23/05/20 - Chiltern Chain Walk - Stage 6 - Buckland Common

Distance - 12.1 Miles
Geocaches - 25
Walk Inspiration
Drink - Tring Brewery Ridgeway Bitter at Chartridge Pond
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5


I'd like to say that if Dominic Cummings can travel from London to Durham in the height of lock down - twice, with Covid Symptoms - I don't have to defend myself for resuming the Chiltern Chain Walk.  But that would be petty.

He is obviously an overlord and I am merely the sort of chav that would take his own bottle of beer to a bench by a pond.

Plus Boris's bumbling advice says that I can travel anywhere. In England. But National Parks and hills would still be frowned upon.  As long as hand sanitiser and 2m distancing from other ramblers are observed.

This is a walk that is high on loveliness during completion but devoid of anything too interesting. The dry valleys, woodland and farmland make for pretty walking.  There is an abundance of Geocaches - as I pick up (and repeatedly wash my hands) of more of the Chiltern 100 round.  Photo wise, I seemingly have lots of photos of trees and the GoPro was untroubled.

I start in Buckland Common - a place that tested a BMWs navigation system to the limit - as it tried to take me down dead ends and then up lanes that had grass growing in the middle.  Safely parked up, I head north through the woodlands of Drayton, Shrubbs and High Scrubs.

Buckland Common Start - Dinosaur Wood is Closed.

Many Photos like this

With the odd Geocache to provide variety

Other things of interest - a well preserved Iron Age Fort at Cholesbury and a number of those dry valleys floors that provide plenty of ups and downs.

Earthworks of Cholesbury Camp

Glorious Chiltern Dry Valley Walking 

Lets move on to Lockdown refreshment items.

The first opportunity dispels the myth that farmer's don't have a sense of humour.

What delights remain within?

The Bell at Chartridge holds the honour of having been walked past twice without entering.  Last time - almost exactly a year ago - I was on the London Countryway and too early for lunch time opening.  Today, pubs no longer exist in any functional sense.

One Day, the Bell at Chartridge will be picked

A little further down the high street is a geocache, a pond and a bench.  It's 8 miles into a 12 mile walk, so seems to be the perfect place to burst out the provisions.

Fitting with the location, I've bought a Tring Brewery Ridgeway Bitter to stuff into a Wye Valley Brewery chalice.  In a further nod to great preparation, the bottle was nestling nicely against a frozen ice pack in my rucksack.

My boy scout training was not in vain.

Decent walks require decent lunches