Pete's Walks- Redland End and Coombe Hill (page 1 of 5)

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.

Google map of the walk

I did this circular walk of about 10.8 miles on Saturday, January 4th, 2020. It was a repeat of a walk I did almost exactly four years ago, in January 2016.

I started walking about 10.20am, having parked on the southern edge of the hamlet of Redland End, where a footpath crosses a short lane (Grid Reference SP 834022). I followed the lane north past the few houses (on my left) that make up the hamlet to reach a T-junction where the lane met a minor road. A path continued from the opposite side, continuing northwards through a large wood, Barnes Grove - the path initially followed the course of the ancient earthwork called Grim's Ditch. Straight away the path was very muddy and there were numerous puddles, which was how most of the paths would be today. I went straight on at a path junction where theChiltern Way forked right, the path then soon emerging from the wood and running beside a huge field on the right and Kingsfield Wood on my left. In the field corner the path re-entered the woods, now Knighton's Hill Wood. After a while the path turned left, dropping downhill through the trees (which were now conifers on my right). Further on I reached a stile by a gate on my right - here I turned right along the drive from Solinger House, which immediately turned left.

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The path going north from Redland End, here on part of the course of the ancient Grim's Ditch

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Further along the same path

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The path continuing beside Kingsfield Wood (Hampden House is near the far end of the very large field on the right)

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The path continuing through Knighton's Hill Wood

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The path continuing through Knighton's Hill Wood, now descending after turning left

I followed the drive for about half a mile, until it ended on the road that runs through the valley of Hampden Bottom. I crossed over and walked down the drive to Dirtywood Farm (that's the name on the OS map, the sign at the start of the drive says Hampden Chase). I then took a permissive path that goes left and follows a hedge round the buildings at the end of the drive, before continuing along a hedgerow to reach Widnell Wood. After a few yards along a track, the path went half-right, heading uphill at an angle through the trees (I had a brief chat here with a couple of walkers coming the other way, there'd been another two just as I entered the wood). Towards the top of the slope I came to a path junction, where I turned very sharply left.

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The drive from Solinger House

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The drive from Solinger House

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The drive to Dirtywood Farm (the path turns left and follows the hedge round the buildings)

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The path continuing to Widnell Wood

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The path going east through Widnell Wood

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The path going north through Widnell Wood, just after I turned sharply left

The path continued through the wood, very gradually descending and drawing closer to the edge of the wood on my left. After almost half a mile I came to a path T-junction where I turned right. After a short distance the path turned left, then within a few yards it turned right (the path going straight on here is not on the map and presumably not a right of way). I was now going uphill through Hengrove Wood, and I soon went right (or half-right) at another path junction. This path continued uphill through the wood, until it ended close to the end of an old lane (I'd walk the far end of it at Buckmoorend later on).

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The path going east through Widnell Wood

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The path going east through Widnell Wood

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Approaching the end of the path going east through Widnell Wood, where I turned right)

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The uphill path in Hengrove Wood, after I went half-right at a path T-junction

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The path in Hengrove Wood, approaching the end of the old lane