Pete's Walks- Circular walk from Chesham (page 4 of 5)
I turned right and followed Tyler's Hill Road to its end, then turned right at a road (opposite the Hen and Chickens pub). After a couple of hundred yards I went left, along a drive through some stables (marked Lee Farm on the map). The path continued along a good track for a way, then went over a stile and continued between old hedges for a while. It was now about 1pm and I stopped on the next stile to eat my lunch. My hands were cold for a few minutes when I set off again, following a hedge on the right initially then continuing along a low headland between arable fields to reach a road, the B4505. A path started along a drive on the opposite side of the road and a few yards left, continuing through a pasture or meadow with some scrubby bushes on the right. It was four and a half years since I'd walked this section of the route, and I was struggling to remember the way. I was in some doubt at a path crossroads at a projecting corner of the pasture, but correctly decided to go straight on (my doubt was that the map told me going this way I'd have to turn left later on and initially I couldn't remember that). The path soon led along a brick wall and then tall garden fences on the left to reach another road.
The path north from Botley
The path north from Botley
The path north from Botley
The path north from Botley, approaching the B4505
The path going north from the B4505 to Lye Green
The path going north from the B4505 to Lye Green
Again I had to cross the road and go a few yards left to reach the start of the next path, which ran between fences and hedges with a lot of Holly in evidence. This led to the left turn that I'd forgotten about, the path continuing through a long tree belt (not shown on the map) again with abundant Holly. I clearly remembered the next section, where the path crossed a section of a huge arable field to a corner, then continued along the left edge of the field.
The short path going northeast from Lye Green
The path going northwest from Lye Green
The path going northwest from Lye Green (the buildings are on the far side of the A416)
I then crossed the A416 main road (I'd driven past here on my way to Chesham earlier), and took the drive to Pressmore Farm opposite, soon keeping left at a fork in the drive. Beyond the actual entrances to the farm, a path continued beside the tall left-hand hedge of a couple of empty pastures. The path then ran between the hedgerow and a fence, with a lovely view right over Chesham Vale. The path dropped steeply downhill, and passed through the yard of Little Pressmore Farm to reach a road in the valley. Across the road I continued along the surfaced public byway that led eastwards into White Hawridge Bottom. I passed what used to be an Ostrich farm on the right, but sadly the enclosures here were rather overgrown and empty and it looked as if it might have closed.
The path going west from Pressmore Farm
Looking north over Chesham Vale
The path entering Little Pressmore Farm
The byway past the Ostrich farm
At a junction I took the footpath on the left (the byway then turned left as well, to run along the other side of the hedge). As I started up the hill to Ramscoat Wood, I looked further along the valley now on my right, and spotted a black object in the most distant enclosure of the Ostrich Farm. I zoomed in on it with my camera and confirmed it was an Ostrich. In fact there were three or four, so possibly the farm is still in business after all. The path climbed uphill, soon with Ramscoat Wood on my right, then joined a track that ran through a narrow section of the same wood at the top of the hill. The roughly surfaced track continued beyond the wood, with a tall hedge on the left and some rough enclosures on the right. It ended at a junction with a similar track, where I turned left, with more enclosures on my left and garden fences on my right. This track ended at a road near Great Hivings, on the north-western edge of Chesham.
The path going uphill, along the southern side of Ramscoat Wood
The path continuing through Ramscoat Wood
The path continuing west from Ramscoat Wood
The path beside the garden fences, near Great Hivings