Monday December 18, 2006

Two walks in winter sunshine

After a grey and leaden sky week it was nice to look forward to two days of sunshine and cold weather at last. Saturday we did a walk local to us starting at a pub called the Beehive, White Waltham which has been elevated to a main entry in the Good pub guide. The walk had us go through the village with a pretty school, village hall finally leaving it along Love Walk to then meet Church Hill that took us to its attractive Norman church St Mary the Virgin.

In the churchyard was a really old Yew tree with a really large trunk sadly not much green left on the tree - a lot of it had broken away. We rejoined along Waltham road road for a short distance inside a narrow belt of trees. and then went past the sewage works. Here overhead were lots of light aircraft making their final approach to the local airfield. Also were lots of gnats that pestered us for about another mile before leaving us alone. At Heywood Farm we turned right and went along Snowball Hill walking towards the M4 motorway. Just before a pedestrian bridge over the motorway we turned right and went around two sides of a field before turning right to rejoin Church Hill. Where we turned off this road the building of Waltham Place could be seen a mixture of stone and brick buildings. Across another field had us in a small housing estate and soon we were back at the pub. Here I had a good but expensive sausage sandwich, the pub itself was burnt down in May 1861 and rebuilt shortly afterwards in June 1861 as a plaque on one of its outside wall explained. A nice three mile walk.

Sunday again was bright and sunny although with a sharp frost. Todays walk was at Watlington in the Chilterns just off the M40. As there was only one pub stop at the start of the six mile walk we elected to start it half way round to give us a break after three miles. This point was at Christmas common. Here at a National Trust car park was a viewpoint from the hill. We went through an avenue of trees then descending through more woodland. A farm Lower Dean farm came into view snuggling in the valley. All around us hedges had lots of berries on them all different colours and shapes. The hill also had large numbers of Yew trees - unusual I thought. The path levelled out through a few more trees and then met a road - the B480. After a short distance along the road we turned left to walk along the Ridgeway a short way before turning off to pass by Lys Farm. Over back towards the hill was a single lone Red Kite - we would see many more before the walk finished. In open ground now we followed the side of fields passing to the left of a dried up small pond before arriving in Watlington. Here we had our pit stop at the Carrier's Arms. This was an excellent prawn bap a at snip of one pound fifty pence. A bargain in this expensive part of the world. Behind one of the bars is a verse called The man behind the bar. Suitably refreshed we left the pub and past the local care home and caravan site - an odd combination to be close together. The road was now climbing and we turned left to go on the Ridgeway for a short distance before turning right on the other famous long distance path in this area The Oxfordshire way. The view below is typical of the lovely panorama behind us as we climbed.

We past Pyrton Hill House and continued along a grassy track. We were now heading up quite steeply on Aston Hill. Here there was still frost on the ground and I suspect it would not have melted by the end of the day. Berries here had droplets of water on them making them look like eyeballs.

We followed the right hand side of a field and met a road and were soon back to the car. A very invigorating but great six mile walk.