Pete's Walks - Watlington Hill, Turville, Cadmore End (page 4 of 4)
I went a little distance left along the main road through Ibstone, before taking a path on the right (the footpath sign was hidden from view by a hedge until I had passed it). I passed a paddock and a meadow, dipping down into a small valley (Update 13/02/17: the path is now enclosed between fences) and then up through trees on the other side to reach a lane near a spot marked Hellcorner Farm on the map. Again I went a few yards left, then took a path on the right. The path started along a drive, then passed between gardens before following a headland between fields to reach Great Wood. A short distance inside the wood, the path turned left along a track, then soon turned sharply right and started a long drop down through the trees into the Wormsley valley.
The path between the main road in Ibstone and Hellcorner Farm
Looking south from just past Hellcorner Farm
The path down into the Wormsley valley
The path down into the Wormsley valley
The Wormsley valley
I emerged onto a thin strip of grass between Great and Hale Woods, with several Red Kites low overhead (this is where they were first reintroduced in the Chilterns). The path continued on through Hale Wood and across an empty pasture. I then turned sharp right along a lengthy hedge-lined bridleway. At a path crossroads I turned left, briefly joining the route of the Chiltern Way as I crossed a large field which is usually a cattle pasture but now seemed to contain the unusual combination of sheep and cabbages.
Part of the Wormsley valley, between Great Wood and Hale Wood
Path through Hale Wood
The Wormsley valley
Bridleway in the Wormsley valley
This field in the Wormsley valley seemed to contain the rather unusual combination of sheep and cabbage
Across a Wormsley estate drive and a small meadow or pasture, the path turned right for a few yards along another drive, then turned left into woods once more. I soon left the Chiltern Way by keeping right at a fork and then followed the path for some distance through the trees before it began a long but not very steep climb up through Shortridge Wood. Again I heard the roaring of a Fallow buck. I passed another group of walkers near the top of the hill, where I turned right at a path junction, then turned left after another couple of hundred yards. This path ended along a drive, which brought me to a road on the edge of Christmas Common. I turned left, then went right at a junction, from where it was a quarter mile walk back to the car park on Watlington Hill.
The path from the Wormsley valley to Shotridge Wood
The path from the Wormsley valley to Shotridge Wood
The path through Shotridge Wood
The path through Shotridge Wood
The walk took almost six hours, about an hour longer than I would normally like to walk and I felt quite tired at the end. It was a very enjoyable walk and I was very glad that I did it - the two steep hills one after the other immediately after Turville had been a nice little challenge, and the path through Idlecombe and Churchfield Woods is certainly now one of my favourites. It's certainly a route I'd recommend, yet I somehow felt a little dissatisfied at the end. I felt that I hadn't quite got it right, and with a couple of tweaks it could go from being a very good walk to being a great one. I think I preferred it in the other direction, but there really wasn't much in it. I'm sure I'll be back sometime to try it again.