The best walk in the Chilterns?

Date: Sunday 10th June 2012
Route: Hambleden to Henley via the Great Wood and back along the Thames
Distance: 9.3 miles

Having reached a point where we've completed virtually every long circular walk within an hour's drive of West London from the Time Out Book of Country Walks Volumes 1 & 2, The Rough Guide to Walks in London & The South East and the Pathfinder Chilterns & Thames Valley books, this is the walk that we come back to time after time.

It's the first walk in the Time Out Book of Country Walks Volume 1 and it's the perfect introduction to walking - you get out of London easily and quickly, it's not too strenuous, you get plenty of great views over the countryside, some peaceful, sheltered woodland sections, a couple of pretty villages and a long, flat walk along the Thames. You can catch the train from Henley and walk from there or, even better, park in the free car park on the road to Hambleden and start and finish there, giving you loads of choice for places to eat in Henley and getting the bulk of the walk (and all the hilly bits) out of the way before lunchtime.

Whilst I've blogged about this walk a few times previously (see here and here and here (!)), the great thing about this walk is that each time you do it the experience is different - the frequent rain since the last time we walked the route in March has meant that there has been an explosion of foliage and greenery in every direction (as you can tell from the photos).

The blossom and bluebells of earlier in the year have been replaced by dog roses, rhododendrons, irises and foxgloves and today we heard a very noisy woodpecker above our heads in the Great Wood. The village green at Fawley still boasted rather a lot of (rather damp) Diamond Jubilee bunting. The preparations for Henley Regatta are also in full swing, so there was much more rowing on the river than usual today, as well as lots of barges and pleasure boats queueing patiently at the lock and picnickers enjoying the hazy sunshine.

I'm not sure if anyone has ever run a poll on what is the best walk in the Chilterns, but this one would definitely get my vote.*

*(as long as you avoid the actual Regatta dates, 27th June-1st July this year).