Length: 16 km (10 miles)
Toughness: 4 out of 10 (a bit more, perhaps, as there are plenty of ups and downs)
London Marylebone: 10-13 hrs Chilterns service to Aylesbury
Arrive Saunderton: 10-52 hrs
Return
Saunderton: 15-53, 16-52, 17-02 ( via Princes Risborough), 18-02 and 19-00 hrs
This walk was originally planned for Wednesday 22 June - but a rail strike got in the way. Let's hope we have better luck today.
After an initial stretch over fields and along field edges all the way to the parish church of St Botolph, Bradenham, you spend the rest of the morning mostly in woodland. Hopefully, we will have had some decent rain come September after the summer drought - if so Bradenham Woods should be back to its usual muddy self. After walking on concrete during the summer you should welcome some soft, muddy bits !
The woodland route takes you to Hughenden Manor, former home of PM Benjamin Disraeli, now owned by the National Trust. Its cafeteria makes for a pleasant lunch stop, and there are plenty of picnic spots in the estate grounds. If you have the time Mr Disraeli's house is well worth a visit.
A woodland trail takes you onwards to the hamlet of Downley, where those preferring a pub lunch will find the Le de Spencer's Arms. Don't be put off by the pub's seemingly pretentious name - it's actually the family name of the Dashwoods - about whom more later. The pub serves good, honest pub grub and it has a pleasant side garden, part under cover.
Leaving the pub, you walk along field edges then through a valley until you make for West Wycombe Caves, also worth a look. From here you have a steep climb up to the Dashwood Mausoleum. One has to have a degree of confidence and maybe self-importance to build such a structure as a family tomb ! From the mausoleum you walk through the churchyard next door then through a car park to join a track which takes you all the way via Nobles Farm back to Saunderton. As trains are infrequent back to London, if you have time to kill, the nearby pub, the Golden Cross, makes for a very pleasant place to wait.
T=2.3
Walk Directions are here: L=2.3
2 comments:
Circa #10 turned up for a lovely day out in the Chilterns. The group soon split with several people stopping to look at St Botolph Church Bradenham. A bit of a regroup took place at Hughenden where we discovered that an entry fee is expected if you want to use the picnic area and the apples are not to be picked(please note for future walks). A few went to the Spencers Arms, several more pushed on to the tea room at the caves in West Wycombe. The tea room and pub groups reconvened at the Mausoleum, and made our way back to Saunderton in time for the 16.52. A grand day out and thanks to Marcus for posting
Windfalls also are not to be collected, as they are collected by the Hughenden gardeners for pressing into apple juice, allegedly!
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