River Wye: a circuit from High Wycombe

START: The Guildhall, High Street, High Wycombe, HP11 2AG.

(S/E) The Chiltern Society plaque is situated on the wall on the south side of the Guildhall. Facing the plaque, take the archway on the right and walk down the pedestrianised street behind. Turn left along the right-hand side of St Mary Street, cross at the bend and walk down the steps to Queen Victoria Road. Cross it, turn right then left through the paved gardens. Cross the road at the traffic lights and turn left to the information boards at the entrance to (A) The Rye and Holywell Mead.

(1) Follow the access road to the left, then continue straight ahead on the wide paved footpath to the historic (B) Pann Mill and River Wye. Stay in the same direction for a further 400 m past a playground to a path junction. Cross straight over to join a gravel path and follow the stream to the left. The path first bends to the right then left, passing the bowls club on the way. Walk along the Lido driveway to Bassetsbury Lane and turn right to the junction with Keep Hill Road.

(2) After a further 60 m, bear left along Bowden Lane towards a disused railway bridge. Go under it and the large pipe, to view the pond on the right (D).

(3) Continue in the same direction along the riverbank, with the new (E) Wye Dean development on the right. Cross the entrance road and, after 200 m, where the surfaced path bends to the right, follow the small path straight ahead to a roundabout in (F) Wycombe Retail Park. Cross the road into the Retail Park and continue straight ahead on the wooden walkway to the left of the McDonald's building and walk beside the river to a metal artwork.

Turn left and at the traffic lights, cross over the main London Road. Turn right along the pavement, continue along the London Road past the Grade II listed St Anneʼs Church and Wycombe Marsh Baptist Church to a set of traffic lights at Gomm Road (on the left).

(4) Cross the main road, turn left for a few metres and right over the wooden footbridge. Turn immediately left and follow the riverbank path to the end of the playing fields, continuing ahead on a short section of The Chiltern Way. Cross the entrance to Kingsmead Business Park and follow the rough track to a T-junction. Turn right on the surfaced footpath for 130 m to the next T-junction.

(5) Turn right again along the bank of (G) Marsh Brook (the Back Stream). Go past a car park on the right and stay in the same direction along the edge of the recreation ground for 630 m. Bear left over a bridge just after the playground up to a road – Kingsmead Road. Turn right on the pavement for 100 m and bear right down Beech Road to the footbridge at the bottom.

(6) Do not cross it, but take the surfaced path to the left and follow it as it bends left back up to Kingsmead Road. Turn right along the pavement and stay on it to the road junction with Abbey Barn Road. Taking care, cross it to continue along Kingsmead Road for 200 m, and go over a footbridge into Bassetsbury Lane. Follow the lane for 600 m through an S-bend, cross the bridge over the Back Stream and climb the grassy slope on the left to meet Keep Hill Road.

(7) Cross the road, follow the stream to a waterfall and, just beyond it, take the surfaced path back up behind it to a path junction at the top.

(8) Turn right along the wide path, keeping to the left of (H) The Dyke, for 800 m to reach the boating site and café at the end of the water. Bear right, follow the wide concrete path to reach the entrance to The Rye and turn left to retrace the route back to the Guildhall (S/E).

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START: The Guildhall, High St, High Wycombe HP11 2AG. ALTERNATIVE START: Kingsmead car park, near the eastern end of the circuit (free!).

TERRAIN: An easy flat walk, mostly on good surfaces but with some muddy sections after rain.

REFRESHMENTS: There are many places in the town. On the route thereʼs McDonalds in Wycombe Retail Park, The General Havelock pub in Kingsmead Road and the café at the end of The Dyke (seasonal).

PARKING: There are numerous car parks all fairly close to the Guildhall. The Eden Centre (with attached car park) has an exit very close to The Guildhall.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: The bus station is next to the Eden Shopping Centre. High Wycombe is served by Chiltern Railways from London Marylebone.

(A) THE RYE AND HOLYWELL MEAD cover more than 53 acres. Rye Mead was used by local people for grazing cattle. Holywell Mead was the site of a Roman villa and watercress beds.

(B) PANN MILL: Although only 10 miles long, the Wye has supported over 30 mills in its time. Although most have now disappeared, a notable exception is Pann Mill. There’s evidence of mills on this site dating back to the 9th century. The current mill was restored after the main building was pulled down for road widening in 1971 (www.pannmill.org.uk).

(C) BASSETSBURY MANOR: The Manor of Bassets Bury was granted by King John to Alan Basset in 1203 and comprised a manor house, a mill and a farm. It has an ancient tithe barn. The present building dates from c1746. Behind the bowls club is the still-intact Bassetsbury Mill, complete with water wheel.

(D) FUNGES MEADOW NATURE RESERVE is owned by Wycombe District Council and managed by Chiltern Rangers. It’s home to many different species of flora and fauna. The DISUSED RAILWAY was built during the 1850s and ran between High Wycombe and Maidenhead. The section to Bourne End was closed in 1970.

(E) WYE DENE has been developed on the site of an old sewage treatment works. Both the Wye and Marsh Brook flow through it and are a major feature. Look for the bubbling spring in the pooled area of Marsh Brook just on the right after the railway bridge. Sewage is now piped for processing at Little Marlow and the treated water returned into the Wye to augment its natural flow.

(F) WYCOMBE MARSH MILL once stood on what is now Wycombe Retail Park. The work of art represents the paper-making machines, and is engraved with the story of the Machine-breakers Riot of 1830.

(G) MARSH BROOK (the Back Stream) flows from the spring-fed watercourses in the grounds of Wycombe Abbey to join the main river in Boundary Park at Loudwater.

(H) THE DYKE is an artificial watercourse supplied by the spring-fed watercourses in the grounds of Wycombe Abbey and eventually becomes Marsh Brook. There are more details on the information boards.