( in the foreground above) to pick up The Chiltern Way at Colstrope. This long and straight path along the valley is just superb.
At the village of Skirmett, the route heads off east and up into Adams Wood with a brief open area at the top of the hill before entering Fingest Wood with this time a downhill stretch. Coming out of the wood, there is a gate and then a bench situated well above Fingest with one of the best viewpoints in the whole of the Chilterns. I have never been in a prettier spot. The view down to Fingest is particularly splendid.
The bench was a perfect spot to have lunch and taken in the views all around. A couple from Beaconsfield came past and we compared notes on our walks. It was about 1.30pm that I started down the last stretch of hill into Fingest. The church there is very striking.
The route then takes a detour around Turville Hill and it was not long before the village of Turville itself came into view.
I had visited the village before as it was the starting point of one of my previous walks. It was very pretty in the afternoon sunshine. The church looked very fine.
The Chiltern Way then has one final long uphill stretch from Turville up to the starting point at Turville. The best bit about this section is the view back up the Hambleden Valley from where I was sometime earlier. A bench about half way up was a good place to have a rest. The sun had become quite warm and I was hot for the first time in the day.
I arrived back at the car about 2.45pm, so it had been a fairly long day. I must have walked about 9 miles, which is longer than my normal weekend routes. But it was a very enjoyable experience. I did wonder a couple of times if I was on the right path, but I managed to avoid getting lost in unfamiliar territory. It certainly makes a change from my regular walks.
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