27/03/21 - Chiltern Chain Walk - Stage 10 - Amersham

Distance - 12.5 Miles

Geocaches - 9

Walk Inspiration

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9

Stage 10 and half way through the Chiltern Chain Walk.  Like many people, I'm not meeting targets that I set myself but I am expecting 2021 to improve from this point on.

This is a fine section of the route - linking a number of pretty flint stone villages together.  The start is Amersham Old Town, which was thoroughly explored in Stage 9 through an Adventure Lab Cache.  Returning to this timeless village at the end of the walk, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that I missed the chance to sample some of the fine looking watering holes.

The Swan and Eagle demonstrating how easy an Amersham Pub Crawl would be

I hit the countryside early, heading to the villges of Coleshill, Winchmore Hill and Penn Street - all seemingly wet led, with a country pub in each.   Penn Wood provides the first terrain variety, leaving flint strewn fields for dense woodland.

The Way to Coleshill

Penn Wood

Holmer Green leads to Little Kingshill via an unending series of stiles, with the prize being the highlight of the walk.

The Misbourne Valley has everything a rambler needs.  An unofficial lunch before dropping down to the valley floor to the South Bucks Way.  However, my prepared lunch may have been hasty.  Both pubs in Little Missenden were open - with the frankly bizarre site of a pub garden fully occupied by coffee drinking pensioners.  When will this madness end?

And to keep me going as the miles kick in and I feel every step of the last 10 miles in my knees?  A series of family friendly geocaches to keep the mind occupied.

My lunch spot, overlooking the Misbourne Valley

But the Bucks Pensioners were taking coffee at the Red Lion

The Misbourne Valley

And the Geocache laden South Bucks Way

Just as I reach civilisation, I can hear Sister Sledge's "Lost In Music" belting out from a teepee, learning where everyone walking towards me had got their takeaway coffees from.  A bargain, at nearly half the price the Grocers ripped me off for in Old Amersham on Stage 9 - with the added bonus of seating in a disco atmosphere.

Feel So Alive

In a twist that needs recording to show there is a higher power - I catch up on a couple of spotify albums on the journey home.  Once Arab Strap and Nick Cave's new albums are over, Spotify resorts to random selections.

First up - The Fall's cover of Lost in Music.  He quit his ten till five.

20/03/21 - The Centenary Way - Stage 1 - Kingsbury

Distance - 9.1 Miles

Geocaches - 2

Stephen Cross, former mayor of Warwick, has done this before.  He takes a midlands Long Distance Path, carves it up into a series of connected circular walks and then releases it as a book. Last time out, it was a walk per month on the Heart of England Way.  This time, I will be marking the monthly passage of time by the follow up, the Centenary Way.

So the Centenary Way - starts at Kingsbury, ends at Upper Quinton (Cotswolds, not Smethwick) and is 100 miles long.  The book promises 32 circular walks on the cover, yet inside I can find only 29.  This screws up my plans.  The finish was carefully timed to coincide with when I could retire - assuming there are any pubs to retire to.

32 or 29 Walks?

The First CW Marker

My walk starts at Kingsbury Village - where I save myself £4.50 by not parking at the water park.  The end of the blog will reveal whether I found anything to spend my saved money on.

The church is impressive, overlooking the River Tame and there's an ancient wall that looks rubbish photographed but must have historical importance.  If it was something interesting - my new discovery - https://wiki-map.com/ - fails to provide any information.  The OS Map marks it as hall in an ancient font.  Historic England provides the details of this castle/fortified farm.

Kingsbury's Highlight - The Church

The bad news is that this exact walk is taken in on the Heart of England Way (Stephen, you lazy Mayor).  I know what to expect. It was crap then and even after walking it in the opposite direction, it's still crap now.

Kingsbury Water Park is the highlight - if you can class a series of filled in gravel pits, honking geese and muddy tracks as a highlight.  Still, it must be all that passes for entertainment in these parts, as it is packed.  When teenage girl gangs have taken up rambling, you know the world is in trouble.  Although I couldn't help but overhear how hard it is to court boys on Snapchat. 

 

As good as it gets on the CW, Stage 1

Once you leave the Water Park, there's not much else to report.  A lengthy section of road walking leads to the pub at Whitacre Heath.  In a bid to stop a can bearing, well prepared rambler from using their garden furniture to reminisce on happier times when I was served a dodgy doom bar here, they have turned the tables to use as barricades.

No Rest Here, Mappiman

I promise to stop at the next available resting places - which transpires to be a fallen tree trunk in a copse, north of Nether Whitacre.  Since the girl gangs of Kingsbury, I have not seen a sole - yet the instant I pull the ring on my liquid lunch, along comes a lady on a pony and trap, who proceeds to use the field opposite to create the gypsy version of the Badminton horse trials.  At least she has an audience, a grumpy rambler, plagued by flies, extracting as much joy as possible from a 2.8% IPA in a 330ml can.

Can finished, the flies accompany me to Foul End, Camp Farm and then across the huge expanse of green that turns into a military firing range.  The flags are lowered, so not even any excitement of getting hit from a stray SA80 Round.

It's been a trudge but I'm ready to see what Kingsbridge has to offer the hungry.  No point bothering the Royal Oak - a huge Marstons Pub, overlooking the town from on high.  The White Swan is now famous for only having the bus stop named after it, serving currently as a chinese takeaway.  Eventually, I stumble upon a grim parade of shops under some flats - with one a cafe.  Joy at the homemade sausage rolls sign quickly evaporates, as the place is in darkness.

I know the route will improve, there are signs of spring and if I am lucky, the pubs of Shustoke will have ample beer gardens to take post 12/4/21 advantage of.

Signs of Spring

07/03/21 - Knapp and Papermill Nature Reserve

Distance - 7.5 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - Hike and Get Merry Route on Meetup

One of my pre-Covid plans was to join some group walks - either by joining the Ramblers or looking at MeetUp - where I found this route and is scheduled for six members on 11/4/21.  Its oversubscribed - so off I went to investigate solo.

The Knapp and Papermill Nature Reserve is a haven for bird and butterfly spotting and offers a lovely little walk along the Leigh Brook. Guide dog in training Abi would have potentially loved the dunk, but the signs state that there is no access to the water.  

Leigh Brook - Inviting to a Dog but Out of Bounds

Next up is a climb of The Suckley Hills - an outcrop of the Malverns.  The OS Map doesn't show access to Crews Hill as a Right of Way but on arrival, its another nature reserve.  A good broad path up through the trees but no reward of fine views to mark the effort until you reach the gap at Newhouse Farm.

 

Looking South to the Malverns

The walking is that good that I became lost in my own thouights and missed the turning right off Round Hill.

In normal times, this diversion would reward you with a pub.  Obviously my subconscious was taking over.

Lulsley's Fox and Hounds

The stretch between Ravenshill Green and Alfrick is the scene of a previously visited Geocache Trail, with a James Bond Theme.  It was five years ago that I made a poor attempt at finding these.  I've either got better at it or they are easier in Winter, as I cleared up 4 previous fails.

A lovely walk - so I'll keep my eyes on the Meetup group and plan to get some future company.