4th August The first part of this walk follows the Sculpture Trail. Some of them need an explanation, others are more obviously worth looking at. There are plenty of cycle paths and we bump into cycling families at every turn. However we leave the families behind by the time we reach Great Kensley Inclosure and cross Speech House Road into Little Kensley and Russell's Inclosure. For a while the walk is more like I imagined the Forest would be, peaceful and undisturbed...until we reach Cannop Ponds...and once again we're dodging bell-ringing bikes all the way back to the car.
nature
Clophill
28th July My favourite walk for a while! Quiet Bedfordshire lanes, long views of The Chilterns, well-spaced villages for refreshments and the faded grandeur of a country estate...and no hills to speak of. It's slightly cooler today and cotton wool clouds make a beautiful back drop to this walk.
Burnham Beeches
21st July An 8.1 mile ramble through Burnham Beeches and Egypt Woods before a return across Farnham Common. Sandwiched between the M4, M40 and M25 these woods are an oasis of wooded calm. There have been woods here stretching back to the last Ice Age and they're surely worth preserving. So much so that 138 year's ago the City of London Corporation bought them to prevent local developers from building houses on them...a rather enlightened approach for 1880.
Penn Wood
14th July We're out early. It rained last night but the hot weather is forecast to return so we're planning to be back before its too warm. A short walk from Penn Street, though Penn Woods and Common Woods, before returning to Penn Street by way of Winchmore Hill. Uneventful...and we did manage to avoid the heat of the day. I'm sure Penn Street has more to commend it...it's just that we didn't find it! Someone, please, correct my misconception. A pleasant 6.1mile morning walk.
Denham
15th July In which we discover a 'killer herd' in Ickenham! An unremarkable walk until we reach Harvil Farm. We park in Bayhurst Woods and walk north west through Harefield before joining the Grand Union Canal at Broadwater Lock. Turning south, the long walk along the canal as far as Denham Country Park is easy and the towpath empty...everyone's watching the World Cup Final. We feel smug as we cross Uxbridge Golf Course, we overtake a couple on mountain bikes...the heat is too much for at least one of them and today walking is quicker! At Harvil Road we pause for photos...today we can see as far as Central London. In the next field things take an exciting turn.
Ruislip
7th July An easy, early evening walk. Hannah joins us for this reprise of our visit to Ruislip Woods. This time we loop through Mad Bess (some interesting speculation about the origins of the name) and Bayhurst Woods before ending up crossing Newyears Green Lane. By the time we approach the outskirts of Ruislip the sun is dipping below the horizon and the warm sunset is some compensation for the previous unpleasant smell. An overall enjoyable, short 4.9 mile walk.
Beaconsfield
1st July Today's walk starts in Beaconsfield, famous for its model village (warning, model train geeks only!) and not much more. By the time we reach Chalfont St Giles, and Milton's cottage, refreshments are badly needed. We stop off briefly for a ice cream. The return takes us by way of The River Misbourne, Jordans and Sear Green. At Sear Green we join Longbottom Lane back to Beaconsfield.
Ruislip Lido
29th June We've parked in Kings College Road, from where its a short walk into Ruislip Woods. They are clearly well used and well loved...and rightly so! In a congested part of suburban London, places like this are to be treasured. Memories of wide games and British bulldog come flooding back...as do autumn blackberry picking expeditions, planned like military operations. We used to return home with more blackberries than Mum could reasonably process and lived off jars of Bramble jelly and blackberry and apple pies well into the following winter.
Whipsnade
23rd June A long walk in a hot day...not much more to report. Some good views of the Gade Valley at Great Gaddesden and Hudnall. I think the Gade Valley above Hemel Hempstead is beautiful and, on a hot day like this, it's at its best.
Chalfont St Peter
17th June Not much to report here. A pleasant walk spoilt by diggers and dozers although all the building disturbance has meant that at this time of year the fields are filled with a profusion of poppies. The fleeting show is scant compensation but we enjoy the display while it lasts.
Where Angells Tread! 