14th May
There are some places I’ve only ever driven past, and mostly at high speed…Luton, Basingstoke, Slough…and Stokenchurch. For the most part I’ve believed this to be a positive thing. I’d never given it much thought but it turns out that Stokenchurch doesn’t just look good in a rear view mirror.
We park on the green by the Fleur de Lis pub before walking north out of the village onto the Chiltern Way and Collier’s Lane. About 300 hundred years ago Collier’s Lane was the main road to London. Difficult to imagine now. This afternoon the only noise in the valley is the high-pitched mewing of circling Red Kites.
Maybe it’s Sunday afternoon or because the weather is good but the paths are busy. Several times we’re followed by gangs of elderly walkers with walking poles. Surprisingly, they can get up quite a lick when they hit their straps, leaving me struggling to stay ahead. At one point we take a sharp left turn and almost race up through Venus Woods in an effort to lose them. At the top I need to catch my breath. We do lose them, but only temporarily, as we bump into them again later in High Wood. However by now I’ve regained my composure.
An enjoyable walk, even though we seemed to spend a lot of our time checking the rear view mirror for senior citizens!
Radnage picture gallery (more pictures on Flickr):
Distance: 6.9 miles ; Difficulty: Moderate
Postcode for Satnav: HP14 3TZ
Radnage walk profile
Where Angells Tread! 