Pete's Walks - Variation on 'Four Hills Walk' (page 2 of 4)
I turned right, but soon took a footpath on the left, which went diagonally across some empty paddocks that sloped down into a valley. I continued a short way left along a bridleway at the bottom of the valley, before turning right and following a long bridleway that gradually rose uphill through woods to emerge opposite the Rising Sun pub (Update 22/10/18: sadly this has now closed) in the hamlet of Little Hampden.
Start of the path from Dunsmore to Little Hampden
The bridleway to Little Hampden
The bridleway to Little Hampden
i turned left along the lane here, then took a path on the right that started along a driveway then ran between fences before crossing a large arable field to reach Warren Wood. Here I saw my first Wood Sorrel of the day. on the far side of the wood, the path tiurned right and followed a hedgeline down into the valley of Hampden Bottom - I spotted an Orange-tip butterfly here, and after crossing a road at the valley bottom I soon saw a Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock.
The path from Little Hampden, approaching Warren Wood
Warren Wood
The path across Hampden Bottom, from Warren Wood
Looking back to Warren Wood, from the path across Hampden Bottom
Across another minor road, the path continued uphill through a small meadow and then a much larger one. Soon I could see the grand Hampden House nearby on my right, and the path ended by the lodge at the end of the drive from the house and the neighbouring church. Another path started by the lodge, continuing across that large parkland area by the church. On the far side I turned left, following a path across another arable field and then beside a small area of trees to reach the settlement of Hampden Common.
Hampden House
The parkland around Hampden House
Great Hampden church
The path into Hampden Common
I soon crossed a road here, and then turned right to follow the edge of the village cricket ground. There was then another short woodland stretch through Hampden Coppice. I emerged by a minor crossroads, which I had to cross diagonally to take a path through Monkton Wood. After several hundred yards I reached the far side of the wood, where I turned right on another path running just inside the edge of the wood.
The path from the cricket pitch in Hampden Common, in Hampden Coppice
The path through Monkton Wood
The path along the southern edge of Monkton Wood