Pete's Walks - Chenies and Ley Hill (page 3 of 3)
I turned left for a few yards along a lane, then took a footpath on the right. Beyond an empty pasture I crossed another lane and then went across another pasture before following the path through Codmore Wood. A long path followed, through a corn field, then I turned right and followed a lane for about half a mile to reach Latimer church. A path on the left then crossed the lawns of a very large garden, then went down a short alley to reach the centre of Latimer. I sat on a new bench (erected 2009) on the triangular village green to enjoy my packed lunch.
Path through Codmore Wood
Path from Codmore Wood towards Latimer
Latimer church
Approaching Latimer from near the church
The village green in Latimer (this is looking back, the alley I came down is just out of shot on the left)
Lunch over, I turned right on the far side of the green, following a minor road a very short distance to where two footpaths went right. I took the leftmost, which crossed a meadow and followed the river Chess a short distance west again, before turning left and crossing the river just below Latimer House (the river is in two parts here, as the result of landscaping the grounds of the mansion).
Footpath at Latimer
Weir and statue, Latimer
Latimer House
The river Chess at Latimer
The river Chess at Latimer
The path then crossed a small field or paddock to reach the minor road that runs through the Chess Valley. Across this the path continued through another field, staying close to its left edge, to reach West Wood. The path then went half-left and uphill through the wood, At the top of the slope I turned left along a bridleway. On reaching a lane, I went a few yards right then continued along another bridleway. When this reached the outbuildings of Chenies Manor I turned right, then turned left to pass the grand house and return to the centre of Chenies.
The path back to Chenies
Looking back over the Chess Valley towards Latimer House
Looking east along the Chess Valley, from just before reaching Chenies Manor
The walk took a little over four hours, a bit les than I'd thought it would. It was a pleasant walk, especially the parts along the Chess Valley, on a nice day for walking - a bit cloudy at times, but generally sunny and never uncomfortably warm. It was a nice part of the Chilterns, which I hadn't visited for some time, and I was glad to do the walk again - it was just as nice anti-clockwise as when I'd done it the other way a couple of times previously. But the highlight today was definitely the unexpected sighting of my first ever Silver-washed Fritillary!