Pete's Walks- Chenies, Chipperfield Common, Ley Hill (page 4 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 at a crossroads in the centre of the village, passing the Green Dragon pub on my right and following the road as it turned right by the village church. I stayed on the road as it left the village and gradually descended over about half a mile into the valley of Flaunden Bottom. When the road turned left in the valley, I went straight on along a broad hedge-lined bridleway.
Flaunden
Flaunden church
A green dragon peering over a hedge - they must be very common round here, as the pub just round the corner is named after them!
The road from Flaunden heading down to Flaunden Bottom
This is where I left the road in the valley bottom and took the hedge-lined bridleway starting up the other side of the valley
The bridleway rose steeply for a few yards before turning right and running flat for a while. It then turned left and again rose steeply for a few yards, before once more turning right and levelling out - there were a few butterflies along this next section, mainly Meadow Browns with a few Common Blues. The bridleway then ran between a small wood on my left and a hedge on my right. Beyond the wood there were hedges either side that gradually petered out, though a fence appeared on my left. Eventually the bridleway turned left, just before reaching a lane.
The bridleway from Flaunden Bottom to Ley Hill
The bridleway from Flaunden Bottom to Ley Hill - I spent a few minutes photographing butterflies along here
The bridleway from Flaunden Bottom to Ley Hill
The bridleway from Flaunden Bottom to Ley Hill
The bridleway from Flaunden Bottom to Ley Hill
The bridleway from Flaunden Bottom now approaching Ley Hill
I turned right along the lane, heading towards Ley Hill, but soon turned left down another lane. When I came to a broad gap in the hedge or bushes on my right, I crossed a fairway of the Ley Hill golf course - I found a waymark on a post on the other side but the path was blocked by brambles, so I took a golfer's path just a few feet further left. I was soon back on the official footpath as I passed a 'Tee', then immediately after a second 'Tee' I took a faint and unsignposted path on the right, that led through a wood for a short way.
The lane into Ley Hill
The path across the golf course at Ley Hill
The path continuing through the wood by by the golf course
On reaching a road, I crossed over and followed a bridleway that started along a drive. After a while the drive switched to the right of a hedge but the bridleway continued straight on, to the left of the hedge. Further on the bridleway passed some small enclosures on my right and eventually reached Cowcroft Wood.
The start of the bridleway to Cowcroft Wood
The bridleway to Cowcroft Wood
The bridleway to Cowcroft Wood