Pete's Walks - Stoke Row, Woodhouse Farm, Checkendon (page 2 of 7)
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 byway continued very pleasantly through Mongewell Woods for about three-quarters of a mile, flat at first then starting to gently descend. There were a few signs about forestry operations, and I could see that some parts of the wood had been thinned out or even cleared since I was last here. After leaving the woods, the next half-mile section was excellent as the byway continued to gradually descend, now running along a headland between fields, with extensive views ahead over the Oxfordshire Plain and to the Berkshire Downs in the distance to my left. I had forgotten just how good this part of the route was, and I stopped frequently to take photographs. The byway then reached a farm track which it followed to the right beside a wood, soon curving left to reach Woodhouse Farm.
The byway through Mongewell Woods
The byway through Mongewell Woods
The byway through Mongewell Woods
The byway through Mongewell Woods
The byway through Mongewell Woods
View just after the byway leaves Mongewell Woods
The byway continuing from Mongewell Woods towards Woodhouse Farm
Zoomed-in view towards the Berkshire Downs, on the other side of the Thames
The byway continuing from Mongewell Woods towards Woodhouse Farm
The byway continuing from Mongewell Woods towards Woodhouse Farm
Woodhouse Farm
On reaching Woodhouse Farm, I took a footpath going left into the wood, whose edge I'd just been following. On the far side of the wood the path rose slightly uphill across a ploughed field, then levelled out and continued along a farm track - there was a view towards the Oxfordshire Plain to my right here. The track (Poors Lane) soon passed Poors Farm and continued on to reach the hamlet of Hailey.
Start of the footpath south from Woodhouse Farm to Hailey
The footpath south from Woodhouse Farm to Hailey
The footpath south from Woodhouse Farm to Hailey
The footpath south from Woodhouse Farm to Hailey
The footpath south from Woodhouse Farm to Hailey
The footpath south from Woodhouse Farm to Hailey
View right towards the Oxfordshire Plain, from near Hailey
Approaching Hailey