1st September We've a series of walks in Hertfordshire planned for the next few weeks. It may only be the first day of meteorologic autumn but already you can feel the turning of the seasons . There's a thin mist in the Mimram Valley and the milky light evokes memories of walks last year...we spend a few minutes wishing we'd started out earlier...the dawn would have been great to see.
Woods
Moulsford
17th August The first of several Thames walks and I'm kicking myself. I meant to set off in a broadly clockwise direction but walking out of the Lardon Chase car park I get confused and we end up walking through Common Wood and down the hill to Streatley. I do my best to pass it off as a planned diversion but to tell the truth it annoys me for a large part of the walk...we've already walked along this stretch of the Thames and in this direction...I'd wanted to do it in the opposite direction! Sue reckons I'm a bit up-tight sometimes.
Watlington
15th August It's been quiet a while since we were walking in The Chilterns proper. A holiday in The Forest of Dean and, before that, some walks around Ruislip Woods, have distracted us. So this is an opportunity to get back to some typical Chiltern scenery. From Christmas Common this walk drops down off the escarpment and heads west before steadily climbing to the Ewelme Park Estate. Harvest is in full swing as we pass through and tractors scurry backwards and forwards staking hay bales. There's rain in the forecast.
Speech House
8th August There's something really odd about The Forest of Dean! Set on a plateau between the Severn and the Wye, it's cut off from the rest of the world. As far as this walk is concerned, there's really not much to record...a pleasant walk in the woods on another hot August day. A couple of summer showers blow through during the walk but you'd hardly know. We're hidden away, deep in the Forest. Occasionally we catch fleeting glimpses of Fallow Deer ghosting amongst the shadows but no sign of the famous wild boar...but plenty of evidence of their rooting.
Goodrich
7th August A gentle walk after yesterday's exertions. It's too warm to do much else! We park in the car park at Goodrich Castle and head off for Coppet Hill. Symonds Yat Rock towers above us as we sit in the shade at the edge of the woods. Peregrine falcons wheel and swoop through the haze. Other than the herd quietly grazing by the River, the silence is complete.
Biblins
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.
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.
Where Angells Tread! 