5th August If possible, it's hotter today than yesterday...so we opt for another walk in the woods, this time in the Wye Valley. Highlights? The cable bridge at Biblins, the hand-pulled ferry back across the Wye at Symonds Yat (£1.20 per person) and the cool shade of the woods. A relaxing 7.8 mile stroll in the woods.
summer
Beechenhurst
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.
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.
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.
Woburn
Not many Bedfordshire walks in our list and this is certainly outside of our normal 'Chilterns' patch. Essentially, this is a 9 mile ramble through the grounds of Woburn Abbey. Plenty of opportunities for pictures of deer, some views of the Bedfordshire countryside and time to chat.
Old Amersham
One last walk in the Misbourne Valley, this time starting from Old Amersham. If last week's predominant colours were green and blue, this week yellow and red are starting to appear...a hint that Summer is reaching its height. We park up in Amersham Old Town car park and walk south to Coleshill, crossing the route of HS2 on the gentle climb up to the village. We'll cross its path again later in our walk (as we return to Amersham along the South Bucks Way). Enough has been said here and here about HS2 so I won't reopen that festering wound!
Jordans
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'.
Where Angells Tread! 