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I did this roughly 9-mile walk on Sunday, 11th 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). It was a repeat of a walk I first did on 24th April 2009 but in the opposite (anti-clockwise) direction. Saturday had been a very hot day (the forecast was for up to 31C), so I just visited a couple of nature reserves in the morning rather than go for a long walk. I had a few chores to do on Sunday, but managed to fit in this walk in the morning.
I started walking about 9.45am from the car park at Marsworth, and headed along the Grand Union Canal for a short distance to where the Aylesbury Arm branched off westwards. There were a few other people wandering along the towpath and quite a few anglers too, hardly surprising on such a warm summer's day at the weekend. The walking along the Aylesbury Arm was very straightforward, and there was a surprisingly strong breeze that kept the temperature down to a reasonable level.
The Grand Union Canal at Marsworth
The Aylesbury Arm, near Wilstone
The Aylesbury Arm, near Wilstone
Boatyard on the Aylesbury Arm
Approaching the end of the section along the Aylesbury Arm
After about 50 minute or so, I turned left by a brick bridge over the canal, and followed a lane towards Buckden. Ahead of me I could see the line of the Chiltern Hills, from Ivinghoe Beacon to my left over to Beacon Hill, Ellesborough, on the right. The lane crossed over the A40 dual carriageway, and I immediately took a path on the left that led through corn fields, pastures and meadows to enter Buckland by the village church.
The lane to Buckland, with the wooded Aston Hill in the background.
Field path near Buckland
Buckland church
From Buckland it was a short road walk to the larger village of Aston Clinton, where I joined the towpath of the Wendover Arm and started to follow it eastwards back to the Grand Union Canal. Near Drayton Beauchamp I saw that part of the canal that was being repaired last time I came this way (in January) was now full of water.
Where I joined the Wendover Arm
Path by the Wendover Arm (near Drayton Beauchamp, I think!)
This section of the Wendover Arm was empty last time I did this walk (in January). The repair work seems to have gone well!
Part of the 'dry' middle section of the Wendover Arm
I carried on along the towpath, passing the now shorter 'dry' section in the middle of the Wendover Arm. I passed the edge of Tring and the huge warehouses at Tring Wharf, and continued on the short distance to Bulbourne where I rejoined the main part of the Grand Union Canal. it was then a short walk back to the car park at Marsworth, passing parts of Marsworth and Startop's End reservoirs.
The Wendover Arm a little way before Tring
Approaching the outskirts of Tring
The Wendover Arm between Tring Wharf and Bulbourne
The Grand Union Canal - taken from the bridge over the start of the Wendover Arm
Marsworth Reservoir
The walk took just over three hours, a bit shorter than previous times, mainly because I took fewer photographs. It was a very pleasant if unchallenging route, though being a warm Sunday morning there were a few more people about than I'd have preferred. The stiff breeze kept it reasonably cool, but meant there were few insects about (though I spotted Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell and Gatekeeper butterflies). I was a little disappointed that I didn't see many wildflowers, Great Willowherb and the occasional Purple Loosestrife being the chief exceptions.
Home Latest Walks Long-distance paths Lake District Chiltern Hills Photographs Links Huntington's Disease Association