Pete's Walks- Cowleaze Wood and Ibstone (page 4 of 5)
The bridleway followed a curving valley bottom, initially beside a hedge on the left with a hillside sloping up on the right. Soon there was a ploughed field on that side, before the bridleway switched to the other side of the hedge, now with a ploughed field sloping up on my left. At the end of this field I continued between the fences of pastures that sloped up on either side. I then passed through Turville Park Farm, with a wood on my right and more sheep on my left (I was surprised to see they had already had their lambs). The bridleway curved left and entered a wood, Longhill Hanging Plantation (I've previously thought this was part of Fire Wood, but that comes later). There were some conifers initially, before the wood gradually became mainly deciduous (though there were relatively few sections were it felt like a typical Chiltern beech wood).
The bridleway going north along the valley bottom
The bridleway going north along the valley bottom
Approaching Turville Park Farm
The bridleway continuing north from Turville Park Farm
The bridleway in Longhill Hanging Plantation
The bridleway in Longhill Hanging Plantation
The rather muddy bridleway continued through Longhill Hanging Plantation, then Fire Wood and finally Prior's Wood for about a mile and a half. I stopped at one point in Fire Wood to sit on a convenient log and eat my lunch. Having only seen four other walkers all morning, three pairs of walkers and a pair of mountain bikers now went past. I then followed the last pair of walkers to the end of the bridleway, which eventually turned left in Prior's Grove and went slightly uphill to reach Hollandridge Lane on the edge of Christmas Common.
The bridleway in Fire Wood
The bridleway in Fire Wood
The bridleway in Fire Wood
The bridleway in Fire Wood
The bridleway in Fire Wood
The bridleway in Prior's Grove, approaching Hollandridge Lane
I turned right and followed Hollandridge Lane towards the centre of Christmas Common. But fairly soon I left it, turning left on a footpath that went left for a few yards along a drive, then bore right into Queen Wood. On the far side of the wood I passed the former church on my left as I reached the minor road that runs through Christmas Common. I turned right, soon passing the Hare and Hounds pub on my left. I went straight on as another road came in from the right, and then straight on again when a road went left (to Watlington Hill, where I often park at the start of a walk). A few yards further on, I took a path on the left. This followed the left edge of a couple of empty pastures to reach a bridleway where I turned left to descend the Chiltern escarpment toward Pyrton Hill House.
The road through Christmas Common (the cars are parked outside the Fox and Hounds pub)
According to Wikipedia Christmas Common takes its name from the Christmas family who were once local landowners. However another version is that it takes its name from an event in 1643 during the Civil War, when the Parliamentarians held Watlington while the Royalists defended the ridge on which the village was situated. A truce was declared for Christmas Day, and both sides met and socialised here during the festivities. The small village church was built in 1889, and is now a private residence (complete with gravestones in the garden).
The start of the path going northwest from the edge of Christmas Common