Pete's Walks - Watlington Hill, Swyncombe, Russell's Water (page 4 of 4)
The bridleway eventually reached the edge of the small village of Pishill, at the point where another bridleway came in on the right from Maidensgrove (part of both the Oxfordshire Way and my Chiltern Chain Walk). I turned left along the lane past the village church, then went right for a few yards along the road to Stonor (there were some Lesser Celandine here), before turning left onto a footpath (where the road turns right). I normally follow this path to College Wood, but today I almost immediately turned right, taking another path that was new to me which followed a lengthy garden hedge and then passed a ploughed field as it rose to meet Hollandridge Lane.
View from near Pishill church
Pishill church
The path from Pishill to Hollandridge Lane
The path from Pishill to Hollandridge Lane (which runs along by the trees on the skyline)
Again I could see Stonor Park, over to my right, while ahead of me I recognised another section of my Chiltern Chain Walk (Walk 16, on its way to Turville Heath and Ibstone). I turned left along Hollandridge Lane, rather disappointed to find this section of it hard-surfaced, and followed it northwards for about a mile to reach Hollandridge Farm. I had planned on turning right here, following another section of the Chiltern Way a short distance and then some new paths back to Watlington Hill. However by now I'd already been walking for about five hours, and my left leg was feeling sore (it's been quite painful after my last couple of walks), so I didn't want to overdo things. Beyond the farm I was back on familiar territory, continuing along the now unsurfaced lane for another mile to reach the quaintly named Christmas Common.
Close-up view of Stonor Park from where I reached Hollandridge Lane
View east from where I joined Hollandridge Lane - Walk 16 of my Chiltern Chain Walk comes along the valley from the left and climbs the green slope opposite, on the way to Turville Heath
Hollandridge Lane - it was tarmac for about a mile, as far as Hollandridge Farm
Hollandridge Lane
Hollandridge Lane
Hollandridge Lane
Hollandridge Lane, between Hollandridge Farm and Christmas Common
Hollandridge Lane, approaching Christmas Common
I saw several more Red Kites here, some flying over back gardens at well below roof level. I've decided that in the extremely unlikely event that I should ever write a book about the Chiltern Hills I would call it Red Kites over Christmas Common, a phrase that nicely captures the character and sprit of the area. At the end of Hollandridge Lane I went straight on, continuing in the same direction at another road junction a short distance further on, then turned left at the next junction. It was then just a quarter-mile road walk back to the car park on Watlington Hill. There were just a few spots of rain along this last section, which became quite heavy just as I got back to the car but quickly faded away again.
Approaching the end of Hollandridge Lane in Christmas Corner
The road from Christmas Common to Watlington Hill (the car park is where the trees start on the left)
I enjoyed this walk, despite the muddy conditions of the paths and the grey skies that had been present for most of the day. Obviously it would be a nicer walk on a bright summer day - not only would the paths be dry, the views would be better too. It was nice to try out a few paths and bridleways that I'd not walked before, but it was also nice to revisit a few familiar paths too. It was also nice to see a few wildflowers (at last!), and as ever it was a joy to see so many Red Kites.