Pete's Walks- West Wycombe, Green End, Bradenham, Downley (page 3 of 4)
I continued straight on, still on a path that was new to me. After a while, the path started to descend. When it left Hearnton Wood, there was a fine view ahead and to my left, over the valley containing the village of Bradenham where I was heading to. There were lots of Cowslips in the field on my left (it seems to have been a very good year for them, both here in the Chilterns and near Huntingdon where I work), and as I was admiring the view a Heron flew by. The path continued downhill to reach Averingdown Farm, from where I followed the drive under a railway bridge and down to a main road (the A4010). I crossed over, and went left for a hundred yards or so, before forking right along a lane (blocked to traffic at this end by the road). The lane took me on to the village of Bradenham.
Hearnton Wood - this is just after the path crossroads
The path through Hearnton Wood starting to descend towards Averingdown Farm
View left just after leaving Hearnton Wood - the bird on the right is a heron!
The drive from Averingdown Farm
The start of the lane into Bradenham
The start of the lane into Bradenham
I turned right onto a bridleway on a track, with the large green and cricket pitch on my left - ahead of me I could see the village church and the manor house. Beyond a small car park near the manor house, I was back on a path I knew. The bridleway turned slightly right here, and then a little further on turned left. I ignored a track going uphill to my right, but the track I was on soon turned right itself, and part way up a wooded slope the two tracks merged, continuing on to reach part of Naphill Common near Bradenham Hill Farm.
Cricket pitch, church and manor house at Bradenham - the manor house is owned by the National Trust, but is not open to the public
Start of the bridleway from Bradenham to Naphill Common
The bridleway from Bradenham to Naphill Common
Naphill Common, near Bradenham Hill Farm
I have had problems finding my way through Naphill Common in the past, I don't think the paths on the ground always match those shown on the OS map (well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!). So I tried to keep navigation fairly simple. I continued straight on along the bridleway as it entered the woods of the common, and then kept very slightly right at a bridleway junction (by the second notice board I'd seen). This bridleway used to be a nice grassy 'ride' between the trees, but there had obviously been some forestry work recently and much of it was a muddy and unsightly mess. I went straight on where a footpath went left, almost immediately then passed a pond on my right (sadly, the large old beech tree that used to be here has come down), then after about another two hundred yards I took a footpath forking half-right.
Naphill Common
Naphill Common - this bit of bridleway was looking a mess after some forestry work
Pond and impressive beech tree, Naphill Common
The footpath went up and down a small dip. The path then merged with another one coming in from the left, and after a few yards I then turned left at another junction (if I'd gone straight on here I'd have entered a field). I quickly came to yet another junction, where I took the rightmost path. I was now on a path not shown on the OS map, but it is very clear and runs close to some fields on my right. I now tried to keep close to these fields - as long as they were nearby on my right, I would be heading in the correct direction. At some point I turned right when I reached a path junction, and now followed a bridleway through the woods southwards towards Downley Common, still with the fields not far away on my right.
The footpath I took on Naphill Common
The bridleway going south on Naphill Common
The bridleway going south on Naphill Common