Home Latest Walks Long-distance paths Lake District Chiltern Hills Photographs Links Huntington's Disease Association
I did this roughly 14-mile walk on Saturday, 3rd July 2010. Click here to see a rough map of the walk (but only if you have already read my disclaimer and notes regarding maps). This was more or less a repeat of my 'Coombe Hill and the Hampdens' walk, with a bit extra tagged on that took me from Dunsmore to the bottom of Bacombe Hill and then back up over that hill to Coombe Hill. This section of the route I'd walked just once before, in the other direction, as an alternative start the last time I did my 'Four Hills' walk.
I started walking about 9.20am from the car park at Coombe Hill. Instead of heading for the monument, I took a short path going left, then turned left through a metal kissing gate to join the Ridgeway path. This ran through beech trees a short distance to return to the road to the car park. On the other side I continued through more beech woods (Linton's Wood then Goodmerhill Wood, according to the OS map), before turning right and heading downhill to cross another road and enter the grounds of Chequers.
Coombe Hill, near the car park
The Ridgeway Path running through the beech trees of Linton's Wood ...
... and on into Goodmerhill Wood
The path followed a fence between a meadow and a corn field on my right, the house hidden from view further right. I crossed the tree-lined drive and continued on alongside another fence to reach the edge of a wood, where the Ridgeway path turned right, between the wood and a yellow field of Oil-seed rape on the right. I took the usual photo of Chequers with Coombe Hill beyond. Further on, the path crossed two large cattle pastures, the second one quite 'scrubby' with lots of bushes and a few trees dotted about. I still don't know why this path is called the Cradle Footpath on the map.
The path across the grounds of Chequers (the building is the lodge at the end of the main drive to the house, which is out of shot to the right)
Path around the edge of Chequers
Close-up of Chequers, with Coombe Hill behind it
The Cradle Footpath, and a glimpse of the Vale of Aylesbury
The Cradle footpath
After admiring the views over the Vale of Aylesbury from a small knoll called Chequer's Knap, I continued along the Ridgeway path as it passed below Pulpit Hill. It was here four years ago that my interest in wildflowers was sparked by seeing a Common Spotted Orchid - there were plenty of them here today, along with some Pyramidal Orchids. A Red Kite flew very low over my head here, its presence given away by its shadow passing across the ground at my feet. A little further on I passed through a nature reserve, where I spotted some Dark Mullein. The subsequent longish climb up Whiteleaf Hill seemed to pass quite quickly and with less effort than usual.
The Ridgeway Path at the foot of Pulpit Hill
The nature reserve, with Whiteleaf Hill ahead
The path up Whiteleaf Hill
Looking over Princes Risborough from Whiteleaf Hill
Looking north from Whiteleaf Hill
The ancient burial mound on Whiteleaf Hill
Home Latest Walks Long-distance paths Lake District Chiltern Hills Photographs Links Huntington's Disease Association