Pete's Walks - Buckland Common, Chesham, The Lee (page 3 of 4)
At a rather complicated five-way path junction, I went a few yards left before turning right alongside a hedgerow, continuing in the northerly direction I'd been on since Herberts Hole Cottage. There was a lot of blue sky about now, and it felt almost Spring-like. There was attractive rural scenery to both sides as I followed the hedgerow through a couple of arable fields. The path then entered a field of rough grass. The Chiltern Link went left here, but I stayed on the path ahead as it started to descend into the valley of Bellinger Bottom, with Bellows Wood on my right.
Near the start of the path after the five-way junction
View east from that path
Further along the same path
The path about to descend towards Ballinger Bottom, beside Bellows Wood
Ballinger Bottom
A short way down the slope the path turned right and entered Bellows Wood. I then immediately turned left at a path junction, continuing downhill just inside the western edge of the wood. At the bottom of the slope I turned right, following a bridleway just inside the northern edge of the wood, with a large pasture nearby on my left. I was now in familiar territory again, this being part of my Buckland Common and The Lee walk. At the next junction I turned left, still with the same pasture to my left and an unnamed wood to my right. After passing a path going right, I was also on another section of my Chiltern Chain Walk (Walk 6).
The path just inside the west edge of Bellows Wood
The path just inside the northern edge of Bellows Wood
The path heading north, just inside the edge of an unnamed wood
After a second pasture to my left, the path continued through the unnamed wood (I'm sure it's actually got a name, but it's not named on the map!). I crossed the route of the Chiltern Heritage Trail at one point, and then the path started curving left (westwards) as it progressed through the trees. By the time it entered Lowndes Wood (the only section of this wooded area named on the map), I was heading almost due west. I met a very friendly dog along here (a Red Setter perhaps?) whose owner explained that it just loved people. The path then crossed a small pasture, before following the edge of a larger pasture to reach a road.
Further along the same path - the white sign on the tree indicates where I crossed the route of the Chiltern Heritage Trail
In or approaching Lowndes Wood
Lowndes Wood
The path beyond Lowndes Wood
I have previously always gone right here (Buckland Common was only about two miles away at this point) but today I went straight on, a path leading just inside the edge of Grove Wood I was now in the scattered parish of The Lee, though I wouldn't be visiting the centre of the village today, just some of its satellite hamlets. There was a lot of holly in this wood, as in many others I visited today. On the far side of the wood the path continued along the edge of a small pasture to reach a lane.
The path heading west through Grove Wood
The path beyond Grove Wood
I went a short distance left along the lane, reaching the edge of part of the parish called Lee Clump. Here I turned right, on a path that started through a long and muddy farmyard with cattle pens to my right. A well-marked stile showed where the path continued ahead, following a right-hand hedge through a small field dotted with what I assumed were agricultural implements. As I followed the path beside the hedge in the following ploughed field, I heard bird noises from a tree I passed. I thought it was possibly a Buzzard at first, but it turned out to be a Jay - it stayed in the tree and didn't fly off, so I wondered if it was maybe injured or sick. Certainly it made a noise I'd not heard one make before.
The path after the farmyard at Lee Clump
A little further along the same path