Pete's Walks - Cowleaze Wood, Crowell, Stokenchurch (page 3 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.
On reaching the corner of some trees, where a path went left, the OS map shows the 'lane' becomes a byway. The byway continued beside the trees on my left, with views ahead and to my right along the wooded escarpment. I spotted some Wild Clematis here. At the end of the trees I crossed the Ridgeway, and now the byway started to rise uphill through a tree belt with fields either side. When the field to the left ended, the byway entered Crowellhill Wood and briefly ran along a sunken lane or 'hollow way', but this soon curved to the right while the byway continued straight on at a steady gradient up the wooded slope. Eventually the byway turned a little to the left, reaching the top of the slope and ending at a corner of a lane (if I'd followed the lane straight on, it would have taken me through Crowell Hill and Sprig's Alley).
The lane continuing from Crowell (it becomes a byway where the trees start on the left)
The byway continuing from Crowell, approaching the Ridgeway
The byway continuing from Crowell after crossing the Ridgeway
The byway continuing up the Chiltern escarpment, through Crowellhill Wood
The byway continuing up the Chiltern escarpment, through Crowellhill Wood
The byway continuing up the Chiltern escarpment, through Crowellhill Wood
The byway continuing up the Chiltern escarpment, through Crowellhill Wood
The byway continuing up the Chiltern escarpment, through Crowellhill Wood
I did go a few yards straight on along the lane, passing a parking area, but then turned right on a path that took me back into Crowellhill Wood. It ran for about half a mile, just inside the eastern edge of the wood with fields nearby on my left. Somewhere the wood changed to Kingston Wood. Eventually I came to a track junction in the wood, where a white arrow pointed the way half-left along a track dropping downhill. This track curved left as it approached the bottom of a wooded valley, where I came to a crossroads of rights of way. Previously on this route I have turned left here, but today I went straight on (starting Alternative 1 on my Google map). The bridleway was still on a track, but now in High Wood - I used to walk this track quite often, but haven't done so for many years. At some point the wood on my right became Lott Wood. When this ended, I continued along the track, now just inside Crowell Wood - I think I may have only walked this section of the track once before.
Crowell Hill, where the path along the edge of Crowellhill Wood begins
The path along the edge of Crowellhill Wood
The path along the edge of Crowellhill Wood
Crowellhill Wood
The path continuing through Kingston Wood
The junction in Kingston Wood (the white arrow points the way)
The track in Kingston Wood
The track in High Wood, after going straight on at a path crossroads (now on Alternative 1 on my Google map)
The track in High Wood (the right fork)
Further along the track, now with Lott Wood to the right
The track continuing from Lott Wood, Crowell Wood now on the left
The track continuing from Lott Wood, Crowell Wood now on the left