Pete's Walks- Maidensgrove Common, Ibstone, Middle Assendon (page 2 of 6)
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.
The Chiltern Way went straight on here, but I turned right along the road - the path had been off the bike route, but I was back on it now, meeting a few more cyclists as I walked along the road. At a junction where the road turned right (by a large pond), I went straight on for a few yards down Holloway Lane, then turned left onto a bridleway. This soon passed the entrance to Northend Farm, then went right. Where it then turned left there should have been a good view towards Turville, but all I could see today was mist (drat those weathermen!). The bridleway dropped steadily down into the Wormsley Valley - there should have been another fine viewpoint on the left, but of course this was ruined by the misty conditions as well. I met several more cyclists (and one walker) along here - I thought one lady cyclist had given up and left her bike behind as she trudged slowly uphill on foot, then I realised the chap in front of her wasn't pushing a bike, he was pushing a tandem! For a while the bridleway followed a surfaced drive, but left the drive when that turned left and continued down a 'sunken lane'.
The road through Northend
The start of the bridleway from Northend down into the Wormsley Valley
A very misty view right from the bridleway from Northend down into the Wormsley Valley - this is one of two fine viewpoints that made me select this bridleway as part of the route, so it was disappointing that the view was so badly obscured
The bridleway from Northend down into the Wormsley Valley
This is the other fine viewpoint, looking left - again totally ruined by the misty conditions
The bridleway from Northend down into the Wormsley Valley
The bridleway from Northend down into the Wormsley Valley
In the valley bottom I crossed one of the drives on the Wormsley estate, and took another bridleway on the other side, running along a track between hedgerows. After about quarter of a mile I turned right onto a footpath, rejoining the Chiltern Way as it followed a fence line steadily uphill to Commonhill Wood (this was the third time in a few weeks I'd walked up here, including last Saturday). On entering the wood the path became very steep, but only for a short distance until it reached a bridleway. Here I turned right, and followed the bridleway uphill at a much easier gradient to reach Ibstone Common. The Chiltern Way went left here, but I turned right and followed the right edge of the common. After a while I followed a path going slightly left to cut a small corner of the common, then I crossed a drive and continued along the edge of the common. I had been walking through mist or drizzle all the time so far, but here it was a very heavy drizzle and I was seriously thinking of cutting the walk short. At the end of the common I turned right along a lane, soon passing Hellcorner Farm (great name!) on my left. At the end of the lane, a bridleway continued downhill, with some fine beech trees on my right.
The bridleway through the Wormsley Valley
The path from the Wormsley Valley up to Commonhill Wood (this is the third time in just over a month that I've walked up here!)
The bridleway rising up through Commonhill Wood to Ibstone Common
The bridleway rising up through Commonhill Wood to Ibstone Common
Ibstone Common
Ibstone Common
The lane at Ibstone, passing Hell Corner Farm (on the left)
The bridleway continuing from the end of the lane