Pete's Walks - Beeches Way
Post-walk comments
I really enjoyed my first walk on the Beeches Way, the second walk a bit less so (though I have to say I saw a surprising amount of wildlife). There were few interesting sections beyond Langley Park Country Park, though the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal was quite nice.
Most people, of course, would do the route one way only, probably starting and finishing at the railway stations at Cookham and West Drayton. I would strongly recommend starting at West Drayton and walking to Cookham, so that you get the less interesting section over and done with at the start of the walk - otherwise it might be a bit of an anticlimax. It doesn't really matter that the leaflet describes the route in the other direction, the route is clearly shown on the OS maps and is signposted both ways.
Black Park Country Park
What I was most looking forward to seeing on the Beeches Way were the lowland heaths. There are only small remnants of these left in Buckinghamshire now, and I was interested in walking in a different type of habitat. I did enjoy walking through the heaths, especially Stoke Common, though I was a little disappointed that Tormentil was the only heathland flower I saw - I thought I might find a few more species that were new to me.
Overall, I think Buckinghamshire County Council have done a very good job with the Beeches Way. It's not the best long-distance path I've walked, but I'm certainly glad that I did it. Most of the route is interesting and varied, and the fact that it rather tails off in interest at the end is understandable as it was created with the laudable aim of starting and finishing near a railway station, so that people can do the walk without using their cars.