Pete's Walks- Ivinghoe Beacon (page 2 of 2)
At the end of the cornfield I turned left and made my way steadily uphill to the ridge (normally I go straight on and turn left after the next field, that route reaching the ridge close to an ancient burial mound). At the top of the ridge I turned left and followed it all the way to the top of Ivinghoe Beacon, pausing occasionally to admire the view to either side and behind me towards Dunstable Downs and Whipsnade Downs.
The path up to Gallows Hill
The ridge from Gallows Hill to Ivinghoe Beacon
View towards Dunstable Downs from Gallows Hill
View towards the Gade Valley from Gallows Hill
The ridge from Gallows Hill to Ivinghoe Beacon
Looking back along the ridge, towards Whipsnade Downs (the White Lion is at Whipsnade Zoo, with the road down Bison Hill on the left of the photo)
I took a few photos at the top of the Beacon, then turned left and followed the path down to the road (I didn't bother going over the two subsidiary humps today). Across the road I soon forked right, behind a small tree, again following part of the Ridgeway. This weaved its way through scrub on the side of Steps Hill. Through a gate the Ridgeway turned left along a fence, but I continued ahead on a grassy path that rose gently and bore left to reach the top of Steps Hill, overlooking the steep-sided chasm of Incombe Hole.
The Vale of Aylesbury from Ivinghoe Beacon
Pitstone Hill from Ivinghoe Beacon
Approaching the road near Ivinghoe Beacon (the route takes the rightmost of the two paths visible on the opposite slope, which starts behind the small tree in the centre of the photo)
The path to Steps Hill
The path to Steps Hill, Pitstone Hill in the distance
The top of Steps Hill
Here I rejoined the Ridgeway once more, following it as it descended round the head of the combe and turned right. It continued descending gradually beside Incombe Hill before levelling out. Beyond a path crossroads, I was retracing my earlier footsteps as the Ridgeway took me back to the Pitstone Hill car park where I'd started from.
Incombe Hole from the top of Steps Hill
Incombe Hole
The path back to the Pitstone Hill car park
This was a very pleasant shorter walk on a delightful afternoon. It was all on paths that I've walked many times before, but I still enjoyed it very much. There was nice mixture of chalk grasslands and scrub, large woods and a few fields, but the highlight as ever were the views from the top of the Beacon out over the Vale of Aylesbury.