Pete's Walks - Maidensgrove Common, Watlington Hill, Northend (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.
On reaching the road through Cookley Green, I crossed over and started along a path along the right edge of the village green. At the end of the green, I turned right along Coates Lane. This soon left the village, went through a small wood and then passed Coates Farm on my left. I continued along the lane to its end at a T-junction with another lane. Here I went straight on along a bridleway that followed the drive to Woods Farm. Immediately after passing a property on the right, the bridleway turned right from the drive and began a long gradual descent that would take it to to Dame Alice Farm. The bridleway followed a 'hollow way' with banks either side. For some of the way a path ran along the top of the bank on my right, but the bridleway itself wasn't too muddy and so I stayed on it.
Cookley Green
Coates Lane, Cookley Green
Coates Lane, Cookley Green
Coates Lane, Cookley Green
The drive to Woods Farm
The bridleway to Dame Alice Farm
The bridleway to Dame Alice Farm
The bridleway to Dame Alice Farm
The bridleway to Dame Alice Farm
The bridleway to Dame Alice Farm
After about half a mile, shortly before I would have reached Dame Alice Farm, I turned right onto a footpath (that would take me to a property named Dumbledore on Howe Road). This ran between hedgerows, with only occasional views out, though I did get a nice view of Watlington Hill at one point. I had been planning on taking either of two paths up the side of the hill without actually visiting its top, but now decided that even on a grey day like today it would be a bit daft to be so close and not enjoy the views from the top. On reaching Howe Road, I turned left and followed it for about a quarter of a mile, before turning right along a drive (pedestrian gate beside a gate). After passing a property on the left, I turned left (work was in progress on the house now on my right) and followed a path towards the foot of Watlington Hill. The path ran between hedges either side. After a while there was a gap in the hedges (so the fields either side were connected) where I went straight on through a gate. Somewhere along here I met a couple of walkers coming the other way, who I would meet again later on.
The footpath to Dumbledore
The footpath to Dumbledore
View of Watlington Hill, from the footpath to Dumbledore
The footpath to Dumbledore
The footpath to Dumbledore
Howe Road
The path to Watlington Hill
The path to Watlington Hill