13.5km., 8.4 miles
Difficulty: 3/10
An easy Chilterns walk along hills above the Misbourne valley to Chalfont St Giles and back. On the way you pass a memorial to the Amersham Martyrs, burned at the stake for something or other. (Not recently, though).
The poet Milton fled to Chalfont St Giles to escape an earlier plague. His cottage is still there but it is closed because of the current one.
Transport
Quickest Journey: Get the 9:57 Aylesbury Vale Parkway train from Marylebone arriving Amersham 10:32
Return trains direct to Marylebone are at xx.39
You could also get the Met line from Baker St 9:31 arriving Amersham 10:26
(Return tubes are half-hourly at 15 and 45)
Amersham is in tfl zone 9. Oysters are valid. As is a Freedom pass.
If you want to check connections from your gaff, use journey planner
Lunch: There are several pubs in Chalfont St Giles. It's hard to rely on pubs right now so bring a picnic (and water) in case you need it. There is a village green with a duckpond. Merlin's Cave appears to be open with Covid measures in place Tel: 01494 871072 The Feathers 01494 872614 also appears to be open. The Crown, though, (mentioned in the walk notes) is a goner.
Tea: Seasons Deli 01494 728 070 6 Market Square, Old Amersham, still seems to be open (till 5). There are several pubs on the High Street which may or may not be open.
Allow about half an hour to reach Amersham station from Old Amersham - there's a hill to climb and a wood to navigate.
Walk directions are here
Covid-19 Compliance: please note the current guidance on this website and observe social distancing. Please sign up for this walk in advance if you can, using the London Walkers User Group site. (This saves time collecting contact details). Otherwise bring a piece of paper with your email address on it, which will be put in an envelope and accessed if needed for contact tracing. To report a Covid case after this walk, use covid@lwug.co.uk
T= swc.36
1 comment:
N=15 today. The weather was w=cloudy-with-patchy-sun It tried to rain once or twice but gave up. After the Martyrs monument, some of the younger ones ran gleefully ahead - downhill on the wrong path – ignoring our earnest entreaties to return. They caught us up later, shamefaced and maybe a little wiser. Any hopes that this was a bluebell-free walk were soon dashed. The wood adjoining the golf course was full of them. A display grudgingly described as “quite good”
The stretch after the golf course, that has been described as ‘waterlogged’ and ‘impassable’ in earlier comments, was bone-dry. The nearby stream is almost at path level, though, so maybe not advisable to post this walk after prolonged rain. There are confusing and contradictory path diversion signs over the next stretch (and similarly on the way back). However, other than generating frissons of doubt, these did not affect our route,
In Chalfont St G, some were fed and watered in Merlins Cave. Others sat on the green.
The climb up out of Chalfont could perhaps do with a little more confirmatory detail - perhaps a few house names or something (I can only remember Laurel House).
A regular walker commented that the walk was more than a 3. Which, coincidentally, was about the time we reached Amersham.
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