Pete's Walks - Watlington Hill, Turville, Cadmore End (page 2 of 4)
This lovely path through the adjoining woods went on for over a mile. I occasionally saw, and more often heard, Red Kites, and in Churchfield Wood I saw a Goldcrest, the first I'd seen in months. The highlight of this stretch though was undoubtedly hearing a Fallow buck roaring in Churchfield Wood, while I simultaneously heard a Red Kite overhead! At one point I came to a junction where I followed the path round to the right. Further on this path merged with a track where I went left. I ignored a bridleway that then immediately went left, but a short way further on I took a footpath going left.
View from the contouring path through Idlecombe Wood
The contouring path through Idlecombe Wood
View from the contouring path through Idlecombe Wood
The path continuing through Churchfield Wood
Cobstone Mill, from Churchfield Wood
Another view from Churchfield Wood
After a while this path started to go downhill through the wood into the valley. On reaching the edge of the wood I went over a stile and turned right, following a path that curved round the edge of a field to reach a road on the edge of Turville. I turned right and followed the road into the village. After passing the church on the right, and before reaching the Bull and Butcher pub, I turned left onto a footpath. My route now took me up what must be one of the steepest paths in the Chilterns, from Turville straight up a scrub covered slope to Cobstone Mill. As ever in these charming hills, it was only a short climb, about 200ft, and the views gave me an excuse to stop to take a photo and get my breath back (I'm so unfit, I dread to think how I'd get on if I revisited the Lake District!).
The path from Churchfield Wood to Turville
Turville - the white building in the centre is the Bull and Butcher pub, I turned left before reaching the pub
The path from Turville to Cobstone Mill - as always, its longer and steeper than it looks in the photo (honest!).
Looking towards the Hambleden valley from the path to Cobstone Mill
I met a party of about 20 walkers as I crossed the lane by the windmill, then followed a path steadily down through another wood. After a while the path went through a gap in the fence on the left, and near the bottom of the slope left the wood and crossed a meadow of rough grass to reach another lane in the next valley. I followed the lane right for a hundred yards or so, then turned left on a path heading steepishly uphill again, heading towards Hanger Wood. This was a longer climb than the previous one, though not quite so steep, but again there was a good excuse for a pause, the view towards Fingest and the Hambleden Valley being very good. The gradient eased slightly as I entered the trees, and I soon spotted a Muntjac deer ahead of me. The path continued further uphill through the wood, before gradually levelling out as it became more like a track. Where this turned left, a path went straight on, soon crossing the track and reaching a path T-junction.
The path downhill from Cobstone Mill
The path to Hanger Wood
Fingest and the start of the Hambleden valley from the edge of Hanger Wood