Pete's Walks - Coombe Hill and the Hampdens (part 2)
From Hampden Bottom, I followed a path uphill through a belt of trees called Coach Hedgerow. I had lunch on a bench carved from a tree trunk, with a nice view back over the valley.
Path through Coach Hedgerow, between Great Hampden and Little Hampden
Looking back over Hampden Bottom, from my lunch spot
I then continued on to the remote hamlet of Little Hampden. From there, a bridleway led downhill through more charming woodland and rose back up the far side of the valley. At the top of the hill, I turned left along a track that became a lane into another remote hamlet, Dunsmore.
Near the start of the bridleway from Little Hampden
The path rising uphill towards Dunsmore
Village pond, Dunsmore
From Dunsmore, another bridleway led back towards Coombe Hill.
Bridleway from Dunsmore towards Coombe Hill
Bridleway from Dunsmore towards Coombe Hill
When I returned to the woods near the car park at Coombe Hill, instead of heading for the monument that surmounts the hill, I turned right, and followed a bridleway gradually descending Bacombe Hill towards Wendover.
Bridleway from Coombe Hill, over Bacombe Hill towards Wendover
View out over the Vale of Aylesbury, from the bridleway descending Bacombe Hill towards Wendover
Bridleway descending Bacombe Hill towards Wendover
Near the bottom of the hill, immediately before reaching a road on the edge of Wendover, I turned very sharply left, joining the Ridgeway national trail again as it slowly ascended Bacombe Hill. This path was almost parallel to the one I'd just taken downhill, but whereas that one was in trees this one was generally in the open, giving me great views over the Vale of Aylesbury and back to Wendover.
Heading back up Bacombe Hill, looking back over Wendover to Wendover Woods ...
... and again from further up the path
Looking back along the path over Bacombe Hill, from near the top
Bacombe Hill adjoins Coombe Hill, from where there were still some good views, if a little hazy.
Rather hazy view over the Vale of Aylesbury from Coombe Hill
Looking back at the monument on Coombe Hill (it commemorates the men of Buckinghamshire who died during the Boer War)