Pete's Walks - Watlington Hill and Russell's Water (page 5 of 5)
The path eventually left the wood at the bottom of the slope, and ran a short distance between tall hedges to reach a road between Pishill and Stonor. I turned left and followed the road for about a quarter of a mile before taking a hedge-lined track on the right - this was the start of Hollandridge Lane (a sign indicated it was 2.5 miles to Christmas Common, but I would be taking a slightly longer route there). I followed the surfaced track gradually uphill for about half a mile, to where a footpath crossed it. At this point, the route I had followed last March came in from the left and I had then followed Hollandridge Lane all the way to Christmas Common. Today, I continued my exploration of new paths by turning right, and following a short track down into a valley - I noticed several Cowslips on the grassy bank to my right. At the bottom of the valley I turned left onto a familiar bridleway (part of Walk 16 of my Chiltern Chain Walk) which would lead me in about 2.5 miles to Christmas Common.
The path as it leaves Pishillbury Wood
The northern end of the village of Stonor, with the deer park around Stonor House in the background
The start of Hollandridge Lane
Hollandridge Lane
The path down from Hollandridge Lane to the long bridleway to Christmas Common
Looking towards Stonor and the deer park
The bridleway ran along a hedge-side track, switching to the left of the hedge after a few hundred yards. There were arable fields on the slopes either side of the valley, and then some pastures or paddocks as I approached Turville Park Farm. Just after the farm the bridleway curved left and entered Longhill Hanging Wood - I would be in one wood or another all the rest of the way to Christmas Common. As well as the almost ubiquitous Lesser Celandine and Wood Anemones, there was a lot of lovely Wood Sorrel along this section of the bridleway.
The bridleway to Christmas Common
The bridleway to Christmas Common
Approaching Turville Park Farm
Just beyond Turville Park Farm
The bridleway to Christmas Common
The bridleway continued onwards through the woods, sticking to the bottom of the valley - I knew I would be going very gently uphill over the two and a half miles of the bridleway, but this was almost imperceptible. I crossed the Chiltern Way again at one point (just east of Hollandridge Farm) and a little further on I met a couple of walkers who I remembered I'd seen earlier near Ewelme Park. Eventually the bridleway turned left and went a short way uphill to meet Hollandridge Lane as it entered the picturesquely named Christmas Common. I turned right and followed the lane to its end, walking straight on at that junction and at another one a few yards further on, before turning left at the next road junction and following that road for about a quarter of a mile back to the car park on Watlington Hill.
The bridleway to Christmas Common
The bridleway to Christmas Common
The bridleway to Christmas Common
Hollandridge Lane entering Christmas Common (you'll just have to take my word for it that the little black dot in the sky is a Red Kite!)
This was a really enjoyable walk, even if the weather conditions were a little disappointingly cloudy and grey. It was nice to try a few new paths, all of which I'd be happy to walk again, and much of the route I'd only done once or twice before. Even the familiar paths were made more enjoyable by the abundance of colourful wildflowers. This is certainly a route I'd like to do again sometime.