16.3 km, 10.1 miles. Difficulty 5/10
A Chilterns walk including a large beech wood, interesting churches and the village of Little Missenden. After tea in Old Amersham, you reach the station via another wood.
Trains:
Get the 09:57 Aylesbury Vale Parkway train from Marylebone arriving at Great Missenden at 10:40.
A rail return to Great Missenden will suffice. This limits you to Chilterns trains back from Amersham at xx:08 and 00:38.
Alternatively, a Tfl zones 1-9 travelcard (or Freedom Pass) plus a rail single from Amersham to Great Missenden on the way out would allow you to return by either tube or train (see walk intro). Tubes leave for Baker Street at xx:18 and xx:48.
Lunch
The recommended pub is The Squirrel in Penn Street 01494 711291.
The nearby Hit or Miss is also suitable 01494 713109.
There is an earlier - possibly too earlier - pub in Little Missenden, The Red Lion 01494 862876.
Tea:
Seasons Cafe Deli in Old Amersham - recommended but limited seating.
Old Amersham also has pubs. The Crown Inn and the Kings Arms are two.
10 minutes beyond the station, in Amersham itself, there’s a Mad Squirrel micropub on Sycamore Road.
Walk Directions: here
t=1.5
Sunday, 12 November 2023
Sunday Walk: Great Missenden to Amersham
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n=6 on a w=almost-entirely-dry day (until we got back to London).
We approached St Peter & St Paul outside Great Missenden at exactly 11.00 o'clock, so waited (at distance) for the congregation outside the church observing the 2 minutes of silence and then starting a wreath laying ceremony.
On up the downs and along field boundaries, where an oncoming couple forewarned us of a path closure. That came by Rowen Farm/Hyde Farm, which are on top of the line of the HS2 tunneling. There, we enquired a few people and got conflicting reasons for the path closure ("HS2", "something with water"). Only further along the (well signed) diversion a third couple of walkers knew what was going on: a large sinkhole had appeared 3 days ago, which everyone assumes has to do with the tunneling (it's not the first in the area, apparently). The hoardings around the site can be seen from the diversion and the diameter (of the site, not necessarily the hole) looked like 40m!
Onwards then through woods and long fields, then down into the Misbourne Valley to Little Missenden. The service in the church had just finished and the vicar invited us in for coffee or tea, while also highlighting a TV screen with a 2 minute video on the history of the settlement and church and another one about the restoration of the wall murals. He also activated a projection onto the walls of what the full murals would have looked like hundreds of years ago. Impressive stuff, and with all this we never had any tea or coffee, but dutifully tapped the donation machine and shuffled out!
The Squirrel pub was the aim for the (2) pub lunchers, although by now we knew they were fully booked. Before that came Penn Wood though, which was a proper riot of autumnal colours, and tempting as it was to stray off the rather direct SWC route through it and find a longer loop, the pub was calling. A mid-size table in the bar area was vacated just as we walked in, so we endulged the menu (roasts AND the normal menu can be ordered on Sundays), sat between the two roaring fireplaces. The picnickers all joined the table and (as we were still waiting for our meals) ordered deserts and/or coffees. After 80 or 90 minutes it was time to move on though.
Amersham Station was reached in time for 3 to take the 16.48, while the other 3 retired to The Lounge up the High Street (tubes were not running all afternoon, due to a lack of drivers, I presume). All in, a glorious time for this walk, not too much trouble with mud and a heavy dose of luck with the weather (compared to forecast), as all we got in precipitation was a bit of spittle now and then.
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