Pete's Walks- Watlington Hill and Cookley Green (page 2 of 5)
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.
I turned left at Launder's Farm along a bridleway, that initially ran between hedges either side to reach a gate. Beyond this, it followed a hedge on the left for a while before continuing gently downhill through a large corn field towards Fire Wood. Shortly after the hedge ended, I joined the route of the Chiltern Way, which came in on the left - I was now back on the route I'd planned to do originally. Several more mountain bikers passed me along here, and I saw the first of several signs with black arrows on a yellow background that indicated their route. There were more signs (and more bikers!) as I continued through Fire Wood to reach a bridleway T-junction. I now found that the mountain bikers, like me, had a choice of routes - they could turn left for the long route or right for the medium or short routes (I found later from the organiser's web site that the routes varied from about 35 to 55 miles, but it cost £18.50 whichever one you rode). As for me, I went straight on along a footpath (for the next two and a half miles I'd be repeating part of the Maidensgrove Common and College Wood walk I did four weeks ago). Almost immediately I spotted my first Enchanter's-nightshade of the year (I'd see lots more of it as the walk progressed, especially in woods). I was soon climbing a steep bank, and then after leaving the wood I continued uphill across a corn field. The path then went across a small meadow area near Hollandridge Farm to reach Hollandridge Lane.
The start of the bridleway going south from Launder's Farm
The bridleway going south from Launder's Farm
The bridleway continuing through Fire Wood (the black-on-yellow arrows marked the course for the organised bike ride that was going on).
The path going straight on after the bridleway junction
The path crossing a field near Hollandridge Farm
Across the lane, the path continued through a meadow to reach College Wood. Just inside the wood there was a path fork - the Oxfordshire Way went left (towards Pishill) but I went more or less straight on, still following the Chiltern Way. The path dropped downhill through the wood to a valley - learning from the mistake I made four weeks ago, I found the start of the narrow bridleway that continued the other side of a crossing track instead of going up the obvious track straight in front of me. I was now back on part of the mountain bikers' route again as the start of the bridleway had orange ties either side of it. I soon had a number of bikers pass me - I have to say that all of the ones I met today were very polite and considerate, saying 'Thanks!' if I'd stepped aside to let them pass and sometimes warning me that other cyclists were following close behind.
The path approaching College Wood, after crossing Hollandridge LAne
The bridleway through College Wood
The bridleway through College Wood
The bridleway through College Wood - the Orange tags also denote the course for the bike riders, this was where I joined their route for the second time
The bridleway through College Wood, with some of the bike riders
The bridleway through College Wood
At some point I passed from College Wood to Greenfield Wood and then on to Shambridge Wood, the path rising up and down two or three times but never very steep in either direction. For me the highlight of this section was seeing some Nettle-leaved Bellflower, my first of the year. After something like a mile and a quarter of walking through the woods, I turned left onto a permissive path (not shown on the OS map) that dropped downhill to reach a road in Pishill Bottom - this cut a corner off the Chiltern Way route, which I rejoined as I continued along a path on the other side of the road.
The bridleway, now in Greenfield Wood
The bridleway in Greenfield Wood
The bridleway in Greenfield Wood
The bridleway now in Shambridge Wood, I think
The bridleway in Shambridge Wood
The permissive path in Shambridge Wood