Pete's Walks - Whitchurch Hill, College Wood, Mapledurham (page 4 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.
At the end of the drive I continued along a bridleway to the right of Holly Cottage, which dropped downhill into a wood. In the valley bottom, the bridleway turned left and I continued along it through the wood. On leaving the wood the bridleway continued along the valley bottom. After about half a mile, the bridleway reached Bottom Farm, where it turned slightly right and followed the farm's drive to reach a lane. Here I turned right and followed the lane towards Mapledurham.
The bridleway from Collins End to Mapledurham
The bridleway from Collins End to Mapledurham
The bridleway from Collins End to Mapledurham
The bridleway from Collins End to Mapledurham
The bridleway from Collins End to Mapledurham, approaching Bottom Farm
The bridleway from Collins End to Mapledurham, along the drive from Bottom Farm
The lane to Mapledurham
Immediately after passing a white cottage on the right, I turned right onto another bridleway (for anyone following this route who has not visited Mapledurham, I thoroughly recommend taking the short detour of continuing along the lane into the village to see the almshouses, church, watermill and Mapledurham House). The bridleway headed northwest and ran roughly parallel to the river Thames which was across the fields on my left. After half a mile or so the bridleway went through a gate and continued along a drive running past Hardwick House.
The bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham
The bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham
Zoomed in view of the river Thames near Mapledurham
The bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham, entering the grounds of Hardwick House
The bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham
The bridleway going northwest from Mapledurham