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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Wednesday 12 April 2017

Wednesday Walk - Haddenham to Stone (or to Aylesbury) via Waddesdon Manor (NT Top 10 attraction)

New, Alternative Ending to this walk! This shorter version of the walk enables an exploration of the grounds of Waddesdon Manor, one of the National Trust's Top 10 most visited properties with over 360,000 visitors annually, its gardens and aviary, while still getting home early

Length: 22.9 km (14.2 mi) [full walk: 25.2 km, see pdf for details]
Ascent/Descent: 300m; Net Walking Time: 5 hours
Toughness:  6/10                       

Take the 10.06 Oxford train from Marylebone, arrives Haddenham & Thame Parkway 10.39.
Return trains are 16.13 and .38, 17.14 and .50, 18.14, .25 and .50, journey time 43-56 mins.
Buy a Haddenham return. If you finish at Aylesbury, you may then have to pay for a single Aylesbury to Princes Risborough ticket (and  take a train via Princes Risborough, not  via Amersham).

The route through some scenic northerly parts of Aylesbury Vale combines tranquil stretches of the Thame Valley Walk with more energetic climbs in between, heading north through Upper Winchenden and the Rothschild’s Waddesdon Estate, finally along a long tree-lined avenue up to Waddesdon Manor, situated on a prominent hill. After lunch either at the Manor or in Waddesdon village, Eythrope Park (another Rothschild estate) is passed through and the route follows the Thame River and then field boundaries and farm tracks to Stone, to a pub by a bus stop for services back to Haddenham station (every 20 mins on xx.00 until 18.40, then half-hourly, with 13 mins journey time).  
The full walk continues along the Thame and then Bear Brook into the centre of Aylesbury.

Lunch: at Waddesdon Manor either at their Manor Restaurant (food to 15.00, tea thereafter) or at the Stables Café, else the recommended of the two pubs in Waddesdon village is The Long Dog  (13.7 km/8.5 mi, food to 15.30). There are also The Lion (food to 14.00) and the 94 Coffee Shop.  
Tea: The Rose & Crown  in Stone, or lots of choice in Aylesbury, see the pdf for details.

For summary, map, height profile, photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here.T=swc.192.b
Next Week: SWC 10 Little Kimble to Saunderton

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

is anyone doing any of the shortcuts please? 14m bit too much for canine.

Stargazer said...

n=11 emerged from a rather crowded train at Haddenham in w=muted-sunshine-which-quickly-brighten-to-full-sunshine for a delightful stroll through pleasantly rolling countryside with some dramatic views of the chilterns. Spring was definitely springing -- in particular, we were treated to a carpet of dandelions on the approach to Waddesdon Manor which painted almost an entire small field yellow. Also, while the daffodils of "daffodil valley" had passed their prime -- we were surprised to find a good number of snakehead frittilleries and the tulips on the grounds of the manor were stunning. Waddesdon Manor itself impressively lived up to its billing -- very much a French chateaux. We lost 2 of our group to visit the house with the remaining 9 heading to the pub (4 stopping in the churchyard for sandwiches) for a late lunch/drink. The Long Dog served interesting and tasty food very efficiently. The route after lunch passed by several more modest dwellings and descended through a gentle valley with open views treating the group to 50 shades of green on display in the trees bursting with spring enthusiasm. Upon arrival in Stone, 7 had a quick drink at the pub before making a dash for the bus with 3 topping the day off with a final drink at the station pub back in London.