Chiltern Ridges Route

START & FINISH: Garden Centre car park, Chorley Road, West Wycombe HP14 3AP. Grid ref: SU 826 948

(S/E) From the car park entrance turn right alongside the flint wall to the A40, and turn right in the direction of Stokenchurch for 200m.

(1) Turn right onto the footpath leading diagonally uphill towards Great Cockshoots Wood. Turn round to see the golden ball on the tower of the Church of St Lawrence at the top of West Wycombe Hill. Before entering the wood the path joins a farm track, which bends to the right in front of the wood. The path into the wood is on this bend and can sometimes be difficult to see - look out for a signpost under the trees.

Proceed through the wood ignoring crossing paths, then on the far side turn right uphill for a short distance before turning left between hedges. Shortly, leave the enclosed path to continue along the left side of a field.

(2) On reaching a gate with a stile, carry straight on towards the telecom tower at Stokenchurch, which can be seen on the horizon. The path heads towards a farm but shortly before reaching it, you reach a gap in the hedge. Ignore the path marked through the hedge and follow the “permissive path” through the gate ahead. On passing a pond (sometimes dry) there is a gate into a narrow footpath to the right of the track, which takes you to the farm’s front driveway. Continue to the lane (Hatch Lane).

(3) Turn right, and in a few metres, again turn right and then left onto a footpath that runs alongside the road. Proceed downhill. Just before it goes uphill, the path divides. Take the left fork down some steps back to the road. Turn right downhill to the T-junction.

(4) Turn left onto a lovely, quiet country lane, Bottom Road. There are wonderful views up and down the valley and over to the ridge, where some houses in the curiously named part of Radnage, ‘The City’, can be seen.

Continue along the road for 1.6km, ignoring paths to left and right, and take the bridleway on the right a little further on. The path climbs uphill and after 100m passes a footpath on the left which goes back down to the road. Ignore this and take the next footpath on the left after a further 200m.

(5) The path heads downhill before following the edge of a field. Take care on this section: the surface is uneven and can be slippery when wet.

Turn right along the edge of the field and, at the far side, ignore the Permissive Path on your right and follow the contour around the edge of (A) Yoesden Wood. After a while the square stone tower of Radnage Church comes into view.

(6) On reaching a field there is an option to take a short detour to (B) Radnage Church - see below.

The main walk bears right to follow round the edge of the wood and through a gate to join the Chiltern Way. Follow this to the right continuing uphill. At the top of the climb, continue along the Chiltern Way to the left and carry on up to the main road at Bledlow Ridge. The view down the valley to your right is one of the best on the route. When you emerge from the footpath, the community-owned Boot pub is just across the road to the left and is well worth a visit.

TO VISIT THE CHURCH: On reaching the field at point 6, continue ahead for 100m and then bear left through a hedgerow to enter the church and its ‘living graveyard’. It’s lovely at any time of year, but in spring the snowdrops are wonderful. Retrace your steps and head up Bledlow Ridge to rejoin the main route.

(7) The walk turns right along the road for 100m and then turns left into a narrow path which opens out giving views of the next valley and Lacey Green on the next ridge, where the Chiltern Society looks after the windmill. Follow the path downhill diagonally across a field and then keep to the right-hand side through another field. Cross an open field to reach a surfaced bridleway, where you turn right.

Just before the road turn left inside the hedge, uphill to a crossing path.

(8) Turn right and cross the road. You are now on the path and ridge that will take you back to West Wycombe. Follow the path through fields always keeping just to the left of the hedge. After a km, there is one further dip and climb where the path crosses the road to Saunderton. The path follows the ridge for a further 3km, passing Nobles Farm, before reaching the National Trust-owned West Wycombe Hill, where you will find the (C) Church of St Lawrence and the Dashwood Mausoleum.

(9) Aim for the far-right corner of the car park and take the path into the churchyard and on to the front of the church. Turn sharp left along the concrete path which runs through the churchyard to the left of the church. As you leave the churchyard, turn immediately right behind the churchyard wall and follow the path round to the front of the Mausoleum and enjoy the view down the valley to High Wycombe and (D) West Wycombe House and Park. Turn steeply downhill and soon turn right at a signpost to follow a path down a series of steep rough steps before traversing more gently across the slope to the car park. (S/E)

"We hope you have enjoyed your walk. Please remember to rate the walk and add comments. We are interested in knowing how we could improve the instructions or the route and would like to hear about any issues with paths on the walk."

TERRAIN: A moderate walk along valleys and ridges.

START & FINISH: Garden Centre car park, Chorley Road, West Wycombe HP14 3AP. Grid ref: SU 826 948

FOOD & DRINK: The Boot pub in Bledlow and several pubs in West Wycombe. The Church of St Lawrence offers teas on Sundays and bank holidays

PARKING: Garden Centre car park (pay and display - £4.50 for over 2 hours), Chorley Road. HP14 3AP

LOCAL TRANSPORT: Buses 28, 40, 48, 275 & 321 all run to West Wycombe

This walk was created for the book "50 Great Walks in the Chilterns" available from the Chiltern Society or from Amazon.

(A) YOESDEN WOOD: Yoesden Bank and Wood is managed by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust. It’s a precious chalk grassland that’s filled with wild flowers and insects during the summer, while the wood is full of beech, yew and whitebeam trees.

(B) RADNAGE is unusual in that it doesn’t have a centre but comprises a number of separate areas – The City, Town End, Green End and Bennett End. The name Radnage is old English for ‘red oak’. Bottom Road used to be one of the coach roads between London and Oxford and is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a highwayman. The Grade I listed church of St Mary the Virgin was built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century and has medieval wall paintings from the 13th century.

(C) THE CHURCH OF ST LAWRENCE, THE DASHWOOD MAUSOLEUM AND THE HELLFIRE CAVES are all located on West Wycombe Hill which has been settled by man for many centuries. There is evidence from the Bronze Age, the Romans, and the Saxons who called it Haeferingdune. The church, the mausoleum and the caves were all built in the 18th century by Sir Francis Dashwood. He was best known for being a founder of the Dilettanti Society and co-founder of the notorious Hellfire Club.

(D) WEST WYCOMBE: The name West Wycombe was first recorded in the time of Edward the Confessor, c944AD. After the Norman invasion the manor was held by the Bishops of Winchester throughout the Middle Ages. The history of the area has been influenced by people finding travelling routes over the Chiltern Hills. It is thought that Chorley Road was once a Roman thoroughfare. In 1670 the West Wycombe estate was sold to Thomas Lewis, a merchant and Alderman of the City of London. In 1698 he passed it on to his brothers-in-law, Sir Samuel and Sir Francis Dashwood, with the latter taking full ownership a few years later. The family have been connected to West Wycombe ever since. In 1929 parts of the village were given to the Royal Society of Arts by the Dashwood Family, and five years later were donated to the National Trust.