Pete's Walks - Chalfont St Peter and Amersham Old Town (page 3 of 3)
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.
Across the lane, a path continued across part of a pasture to a gate and a path junction, where I turned right along a farm track. Where this met Botterells Lane, I turned left down another path, running between a tall aold hedgerow on my right and a fence on my left. Across the rather scruffy field to my right I occasionally had distant views towards the Thames Valley around Reading (I think). After several hundred yards, the path continued down a track, following it where it turned right, but then going left after a few yards to pass beside Dairy Cottage. Soon the path was gently descending with a field on the left (there was slippery muddy bit here with lots of nettles), then the path switched to the left of the hedgerow. It continued pleasantly downhill into the Misbourne Valley, nsoon with paddocks either side.
The path on the other side of Botterells Lane
The path from Botterells Lane to the Misbourne valley
The path from Botterells Lane to the Misbourne valley
The path from Botterells Lane to the Misbourne valley
The path from Botterells Lane to the Misbourne valley
The path descending into the Misbourne valley
The path ended in a tree belt at the bottom of the valley, where I turned left at a path junction. I soon left the tree belt, the path continuing northwest along the Misbourne valley, now following a broad grassy strip between paddocks. Through a kissing-gate it then continued beside a hedge on my right, beside another paddock. Across Bottom House Farm Lane, the path crossed an empty paddock, then ran through some long grass between a field and the river Misbourne over to my right. The path then followed a hedgerow on my right for several hundred yards, with ploughed fields rising uphill to my left. After this it then continued for a while with no hedges either side, then shortly after a hedge started again on my left I came to a path junction where I went half-right across a ploughed field to reach a footbridge over the Misbourne (sadly not much more than a few puddles here).
The path going northwest along the Misbourne Valley
The path going northwest along the Misbourne Valley
The path going northwest along the Misbourne Valley, just after crossing Bottom House Farm Lane
The path going northwest along the Misbourne Valley
The path going northwest along the Misbourne Valley
The path going half-right to the footbridge over the river Misbourne
Immediately after crossing the footbridge, I turned left along a slightly overgrown path running parallel to the river. Eventually, after several hundred yards, the path followed the river under a graffiti-strewn road bridge. The path soon after entered a meadow, where it followed the hedge on my left to reach a road on the edge of Amersham Old Town. I crossed over and went left for a few yards, then turned half-right in front of The Chequers pub, continuing through a car park to reach another road (in 2006 the route just followed the first road to a roundabout and turned right). I used a pedestrian crossing to get over this road, and continued down a footpath on the other side. This passed a smallholding or allotment on my left, before once more running close to the river, now with a large field sloping up on my left. The path then continued past a cemetery on my right, still with the river on my left. I then turned left over a brick bridge, and after a few yards I forked left, immediately then forking right to follow a stone path to the door of Amersham church.
The path beside the river Misbourne
The path beside the river Misbourne
The path along the edge of Amersham Old Town, after crossing the road
The path continuing past the cemetery
Amersham church
I think I enjoyed this walk more than the previous two walks along the Chiltern Heritage Trail, probably because I'd only walked most of the section from Chalfont St Peter to Hodgemoor Woods once before, when I did this walk in 2006. The short section of bridleway next to Hodgemoor Woods was entirely new to me, and had some nice views. The section along the Misbourne valley was very familiar to me, but still made for very pleasant walking. As you can see from the photos, it was a very grey morning so I certainly wasn't seeing the route at its best.