Straight out of Waddesdon north, and the first village is Quainton. Never has a village been better named. It is famous for the pretty cottages along the green, which looks its best in the sunny weather in which I began. At the top of the village is a working windmill. However I could not tarry. Much.
(Quainton Road,, incidentally, used to be a station built for private purposes and linked to the ‘Brill Tramway’. It is now a rather good heritage railway centre. It is not on the actual route though.)
Still due north, by Quainton Hill, where the landscape is shaped by earthworks – possibly clay mining or similar. On the next hill the path disappears completely, and can only be followed with a compass and keen map work, to emerge at the right gate.
There are few villages on this stretch, and the recently harvested landscape serves very well as a charm. The few villages could be very pretty, which made me wonder why had never explored this part of Buckinghamshire before.
On and over and eventually to a hamlet at what was a railway station, Verney Junction, which was once the terminus of the Metropolitan Rail – the Met Line. Here there are several red warning signs against trespassing; but there is no track. Maybe one day it will be unbeeched, but for now it looks very odd.
After Addington (dominated by an equestrian concern) the path runs along with the Midshires Way, and in company they reach Great Horwood.
Here there is a pub with a large sign saying ‘Swann Inn’; so I did. It did well for lunch.
Project page
Maps
- Ordnance Survey Explorer 160 (Windsor, Weybridge & Bracknell)
- Ordnance Survey Explorer 172 (Chiltern Hills East)
- Ordnance Survey Explorer 181 (Chiltern Hills North)
- Ordnance Survey Explorer 192 (Buckingham and Milton Keynes)
- Ordnance Survey Explorer 207 (Newport Pagnell & Northampton South