Length: 17km or 26km
Toughness: 4 / 10 or 6 / 10
Transport: Take the 10:27 from London Marylebone arriving in Amersham at 11:02 or the 10:00 Metropolitan Line from Baker Street arriving at 10:59. Return trains from Great Missenden at xx:03 and from Wendover at xx:27. Buy a day return to Great Missenden if not walking to Wendover, otherwise buy a day return to Wendover.
We tried this last year and it was a heroic wash-out. So, let's try this again: This is the reverse of the Great Missenden to Amersham walk with a moonlight extension to Wendover along the Icknield Way Trail. Sunset is at 16:49 (hence the latish start) and moonrise is at 14:44, ie the moon will be high in the sky throughout the night. The GPX for the extension is here.
Even if you do not want to continue on to Wendover this is a lovely walk in the Chilterns. The recommended lunch pub is the Red Lion in Little Missenden after about 11km. There are earlier lunch stops in Penn Street (The Squirrel, The Hit and Miss Inn). In Penn Wood there is an optional variation to pass by Holy Trinity Church with its octagonal tower (GPX is here)
1 comment:
#9 met outside the station in Amersham. It was #mild-damp a little sun and a little rain. The paths, whether in lanes, through woods or across fields were wet and muddy. But a sort of liquid, leafy muddy, not too claggy. It didn’t built up platforms on the soles of your boots. It was slippery though. Lots of great views. Several viewings of red kites including 2 at once, a few blackbirds, and a couple of skylarks, one seen and heard, another just heard.
The Red Lion in Little Missenden had apparently said no need to book – but we did and a good thing, it was busy, include a good few men in green shooting apparel. Food arrived fairly fast. 5 walkers had partridge with veg, and one walker finished off all carcasses to ensure no waste. One walker had a sandwich elsewhere but did not return for a drink as suggested so wasn’t seen again.
The huge 13th century mural of St Christopher in the Little Missenden church is impressive and by pressing a button, extra lights illuminated the wall with a digital display for those paintings that are now hard to see. The Manor House next door also looked impressive but we weren’t invited in.
The walk does include two fast A roads to cross but visibility was good and there were enough gaps in traffic to get across. Otherwise, little road walking
We’d seen a few snowdrops scattered around but outside Great Missenden, and linked to it by a bridge over the A413 is the parish church with a large churchyard, the older part of which was simply full of snowdrops. We could hear organ music within but decided to press on to tea and cake at Matilda’s in the village.
4 decided to call it a day and get the train home, 4 set off on the Moonlight Walk to Wendover. It wasn’t a repeat of last years wash-out as the rain held off till we reached Wendover station. But the moon was shy – it came out fully for a while, and a very bright Jupiter just to one side, and for one stretch we were even illuminated by it, but clouds soon enveloped it, and although our hopes were occasionally raised by a bright patch in the clouds, it didn’t fully reappear. Walking in dark woods has its attractions – the trees against the sky, the faint colour difference between the path and the surrounding ground, the sudden squawk and flapping wings of a disturbed pheasant. With hindsight, allowing time for a slightly slower pace might have made it a little easier. But we were soon by the bright lights of the HS2 building site and onto the train around 19:30.
Great day out, lots of mud to wash off clothes and boots.
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