Pete's Walks- Whiteleaf Hill and Loosley Row (page 2 of 3)
Beyond the is field the path continued across a much larger field, aiming for the far right corner. There were about 20 horses in this field, and most of them started heading in the same direction as me. Most of them overtook me, and as I neared the very muddy corner of the field I saw their owner was guiding them through a gate into the next field. He joked about the mud, and asked if there were any horses left in the field I was in - I was able to tell him there were two stragglers, but they were gradually heading towards him. The path then continued between the wooden fences of some paddocks, before going half-right across the last pasture on my right. In the next field the path headed straight to a hedge-corner and continued on beside the hedge to reach a metal-kissing gate. The path continued alongside the hedge through the next two fields to reach a road in Lacey Green, close to the windmill.
The very large horse field
The path continuing beyond the paddocks towards Lacey Green
The path continues beside the hedge in this next field
It was a bit muddy in places!
Lacey Green windmill
The last field before Lacey Green
I went down the street almost opposite, soon with a view ahead over Saunderton Vale towards Bledlow Ridge. At a crossroads I turned right, now in the adjacent village of Loosley Row. After a couple of hundred yards or so, I went through a white wooden fence on the left and followed a path down to Collin's Farm, a livery stable. The footpath continued down the drive for a few hundred yards, but then followed a hedgerow as it veered half-left away from the drive. This path soon led to a drive as it joined a lane, but immediately before the lane a footpath went right, soon crossing the drive from Collin's Farm and then continuing along the left-edge of a field (where I saw a couple of Red Kites - I'd seen several others already) to reach the A4010 main road (from Princes Risborough to West Wycombe).
The road from Lacey Green to Loosley Row, looking ahead over Saunderton Vale
The drive from Collin's Farm, with Bledlow Cop in the background
The path about to cross the drive from Collin's Farm
Red Kite
Across the road the footpath continued through a larger field, where I spotted a flock of Fieldfares. On the far side I turned left onto a bridleway. This followed a hedge line between fields for about half a mile - I managed to carelessly go over on an ankle at one point and stumbled to the ground, but thankfully didn't do any damage (except to my pride!). The bridleway ended at a lane, where I turned right. I went straight on at a crossroads, and after another few hundred yards I reached the A4010 again.
The path on the other side of the A4010 - I turned right on the far side
One of a large number of Fieldfare's I saw in this field
Looking back towards Loosley Row
The bridleway heading north along the far side of the field
The lane approaching the crossing of the minor road
The lane approaching the A4010