The Ridgeway: Princes Risborough

Saturday 1st July 2017

After a break of two months I returned to Buckinghamshire to resume my trek along the Ridgeway National Trail starting from the pretty little town of Princes Risborough. Before setting off I realised that I had forgotten to bring a hat, which was rather annoying, so annoying in fact that I tried to buy one, but I couldn’t find one anywhere in Princes Risborough. Fortunately it was mostly cloudy for a great part of the day so I didn’t suffer too much from it. Heading out of the town I started climbing up to the Ridgeway and turned left to set off along the trail once more. The climbing continued through woodland until I reached the top of Kop Hill where wildflowers covered the slopes in a profusion of colour that rivals the woodland flowers that had delighted me a couple of months before. Now, the woodland was dark and monochromatic while the meadows had come into their own providing more than enough spectacle to compensate. Following the edge of the escarpment I came to a viewpoint at the top of Whiteleaf Hill before turning right and slowly descending through the dark woodland of Giles Wood until I reached the Grangelands and Pulpit Hill Nature Reserve.

This was another fabulous area for wildflowers and I was spellbound by the great variety and display that lay before me covering the slopes of the reserve. I have a lot of affection for spotted-orchids that was gained through long acquaintance in the Scottish Highlands, so it was a joy to find them here also in plentiful numbers. I was enthralled by the spectacular kaleidoscope of colours that covered the floor of these meadows so I was disappointed that afterwards I never saw anything matching this display at any point during the rest of the walk. After going around Pulpit Hill a large house came into view. This was Chequers, the official country residence of the Prime Minister, and beyond that I could see the monument at the top of Coombe Hill that was the furthest east I come on the Ridgeway two months before. I had to go around Chequers, past the warning notices, before I could start climbing through woodland to reach Coombe Hill once again where I found loads of people milling around the monument to the South African War. Since I had been there a couple of months before I didn’t stop and was soon heading off into the woods that are to the east of the hill.

These are the woods that I had passed through on my way to Coombe Hill before, while looking for bluebells and got lost. I had no such problem now as I headed in a straight line through the woodland all the way to the hamlet of Dunsmore where I picked up the route of the Icknield Way Trail later parting company with that trail to join the Chiltern Way. My plan for doing the Ridgeway was to create circular walks along the length of the trail utilising other walks that run parallel to the Ridgeway. So far the Chiltern Way was my most popular alternative trail and I followed this through field and wood, enjoying the woodland but with no interest in the monoculture fields and unfortunately eventually it was the fields that become the norm. Briefly I enjoyed a spectacular wildflower meadow beside Saunderton railway tunnel, but by this point I had already decided to come off the Chiltern Way. When I reached the next road I came off the trail and, coincidentally, back onto the Icknield Way Trail slowly gaining height as I walked along the road towards the woods of Bledlow Cross.

On the edge of the woodland I came across the Ridgeway once more, as planned, and turned sharp left to head south-east through farmland back on the trail heading towards the point where I had joined it, just outside Princes Risborough. Apart from a brief excursion over Lodge Hill this section of the Ridgeway was not particularly interesting and ended with a long stretch of road walking before joining the track that runs above Princes Risborough. The first bit of this walk was fabulous as I passed through dark woodland and colourful wildflower meadows, but by lunchtime the woods had been left behind and wildflowers became an infrequent sight as I crossed the valley that has Princes Risborough at its foot. It is a pity that this walk seemed to deteriorate as the day progressed, but most of this section of the Ridgeway was fantastic and had me eager to return to continue my journey along the national trail.