Pete's Walks- Maidensgrove and Greys Court (page 5 of 5)
After a few hundred yards I came to a path junction (there was a post with waymarks), where I turned right onto a bridleway and so joined my usual rout through these woods. After a little while the bridleway turned left for a few yards before turning right. A short distance further on it turned left again, and ended when it reached the A430 just southeast of Nettlebed.
Start of the bridleway going north through Lowercommon Wood
The bridleway going north through Lowercommon Wood
The bridleway going north through Lowercommon Wood
I crossed over and went down the lane opposite, which quickly brought me to Catslip. I continued along the lane, which in a quarter of a mile or so brought me to Crocker Green. When the lane forked, I went left and followed this lane across the village green to another lane junction. I continued along a footpath starting by this lane junction, thus joining another part of the route of the Chiltern Way, which I'd now follow for the rest of the walk. It crossed a huge open field dotted with trees (including some impressive conifers just to the right of the path), presumably part of the park around the nearby Soundess House. There were a few cattle grazing a long way to my right.
The lane to Catslip
The lane continuing from Catslip to Crocker End
The green at Crocker End
The path going north from Crocker End
I then turned right along a drive, then turned left at a junction of tracks or drives, to pass Soundess Farm on my left. A wood called Stockings Plantation was on my right, and the path continued with this wood on my right as it next went along the edge of large corn field. A post with waymarks indicated where the path turned half-right, running between trees on the right of an empty pasture, with the wood still a few yards to my right. Finally the path went half left across an empty pasture, dropping downhill to a major path junction in the valley of Upper Bix Bottom.
The path going north from near Soundess Farm
The path going north from near Soundess Farm
The path going north from near Soundess Farm
The path going north from near Soundess Farm
The path going north from near Soundess Farm, dropping down to the five-way path junction at Upper Bix Bottom
I ignored the three tracks meeting here, and took the other footpath from this junction, which went right (from between two of the tracks) and climbed steadily uphill to reach a small piece of woodland. Through this, it continued across a meadow or pasture to enter Big Ashes Plantation. The path continued close to the northern edge of this wood, then crossed another grassy field to reach a track, coming up from the Warburg Nature Reserve down to my right. I turned left and followed the track the short distance back to Maidensgrove Common and my parked car.
The start of the path going east from the five-way path junction at Upper Bix Bottom
The path going east from the five-way path junction at Upper Bix Bottom, passing through a small bit of woodland
The start of the path going east from the five-way path junction at Upper Bix Bottom, heading to Big Ashes Plantation
The path continuing through Big Ashes Plantation
The path continuing northeast from Big Ashes Plantation
The public byway fro the Warburg Nature Reserve, approaching Maidensgrove Common
It would be hard not to enjoy a walk on such a fine Spring day as this. For me it was nice to walk some paths I liked but hadn't walked for a few years, mixed in with three short sections on paths that were new to me. Those three new sections were all fine, and I'd happily use them in walks in the future. There was the usual mixture of woods and fields, and several short ups and downs (though nothing very steep - the biggest climb was at the end, from Upper Bix Bottom to Maidensgrove Common). The numerous wildflowers added splashes of colour to so many of the paths, and certainly heightened my enjoyment of the walk today.
Stupidly, because I was enjoying it so much I ended up walking about four hours, an hour more than I'd intended. Unfortunately I'm still suffering from the post-viral fatigue or whatever lurgy that has been plaguing me for the last couple of years or so, so I wasn't feeling 100% for a couple of days after this walk. I'll have to try to stick to shorter walks for the foreseeable future.