Wandering near Wendover

Date: Sunday 14th April 2013
Route: Wendover Circular via the Icknield Way, the Aylesbury Ring and a rather nice pub
Distance: 8.4 miles

This is the first walk in the Time Out Book of Country Walks Volume 2, which they describe as "an exhilarating introduction to the Chilterns". Today "exhilarating" could be construed to mean "a bit strenuous and exposed in places", but we still enjoyed this walk a lot.

I know that we have walked this route several times in the past (the last time in very snowy conditions - click here to see some Narnia-esque photos) but I think today's trip was possibly the most heavy-going, mainly due to some very muddy fields and a bit more breeze than expected.

The walk is a nice combination of fields and woodlands, including Pulpit Hill Fort, until a certain point when you emerge from the trees to one of those rolling hillside views that never translate well on camera but are absolutely stunning in the sunshine and make you wish you had packed a picnic. The best bit of the walk is probably the section from the vicinity of Chequers, over Beacon Hill and down to Ellesborough Church, as this gives you great views over the open countryside of the Chilterns, whose beauty is only slightly undermined by frequent ugly and amusingly ungrammatical "Stop HS2" signs and banners.

From the church back to Wendover can become a bit of a trudge, mainly alongside fields of sheep, but we broke up this section today with lunch at the highly recommended Russell Arms - fantastic cheese & chutney sandwiches and chips refuelled us for the final section back to Wendover.

There is a fair amount of hillside walking in this one, so it is definitely a bit more punishing than the walks near Henley - and if you are feeling particularly energetic you can do the longer, 11.5 mile version (we didn't!). I would like to do this again when the ground is a bit drier so I don't feel as if there is a kilo of mud on the underside of each boot, though. I would also recommend the Wendover walk from the Rough Guide Walks Near London book if you want a less rigourous option.

Hambleden, Marlow and the Thames

Date: Sunday 7th April
Route: Hambleden to Marlow and back along the Thames Path & across Medmenham Lock
Distance: 12.1 miles

A beautiful sunny spring day and one of the best walks from the Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 2 - to paraphrase Masterchef "walking doesn't get any better than this!"

The walk, as detailed in the guide book, begins and ends in Marlow, however we chose to park in the car park on the road to Hambleden, so that we had more choice of places to eat in Marlow (and got the big hilly bits out of the way in the first half of the walk). Another alternative is to park in the free car park within Hambleden village.

The walk offers a great combination of hills and woodland, beautiful countryside, riverside walking, bridges, locks and weirs. Along the way today we encountered loads of wildlife - from red kites and deer to a lone fox on the hillside and even a crazy-looking turkey alongside the Flowerpot Hotel on the hillside above Medmenham Lock.

There are a few hills along the way and you can tell that you've walked a fair distance, however this is a really satisfying walk (and much better than the Marlow Walk in the Pathfinder Chilterns book).

Alpacas, kayakkers and disorienteering around Henley

Date: Saturday March 30th 2013
Route: Circular walk from car park on Skirmett Road to Hambleden, through the Great Wood to Henley then back along the Thames and Medmenham Lock
Distance: 9.8 miles

When you walk the same paths regularly, it's tempting to decide that there's nothing new to say and therefore not much point in blogging - apart from the fact that this is pretty self-defeating (and means that we will inevitably forget where we have walked on which dates!), our chilly walk on Saturday was proof that even a familar path can deliver new and different things every time you step onto it.

The walk in question is the first walk in the Time Out Book of Country Walks and the one that I would recommend to everyone without a moment's hesitation. I've blogged about it a few times now, so won't go into the detail of the route today, but you can check out more information in previous posts, if you fancy it.

There were a few factors that made our walk on Saturday more interesting (and at times, noisier!) than usual:
1. Water
2. Orienteering 
3. Wildlife
4. Canoe racing

The first section of the walk, from the car park to the picture-book village of Hambleden, crosses a couple of fields, with the village away in the distance, cows lazing on the hillside and red kites wheeling overhead. A few years ago, a stream meandered across the fields alongside the path, however in the last 18 months-2 years of "drought" conditions it had disappeared - needless to say that the recent rubbish weather has brought it back with a vengeance and very pretty it is too (although Wellies and/ or waterproof boots definitely come in handy, as the path can be a bit boggy in places).

As far as the orienteering was concerned, this certainly made the steep hillside section of the walk a lot busier than usual, as a small army of Lycra-clad, lean and sprightly individuals marched up to the start of their event and then proceeded to tear around the woodland, compasses in hand, while we walked our way through the middle of them. A temporary village of tea vans, medical tents and a P.A. system meant that part of the walk was not exactly the quiet country stroll it usually is, accompanied as it was by a running commentary - not sure that the event organisers had really thought through the implications of placing the urinals right next to the footpath either!

Once away from the mayhem of the woodland, we encountered more than our usual quota of wildlife - coming face to face with friendly and plantive domesticated alpacas, obviously in the market for any spare snack food we might have with us, as well as a large herd of deer on the hillside above Henley, presumably fleeing from the dashing orienteers and keen not to get too close to us either.

After lunch in Henley, even the final stretch of the walk, along the Thames Path, had surprises in store, as we were steadily overtaken by a stream of kayakkers and canoeists taking part in the 125 mile Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race. By the time they reached Henley, they had paddled through the night in fast-flowing water, freezing temperatures and biting wind - and still had a long way to go, with the only "rests" being the sections where they had to carry the canoes around obstacles such as Medmenham Lock before carrying on downstream.

All of this hardcore outdoor exercise makes walking look a little wussy in comparison, however whilst I can appreciate the effort and challenge of these outdoor events, I'm not sure I will be rushing to pick up a compass and map or a paddle any time soon - for me, an interesting path, some slightly challenging hillsides and a nice pub lunch win any day!