Pete's Walks - Southeast from Cadmore End (page 5 of 5)
The lane was very quiet (I counted the cars that passed me and there were only six in total) and it was not too bad at all walking along it. As I approached the next hamlet of Pheasants, I had open arable fields either side of me and there were two or three Red Kites flying low over them (I'd had several Kite sightings already, which I haven't bothered to mention). Beyond Pheasants I soon returned to known territory, the next part of the walk as far as Little Frieth being part of the route of the Hambleden, Stonor, Frieth walk I did in March 2010 (though I did it the other way round). The lane continued to the hamlet of Parmoor, where I passed St Katherine's Convent on the left. Just after the convent a path started beside the lane, running beside a row of mature trees on the right. The path then went through a farmyard, before continuing between fences to reach the village of Frieth.
The lane, between Rockwel End and Pheasants (though the blur in the sky is probably a Red Kite rather than a pheasant!)
The lane by the convent at Parmoor
The footpath beside the lane
Approaching Frieth
On reaching the road through the village, I went a few yards left and then turned right and followed Innings Road for almost half a mile to Little Frieth - I spotted another couple of Fallow Deer in a field on my right along here. When the lane turned right, I took another path that was new to me, going half-right between fences to reach Mousells Wood. The path continued through the wood, soon bearing half-left and heading downhill through the trees - I had a brief glimpse of another Fallow Deer here.
Innings Lane, between Frieth and Little Frieth
The path from Little Frieth to Mousells Wood
Mousells Wood
Mousells Wood
Mousells Wood
At the bottom of the slope I turned left along a B-road, soon turning right along a lane - in fact there was another new permissive path on the left that avoided the lane. Where the lane turned right, I went ahead through a gate for a short distance to a hedge corner, then turned right on a path through a field of stubble. The path continued through a large meadow and then a small patch of Maize (I saw a Buzzard fly into a tree nearby), before starting to go uphill through a large pasture. The path soon left the pasture, continuing uphill through a small wood before re-entering the pasture near the top of the slope (coming at the end of the walk, this fairly long uphill section was a bit tiring). The path then ran between a hedge and a fence, then crossed an area of rough grass by a pond to reach the entrance of Rackley's Farm and the road through Cadmore End. I now just had to turn left and retrace my steps from the start of the walk back to my car.
The permissive path by the lane
From the permissive path, looking west to Fingest
The path to Rackley's Farm, Cadmore End
The short wood section on the path to Rackley's Farm, Cadmore End
Approaching Rackley's Farm
The Marlow Road again, Cadmore End
After the early mist it had remained grey for most of the morning, brightening up later on only to turn grey once more towards the end of the walk. As always I'm sure I'd have enjoyed the walk more on a finer day. Even so it was a pretty good walk, and I was glad to explore a few new areas that I'd not been to before. It was a pity that I needed to do a longer section of lane walking than I'd normally do, but it was unavoidable and in the event wasn't too unpleasant at all. I'm glad I decided to make the slight detour to the top of the scrub-covered hillside east of Moor Wood, and the other highlight of the walk was probably the lengthy section through Homefield Wood and Heath Wood. It's certainly a walk I'd be happy to do again, and I'll no doubt try to incorporate some of the new parts into other walks in the future.
To see this walk done in the opposite (anticlockwise) direction in August 2016, click here (or to see it anti-clockwise on a very foggy day in January 2013, click here).