13th August
Chalfont St Giles has a residents’ list to rival Little Gaddesden. Ozzy Osbourne, Noel Gallagher, Nick Clegg and through the round window, Brian Cant….and a while ago now, John Milton.
This is a Sunday afternoon walk slipped in between a ‘decorating marathon’ and the weather is good. The route takes in the Misbourne River before a climb through Goldhill and onward to Jordans. Jordans and Seer Green are barely separated by a field but from there on we walk through sleepy country lanes and quiet footpaths. We pass Upper Bottom House Farm, which just seems like a collection of words to me (someone needs to do some rebranding) before dropping back into the Misbourne Valley and back to Chalfont St Giles, a 9 mile ramble through ‘commuter Buckinghamshire’. Large parts of this walk skirt back gardens in Goldhill, and Seer Green and leave us wanting to replan the route if we ever return.
On a warm, sleepy afternoon like this it’s easy to believe things change slowly around here. However, HS2 remains the ‘elephant in the room’ and Government plans to bury HS2 at least 19m below the centre of village mean it could well be the elephant below the floorboards! It’s hard not to conclude that this Chiltern Paradise will be lost once HS2 arrives, however far below the village the engineers bury the line.
Jordans picture gallery (more pictures on Flickr):
Distance: 9 miles ; Difficulty: Moderate
Postcode for Satnav: HP8 4PS
Jordans walk profile
Where Angells Tread! 
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