Pete's Walks- Coombe Hill and Ninn Wood (page 3 of 3)
I turned right and went a few yards towards the end of the lane (it comes from Buckmoorend and presumably once continued on to Little Hampden) and then turned left on a path into Chisley Wood. Within two or three yards there was a fork, and I took the fainter of the paths, going half-right. This continued through the wood, initially with a field close by on the right. After about half a mile I came to a five-way junction of paths or bridleways, where I went straight on (the other options were left, half-left or right) and headed on into Fugsdon Wood. After another half a mile or so I reached a lane, where I went a hundred yards or so left and took a path on the other side (looking on the map, it would be possible to shorten the walk by following the lane to the Coombe Hill car park). The path went slightly uphill through a wood called High Scrub - I soon came to a T-junction where I turned left, this path almost immediately turning right and leading onto a bridleway.
Start of the path through Chisley Wood
The path through Chisley Wood
The same path descending to the five-way path junction
The path continuing from the five-way path junction
The path continuing through Fugsdon Wood
The path continuing through Fugsdon Wood
The path through Fugsdon Wood approaching the lane
The path through High Scrubs
The path through High Scrubs
I turned left along the bridleway (which came from Dunsmore), which initially ran between fences. It passed from High Scrubs to Low Scrubs Wood, and after a while there were the grounds of a large house to my right. Just past here, the bridleway went slightly left but a path continued straight on beside the remains of an iron fence on the right. Where this turned slightly right, I crossed the bridleway (which had curved in a narrow C-shape to get here) and continued on a footpath through the woods, going right at a path junction. I crossed a broad and muddy track to reach a metal kissing-gate, that led onto the open space on top of Coombe Hill.
The bridleway from Dunsmore to Coombe Hill
The bridleway from Dunsmore to Coombe Hill
The bridleway from Dunsmore to Coombe Hill
The start of the path from Low Scrubs onto Coombe Hill
Walking straight on, initially with the wood on my left, I soon joined a surfaced path that continued on to reach the monument on top of Coombe Hill. I admired the extensive views over the Vale of Aylesbury, then turned left and walked down the middle of a broad strip of grass. At its end I went left through a few trees and continued through an area of grass and scrub to return to the car park where I'd started.
Approaching the monument on Coombe Hill
View over the Vale of Aylesbury from Coombe Hill (Waddesdon Manor is on the wooded hill above the smoke)
The monument on Coombe Hill (a memorial to the men of Buckinghamshire who died in the Boer War)
Another view over the Vale of Aylesbury
The route back to the car park from the monument
Approaching the car park
This was a really enjoyable shorter walk, on a stunningly beautiful winter's day full of golden sunlight. It was cold, maybe 4-6C, but I certainly didn't notice that in my warm winter gear. The only slight problem was that all the paths and bridleways were very muddy after all the rain and storms we've had recently. The mud probably helps to account for the fact that it took me three and a quarter hours to walk 7.5 miles. There were some splendid views from Chequers Knap and Coombe Hill, and about half the walk was in woodland, interspersed with a few field paths and one or two areas of rough grass and scrub. Its certainly a walk I'd like to do again if I couldn't manage a longer walk in this area.