It was drizzling now, as I followed the lane out of the village and then took a bridleway on the left. This went through a belt of trees and continued alongside a tall hedgerow on my left, beside a large arable field. I spotted more Primroses here. After a while the bridleway turned half-right. When it did so a second time, I had Churchfield Wood on my left. After a few hundred yards I reached the field corner where the bridleway entered the wood and turned half-left. It was now a long steady plod up through the trees - at least the drizzle had stopped now.
The start of the bridleway from Turville
The bridleway from Turville
The bridleway continuing alongside Churchfield Wood (it was drizzling at this point)
The bridleway just after entering Churchfield Wood
The bridleway continuing uphill through Churchfield Wood<
The bridleway continuing uphill through Churchfield Wood
Near the top of the slope I came to what appeared to be a T-junction, but actually the bridleway goes left here while I took a footpath going right. This immediately turned right (a private track continues ahead), so that I had almost doubled back on myself. The footpath stayed fairly level (the map shows the path is roughly on the boundary between Churchfield Wood and Idlecombe Wood, on my left). After a quarter of a mile or so I turned left at a path junction (the path I'd been on turns half-left immediately after this junction). I was now on one of my favourite paths in the Chilterns, which continued fairly level through Idlecombe Wood, with a quite a steep hillside descending on my right. There were occasional views out through the trees across the valley on that side.
The path along the boundary between Idlecombe Wood (left) and Churchfield Wood
The path along the boundary between Idlecombe Wood and Churchfield Wood
The path through Idlecombe Wood, after I went left at a path junction
The path through Idlecombe Wood
View from the path through Idlecombe Wood
The path through Idlecombe Wood
The path through Idlecombe Wood
The path through Idlecombe Wood, where I had to clamber ungainly over a fallen Beech tree (and a smaller tree hidden behind it)
The path through Idlecombe Wood