Tring Station to Cadsden and Askett

Back to the Ridgeway National Trail today, 18 months after we left it at Tring Station in November 2011. I hadn't been sure about walking most of the path in the summer - I'd enjoyed the autumn colours on the Icknield Way Path and the guidebook talks about bluebells in spring. However, after today, I have no reservations - it was gloriously green, the English countryside at its best. Of course there are reasons why everywhere is so green this June...but we didn't get too wet and the Sun even came out from time to time.

We got up early and caught the 7.09 train from Downham Market to Kings Cross, then walked to Euston and caught the 9.04 to Tring. It started to rain just as the train pulled into Tring Station, which didn't feel like a great start. We stopped in the modern equivalent of a bike shed to put on our waterproofs and we were walking just before 10am. A short distance from the station, we crossed the Grand Union Canal - it was pretty and there were lots of narrow boats about.

We took a minor road and then a path which brought us to first the A4251, which we crossed, and then the A41. There is a footbridge across the A41 and we had climbed a bit to get to it, so there were good views back to the ridge we had been on in November 2011. We continued to the north of Wiggington and after crossing a couple of roads we entered Tring Park - glorious woodland that led to more glorious woodland (a theme for today). Even better, it stopped raining and the Sun came out. After a mile or so we left Tring Park and there followed half a mile of road walking though Hastoe. It's a pretty village, with lots of signs to tomorrow's wedding fair at the village hall, but it was drizzling and I don't like road walking. However we soon reached Pavis Wood and more delightful woodland walking followed.

We turned left at a road and then took a footpath diagonally across a field, with cows and their calves, then we entered Hengrove Wood. Here I had read the contours on the map completely incorrectly. I had expected to be climbing, but we followed a delightful ancient sunken lane which descended quite steeply. The route of the Ickield Way (riders route), which we had been following (really odd to encounter Icknield Way signs again) continued straight ahead towards Wendover, but the Ridgeway went left, climbing steeply to another ridge, then following the path through Hale Wood and then Barn Wood.

It had started to rain quite heavily, so we stopped for lunch and shelter somewhere in Hale Wood (sitting on two logs). Fortunately it stopped raining whilst we were having lunch. After Barn Wood we turned right onto another sunken track leading towards Wendover. This brought us, past the delightful St Mary's Church and a fishing lake with ducklings, to the centre of Wendover. It had started to rain again, so we stopped for a cup of tea while the worst of the weather passed.

We left Wendover by way of a bridge over the railway and the A413. We left the road and climbed Bacombe Hill. It was a well-worn and slippery path and quite a climb, but there were good views back and typical chalk flora, including orchids and soon afterwards we started to see red kites. It was lovely. We were hot in our waterproofs so we stopped to take them off, and we didn't need them again all day.

We emerged at Combe Hill, being asked by a man if we were on the 'purple route' - probably not, but we didn't really have a clue! There is an imposing monument on Combe Hill to the men of Buckinghamshire who lost their lives in the Boer War, and Chequers came into view. We turned left at the monument and followed the edge of the ridge, descending gently.

We entered more lovely woodland, now sharing our route with the South Bucks Way and making way for a 4 by 4 vehicle which for some reason was being driven along the footpath - strictly he should not even have been on the bridleway. We meandered our way through the wood and descended, then we entered the grounds of the Chequers Estate.

Chequers, visible in the distance, is an attractive house but I hadn't expected this much security. There were various precautions to stop vehicles getting where they shouldn't be, plus regular security cameras. I'm not sure what they will have made of me - stopping to take off an uncomfortable boot and then putting it back, and photographing the security signs. I can tell you that I have not been arrested yet!

We entered another series of woods, and skirted Happy Valley. We had time to spare, so climbed to the top of Chequers Knab, from where there were lovely views to the hills and woods all around. Eventually we descended, on a rather muddy path, to the road at Cadsden.

We had expected to be reaching our B&B (about half a mile from here) around 6pm, but it was only just after 4pm, so we weren't quite sure what to do. We pottered up to The Plough at Cadsden (where we had hoped to stay, but they had no vacancies) then down to Askett, inspecting what we thought to be an Indian take away down the road from the B&B, failing to find out whether the pub in the village would be serving food this evening, and admiring the quaint and picturesque thatched cottages and pretty cottage gardens.