Ewelme to Stokenchurch

We walked back up Parson's Lane, the road down which we had driven, just opposite the car park. We continued slightly past the route of the Chiltern Way in order to photograph the pretty church then, opposite the Old Parsonage and just by the Rectory (now wondering whether the clergyman we had seen yesterday was incumbent of Ewelme Church...and if so whether he is a rector or a parson..) took a track which climbed slightly and emerged into open countryside. We passed a pig farm, not really what you'd associate with the Chilterns, but I think it is arguable whether we were in the Chilterns at this point. However, after a slightly irritating walk around two sides of a triangle, we found ourselves heading along the side of a field of oilseed rape towards Icknieldbank Plantation, and from this point the scenery became much more Chilterns-like.

There is some parking space at the entrance from the road into Ichnieldbank Plantation, though not as good as where we had left the car in Ewelme. We climbed steeply through the Planation, passing a mother and daughter who were descending, and eventually emerging onto Swyncombe Down, which lovely views and some ancient earthworks. We continued straight ahead, then descended slightly in a narrow wooded strip, and turned onto The Ridgeway, on the leg we had walked after leaving Watlington (which is a short distance to the north). We'd enjoyed that section when on The Ridgeway, and we enjoyed it today. We were initially in woodland but could hear the sound of sheep bleating and, after leaving the woodland, we descended steeply and then climbed slightly, with fields of sheep and lambs on both sides of the track.

We crossed a road and soon reached the little St Botolph's Church on the Swyncombe Estate. Jordanwalks tells me that we went inside the church when walking the Ridgeway, but I'm sorry to say I don't remember it at all. That meant that I could be delighted again by the little church., as well as noticing that walkers had parked their cars opposite. We parted company with The Ridgeway here, with our route going through the churchyard to the opposite side of the church then passing other Estate buildings and continuing through open parkland. We weren't sure whether one of the buildings we had views back to was Swyncombe House; the other was definitely the Rectory - rather bigger than the Church! We reached Church Wood and the first bluebells of the day. Beautiful!

We reached the village of Cookley Green, which we thought we recognised from a previous driving route to Southend - though Cookley Green is typical of many of the little settlements in the area, with houses scattered around the green. The next settlement we reached, Russell's Water, is named after a local brickmaker and his duckpond. The duckpond is now a picturesque and a bench was well placed for us to stop to watch the ducks (a pair of a species we couldn't identify, who chased away the mallards) and to have a snack. This section is only about half a mile north of where we had walked when heading from Southend to Ewelme two days ago, but I didn't appreciate that the delightful Russell's Water Common, which we emerged onto, is the same common which we had reached after meeting all the dogs on the previous leg two days ago. Today we went striding across the common without paying sufficient attention to the map. We realised soon enough and cut across to the edge of the woodland. In the process of doing so, we made friends with an enthusiastic and beautiful white dog, which enquiry revealed to be a 6-month old (large) labradoddle puppy.

The next section of the walk, down to Pishill Bottom then through Shambridge Wood, Greenfield Wood and College Wood to Hollandridge Farm, was lovely but seemed to involve a lot of descents and ascents. This section of the Chiltern Way would be good training for a coastal path or Offa's Dyke! We initially descended to Pishill Bottom, where the map indicated that we should turn left and walk a few hundred metres along the road before turning right, but we were confused by white painted signs straight across from the point at which we had descended, and the confusion caused by a multitude of abbreviated route names painted on trees, and white arrows going in many directions, continued. However, we stuck with the official route. The route up from Pilshill Bottom involved opening a gate from the road (once we'd done this the way was clear) and after recent experience of following the wrong route in woods, we were very careful.

As we emerged from College Wood we joined with the Oxfordshire Way, and the routes continued together past Hollandridge Farm and into Fire Wood where we continued straight ahead, while the Oxfordshire Way took a left-hand fork. Our previous leg we had set off from Southend, and now we reached Northend (the north end of the parish of Turville), which we had definitely driven through en route to Southend ; the rather better known Christmas Common, which we had also driven through, is about a mile to the north-west. Apparently parking in Northend is difficult, and - of more immediate concern - there were no picnic benches, at least not within sight of the Chiltern Way. Fortunately it proved possible and reasonable comfortable to sit, pixie-style, on the the posts they have put up to stop you parking on the open access land.

We continued our undulating journey with a steep descent in Blackmoor Wood bringing us to the gentler valley bottom of the Wormsley Estate. We passed a stone ornament, a short section of ha-ha and a walled-off area (perhaps a kitchen garden) before crossing the valley bottom, on which sheep were grazing and from which there were views to the communications tower near Stokenchurch, and climbing again to and through Commonhill Wood. We crossed Ibstone Common and passed some of the houses on the northern edge of Ibstone. We were now on the final stretch back to Stokenchurch, but there were more descents and some ascents remaining, and more attractive woodland. The route has been slightly diverted, such that you know walk around rather than through Studdridge Farm.

We could hear the M40 before we saw it, but soon enough there it was, now much busier than when I had driven along it this morning. The Chiltern Way passes underneath the motorway in an underpass and it is only a very short distance from here back to the car park next to the Kings Hotel, where we had parked. We took some photographs to mark the end of our walk, quite sad to have completed the main circuit of the Chiltern Way. If you want to read our descriptions continuing on from Stokenchurch (our first leg) click here.