My Village Walk

I have a regular circular walk that takes me from Weston Turville to Halton for about four miles. I walk from the house so I don't have to take the car. I can choose whether to go clockwise or anticlockwise. At the weekend it was the former, so I started off through the outskirts of the village, starting at the junction of Baker's Walk and Brookside. 

If I look behind me, Brookside is the road into a housing development where the TV series Inspector Morse was once filmed. The episode is called Death Is My Neighbour.

But I have turned right, and on the corner the first house on the left is Sannie Cottage.

On the left is the first of four tracks that lead to Wendovewr Brook.

Then almost immediately on the right is Bates Lane which is where Brookside then becomes Church Lane, and the oldest part of the village of Weston Turville.

And the second of the four paths to Wendover Brook.

I rarely go down this path, but this is how it looks if I did.

There are a number of old cottages along Church Lane. This is The Old Cottage on the right that has recently been re-thatched. 

Next is Rose Cottage, also on the right.

And then Apple-by-Millbank on the left.

Next door is a terrace of four cottages with Folly Cottage in the middle.

At the end of these cottages on the left, is the penultimate of the four paths to Wendover Brook.

Opposite on the right is The Chequers Inn. The tables outside are popular in the summer.

Further along on the left is The Forge.

And Pennant Cottage on the right.

Opposite is the fourth and last path to Wendover Brook.

Church Lane is a very quiet road, pretty much perfect, with no kerbs and the oldest part of the village, with those thatched cottages and older houses. The road is parallel but well away from the busier Main Street, which is the main route through the village. Church Lane is only just wide enough for cars to pass each other. There are not many of these around. There is a nice footpath on the right, and on the left are an odd house and countryside behind.

Such as the next one behind a flint wall. It's called Scott House.

Further along, just after School Lane on the right, there is now a bench on a patch of grass and a map and historical information of the village. It has the title Weston Turville 2000 and has maps of the Millennium Trail and the parish. These are surrounded by photos of cottages, the church, and shops.

Opposite is the old Church Room, now part of a house called The Studio.

The last house on the right is Cadel House, presently unoccupied. 

This is where I turn left onto Church Walk. On the corner is the vicarage. 

Down Church Walk, heading for the church itself.

If I look to the right, there are fields and the Chiltern Hills in the background.

Just down the lane there is a turning on the right and a track down to Church Farm. The notice on the left is for teas on Saturdays and Sundays.

I ignore the turning and go straight on to where Church Walk crosses Wendover Brook. (See post 18th February 2024).

Just a few yards and on the left, as in the photo below, is the field that belongs to the Manor House (the entrance is the next photo), where one-time occupant Noel Edmunds used to park his helicopter.

At the end of Church Walk is the parish church of St Mary the Virgin.

A nice public footpath through the churchyard leads to fields. I'm only fifteen minutes into my walk.

At the end of the churchyard is a gate into a large field and the Chiltern Hills in the distance. I love this view.

The path through the middle of the field has great views of hills ahead.

I then reach a gate into a much larger field that has just been ploughed. 

Through the gate and a long path runs along the side of a hedge to the left. Part of Wendover Woods is in the distance.

To the right are some great views of the Chiltern Hills. On the left is the end of Wendover Woods, then Beacon Hill with those two trees at the top. Then Whiteleaf Hill and, in the very far distance, the top of The Ridgeway beyond Princes Risborough.

Note in the photo above, the ploughed field had left a wide area next to the path. But this had disappeared by the time I took the photo below.

Down the path and in the distance is Aylesbury County Hall.

At the end of the field is the gate to the canal path of the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal.

On this particular route I turn left. If I turned right, there is a long towpath alongside the canal to Wendover. Note the improvement of the path below courtesy of funding from HS2. It's about two thirds of a mile down to Halton. 

The canal is on the right, and there are nice views over fields on the left. The hills in the background stretch from Wingrave to Aston Abbotts and then Weedon.

The canal is overgrown in parts, so there is no sign it will be revived as a waterway. So the old towpath is now a perfect route even at the muddiest time of the winter. Now it's great for the wildlife, and there are ducks along the way.

At the end of the path is a gate to the road at Halton Lane.

On the left corner is Canal Cottage.

Then immediately, having turned right, there is a bridge over the canal. The towpath continues towards Marsworth and the Grand Union Canal.

But I come out onto Halton Lane, and on the other side of the road is Ivy Cottage.

Here on one corner is a wild flower border.

I am in the village of Halton, and across the road is the Parish Church of St. Michael and All Angels. I usually go straight past, but I decided to take a look for a change. This used to be on one of my very long walks to Wendover Woods.

Here there is a well-kept graveyard for the RAF.

Just past the church, I turn right onto a one-way public road through Halton Tennis Centre.

Past the tennis courts is a large open area that used to be RAF Halton Cricket Club. Now only an area of grass, it is used for the occasional function parking. And, I guess, in reserve if ever needed by the military. 

It is actually a beautiful location, quiet and surrounded by trees with the Chiltern Hills in the distance. All that remains of its use for cricket are these dilapidated nets and some concrete bases for a catching cradle.

I come out at a road called Halton Village that then becomes Chestnut Avenue after a few yards. No guessing what the trees are. I turn right along the footpath heading for the canal. 

Further down the road there are RAF officer houses on both sides.

Then the bridge over the canal.

Again, the towpath on the left leads to Wendover and on the right to Halton. But I don't cross the canal. Instead, I take a wooded path off the road.

Only a short walk and I'm back on the same road in Halton. 

I cross the road and take the signposted path to Weston Turville Reservoir.

This long path has Wendover Brook on the left all the way to the reservoir.

To the left are fields and later the slope of the Chilterns once again.

Near the end of the path and on the right, the reservoir is seen through the hedge 

I'm at the top of the steps that lead down to the water. With the hills in the background, another superb setting. The yachts are out at the weekend. There is a path all the way round the reservoir, so I use the alternative route that goes past the yacht club when the one I'm on is too muddy.

I 

On Friday, the swans and cygnets were out on the bank.

Just before the gate is Wendover Brook again, only a trickle after the dry spell.

Through the gate, I come out onto Worlds End Lane.

Only a short distance to a signpost and the path to the allotments.

At the end of the short grassy path above is a stile, and beyond a small field where there often cows who have made their way through a gap from the lower field on the right.

At the end of this field is another style to the allotments. This is a signposted public right of way.

At the end of the track through the allotments I rejoin Church Lane.

And I'm nearly home. The photos were taken over two days, one sunny and the other cloudy. I never tire of this walk; there are so many different parts. And I can go one of two ways. Always a decision when I start off.