Pete's Walks- Barton and Deacon Hill (page 1 of 4)
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 did this circular walk of about 10 miles on Saturday, 1st September 2018. It was a repeat of a walk I did in July 2014, the route being a shortened version of the Lilley-Barton walk that is one of my favourite walks in the Chilterns. Today, when I reached the foot of Deacon Hill I made a detour to the Knocking Hoe nature reserve and back (about a mile each way) to see the Autumn Lady's-Tresses there, so I actually walked about 12 miles (I did the same thing last year, and have lazily regurgitated much of that report here).
I parked in Old Road, Barton-le-Clay (grid reference TL083305), by the entrance to some playing fields and started walking about 10.05am. I followed a footpath across the playing fields and then down a short alley, to emerge opposite Barton church. I turned right here, along Church Road, and at the end of the road I took a footpath going left, passing a paddock and then a field on my right. Just after the path turned right in the field corner, I went through a metal kissing-gate and followed a steep path (it uses 'steps' in a couple of places) up to the top of the Barton Hills.
The alley between the playing fields and Barton church
The path from Barton to Barton Hills
Looking back from near the start of the path up to the top of the Barton Hills
The path up to the top of the Barton Hills (it turns left at the top of these steps, to reach the gate on the skyline)
I then followed a fence-line on my left for about half a mile, with the chalky hills sloping down on my right. There is one main valley here, with two or three side-valleys entering it from the eastern side where I was walking, the western slope being wooded. I continued along the path as it then turned right, now with a hedge on my left, to cross above the end of the main valley - here, as elsewhere, were good views over Barton Hills, to Barton, Sharpenhoe Clappers and beyond.
The path along the eastern side of the Barton Hills
Looking back from Barton Hills, towards Sharpenhoe Clappers (the wood-topped hill in the distance), Barton and beyond
The path along the eastern side of the Barton Hills
Looking back from Barton Hills, towards Sharpenhoe Clappers (the wood-topped hill in the distance)
Looking back along the path along the eastern side of the Barton Hills
The last and largest of the side valleys leading down to the main valley in the Barton Hills
The path continuing along the southern edge of Barton Hills
Looking north along the main valley of Barton Hills
When I reached a hedge-corner I went straight on, soon coming to a path junction. where I turned left and immediately left the Barton hills nature reserve at a kissing-gate. I turned left, and followed a farm track for several hundred yards until I reached a minor road. I went left for about a hundred yards, then took a bridleway on the other side. This followed a hedge on my left for about half a mile until I came to track crossroads, where I turned left onto part of the Icknield Way long-distance path (the OS map indicates that this section is also part of the historic Icknield Way).
The bridleway heading south from Barton Hills
The bridleway heading south from Barton Hills, approaching the road
The bridleway going south from the road
The bridleway going south from the road
The bridleway going south from the road, approaching the Icknield Way