Walking Forum
Regions - Trip reports, destination advice, recommended routes, etc. => Rest of England => Topic started by: Ridge on 09:51:47, 29/09/20
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28/09/2020
Looking for a walk on line I found this one
https://chilternsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Commons_Series_Chesham_to_Chipperfield.pdf (https://chilternsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Commons_Series_Chesham_to_Chipperfield.pdf)
Only when I had decided to definitely do it did I realise that I don't have the maps for the bottom of the walk but I risked it using the tiny map on the leaflet and the instructions. This worked OK but there were times when I got nervous waiting for what was in the instructions to appear in reality.
I parked in Latimer and then the route goes to the edge of Chesham, Ley Hill, Flaunden, almost to Chipperfield, Sarratt and back to Latimer. Almost 15 miles by my reckoning.
Setting off past The De Vere Latimer Estate (posh hotel and wedding venue) as Latimer House is now called it was quite cool and I pulled on my fleece and wondered if I had enough layers with me.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_090217.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/55d0d404-2f7c-45aa-9449-8065485a635f)
Today was the usual Chilterns countryside of rolling fields and pockets of woodland.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_091028.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/b63d0041-b6a4-4dda-8e36-f9f0280294f7)
As soon as the wind dropped and the sun came out the day really started to warm up.
The rivers here are incredibly clear.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_095609.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/fc4586b0-1f25-42f7-a0bd-c98c0c7c259a)
The remains of Canon's Mill on the edge of Chesham. This reminded me of where I played as a child on the edge of Sheffield where abandoned water mills have been incorporated back in to the woods.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_095401.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/40037b9b-10ae-4d6f-9013-94fa258e2ce0)
Leaving Chesham was a point where the walk instructions got a bit vague. Having said before that I should follow a path through through 3 gates etc. it now just said 'continue up hill' neglecting to say that I would cross a number of roads, turn right and left, that the path would become the pavement of a street at one point. I persevered and it all came out OK.
Clay pits in Tylers Hill Wood.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_120418.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/f5ced200-9db4-483c-93d3-69eaed936211)
Following the Hertfordshire Way through Woodman's Wood.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_120652.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/60e77493-78fb-4ff9-8a51-51420b0d1603)
The day was getting very warm by now and I began to worry if I had enough water with me. As luck would have it I found an establishments in Commonwood selling liquid in imperial measures and I sensibly re-hydrated.
It looks like there has recently been a wedding in the tiny church in Sarratt.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_140654.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/0ca9c85a-d116-4bb2-9c04-ccf5a5dd58b5)
Walking by the river Chess again I passed a watercress farm which had a sign saying that they had closed down because Thames Water had 'poisoned the watercress beds'.
There was a whole family of swans out but they refused to get all together for a photo.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/nn129/Birkhouse/20200928_151113.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/Birkhouse/a/4c7f18a7-ce80-4544-ae2c-47f3b09ccc7a/p/a2b22e19-fe20-47b7-80f2-c582e9ab5705)
It was a nice day out, squeezing the last bit of warmth from the summer.
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Very nice photos :) Lovely woodlands and waterfall, and I always like seeing swans on a river
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Looks good. O0
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Thanks Ridge, you were in a part of my favourite walking area that is not too distant from my home.
That area was also part of my "patch" where I worked in my early days as a service engineer. Wasn't I lucky!
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Thanks for the comments.
That area was also part of my "patch" where I worked in my early days as a service engineer. Wasn't I lucky!
Nice area but some of the lanes are quite narrow for driving a van down. There was one point where a transit had to wait for me to walk to a gap in the hedge as his wing mirrors were touching both sides.
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Nice pics Ridge O0 Did you have a whole pint of water or just a half? ;)
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Thanks AprilDid you have a whole pint of water or just a half? ;)
I had a whole pint of liquid, it would have been irresponsible in the circumstances to do anything else.
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That looks a very interesting day out
Lovely photos especially the swans O0
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Thanks Karl.
Yes it was a good day.
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Lovely pics. A walk with a bit of all sorts in :)
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Thanks Mel. It was a good walk I'll definitely be doing it again sometime.
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Lovely pictures of a delightful walk. Glad the route worked out.
Recently we've been exploring the Blackdown Hills using a little red book of walks. We start a walk determined not to resort to the OS map but fail every time. The written directions can only be described as enigmatic and the map is merely a vague suggestion. We've enjoyed the walks and the points of history in the book make it more interesting but without the OS we'd probably still be wandering, bewildered, round Hense Moor looking for the way out.
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Thanks Jac, yes it is always a worry trusting someone else's directions.
One of the instructions on my walk said 'Selecting the correct path through the woods can be challenging – a compass might help.' but with no indication of what direction/bearing you should be following.
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Some of the walks I've found online have their routes marked on OS 1:25,000 maps.
National Trust ones are excellent, such as this one for example:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chilterns-countryside/trails/hambleden-mill-to-henley-on-thames--a-circular-walk- (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chilterns-countryside/trails/hambleden-mill-to-henley-on-thames--a-circular-walk-)
In spite of that, I still managed to turn right at the T-junction at Aston instead of left, and needlessly walked half a mile southwards before realising my mistake.
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Thanks Jac, yes it is always a worry trusting someone else's directions.
One of the instructions on my walk said 'Selecting the correct path through the woods can be challenging – a compass might help.' but with no indication of what direction/bearing you should be following.
;D Same author?
Our path met a road on a very acute bend (imagine walking up the stem of the letter Y) the instruction was to continue straight on :-\
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Errors are not uncommon in guide books and apart from these the landscape can change in a relatively short time span. Stiles, fences, hedgerows, even ponds can disappear, while new fences are erected and there are new property or agricultural building developments.
I overcome them by completely ignoring the written directions and following the book or leaflet map on my OS 1:25k map. This is more or less foolproof, you can do it with even the simplest line drawings. Of course, when one is presented with a clear OS map of the route such as the NT example I gave above, and one then turns the wrong way at a junction, that is one's own stupid fault.
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Nice walk and pics O0 I love the Chilterns!!
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Thanks Chris.
I must confess that I like my countryside a bit more unkempt if possible, I walk Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire because they are convenient.
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I agree Ridge but likewise Chilterns and Herts are just an hour away for mr.
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I mentioned to a friend who lives in Chesham that I was walking near there recently and they said that they would come along next time I was in the area so we are now meeting up tomorrow. Another friend has asked to come along so one of them is going to do some of this walk, terminating at a pub at lunchtime, and the other will do all of it.
Its only just occurred to me that I am 'walk leader' tomorrow and should have things with me that I should always take, but don't normally on this sort of walk, like first aid kit etc.
I'm normally a fairly antisocial walker and can not think of the last time I walked all day with someone who is not a member of my family.
It will be good to see them both. I've not seen one since May, the other since March and the 3 of us haven't been together since Christmas. But I can't decide if I am looking forward to walking with other people or not.
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I mentioned to a friend who lives in Chesham that I was walking near there recently and they said that they would come along next time I was in the area so we are now meeting up tomorrow. Another friend has asked to come along so one of them is going to do some of this walk, terminating at a pub at lunchtime, and the other will do all of it.
Its only just occurred to me that I am 'walk leader' tomorrow and should have things with me that I should always take, but don't normally on this sort of walk, like first aid kit etc.
I'm normally a fairly antisocial walker and can not think of the last time I walked all day with someone who is not a member of my family.
It will be good to see them both. I've not seen one since May, the other since March and the 3 of us haven't been together since Christmas. But I can't decide if I am looking forward to walking with other people or not.
I'm not a people person at the best of times but I can't imagine walking with others - it's something I enjoy doing very much by myself.
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I'm not a people person at the best of times but I can't imagine walking with others - it's something I enjoy doing very much by myself.
You and me both Patrick, we should go walking separately sometime ;)
Actually we had a really good time, one turned up in walking boots and the other in cowboy boots.
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You and me both Patrick, we should go walking separately sometime ;)
Sounds lovely, let's agree a walk and you do it Saturday and I'll do it Sunday. We can compare walk reports on the forum! :D