Pete's Walks- Maidensgrove, Ibstone, Middle Assendon (page 4 of 6)
If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.
I now made the second change from the route I used six weeks ago, by turning left along a bridleway that started with a paddock fence on my left and the hedge of Turville Court on my right (last time I'd gone right for a few yards, then turned left just after the entrance to Turville Court). The bridleway continued through a long thin meadow, still following the hedge on my right. It then entered a huge meadow (some years it's a cattle pasture), turning slightly left to stay close to a wood on that side for a while and then dropping steeply downhill to reach a gate. There were lovely views here of a confluence of four or five valleys near Turville and Fingest - these views were the reason I changed the route to come this way instead.
Near the start of the bridleway from Turville Court
The bridleway from Turville Court - this view is why I made this amendment from the route from the one I walked six weeks ago. The valley going off in the centre of the photo is the Hambleden valley
Looking slightly left from the same spot as the previous photo - Fingest is hidden in in the trees in the centre of the photo (Turville and Cobstone Mill were a little further left, out of this shot)
Through the gate, I turned right (joining another section of the Chiltern Way, which I'd now follow as far as Stonor) and followed a bridleway along the very long hedgerow now on my right, until I reached Dolesden Lane. Across the lane, the bridleway started uphill along a hedge-lined track, then along a surfaced drive through a small wood. It then continued along the drive with a number of paddocks either side, gradually levelling out as it approached Southend Farm. The bridleway continued straight on along the drive from the farm (after a while I kept left where a new drive forked right), passing the point where the route I took last time came in on a path from the right, and reaching the hamlet of Southend, where I stopped on a seat to eat my packed lunch (I think it was now about 1.30pm).
The bridleway from Turville to Southend
Looking back along the bridleway, towards Cobstone Mill (Turville is out of view in the valley below the windmill)
The bridleway to Southend, just after crossing Dolesden Lane
The bridleway to Southend
The bridleway, approaching Southend Farm
The bridleway continuing along the drive from Southend Farm
Southend
Lunch over, I then turned left at the end of the drive from Southend Farm, following a lane out of the hamlet for a very short distance and then turning right onto a footpath. After passing a cottage garden there was a field on my right, with Kildridge Wood extending to my left. Beyond the field I had woods either side of me, from the OS map I think the path must run close to the boundary between Kildridge Wood and Balham's Wood (on the right). After a while the path, which was dropping steadily downhill through the woods, went slightly left from the track it had been following, through a small area of Rhododendrons to reach a very tall gate in the fence around the deer park surrounding Stonor House. (a couple coming the other way laughed at the tortured look on my face as I JUST squeezed through the gate without first removing my rucksack!). I continued along the very pleasant path through the deer park, and soon saw that the car park near the grand house was very busy - hardly surprising on such a beautiful and hot Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the heat had clearly got to me, because I was already feeling very tired and I knew I'd be struggling by the time I finished the walk.
The start of the path from Southend to Stonor
The path from Southend to Stonor
The path from Southend to Stonor
The path continuing through the deer park around Stonor House
The path continuing through the deer park around Stonor House
Stonor House, with its ancient chapel on the right