Pete's Walks- Hambleden, Frieth, Bovingdon Green (page 5 of 5)
After some distance the track turned partly right, then very quickly did so again. Before it turned even further right, I took a footpath going sharply back on the left which climbed steadily up through the trees to reach a lane. I followed the lane left for about a hundred yards, before taking a footpath on the left. This crossed a huge pasture, occupied by a few distant sheep and with extensive views on my left towards Berkshire across the Thames Valley. The path continued across a second pasture, to reach the hamlet of Rotten Row.
The path going south and uphill in Heath Wood
The path going south and uphill in Heath Wood
The short lane walk beside Heath Wood
The first field on the path to Rotten Row
Close-up shot looking left from the first field on the path to Rotten Row
Approaching Rotten Row
I continued straight on, following the lane from Rotten Row until it turned left. At this point I took a footpath going right, this crossed a couple of fields to reach a wood. I looked for waymarks on posts to guide me through the first section of the path through the wood which was a little unclear, but then it was a straightforward walk downhill through the wood. On emerging from the wood the path continued downhill on the right edge of a field, with views to the nearby Thames Valley on my left. At the bottom of the slope, I turned right on a track next to the playing fields at Hambleden. After a short distance I went through a gap in the hedge on my left, to cross the end of the playing fields and return to the car park where I'd started.
The lane from Rotten Row
The path from near Rotten Row to Hambleden
The path from near Rotten Row to Hambleden
The path from near Rotten Row to Hambleden
The path from near Rotten Row to Hambleden
The path descending to Hambleden
Hambleden
I'd been very lucky with the weather, as I'd had none of the wintry showers that had been forecast (I had a couple of quite nasty ones on the drive home) and it had been quite sunny for much of the walk. The almost 13 miles took me over 5 hours, which is pretty slow going, but I took almost 150 photos and I've still not quite fully recovered from the post-viral fatigue that's plagued me for the last couple of years (with hindsight, I should probably have stuck to about 10-11 miles).
This was an enjoyable walk that I'd be very happy to do again. It's always a pleasure to visit Hambleden and its charming valley, then there was a good mix of woods and field paths, with attractive views in many places.