Pete's Walks - Maidensgrove Common and Moor Common (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 turned left along the lane through Southend, then after about a hundred yards took a footpath on the right. This started with Kildridge wood on my left and some cottages and then a field to my right, before gently descending between Kildridge Wood and Balham's Wood. After a while a white arrow showed where the path forked left from the track it had been following, making its way between Rhododendron bushes to reach the tall kissing-gate giving access to Stonor deer park. The next three-quarters of a mile or so was as pleasant as ever, the path dropping gently downhill through the deer park with views of Stonor House soon appearing on my right and more views ahead towards the woods at Maidensgrove and half-right towards Pishill.
The start of the path to Stonor deer park
The path to Stonor deer park
The path to Stonor deer park
The path through Stonor deer park
The path through Stonor deer park
Stonor House
The path through Stonor deer park
The path through Stonor deer park
The path through Stonor deer park
The path through Stonor deer park
On finally leaving the deer park, I turned right along the minor road through Stonor (the B480). Shortly after leaving the village I took a footpath on the left, which was initially somewhat overgrown as it ran between old hedgerows, gradually going uphill. It steepened slightly as it continued through Pishillbury Wood - or so it seemed to me, but then I have to admit I was struggling a bit at this point (for some reason this walk seemed to take a lot out of me, it was the first 14-15 mile walk I'd done for about three months for various reasons). On eventually reaching a path junction on the far side of the wood, I turned left for a short distance then went right at the next path junction (these two junctions appear as a single crossing of paths on the OS map). This path quickly left the wood and continued along a private drive in Maidensgrove. At its end, I turned right and followed a lane back to where I'd parked at the start of the walk, on Maidensgrove Common.
The road through Stonor
Near the start of the path from Stonor to Maidensgrove
The path from Stonor continuing through Pishillbury Wood
The path from Stonor continuing through Pishillbury Wood
The path from Stonor continuing through Pishillbury Wood
The private drive at Maidensgrove
The lane just before it starts to cross Maidensgrove Common
After a very grey and cloudy start, the day had brightened up and was warm and sunny in the afternoon. I really enjoyed the walk, the route is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine because there are numerous good views to be had. There were a couple of steepish uphills and several more ups and downs, and the usual Chiltern mixture of fields and woods and attractive villages and hamlets. It was a shame the orchids weren't fully out at Moorend Common, but I did see a good selection of other wildflowers, as well as a Muntjac deer.