Pete's Walks- Watlington Hill, Nuffield, Russell's Water (page 3 of 7)
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 was again back on a path I knew well, as I continued through more of Haycroft Wood. I soon crossed the drive I'd been on earlier, and a few yards later went straight on where the track curved right. After a while the path reached a stile on the edge of the wood, beyond which it continued through an area of park land above Swyncombe House. The path followed the edge of Straights plantation, with the park dropping steeply downhill to my right. Soon there were good views, looking to the right across Swyncombe towards Swyncombe Downs, and looking further ahead out to the Oxfordshire Plain. I was so taken with the views that I forgot to take any photos looking along the path, but it was simply a matter of keeping close to the edge of the park on my left.
The path through Haycroft Wood
The path through Haycroft Wood
The path continues through the park land above Swyncombe House, following the edge of Straights Plantation on the left
View out towards the Oxfordshire Plain
Another view, looking further left over Swyncombe House to Swyncombe Downs
On reaching a corner of the park land, I went over a stile and turned left along a track - I was now on a section of the Ridgeway national trail, which I'd be following as far as Nuffield. The track followed a field boundary and then ran through an avenue of trees to reach the farmyard at Ewelme Place. The Ridgeway turned left to pass through the farmyard, and continued on to pass the grand house on my right. It then ran between wooden railings for a while, then passed through the end of a wood before crossing a huge field where the corn had already been harvested. After passing through a long tree belt (where the Ridgeway crossed the southern extension of the Chiltern Way), I continued across another similar but smaller field, the path then running through a small wood (where I spotted some Nettle-leaved Bellflower) to reach the A4130 main road.
Part of the Ridgeway, heading from Swyncombe towards Ewelme Park
Approaching the farm at Ewelme Park
The Ridgeway continuing from Ewelme Park
The Ridgeway continuing from Ewelme Park
The Ridgeway continuing from Ewelme Park
The Ridgeway, in the wood next to the A4130
Across the road, a path went in front of and to the right of a cottage, then entered Nuffield golf course (James Bond author Ian Fleming used to play here). The path across the course was marked by posts with the Ridgeway's white acorn symbol on, so was reasonably easy to follow (except at one point where the post was in the shade of trees and I couldn't see it until I was partway across a fairway). Beyond the golf course the path crossed a corner of a field to reach a lane by Nuffield church.
The Ridgeway crossing Nuffield golf course
View from the edge of Nuffield Golf Course (the blur above the skyline is a Red Kite)
Nuffield church