Pete's Walks- Southeast from Cadmore End (page 6 of 6)
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.
I went straight on along a drive or track, passing Fryer's Farm on my left. I then took a path on the left, starting through an open gateway into a field, following the hedge on my left along a strip of grass beside a crop of maize. At the end of this field I went straight on along a short track between hedges to reach another field. A few yards along the hedge on my right, I went over a stile and turned left along the hedgerow, in a large field of cut grass that dropped down into a valley. A short way up the other side of the valley, the field ended and I entered a narrow part of Great Wood. The path then continued between the fences of some paddocks before re-entering Great Wood. The path soon started dropping steadily downhill. It crossed a track in a valley bottom, and rose a short distance up the other side until it met another track, where I turned left.
The path to Great Wood
The path to Great Wood
The first short section of Great Wood
The path continuing through Paddocks, with Great Wood on three sides
The path continuing through more of Great Wood
Great Wood
The track ran a short distance with hedges either side until it reached Denham Wood. Here I took a path forking right, heading through the middle of this attractive Beech wood. On the far side of Denham Wood, the path ran through an empty pasture, staying quite close to the hedge on the left, then went along a short alley to reach a lane in Wheeler End. Here I went a few yards left then took a path on the other side that crossed Wheeler End Common. The path ran through bushes and emerged into a more open area of bracken and bushes. After a hundred yards or so I went a few yards right, then turned left along a path between (and overhung by) bushes. But after a short distance I left this, going a few yards left back into the bracken area, and turning right to follow the edge of the bushes (turning right onto another path at one point) until I reached a track, where I turned right and soon came to another lane.
The track between Great Wood and Denham Wood
Denham Wood
Between Denham Wood and Wheeler End
Wheeler End Common (I took a path starting at the dark shadow in the centre of this photo, before returning to the more open part of the common)
Wheeler End Common
Across the lane, I took a path through Cadmore End Common. There are numerous paths here, most of which are not on the OS map, but I simply took the left-fork at each fork I came to and tried to stay close to the edge of the common on my left (there was usually a fence or hedge there). At one point I crossed the drive in front of a cottage on my left (the path continued from almost beside the garden boundary, where cars were parked). I then soon passed a pond on my right, which I remembered, then passed a cottage on my right and then a second pond on my right (which I didn't remember). I kept to my 'keep left' policy, but soon after this I came to a fork where I suspected I should keep right - I was correct, because the left fork brought me to a drive some way to the left of where the public footpath meets it (this was all an Open Access area anyway, and I had just cut a slight corner).
Cadmore End Common
Cadmore End Common
Cadmore End Common, just before I passed a house on the left
A pond on Cadmore End Common
Cadmore End Common
I turned left along the drive, and almost immediately came to another one where I again turned left. This took me over the M40 and back to the road through Cadmore End, opposite the entrance to Rackley's Farm. I turned right and retraced my steps back to my car (following the road as far as a sign saying The Old Ship Inn, then taking the lane forking left).
The road through Cadmore End - I turned half-left almost opposite the building on the right
Cadmore End (I kept right here to pass the church)
I enjoyed the walk, because I'd only walked some of the paths a couple of times before and it was good to do them again. But this is not one of the better routes I've ever come up with - it was just cobbled together originally to link up some paths I'd not walked before with some I'd only done two or three times. So it was just an exploratory route, not one designed to link favourite paths and points of interest (having said that, I've accidentally come up with some really good routes by doing just that!). But there was a good mixture of woodland walking and field paths, a few ups and downs (though nothing too steep or long) and one or two pleasant views. I'd be quite happy to do it again, but there are many more walks I'd like to repeat first.