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Hertfordshire & BuckinghamshireWalk Details: Top details (1): Top details (2): |
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The Walk:We had made a pact at New Year to try to have completed 40% of the county tops by the end of 2005. At the end of 2004 we'd completed 35, and therefore need 49 this year to make our target. We decided to get an early start, and kicked off by heading towards the highest point of my home county (Buckinghamshire) which we'd somehow managed to avoid to date. I was proud of Alison accompanying us for her first county tops. Admittedly I think that the reason she was there was at least partly because it was our home county, but I hoped she'd catch the bagging bug. I wasn't hopeful though, as she'd previously been openly critical of our habit of taking photos of inconsequential residential roads! We could have parked pretty much slap on top of each of these two tops, but as they were close together it was far more satisfying to build a nice round walk between the two tops (somehow it's always satisfying to walk across a county boundary!). We were also hoping for decent views given the sunny (albeit cold) conditions. We got the views almost immediately. After a short walk north along the road we turned off onto the Icknield Way footpath. This ran along the top of a stunning little coombe known by the odd name of The Crong, across which we could see Tring and the hills beyond. This view made up for the fact that the path was churned up by horses and several pounds in weight was added to our boots in the form of caked mud. Soon the Icknield Way joined the Ridgeway (perhaps we should be walking that - we've now encountered it several times whilst county top bagging) and the going became easier as we plunged into Pavis Wood. Despite the subsequent loss of views, I didn't mind too much - the woods were light and airy, with a spongy path underfoot, and a pleasure to walk through.
Now crossing back into Buckinghamshire, we started to follow a green-ish lane which undulated gently between fields of winter wheat. It was a bit nippy in the breeze blowing across these open fields, but that very open-ness felt good. It soon came to an end though; we crossed a minor road, and then wandered through some scrubby woodland. Emerging onto a road at Lanes End, we turned laft and then right up a very minor road. Here there was meant to be a footpath off to the right to Milesfield, but we couldn't find it, instead we had to wander about a kilometre down the (very quiet) road before entering Wendover Woods on the Ridgeway. The Ridgeway strangely dipped deep down into another pretty valley before returning to the top of it - we chose another path than ran rather more sensibly (and slightly indistinguishably) around the top edge of the valley to rejoin the Ridgeway. The Ridgeway then veered right to cross a road and return to where we'd first met it today, but we carried straight on up a path marked on the map as private but clearly open to the public on the ground. This soon joined a "forest drive".
The highest point in Buckinghamshire is surprisingly hard to find given that it's marked by a huge rock. A small and un-signposted path leads off of the forest drive, meanders through the woods a little bit and then there it is, hidden behind a tree with the inscription facing away from you. The inscription says that you're at the highest point in the Chiltern Hills, and somehow it was incredibly gratifying to have something at a county top saying that you were high up! It's certainly more impressive than the unmarked points on roads that have characterised so many of the tops so far, and we left with our heads held high and a friendly pat to the stone! From there it was a short stroll across a field back to the car with 37 tops under our belts (or rather, boots). The Buckinghamshire top had left a good taste in our mouth, and Ali (now our second most successful guest bagger, ahead of our Dad but behind Justin) had enjoyed it so much that she said she may join us for others in the future. Hurrah for hills, bring on the next batch!
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Emerging onto a road at the far end of the woods
we entered Hertfordshire at its highest point - it all seemed rather easy.
We briefly wandered up the road before deciding that the highest point
was a roadside tussock, and taking our photos there. We then wandered
along to the tiny hamlet of Haston, a clump of houses that seemed to have
no real reason for its existence before doubling back across a field to
the equally tiny Oakengrove. On the way we passed Grim's Ditch - an old
Saxon boundary ditch. It was quite nice that this linked us back to our
previous top in Middlesex, where we'd passed the Grimsdyke Hotel, named
after the same feature which must run for dozens of miles.
I've seen these in a few places now and it's always
seemed like a bizarre concept. Let’s go and enjoy the tranquillity
and fresh air of the countryside - by sitting inside a noisy fume-belching
vehicle. There were quite a few cars on this one, and they didn't really
seem to be stopping anywhere - it was really a case of "ooh - lets
go out to the countryside - and then just sit in our car".