Pete's Walks - The Chiltern Way
If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.
Day 7 14/6/08 Preston to Whitewaybottom lane (7.0 miles each way)
Parked on street in Preston.
Ruins of Minsden Chapel 3/10/05
This walk had been meant to go from Austage End to Whitwell, as I resumed the northern extension. I parked in Preston (as there was nowhere to park in the tiny hamlet of Austage End) intending to walk back from there to Austage End, turn round and walk to Whitwell. However, just as I reached the edge of Preston, I came across an official notice on a stile or gate, saying that Herts County Council had closed Dead Woman’s Lane (part of which the Chiltern Way uses between Austage End and Preston) for reseeding, and it would not be open until 25/10/05 (or when the reseeding was deemed successful, if earlier). So I had to alter my plans for the day.
This was another enjoyable walk. After an initial short road walk out of Preston, I took some paths through fields and had a very long, gradual descent to a road. Very quickly left the road to gradually ascend again to the ruins of Minsden Chapel. More footpaths took me past Langley End, and on past the entrance to Staggenhoe Park (now a Sue Ryder home) where Sir Arthur Sullivan lived in the 1880’s. Walked through the churchyard at St Paul’s Walden, and took some tracks and paths to Whitwell. Walked through the outskirts of the village to a prominent water tower, and then took a track, appropriately named Long Lane, for almost 1.5 miles until it crossed Whitewaybottom lane. Turned round there, and ate lunch on a bench beside the sports ground in Whitwell. On the way back, I discovered that I had unwittingly taken a short cut that must have taken at least 20 yards off the route, so I walked the correct bit in both directions! How sad! What a ‘purist’ I am! Passed the 100 mile mark for the walk today.
Total distance: 51 miles each way
UPDATE: I went back and completed the missing section on 12/11/05. It was a gorgeous autumn morning, and the 1.4 miles each way made for a very pleasant hour's walk. The route went across some arable fields and then some empty cow pastures to reach a lane on the edge of the village of Preston. I could see why Dead Woman's Lane had needed to be closed, as there were already plenty of hoof marks and tyre tracks even though it had only been re-opened a short while ago.
Looking back towards Austage End 12/11//05