9th March
So this walk completes the Aylesbury Canal…which we’d started over a year ago. The canal itself was started well over 200 years ago…and never finished. The intention had been to drive a canal as far as the Thames to the south and, via the Kennet & Avon canal and the Thames, link Bristol and the West with the Grand Union Canal. Money ran out, railways arrived and, instead, the canal finishes in Aylesbury…an 18th Century equivalent of buying a 3D TV and finding the world had move on to 4K TV. However, today the Aylesbury Canal is a pleasant walk in early spring.
Aylesbury sits in a bowl below the northen edge of the Chilterns and the Vale of Aylesbury is well known for its fogs. Well, no fog today but the skies are gloomy as we leave Long Marston and a brisk wind keeps the heavy clouds skudding by. We pick our way across the fields to Puttenham and its picturesque church and beyond to the edge of Aylesbury. There’s not much to see…its flat.
As we turn for home along the Canal, the sun finally breaks through. The footpath is still muddy from this week’s showers…not helped by the endless traffic of lycra clad middle aged men (MAMILs) but we splash our way along the footpath enjoying the ever shifting light and colours. It’s a pleasant walk and a great way to start the weekend. An easy 8.2 mile walk on the Hertfordshire-Buckinghamshire border.
Puttenham picture gallery (more pictures on Flickr):
Distance: 8.2 miles ; Difficulty: Easy
Postcode for Satnav: HP23 4FL
Puttenham walk profile
Where Angells Tread! 