Pete's Walks - Hambleden, Marlow Common, Moorend Common (page 5 of 5)
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 brought me to some farm buildings (Frieth was now a short distance to my right), where I turned left at a path junction. The path was soon running along a grassy strip with some mature trees next to a lane on my right - I wondered why I could see several cars parked ahead of me, and then noticed there was a cricket match in progress. Just before I reached the cars the path ended and I carried on along the lane, soon passing St Katherine's Convent on my right. I passed through Parmoor (a sign said Lower Parmoor farm) and then turned left along a path that started beside a gravel drive (no footpath sign that I could see). After passing a garden, the path went half-left across a meadow to reach a lane at Pheasants.
The path beside the lane to Parmoor
A cricket pitch with quite a view, at Parmoor
The lane continuing through Parmoor
The start of the path at Pheasants
The path at Pheasants
I went right for a short distance, then just past Beeches Farm I took a footpath on the left. There was now a very easy section going gently downhill through woods for about a mile. I kept left at an apparent fork (white arrow on tree showed the way) and much further on kept right at another narrow fork (close to a field corner on my left), continuing downhill through an area of Yew trees and soon reaching a lane at Pheasant's Hill.
The long path down through the wood to Pheasant's Hill
The long path down through the wood to Pheasant's Hill
The long path down through the wood to Pheasant's Hill
The long path down through the wood to Pheasant's Hill
The long path down through the wood to Pheasant's Hill
View out across the roofs of Pheasant's Hill, across the Hambleden Valley
I crossed the lane and went down a short narrow path between houses, then going straight on down part of a private road. I soon turned left along a footpath (another part of the Chiltern Way) which rather curiously divided some gardens into two parts. After avoiding a carniverous hedge (see photo below!) I crossed a paddock and then a pasture. In a second pasture I soon came to a gate in the hedge on the left, where I turned right and followed a lane into Hambleden, turning left near the church to return to the car park.
The path through Pheasant's Hill
View across the Hambleden Valley
The carnivorous hedge at Pheasant's Hill has devoured another poor passer-by!
The path from Pheasant's Hill to Hambleden
The path from Pheasant's Hill to Hambleden
Hambleden church
The lane into Hambleden
This was a really nice walk on a very warm summer's day. Quite apart from the two places I stopped to look for orchids, I saw a fair amount of wildlife, much more than I normally do. There was a hill right at the start, and a short steep uphill through Pullingshill Wood, but otherwise it was flat or downhill. It's almost certainly a walk I'll do again sometime.