Bluebells in the Chilterns

Jane Rosoux reports on last Friday's circular walk in the Chilterns....

"A party of 11 of us set out from Wendover Station on another lovely day and although the bluebells had come out early this year and many were past their best Joe Garver led us through a succession of woods where the bluebells were still putting on a good display....



"And at the lunch stop at 'The White Lion', Buckland Common the picnickers enjoyed an impressive display of buttercups....





[Walk leader Joe Garver, above, in the yellow shirt, in conversation with Angela]



[Wild Garlic was in great profusion too]



[Nearing Wendover at the end of a great day]

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Princes Risborough circular

Yesterday nine of us joined June Craig for a brisk 12 mile walk around some fine Chiltern countryside.



[June is pictured above, extreme right.]

Despite a profusion of signposts June led us unerringly through fields and beech woods.





In the beech hangers wild garlic and native bluebells still carpeted the ground.



The lunchtime pub had a most unusual water feature in the duckpond...



Everyone had an enjoyable day. Well, almost everyone-



We got back to the station 5 minutes before our train. Sadly it wasn't the one we saw earlier in the afternoon, but you can't win 'em all....



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Amersham Circular via Little Missenden

Today's walk was led by Robin Midwinter, and took a seven mile circular route through the Misbourne Hills of the Chilterns.

Rail replacement buses covered the missing link from Rickmansworth to Amersham on the Metropolitan Line. Work on the lines has been an all too frequent irritation for Hampstead and all the other London Rambler's Groups over the last few months.. Nevertheless there were 12 walkers to join Robin, although one was unwell and stopped after a short distance.

The day started overcast...



But the skies soon cleared to give some good views...



The poppies were worthy of an impressionist painter...



Even in the relatively popular walking area of the Chilterns a group can still find "the road less travelled"....



Some scenes had an almost Japanese beauty...



Animals featured strongly. Most of the group had excellent views of a group of three Red Kites in the afternoon. One day I will stop getting so excited when I see them that I will capture one in a photo.

Our lunch stop was at the Red Lion in Little Missenden. There aren't many other pubs with a pond in the beer garden. I was tucking into a very nice hot sausage sandwich and a bowl of excellent chips when I felt a strong nudge on my lower leg...

I looked under the table to see Mr Daffy watching my sarnie...



We also had a narrow escape from a particularly vicious-looking dog...



At the end of an enjoyable day some of the party stopped off at the Amersham church fete, while the rest of us paused to enjoy one last view before heading through the woods for the bus to start our journey home. Robin Midwinter is second from the right...



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Spring Bluebells around Wendover

A stomach bug flattened me over the weekend, so on Sunday I missed one of the walks I had been looking forward to for months, Joe Garver leading a circular walk around Bluebell woods in the Chilterns.


Luckily Jane Rosoux went on the walk with her trusty camera. She wasn't alone, there were 48 other ramblers, led by the ever-popular Joe Garver. Joe lives in Wendover, and knows the area like the back of his hand.


This photo was taken early on in the walk. Joe is centre right, in the checked shirt.

With this many walkers, it is always sensible to appoint a backmarker. Joe had arranged for Peter, pictured below, to do the job on Sunday.


Have staff, will backmark!

At the beginning of the walk there were some very cute black (well, dark brown) sheep



But the real stars of the show were, of course, the Bluebell Woods, as these photos show...









The weather was perfect, dry warm and sunny



You can see why a backmarker is needed to keep an eye on the stragglers!



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Blind Ramblers, Breaking News...

I have just received a dispatch from our Walk Leader yesterday, Michael Way. I reproduce it in full below.

"Engineering works did their damnedest but 18 of us took part in the annual Hampstead Group walk with the London Blind Ramblers Club. A six-mile circular from Chorleywood with the usual memorable stop at the church and The Cock pub at Church end near Sarratt Bottom. We were 18 in all.



"We averaged an excellent 2.3 miles per hour and there was only one incident when one of the sighted members of the Blind group, Robbie, missed the train back at Chorleywood while he went outside for a cigarette.



"Thanks to Dave and Valerie Clark of the Blind Ramblers for setting it up, as usual, and a lovely speech of thanks at the end from Lea.



"Next year: Last Sunday in March (unless it's East - we'll check) from Kings Langley - Engineering works do your damnedest.



"Michael Way"

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It's Speen a Long Day!

The first of March started grey as we commenced a walk that was to take us in a rough figure-of-eight through the Chiltern Hills, starting and finishing at Great Missenden.



The walk was led by Jerry O'Connor, left.

We were able to get some lovely views of Red Kites (the Bird!), though yet again my camera finger was not fast enough to capture one.

Badger trails were evident, and so well defined they have been fooling people into following them...



Badgers are obviously encouraged in this area. We spotted this carefully made Badger-gate in a wire fence next to a sett...



This boggy area was an exception, and conditions underfoot were good.


(Photo: Jane Rosoux, with thanks)

The Chiltern Hills in all their glory...



We were eight in total, six Hampstead Ramblers, Joyce from Croydon and Bill from the Aylesbury group. Our combined experience still didn't prevent us from going "Off Route"...



Lots of Trees, No Path...

We actually ended up off the map at one point (But don't tell anyone).



(Left to Right, Joyce,Bill, Jerry and Jane.)

Lunch was taken in the beer garden of the Pink and Lily Pub in Parslow's Hillock.



According to locals, the pub name has nothing to do with flowers. Many years ago Mr Pink was a butler at nearby Hampden House. Lily was a chambermaid there. After Lily fell pregnant out of wedlock they were dismissed from the big house and opened a pub to earn a living. The pub flourished , and they lived happy ever after! The person pictured on the sign isn't Mr Pink though. It is Rupert Brooke, first world war poet, who used to frequent the pub. There is a Rupert Brooke snug inside.

We went through the village of Speen a couple of times.
Some of the old Chiltern crafts were celebrated on the village crest in Speen...





And some crafts were still being kept alive...

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The sun came out in the afternoon, and in total we managed 17 miles, (including diversions!).

In Rare Bird Corner, we had a sighting of the Lesser Spotted Plastic Heron. Unlike the Red Kites at least it stayed still long enough to photograph!

Snowy Sarratt

Below freezing temperatures ensured that the few hardy souls who got to Chorleywood this Saturday had a snowy welcome.



If you go through Chorleywood, make sure you have enough time to pause and enjoy the free art-gallery - they have a splendid collection of London Transport posters and cards in the underpasses...



Mind you, the fares have gone up a little....



There was no shortage of footpaths in this part of the Chilterns



Jane, Hampstead's Walks Organiser, took the next couple of images;



There was a Christmassy feel to the woods.



This weathervane atop the Pavilion at Chorleywood Cricket Club prophesied England's fate in the West Indies later in the day...



This was a moderately paced walk. A lunch stop at the Boot Public House in Sarratt provided a welcoming open fire, and Cheesey Chips for added energy.



Left to Right, Joyce (who joined us from the Richmond Group), our Walk Leader, the aptly-named Robin Midwinter, Jane, yours truly, and my wife Angela.

This group photo by Jane gives an idea of the territory we covered in our eight mile walk through the Chess valley.



"Undulating Terrain" is how we describe it in our walk guide.