Friday, 25 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Between Calls
I'm not supposed to be working today, but that doesn't stop team conference calls from being scheduled, and since I've only recently transferred employer, it seems sensible to join the calls even on my day off. There's still time to squeeze a couple of walks in between calls though.
Distance: 6.71 miles
Ascent: 271 metres
Duration: 1 hour 41 minutes
Walk 15: Great Hampden and Little Hampden
Trying to complete this walk before the first call meant setting out before the morning mist had fully lifted. It also meant I didn't pass a single soul on the entire circuit. That and the pressure to return to the car before the call created a sense of tension that I'd not felt before on a walk.
Distance: 6.44 miles
Ascent: 131 metres
Duration: 1 hour 46 minutes
Walk 16: Richmond Park
By the time I'd driven to Richmond Park for this second walk the day had changed completely. This is the Royal Park I know least well, so thoroughly enjoyed exploring it, passing perfectly planted flowerbeds, a herd of distinctly unimpressed deer and thickets labelled with the date of their planting. If we lived within cycling distance this would be a place to visit much more frequently.
Monday, 21 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
A Preview
Distance: 7.78 miles
Ascent: 38 metres
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Walk 9: Abingdon and Sutton Courtenay
Once we've finished the Chilterns and Thames Valley Walks we'll turn to another unfinished project. Today's walk has been a small preview of what's to come: walking alongside the River Thames.
I hope that the path is in better condition when we return though. At one point east of Abingdon, so many of the planks of the bridge across a culvert had rotted away that crossing the remaining ones required a steady balance, careful footwork and just a little courage.
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Cold Easter
Distance: 4.90 miles
Ascent: 140 metres
Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes
Walk 11: Dunstable Downs
You have to go to church on Easter Sunday. Today we did that slightly differently, with a walk that passed through Whipsnade's Tree Cathedral. This place ought to feel special but somehow never connects with me.
Saturday, 19 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
A Goring
The River Thames cuts across the Chilterns at Goring Gap.
Distance: 10.47 miles
Ascent: 287 metres
Duration: 2 hours 49 minutes
Walk 27: Lardon Chase, Moulsford and Streatley
To the west of the river the walk climbed out along ancient byways across chalk hills. Just as I descended to the river once more I didn't notice a rigid branch lying low across the path. A trickle of warm blood ran down from my forehead; I'd suffered a goring near Goring.
Distance: 6.41 miles
Ascent: 219 metres
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes
Walk 12: Goring
Goring itself is on the east side of the Gap. This shorter walk meandered through wooded slopes and across recently planted field. It should've been a lovely walk but I can't help but think everyone's staring at my rather spectacular scar.
Friday, 18 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Good Friday
Distance: 7.53 miles
Ascent: 280 metres
Duration: 2 hours 19 minutes
Walk 21: Aldbury, Ivinghoe Beacon and Ashridge
We parked our car this morning near the Bridgwater Monument on the Ashridge estate. By the time we returned to it, the peaceful estate had been transformed: it was now thronging with families determined to make the best of the bank holiday. It was the same at Ivinghoe Beacon, the most distant point of the route. But between these two places we had the rolling Chiltern Hills to ourselves in glorious sunshine.
Distance: 6.88 miles
Ascent: 119 metres
Duration: 2 hours 13 minutes
Walk 19: Northchurch and Berkhamsted Commons
A couple of miles from Ashridge, this second walk of the day crossed heathland before dropping down to a tranquil stretch alongside the Grand Union Canal.
Monday, 14 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Chequers
Distance: 8.12 miles
Ascent: 355 metres
Duration: 2 hours 17 minutes
Walk 23: Coombe Hill and Chequers
One final walk for this long weekend, and I'm once again on the fringes of privilege. Signs attached to trees on the edge of the Chequers Estate warn of CCTV and remind visitors that in just a few places on our island trespass remains a criminal rather than civil offence.
Looking down on the estate from nearby Coombe Hill, a monument in honour of the British who lost their lives in the Boer War.
Neither of these two things sit comfortably with me.
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Horses and HS2
Distance: 9.68 miles
Ascent: 235 metres
Duration: 2 hours 41 minutes
Walk 24: Chesham and Little Missenden
Shortly after starting today's walk I met a rather guilty-looking horse. On approaching me he backed against the hedge on the side of the green lane and waited for me to pass. Fully bridled-up, I was considering trying to lead him back in the direction he'd come but I didn't stand a chance of getting close enough.
Quarter of a mile later I met the reason for his demeanour. Brushing herself down was a middle-aged woman who looked more than a little angry. Slightly embarrassed at having been thrown from the horse, she was adamant that I couldn't do anything to help while she called rather plaintively in the direction from which I'd come. I wonder how long she waited for her steed to return.
About halfway round the walk the sound of shotguns filled the air, and then as I dropped into a village I started to see "Stop HS2" signs – always attached to the most expensive looking houses.
Horses, firearms and NIMBYism. There's a way of life here that is determined to resist change. I'm not sure I like that.
Saturday, 12 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Hidden Landscapes
Distance: 13.79 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 2 hours 53 minutes
Walk 22: Ibstone, Turville and Fingest
Both Emma and I were surprised by today's walk. Here, just a short distance from home we found deeply folding valleys that we had no idea existed. This landscape feels like the Dales; it's hard to believe that the M40 is just a couple of miles away.
The highlight for me was Turville Church, with its curiously double-gabled tower. I'm just a little alarmed that after living in this area for seven years we can still be discovering such beautiful places for the first time.
Friday, 11 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Out of Hibernation
Distance: 6.91 miles
Ascent: 137 metres
Duration: 1 hour 46 minutes
Walk 13: Amersham and Chalfont St Giles
Slowly the countryside is accepting that Spring has arrived. It's slowly coming out of hibernation. Bumble bees buzzed around the bluebells belligerently while dog-walkers dodged the damp valley floor.
This route from Amersham to Chalfont and back would provide a perfect Sunday afternoon stroll.
Sunday, 6 April 2014
Chilterns and Thames Valley
Along the Chiltern Escarpment
Distance: 11.54 miles
Ascent: 434 metres
Duration: 3 hours 7 minutes
Walk 28: Princes Risborough and Chinnor Hill
Today marks the start of my determined effort to complete all the walks in the Chilterns and Thames Valley Pathfinder Guide.
It's been an overcast day, but I always find that makes for fast walking, especially when the year's not yet really warmed up.
The highlight of the walk was a feature not mentioned in the book: the Bledlow Cross. The route passes so close that I couldn't stop myself hacking into the woodland to find it once more. In the three years since I previously visited it the cross has got a bit more overgrown and a little less distinct as it continues to be reclaimed by nature. I like that. This place will always be special to me.
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Personal
Hello
It took me two and a half hours to get to work today. The new office is thirty miles from home by road, but the fastest public transport route is via central London and costs six times as much as my previous bus fare.
That's not sustainable.
Starting tomorrow my desk will be in the next room from my bed. This is much more civilised. I'll miss the office environment, but working from home is a pattern that I'm used to on an informal basis; it'll be great to switch to being a contractual homeworker at last.