Wendover Woods Walk - low level and part parkrun

 

This is now one of my favourite walks, especially when I need some shade this time of year. I park on Babington Road in Wendover, which is usually deserted, walk up the lane and enter the woods via a short climb where a metal handrail has been recently installed. Instead of going up the steep hill (that now has a rope handrail) I turned left along the path at low level. I sometimes turn right but today I headed towards Halton camp.

After nearly a mile, there is a meeting of paths where I turn a sharp right and head up the hill, a steady but reasonable incline on a wide well made path. This takes you to the top of Wendover Woods where you meet the main path to the cafe and car park. This is where you join the route for parkrun and follow it all the way. Near the cafe the path goes back downhill until you reach a right hand turn to go back up. At the top a left turn and a path at the very edge of the woods with the best views. 

Then another steep but short downhill section where at the bottom the parkrun course bears right uphill. But this is where I leave it and take a path that bears left down to edge of Wendover itself. I avoid the turn to the road and take another low level path back to lane. This route is almost exactly five miles and, whilst quite hilly, is always interesting. And mostly shady.