Pete's Walks - Coombe Hill and the Hampdens (page 4 of 4)
I followed the lane left to reach The Rising Sun pub (Update 22/10/18: sadly this has now closed), and then took a bridleway on the right (a footpath starts at the same point, going further right). This gently descended for around half a mile through yet another wood, then turned half-right and climbed up the opposite slope of the valley. At the top of the hill, by the edge of what was now Scrub Wood, I turned left and followed another bridleway northwards towards the remote hamlet of Dunsmore.
Start of the bridleway going northeast from Little Hampden
The bridleway from Little Hampden
Near the end of the bridleway from Little Hampden, just before I turned left for Dunsmore
The bridleway going north to Dunsmore
Looking northeast from the bridleway to Dunsmore, towards the valley called The Hale and Wendover Woods
On reaching Dunsmore, I crossed a lane and continued northwards. On leaving the hamlet I ignored a path going left and then a bridleway forking right, sticking to the bridleway running through High Scrubs and then Low Scrubs woods. For much of the way there was an old iron fence on my right, gradually becoming somewhat intermittent. After about a mile this turned half-right, but a path continued ahead through the trees (marked by occasional yellow or white painted arrows). I soon reached a junction where I turned right, then crossed a broad bridleway to a metal kissing-gate that gave access to a more open area on Coombe Hill.
The bridleway going north from Dunsmore
The bridleway going north from Dunsmore
The bridleway going north from Dunsmore
The path to Coombe Hill, continuing from the Bridleway
Frosty scene on Coombe Hill (it was now about 2.30pm)
A path now headed almost due west, initially with the northern edge of Low Scrubs on my left. It soon joined a gravel track that led on to the Boer War monument that stands on Coombe Hill. There was a little haze in the distance, but the views on this bright sunny day were still pretty impressive. I turned left, walking down the middle of a broad stretch of grass. At the end of it a path led through a small are of trees and then through an area of grass and scrub to take me back to the car park.
Looking out towards Aylesbury from Coombe Hill
Approaching the Boer War monument on Coombe Hill
A shadowy Beacon Hill from Coombe Hill
The path back to the car park from the monument on Coombe Hill
The path back to the car park from the monument on Coombe Hill
The walk had taken about four and a half hours - I'd forgotten it was a little shorter than most of my walks. It had been about eighteen months since I last did this route, which was quite unusual as it's one of my real favourites and I normally do it far more frequently than that. I think the lapse is simply because I have been doing the slightly more challenging 'Four hills walk' in this area instead. Anyway, this walk really was just as good as I remembered it - lots of walking through beech woods, great views, several ups and downs, pretty hamlets, and lots of historic interest (including a Neolithic barrow, Hampden House and Chequers). I doubt that it will be another eighteen months before I walk it again!