Pete's Walks - Wigginton and Wendover Woods (page 2 of 4)
Beyond Baldwin's Wood the path finally emerged into the corner of a corn field, where it went right for a few yards to enter another tree belt. Here it turned left to continue southwest-wards once more, through the tree belt to reach another wood (the nearest name on the OS map is Barn Wood). The path here was one of the muddiest I came across today. The path soon curved left, finally leaving Grim's Ditch, and ended at a path T-junction. Here I turned right (now definitely in Barn Wood), the path following a broad track through the wood. I was initially surprised when I saw a large section of the wood on my right had been clear-felled, but then vaguely remembered I'd seen it before. Shortly after the end of the clear-felled section, the path turned right from the track and dropped down through the trees a short distance to join a section of the Ridgeway National Trail.
The field corner between Baldwins'Wood and Barn Wood
The narrow tree belt leading to Barn Wood
The footpath after I turned left in Barn Wood
The footpath after I turned left in Barn Wood, where a section of the wood has been clear-felled
View from the clear-felled section of Barn Wood
Where the path turns right and drops down to meet The Ridgeway
I turned left, and followed the Ridgeway as it gradually descended through the trees of Barn Wood. It turned left at the bottom of the slope, to reach a bridleway junction a hundred yards further on. Here I turned right, on to a track called Hogtrough Lane, soon passing Boswells Farm on my right. There was a short section where the track has been recently tarmacked - a sign showed it was for 'works access', presumably for the HS2 rail line (Boo! Hiss!). I followed Hogtrough Lane for over half a mile, as it gently descended between hedgerows to eventually end on the edge of Wendover.
The Ridgeway National Trail through Barn Wood
The Ridgeway National Trail through Barn Wood
The Ridgeway National Trail through Barn Wood
The Ridgeway National Trail through Barn Wood
I followed a residential street on the edge of the village right for a little way, then turned right again, heading back into the countryside along Hale Lane, with the wooded slopes of Boddington Hill ahead on the left. A little way after the lane reached the woods on my left, a track started off half-left, soon merging with another track where I continued straight on. I made my way uphill along the track, fairly soon coming to a junction where I turned left onto another track (shown on the OS map, though not marked as a public right of way - however all of Wendover Woods are an open access area). This track climbed gently round Boddington hill, gradually curving right. As I reached the top of the hill, there was an embankment in the trees on my right, presumably the Iron Age Hill-fort shown on the map. The track then continued along the top of a steep wooded slope on my left, heading northeast and then north, towards the visitor centre in the middle of Wendover Woods.
Hogtrough Lane
Hogtrough Lane
Hogtrough Lane
Hale Lane, Boddington Hill on the left
The track junction at the foot of Boddington Hill, where I went straight on
The path up Boddington Hill
The path up Boddington Hill after I turned left
The path up Boddington Hill