Pete's Walks- Hambleden, Stonor, Fawley (page 4 of 7)
If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.
The path ended at a gate, on the other side of which I turned right along a track, almost immediately going through another gate. The track soon turned left, to run along close to the top of a hillside above the Stonor Valley down on my right. This is another of my favourite paths in the Chilterns, and again this was the third time this year that I was walking it. At first there were distance views, over the Thames valley to the wooded hills of Berkshire. Further on I had views along the attractive Stonor Valley on my right. After a while the track became slightly overgrown, but never too badly and I didn't mind in the least - I loved walking along here as there were so many wildflowers and butterflies (the latter included a Marbled White, a couple of Red Admirals, Large Whites, Ringlets, Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns and a Green-veined White). I also spotted a couple of moths, a Dusky Sallow and a Common Carpet.
The start of the path going south from Coxlease Farm
The path going south from Coxlease Farm
View from the path going south from Coxlease Farm
The path going south from Coxlease Farm
The path going south from Coxlease Farm, following the Stonor Valley down on the right
The Stonor Valley, south of Stonor
Green-veined White butterfly, seen along the path going south from Coxlease Farm
Another view of the Stonor Valley ...
... and looking back the other way, towards Stonor
The path going south from Coxlease Farm - it's long been one of my favourite paths in the Chilterns but today, despite being somewhat overgrown, it was an absolute joy to walk here, there were so many flowers and butterflies.
The track eventually ended when it entered a corn field, the footpath continuing through the field, close to the hedgerow on my right. The path followed the hedgerow as it turned right and soon came to Paradise Wood. Inside the wood the path turned left, staying just a few feet away from the corn field. I saw some Nettle-leaved Bellflower in two or three places here. I also saw some more Hemp-Agrimony here, which again had attracted several butterflies including three Red Admirals and a Comma. On leaving the wood, the path followed a track downhill through a field to reach the B480, the minor road running through the Stonor valley. I turned left, and followed the road into Middle Assendon (Stonor was formerly called Upper Assendon, and there is a Lower Assendon further down the valley).
The path continuing on to Paradise Wood
Paradise Wood
The path on the other side of Chequers Lane
The path continuing from Paradise Wood to the road through the Stonor Valley, just north of Middle Assendon
The road into Middle Assendon
When a side road forked slightly left, I followed it and at it's end turned left for a few yards. I then took a footpath starting on the other side, which went steadily uphill between fences and hedgerows. Further up the slope the path entered a long meadow that had recently been mown, where I continued alongside the fence on the right.
The start of the path I took from Middle Assendon
The path from Middle Assendon
The path from Middle Assendon
Looking back from the path from Middle Assendon