Pete's Walks - Hambleden, Frieth, Stonor (page 1 of 3)

If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.

Google map of the walkDownload GPX file of the walk

NOTE: You now have to pay to use the car park in Hambleden. I usually manage to park along the village street to the west of the church (looking at the church from the village centre, take the street on the left and follow it round to the right).

I did this 11.7 mile circular walk on Saturday, 15th January 2011. This was a repeat of a walk I did last March, but this time I did it in the opposite (anti-clockwise) direction.

I started walking from the car park at Hambleden (grid reference SU 785866) just before 10am, going the short distance to the village square and going straight on, this street soon turning right and passing the church (again). I then took a footpath on the right (with a Chiltern Way sign) across two grassy fields and a paddock to reach the hamlet of Pheasant's Hill. The path bisects some gardens here, and when it reached a narrow street I turned right. I soon took a short (and very narrow) path on the left that led between more gardens to reach another road. On the opposite side a lengthy footpath started, heading gradually uphill through woodland (it's not clear from the map what the name of this wood is, possibly it's Danger Grove). I'm overweight and very unfit at the moment, so I was puffing a bit at the start of this path, but the gradient soon eased as the path continued with fields not too far away to my right. The path eventually reached a lane by Beeches Farm in the hamlet of Pheasants.

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Start of the path from Hambleden to Pheasant's Hill

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Near the start of the path uphill from Pheasant's Hill

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Further along the same path

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Approaching the lane and Beeches Farm

I turned right, but soon took a path on the left that went diagonally across a small meadow to reach another lane, where I turned left. This lane soon took me past St Katherine's convent on my left, and then a path followed a grassy strip to the right of the lane. I passed some farm buildings, then the path ran between wooden fences as it reached the village of Frieth.

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The short footpath at Pheasants

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The footpath beside the lane between Pheasants and Frieth

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Approaching Frieth

On reaching a T-junction I turned left and then almost immediately went right, following Innings Road from Frieth to Little Frieth. Where this road turned right after about a third of a mile, I continued ahead on a bridleway, soon leaving the residences of the hamlet behind me. I went straight on where a bridleway went left. As I kept left at the next path junction I briefly chatted to a local lady out walking (we both spotted a Fallow Deer in a field to our left), leaving her as she met a friend walking his dog as we passed Adam's Wood. I was soon on the route of the Chiltern Way, which came in on my left. I then crossed a corner of a large meadow (surrounded by woods on all sides, though I only know this from the map as looking to my left the ground dropped away and I couldn't see the trees).

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Innings Road, between Frieth and Little Frieth

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Near the start of the path from Little Frieth

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Looking towards the Hambleden valley from the path from Little Frieth - Adam's Wood is on the right

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Approaching Fingest Wood

The path continued through a narrow section of Fingest Wood to reach "Fairfield's Stile" and the great views over Fingest and the various hills and valleys radiating from it. Unfortunately on such a grey day the views were far from their best - I just tried to remember how glorious they were on a warm summer's day with clear blue skies. The path then bore left alongside the wood initially, gradually dropping downhill to reach Fingest.

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The path through Fingest Wood

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The path from Fingest Wood to Fingest

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Close-up shot of Fingest, with Cobstone Mill on the hill behind

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Fingest