Pete's Walks - Stoke Row, Woodhouse Farm, Checkendon (page 7 of 7)
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.
About three-quarters of a mile from the lane I reached the drive to Wyfold Court, where I turned left along a bridleway that followed the drive through an avenue of trees. Where the drive started to turn slightly left, the bridleway turned right along another short drive, at the end of which it continued through a wood. Beyond this it continued down a track past a few residences on my right to reach Neal's Lane. Across this it continued along another track, soon turning half-left to reach Busgrove Wood
The drive to Wyfold Court
Wyfold Court
The bridleway through the wood near Wyfold Court
Approaching Neal's Lane
The bridleway to Busgrove Wood
The bridleway to Busgrove Wood
The bridleway continued through the wood. After two or three hundred yards (shortly before the bridleway ended at a road), I took a path forking left through the wood. This soon reached a path T-junction (waymarks on a post) where I turned left to continue through what was now a typical Beech Wood - this path was a little unclear due to the leaves covering the woodland floor, but there were occasional white arrows to guide the way. On reaching Busgrove Lane (I could have considerably shortened the walk by turning left when I reached this lane earlier at the end of Judges Lane!), I continued along a path starting on the other side, initially following garden boundaries on my left. After about a third of a mile this brought me to a street in Stoke Row, where I turned right and soon reached the minor road through the village, by the church, where I turned right to go the short distance to the Maharajah's Well and my parked car.
The bridleway in Busgrove Wood
The path forking left in Busgrove Wood
The path after I turned left in Busgrove Wood
The path after I turned left in Busgrove Wood
The path after I turned left in Busgrove Wood
The path on the other side of Busgrove Lane
The path on the other side of Busgrove Lane
The path on the other side of Busgrove Lane
Stoke Row church
The Maharajah's Well, Stoke Row
This was the most enjoyable walk I've had in a while, though any walk would be at its best on such a near-perfect day for walking. It was bright and sunny throughout, with the temperature pleasantly warm, and the many trees that were starting to change colour gave added pleasure to the many fine views. I particularly enjoyed the byway between Mongewell Wood and Woodhouse Farm, with its far-reaching views over the Oxfordshire Plain and to the Berkshire Down. It was a fairly flat route though, with the only real uphill coming between Well Place and Garsons Lane.