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Click here to see a map of the walk (but only if you have already read my disclaimer and notes regarding maps).
I did this walk on 12th February, 2008. I have done the same walk, or variations of it, several times before and I am sure I will do it many more times. It goes through one of my favourite parts of the Chilterns, an area that is a true delight to walk through. There are the typical Chilterns scenery of wooded hills and deep valleys, great views from the escarpment, attractive villages and various sites of historic interest. There are Red Kites and Buzzards in the air, and Muntjac and Fallow deer in the woods. At the right times of year there are a wide variety of wildflowers to be seen. This 12.5 mile walk really does have a great deal to offer.
I started at the car park on Coombe Hill, a couple of miles west of Wendover. Setting off about 10.40, I first made my way to the monument on the top of the hill, initially walking through an area of bracken and thin scrub, then through a belt of trees and then along a broad strip of grass with trees and bushes either side.
Approaching the monument on top of Coombe Hill
Ellesborough church and the Vale of Aylesbury from the approach to the monument on Coombe Hill. Note how the view gradually disappears into a bank of fog.
View towards Aylesbury from Coombe Hill. Again the view is restricted by fog.
The monument on top of Coombe Hill
The monument on the top of Coombe Hill commemorates the men of Buckinghamshire who died during the Boer War. There are normally terrific views from here, but today they were somewhat restricted as a thin blanket of fog covered much of the Vale of Aylesbury. From the monument I headed east into a beech wood, and followed a path marked by yellow arrows painted on trees to reach a bend in an old metal fence running through the wood. I continued beside the fence for about a mile to reach the attractive hamlet of Dunsmore.
Looking back along the path to Dunsmore
Pond in Dunsmore
Small chapel in Dunsmore
From Dunsmore I continued southwards on a bridleway, then turned right and followed a path steeply downhill through more woodland into a valley. The path continued up the other side of the valley, eventually reaching the attractive hamlet of Little Hampden, in its isolated position at the end of a single lane.
The path descending between Dunsmore and Little Hampden
The bridleway rising uphill towards Little Hampden
Little Hampden
At Little Hampden I joined the route of the Chiltern Way (for a few yards I was also sharing the route of the South Bucks Way). I followed a track into and through a wood, then took a path around the edge of an arable field before turning left and going downhill a short distance through a narrow plantation. On the far side of the plantation was a seat carved from a large tree trunk, and a fine view ahead over the valley of Hampden Bottom.
Hampden Bottom
The carved seat
My route now took me across two grassy fields separated by a wooden fence, and then downhill through a long narrow belt of trees to reach the road running through Hampden Bottom. On the other side, I followed a path going half-right across a large arable field to reach the edge of Lady Hampden's Wood.
Looking back along the path down into Hampden Bottom
Looking back into Hampden Bottom from the edge of Lady Hampden's Wood
Home Long-distance paths Lake District Chiltern Hills Photographs Links Huntington's Disease Association