Long Walk April 1st led by Peter Dixon and David Troupe
On a somewhat overcast and chilly 1st April, shortly after 9.30, twelve of us set off from The Bell public house at Chearsley. With less than half-a-mile on the odometer the leaders, Peter Dixon and David Troup took us down a dead-end cul-de-sac, they had forgotten the walk they reccee’d less than 10 days previously – was this an omen for how the rest of the day would be?
After a mile we reached the first stile, exactly where we knew it would be so confidence restored we crossed two roads and continued in a north-east direction to reach Nether Winchendon where the ‘team photo’ was taken by the Victorian pillarbox. Then followed the first of the ‘three hills of note’ that we were warned about at the briefing. There had been a moment of indecisiveness as to use the road or the footpath (which our leaders had not found on their recce) but Peter was confident it existed and lead the group up the hill with fingers crossed and yes, at the top was the footpath sign pointing down the path we had travelled.
About 200 yards of road walk followed until we entered the driveway to Musk Hill Farm, some used the stout stile, others waited for a vehicle to exit via the electrically operated gate and walked through in grand style. Passing through the farm we met a few horses which showed a friendly interest in our group and one had fun chasing Adrian’s Hearing Dog puppy. We were now travelling downhill in a north-west direction before using a small bridge to cross the stream.
Our second ‘hill of note’ now faced us as we set off across a large open expanse of sheep-filled pasture heading for a large dead tree which David assured us was in the correct direction. He was right and after the stiff climb we crossed the road in Ashendon to reach St. Mary’s Church where we were pleased to stop for coffee – it was after 11.00am so it was acceptable and we had passed the halfway point.
The route now turned south, down the road and over another stile (oh, I’ve forgotten to mention the 6 previous ones, or was it 7?) and into a field with a few cows and one with a calf standing exactly where our path led. Obviously both were used to walkers and neither batted so much as an eyelid as most of us passed by. Wisely some stayed on the road for the 200 yards as dogs/cows/calves are not a good mix as we headed through Upper Pollicott towards Lower Pollicott. Leaving the farm track at a junction of paths our leaders took another brave decision, this is where they took a wrong turn on their recce and had got ‘lost’ – well a bit anyway. They headed south-east across unmarked fields and once again were rewarded by way-markers on the gates they eventually reached, nobody else knew they were guessing. Of course by now another half-dozen or more stiles had been crossed, some were sturdy, the majority in need of tlc but with mutual aid, everyone and two dogs continued without trauma.
The final ‘hill of note’ now rose steeply in front of us but the pub was beckoning so up we went to reach the farm track at the top where we turned through 900 to face south-west for a short distance to reach the road which led to Chearsley. The leaders had proposed leaving the road after a short distance to follow a path behind the houses to emerge back onto the road a short distance from The Bell. However a quick show-of-hands led to a decision to keep to the road for the last half mile down the hill to the start/finish point. After all, we didn’t want to keep the landlady waiting and wondering whether or not she should have accepted a booking for April 1st. By taking the road we arrived back at The Bell at exactly 1.30pm, the time we had booked to arrive.
I think everyone enjoyed their lunch and refreshment and most said that they enjoyed the walk so all-in-all, I’d say it was a successful walk.
Strollers April 13th led by Caroline Jones
9 of us plus a dog did the walk around Lane End. It was very pleasant, – noisy walking by the M40 but very peaceful in the woods. We saw lots of bluebells and other wild flowers.
Medium Walk April 17th led by Angela Wall
Fourteen hearty walkers assembled at the Cricket Club car park in Wendover in sunny weather, before setting off over the cricket field down to the stream. Passing a lovely meadow filled with cowslips, we reached the parish church and Hogsthorpe Lane. Following the Ridgeway, we walked along a track until Boswells Farm and then began a gentle climb through Barn Wood. The woods were bursting into life and with the sun dappling through the trees everywhere looked very beautiful. Soon we were walking through Hale Wood with carpets of bluebells on either side of the path. Crossing Hale Lane, we came to Hengrove Wood and eventually arrived at Chivery. Turning left along the road, after a quarter of a mile, we took a path on the left into Wendover Woods. A walk along tracks and paths with carpets of bluebells on all sides, led us to the cafe and stopped for a rest and coffee break. Feeling refreshed, we took the main track down the east side of Boddington Hill to Hale Lane and walked along the road to Wendover. The Shoulder of Mutton pub gave us an excellent lunch and provided a very satisfying end to a lovely, gentle walk in the woods.