The North Chiltern Trail

Saturday 19th September 2020

With good weather continuing in September I wanted to go for another walk, but not in the Peak District where I have walked many times this year and away from the crowds, so I decided to head south to an area that I first visited in 2017 and have returned many times since, to the Chiltern Hills. I’d noticed that there is an area of the Chilterns AONB that is disjointed from the rest, on the far side of Luton, not far from the M1 motorway, which would make access convenient for me. I’d never been there before so I thought I’d explore the north Chilterns making use of an extension to the Chiltern Way called the North Chiltern Trail that passes through the area. The total length of the North Chiltern Trail is forty-two miles, which is too much for one day, however, it splits easily into two halves with the northern half staying inside the Chilterns. Driving down the M1 I parked at the car park for Sharpenhoe Clappers setting off through the woods and soon had extensive views to the north from the top of the chalk escarpment before climbing to the remains of an Iron Age hillfort amongst an impressive beech wood where a war memorial dedicates the area to the National Trust. Plunging steeply down the escarpment I came into the small village of Sharpenhoe following signs for the North Chiltern Trail under clear blue skies though with a brisk wind. This was great weather to be walking in so I happily set off along the trail briefly leaving the Chilterns AONB to head across farmland and the A6 to reach the large village of Barton-le-Clay.

After a short walk through the village I was back in the Chilterns climbing the steep escarpment of the Barton Hills National Nature Reserve. There were stunning views to the north as I climbed the fabulous chalk slopes beside gorgeous wild flowers in what is simply a great place to walk and reminded me of why I love the Chilterns. The ground was rock-hard, which made walking very easy as I slowly climbed to the top of the hill and followed the edge of the escarpment looking out to the extensive views until, all-too-soon, I turned south and headed through relatively dull terrain past many fields until I reached the Icknield Way. This is an ancient trackway that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire and further south is called the Ridgeway, which I walked on my first visits to the Chilterns. I was already by this point becoming concerned about the length of the walk having already taken several hours and only being about a quarter of the way round so I considered turning right, but this would have shortened the walk far too drastically, so I turned left and headed east along the Icknield Way.

Eventually I came off at the Pegsdon Hills Nature Reserve where more chalk downs with the same extensive views north grabbed my attention as I slowly descended once more past meadows ablaze with wild flowers even though it’s not the best time of year. At the bottom I didn’t have to wait long before I was climbing the escarpment again, this time to reach Knocking Hoe National Nature Reserve after which I finally said goodbye to the extensive, northern views and turned south. The walking now deteriorated as nothing could compare with the northern escarpment though there were many wild flowers to see, but not as many as if I’d been walking earlier in the year with the impending autumn season acting against me. A field of sunflowers attempted to lighten my mood as I kept following the North Chiltern Trail and despite my earlier misgivings I seemed to be making good progress. Passing beside many, many fields I slowly made my way along the trail past Wellbury House until I came to the point where the North Chiltern Trail turns left towards Great Offley and I maintained a straight course soon returning to the North Chiltern Way after it has made its more than twenty mile diversion south.

I was now also on the original Chiltern Way as it makes its swing around Luton, but the terrain still didn’t improve until I came near Warden Hill where I had views across the large town of Luton at the top of another chalk escarpment and here I turned north following the edge through an abundance of lush vegetation and stunning views. Passing through the Nature Reserve I made my way to Galley Hill and down to cross the Icknield Way slowly heading to the village of Streatley, which is just a short distance from Sharpenhoe Clappers where I had parked, but I had still one final treat to come. North of the village I came across the northern escarpment again, but frustratingly trees now blocked my view down into, first, Cow Hole, and then the much large and deeper, Watergutter Hole. I had to be content with walking around the top before the view north finally opened out on the far side of Smithcombe Hill before I turned away from the views and over the hill to the car park where I had started. This was a very long walk of over twenty miles, but most of the walking had been on the flat so I had been able to maintain a brisk pace throughout almost the whole walk so it was completed in just seven hours and despite sometimes passing through dreary farmland was enlightened thanks to the extensive views from the Chiltern escarpment in fabulous weather.

Bretton Clough and the Great Ridge

Saturday 12th September 2020

I have done a lot of walking in the Peak District this year as it is the nearest National Park to me where I can easily do a day walk without the problems inherent at the moment with accommodation. There are now not many places left there that I think are worth walking that I’ve not been this year, but while I was pondering on this I remembered the walk that I did a month before up Win Hill where there are views across the valley to Lose Hill and the Great Ridge between Edale and Castleton. This was definitely not a place to miss and to make the walk a bit more interesting I thought I’d also try to explore some of Bretton Clough, which is a secluded valley that I had glimpsed for the first time on that previous walk. Parking on Sir William Hill Road between Grindleford and Bretton I immediately set off across the heather covered Eyam Moor under fabulous blue skies while at this early hour a cold wind was blowing. Before the path starting to descend, and with the views opening out across the Derwent Valley, I came off the main path along a shallow ridge past something that is marked on the map as Rock Basin. The faint path I was on follows the ridge to the trig point that marks the highest point on Sir William Hill, but since that is beside the road I turned off to descend the hillside and was soon veering left again to take another path that was also heading in the wrong direction.

To get to Bretton Clough I needed to take a convoluted route across the hillside that eventually paid off as I descended into the valley through terrain that had steepened with banks covered in lush vegetation and was handsomely rewarded when I reached a side stream within a delightfully dark, wooded ravine. Leaving these tranquil surroundings I followed the fabulous path that skirts the side of Bretton Clough through dense woodland that frustratingly doesn’t descend to the bottom of the valley until I reached the junction between Bretton Brook and Abney Brook at Stoke Ford. There I took a path heads up Abney Clough through awesome, wild woodland scenery sticking closer to the valley bottom than in Bretton Clough until eventually I climbed out of the valley into the village of Abney. Ahead of me was the broad, featureless hill of Abney Moor that I had climbed on the walk a month before and had not enjoyed, so now I took the quickest route over on a road that was decorated with harebells and yarrow before passing over the saddle and descending along Brough Lane. Ahead of me I now had views of Win Hill and Lose Hill, but the sunny weather that had started the day was now gone with a generous amount of cloud cover.

When I reached the village of Brough I followed a path that skirts an active quarry to reach the village of Hope where I set off on the path that heads up Lose Hill and was packed with people, and the crowds would only get worse. This is a very popular route and the path was never in doubt with a blazed trail through the fields all the way up the hill that I don’t think I have ever seen so popular. Slowly I climbed Lose Hill until eventually I reached the top where I sat with views across the valley to Win Hill and had my lunch sheltered from the brisk wind. After eating I set off along the path at the top of the Great Ridge passing so many people on the path so that it was very difficult to maintain social distancing, but this is a fabulous ridge with gorgeous, solid rock under foot and stunning views across Edale towards Kinder Scout and along the ridge to Mam Tor. The sun finally came out again while I was on the ridge so now I had great views back to Lose Hill as I made my way along the path descending steeply from Back Tor and passed Hollins Cross to climb up to the top of Mam Tor.

From the busy summit I headed steeply down the hill keeping away from the flagstoned path that was packed with people and kept going downhill to a road taking the path opposite to pass Windy Knoll and over a second road along a track that maintained the direction on a similar route to that I had taken in 2017 to reach Mam Tor. My interesting walk was now over, but at least I was leaving the crowds behind as I passed over Bradwell Moor and after several dull miles eventually came out onto a road not far from the point where I had spent the weekend for the walk in 2017. Turning left my long, wearying walk continued that took me all the way back to my car passing through the villages of Little Hucklow and Great Hucklow. Most of it was on a road with the only exceptions being a stony byway that climbs into Great Hucklow and on another byway above Great Hucklow through beautiful woodland below Hucklow Edge. Joining the route that I had taken a month before I passed through Bretton and over the top of Sir William Hill until, after many weary miles since leaving Mam Tor, I finally reached my car.

This was an exhilarating walk, but was very hard on my legs with some really steep ascents that really tested my stamina and strength over almost twenty miles of brisk walking. Despite the crowds, the Great Ridge was really fun and I enjoyed what I saw of Bretton Clough, but I was frustrated at not being able to get deeper into the valley, so I will have to make a return visit to explore deeper into this overgrown delight. Though the long walk back to my car lacked interest the weather was really good in the afternoon with barely a cloud in the sky, which made up for the walk as it was just a pleasure to be stretching my legs walking in the countryside in such weather. I may have been to the Peak District many times since I was a child, but it is still a fabulous place to walk.