Length: 16.3 km (10.1 miles)
Toughness: 5 out of 10 (a bit more when muddy)
Either
London Marylebone: 09-57 hrs Chilterns service to Aylesbury Vale Parkway
Arrive Amersham: 10-32 hrs
or
Baker Street: take a Metropolitan Line u/ground train to Amersham to arrive by 10-30 hrs
Return
Great Missenden to Marylebone: Chilterns service at 01 & 31 mins past the hour
Rail ticket An all zone travel card takes you as far as Amersham, so you will just need a single from Great Missenden to Amersham. Otherwise it's a day return to Great Missenden
This walk works well in either direction and today's walk is posted "backwards" or in reverse to the Book's Direction - for no particular reason !
From the newer part of Amersham the walk heads down to the Old Town before we head steadily uphill along the edge of a vast field (Gore Hill) which takes us down to the village of Coleshill. We continue over fields to the village of Winchmore Hill then on to the village of Penn, where we have the option of an early lunch (7 km into the walk) at The Squirrel pub or The Hit or Miss Inn - both are popular with SWC walkers. But today if you can control hunger pangs for a further 4 km the suggested lunch stop is in the pretty village of Little Missenden at the Red Lion pub - our e.t.a being 1.15 pm. Between Penn and Little Missenden we walk through Penn Wood then we have to negotiate Toby's Lane, a long bridleway - which can be soggy and or muddy in winter - and this bridleway takes us to a high point above Little Missenden. We enjoy a nice view as we drop down to the lunch pub.
After lunch we walk through the village past its interesting church (worth a visit) then head up a hill to a wood - Mantles Wood - which we walk through, then cross open fields and walk up through a horse stud farm before we walk along the edge of a series of fields to the outskirts of Great Missenden. Our route takes us past another interesting church before we drop down on paths which come out into the High Street of this town, where a number of tea shops and pubs await our custom - as noted in the Directions. The railway station is a few minutes walk from the refreshment stops.
T=1.5
Walk Directions are here: L=1.5
3 comments:
Just to point out that a travelcard needs to be valid to zone NINE to get to Amersham: a 1-6 travelcard only takes you to Moor Park. TFL 60+ passes are valid as far as Amersham. (That remark will have lost us the youth vote...)
7 of us travelled on the posted train, with 1 who left London thirty minutes earlier joining us in Old Amersham - so that made n=8.
We enjoyed a w=lovely-sunny-crisp-winter's-day, which was an unexpected bonus for today' s Chilterns walk.
In the morning we encountered lots of slippery mud but fortunately, by the time we reached Toby's Lane late morning, we found this notoriously waterlogged and muddy track completely dry and mud-free. For once walking along its carpet of fallen, colourful leaves was a delight. Leaving the lane, we descended grassy fields to the pretty village of Little Missenden, where its pub, The Red Lion, awaited our custom. All eight of us dined in a room to ourselves, which was a little chilly, but excellent, warming food soon arrived, in generous portions. As it had been St Andrew's Day earlier in the week, on the menu was haggis - and it was very good, too. The Timmy Taylors draught beer was also perfect - and so by the time we left the pub, all eight of us seemed more than satisfied with their luncheon experience.
The short afternoon leg was also enjoyable, with the last of this year's leaf colour still in some trees in the woods, although leaves were now mostly on the carpet floor - softening our tread.
On reaching Great Missenden 1 went straight to the railway station and caught the 16-01 hrs service. 3 of us took tea in Matildas, and our beer monitor went to the micro-brewery around the corner. All 4 of us took the 16-31 hrs service back to Marylebone. That left 3 who opted to continue their walk from Great Missenden to Wendover. They would have finished their walk in the dark - so I hope one of the adventurers posts a supplementary walk report letting us know how they got on.
This turned out to be a lovely early winter's walk in winter sunshine. Top SWC company, too.
The three of us who walked on to Wendover had an atmospheric walk through the darkening woods. Our route took us along the South Bucks Way to Dunsmore, then down on direct paths to the lights of Wendover, which glittered like alien spaceships in the blackness.
Walking in the dark is more interesting than you might imagine. About a third of the way in, the last dregs of the light gave an effect just like moonlight. Jupiter shone towards the south west. Some claimed to be able to see Pluto….
Being an old’un, I needed a bit of faint torchlight after this, but younger eyes (or perhaps those with more carrot in their diet) kept the faith till the end. In Wendover we went to Shoulder of Mutton for a glass or two of hygge, and then caught the 19.25 train, fortified by further “supplies”
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