Pete's Walks - Pitstone Hill and Wigginton (page 2 of 3)
From Toms Hill a pleasant woodland path descended once more, and then I passed through three or four fields as I made my way to Norcott Court Farm. I heard and saw four Buzzards over the woods on my right here. From the farm I continued round or across another couple of fields, passing over a footbridge over a railway line to reach the small village of Cow Roast.
The path down from Toms Hill
Close-up of the footbridge carrying the Ridgeway Path over the A41 (I'd be crossing the bridge later)
Looking towards the A41 footbridge from near Norcott Court Farm
The Grand Union Canal at Cow Roast
I followed a track out of Cow Roast, initially between sports fields - two soccer games were in progress to my right, while a dog obedience class was happening to my left (the third or fourth time I've seen that here). I briefly joined a lane as it passed under the A41 dual carriageway, then took a footpath towards Wigginton. This crossed a field of cabbages or such like, then followed a fence line between two large paddocks to reach Lower Wood. As I followed the path through the wood (full of Wood Anemones in the Spring, I remembered) I left the route of the Chiltern Way, which I'd been on since Aldbury. Beyond the wood the path continued through a series of meadows, gradually rising uphill to reach the village of Wigginton.
Track past the sports fields at Cow Roast (dog obedience classes were taking place in the sports field to the left, the third or fourth time I've seen them there)
Path from Cow Roast to Wigginton
Path from Cow Roast to Wigginton, reaching the end of Lower Wood
Path from Cow Roast approaching Wigginton
I made my way through the village, passing another couple of sports fields, and as usual when I reached the edge of the village I admired the views, back towards Pitstone Hill and out across the broad flat expanse of the Vale of Aylesbury. I now joined the Ridgeway Path, which I would be following for the rest of the walk. Field paths led me to and across a narrow lane, and then down to the impressive arched footbridge across the A41. I continued past the grounds of Pendley Manor Hotel, twice crossing the course of an artificial gallop for race horses, to reach Tring Station (a small village as well as a railway station).
Pitstone Hill from Wigginton (with Ivinghoe Beacon and Steps Hill beyond). That Yew Tree on the Beacon is as prominent from this side as it is from Dunstable Downs!
Part of the Vale of Aylesbury from Wigginton
Path from Wigginton to the A41 footbridge
Path from Wigginton to the A41 footbridge, the woods of Ashridge in the distance
Pitstone Hill and the woods of Aldbury Nowers from the impressive footbridge carrying the Ridgeway Path over the A41 dual carriageway
Path between the footbridge and Tring Station, Ashridge in the background again
Pitstone Hill and Aldbury Nowers, from the path to Tring Station