Princes Risborough to Wendover walk

Princes Risborough to Wendover

Distance: 7.8 miles.
Time without long breaks: Apx 4 hours (add time for pub break).

Terrain: There are a few fairly steep climbs, particularly up Brush Hill.
How to get there and back: Train to Princes Risborough, return from Wendover (they are on different lines, so you may need to buy two single tickets).
Pub breaks: There is only one pub actually on this route – the Plough at Cadsden, about three miles in. At the end of the walk, the Shoulder of Mutton is next to the approach to Wendover station.
More information: The route mostly follows the Ridgeway long-distance footpath, a National Trail which is well-signposted throughout, making it difficult to get lost even in the wooded sections.

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Taking in some of the best parts of the Chiltern Hills, this easy-to-navigate walk offers commanding views of the surrounding countryside. It includes a visit to the White Cross chalk hill carving, several nature reserves and the striking Coombe Hill monument. You also cut across the grounds of Chequers, the official country residence of the Prime Minister (see panel below). Nearby, there is a great farm shop. There is also a very good pub conveniently situated for a mid-walk break.

Turn left when exiting the station and walk up the approach road, following it around to the right into Station Road. Turn right and follow the road round as it bends to the left until you reach the junction with Poppy Road. Turn right down this residential street, which merges with Wycombe Road. After 200m along this main road, look out for Upper Icknield Way, a small lane coming off on the left. The path here is actually part of two ancient trackways – the Icknield Way and the Ridgeway (see panel for walk 9). Keep along the track as it goes past houses and passes the entrance to a school. When it emerges at a road, cross over and continue.

Proceed up a grassy track with some great views behind you to reach a toposcope pointing out the surrounding landmarks. Just behind this there is a bench – a good place to have a rest if you need it after the climb. Continue along the path past the bench and into the woods, going through a swing gate. Follow the path, which leads to another swing gate and a track that heads down to a lane. Turn right, and then after a few meters take a track on the left by the edge of a car park. Turn left and then right, following the waymarkers for the Ridgeway. The track bears round to the left. Go through a wooden gate to reach Whiteleaf Hill.

With the cross behind you, follow the sign for the Ridgeway, heading into trees via a swing gate by an info board. The track runs downhill through woods (the area to the right has the rather gruesome name of The Hangings). Ignore any turnings off. After about half a mile you go through a gate to reach the Plough Inn – a great place for a refreshment break, although its claim to be 'the most famous pub in England' due to its proximity to Chequers may be pushing it! On leaving the pub, turn left and walk up to the road until the pavement ends. Go through the wooden railings opposite, turn left and walk a few metres parallel to the road, then take a right by the sign, back on to the Ridgeway.

The path bears left, with bushes and trees on your left, before dipping down through a field towards a wooded area. Follow the track as it runs alongside a fence, ignoring the wooden gate on the left. It heads slightly uphill towards a gate. Go through the gate and follow the sign in the direction of the Ridgeway, crossing the field. You will come to another gate. Turn right along the track, with trees on your right and the grounds of Chequers on your left. The mansion has served as the country home for incumbent Prime Ministers since 1921 (see panel). You can see the house from here. There are signs warning you that to trespass beyond the fence is a criminal offence.

Just before you reach the road, turn right for the Ridgeway, taking the path on the right as indicated by the post. Carry on along the track with a field to your right (or take the parallel 'alternative footpath'). The track starts to ascend. At the sign, ignore the bridleway that crosses your path but carry on ahead into the woods. A bit further on, look out for a three-fingered post and take a left to continue along the Ridgeway (the other footpath carries on straight ahead). Aim for the right-hand fork, which soon becomes a clear wide track. Keep on the Ridgeway following the signs and ignoring any turnings off. The track bears left and then runs alongside some wooden railings on your left and a field on your right before emerging at a lane alongside a driveway.

On leaving the monument, rather than taking the white track take the grassy path that runs below it. This becomes a chalk path that leads into trees via a small gate. Carry on straight ahead, following the sign for the Ridgeway, before entering Bacombe Hill nature reserve. Continue along the escarpment via a swing gate. The path starts to descend, eventually reaching some steps to the right of an old quarry pit. You emerge via a metal gate at Ellesborough Road on the edge of Wendover. Turn right along the road, which crosses over the A413. Shortly after, you will see the Shoulder of Mutton pub. Turn left just before you reach the pub for the approach road to Wendover station.

After a further 400m, opposite some football pitches, turn off right, following the sign for the Ridgeway. When you enter the field, to the left, above the houses in the distance, you should be able to see the White Cross chalk hill carving, which you will be visiting later. The path runs uphill along the edge of the field before entering a wooded area via some steps. This is Brush Hill nature reserve. When you reach an information board, carry on up the steps. It's quite a steep climb here, but there are a couple of handily placed benches. Enter the field near the top via a gate and take the steps ahead into grassland grazed by Herdwick sheep.

Immediately ahead of you is a neolithic round barrow (there is another one further along), with a path running over it. On the other side of the railings beyond is Whiteleaf Cross, a chalk hill carving on the steep escarpment consisting of a large white cross on a triangular base. It is of unknown date and origin but was first recorded as an antiquity in 1742. The cross has been depicted in various artworks, including paintings by Paul Nash. You can scramble down to stand within the cross itself. There are sweeping views from here across the Vale of Aylesbury and the Wessex Downs.

Go through a swing gate to reach the scrub and grasslands of Grangelands nature reserve, an old rifle range which is home to silver skipper butterflies, green woodpeckers and various orchids. Aim for the gate ahead and then cross over the bridleway. Up on the hill to your right in the trees is the site of Pulpit Hill iron age fort. The track runs along bushes and then past a coombe before ascending via some steps to a wooden gate with views behind. Take the steps beyond the gate to reach a track. Turn right here and then, after a few meters, turn left off the track, a public by-way, at the sign to follow the Ridgeway via an iron gate.

The path bears right through trees and then turns left via a gate. Follow the track across the field towards the lodge gates. It crosses the driveway, where you will see a mass of surveillance cameras. Continue over the next field, with the house itself visible through the trees, until you reach a gate. This comes out at a bend in a road. Cross over here, taking care to watch out for fast traffic, to reach the drive to Buckmoorend Farm Shop. The shop has a great selection of local cheese and meat delicacies – and has pictures on the walls of visits from various serving PMs. After leaving the shop, head back up the track towards the road.

Turn right up the lane and after about 100m, opposite a house, take a left, following the sign for the Ridgeway. Follow the track through the woods keeping the field to your right. The path leads to a metal swing gate. Go through this, turn left and the follow the track around to the right to reach the Coombe Hill escarpment. Walk along the ridge, looking out for red kites, which were reintroduced to this country near this area (see the panel for walk 16). There are a number of benches along here if you want to take a rest and take in the far-reaching views of the countryside below. The path leads to the Coombe Hill monument, a prominent memorial to soldiers who died during the Boer War.

An unusual feature of this walk is that part of it passes inside the grounds of Chequers, crossing the driveway inside the lodge gates. As the prime minister’s private country residence, it's surprising the footpath hasn’t been diverted. There is nothing to stop you walking right up to the house (apart from the notices and the CCTV, of course – we felt our every move was being closely monitored). Guests here have included many US presidents, including Eisenhower, Nixon, Clinton and Trump. When A Trip Out first walked the route, Barak Obama was in the UK and we briefly wondered if we might encounter him donning wellies on a stroll of the grounds. The mansion was bequeathed to the nation in the 1920s as ‘a place of rest and recreation for... prime ministers for ever’, at a time when it was becoming apparent that premiers may no longer own country estates large enough to host important dignitaries. Dating from the 16th century, the house is set in 1,500 acres. Among its treasures are Admiral Nelson’s diary and a collection of Olver Cromwell memorabilia.

David Lloyd George was the first PM to stay here, while in the Second World War Winston Churchill used the house to broadcast to the nation. In the 1980s, the Thatchers made it their home-from-home, with Margaret’s wife Denis saying that he preferred the Chequers chef’s offerings to ‘the beans on toast you get at No. 10’ and commenting that ‘Chequers is why you get the job’. David Cameron also felt perfectly at home and often wore jeans while in residence, leading one commentator to remark that ‘he looked like he had lived there all his life’. Gordon Brown was one PM, though, who didn’t feel comfortable at the stately manor and rarely stayed, partly because he wanted to distance himself from his more showy predecessor Tony Blair. During his 2019 election campaign, Jeremy Corbyn went a step further and vowed that if he became prime minister he would give the house to the homeless. Needless to say, Boris Johnson didn't follow suit. KB

Full-day country walks in SE England and beyond

Princes Risborough to Wendover

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Full-day country walks in
SE England and beyond