8 miles of sometimes hilly but lovely scenery around Wendover Woods and beyond. An opportunity for an 'almost there' stop in the Cafe in the Woods or walk to the end for pubs, cafes and of course Costa Coffee.
Train station is just up the road and is Bus Friendly, with both the frequent 50 and the less frequent 55, stopping at The Clock Tower, where our walk starts**. Allow 2-3 hours to take in this relatively easy to follow route but sometimes the paths can be indistinct so an OS map is highly recommended as is suitable clothing and good walking boots especially if its likely to be muddy. Walking poles will assist up the hilly sections and some slippery down-hills. Leaving the Clock Tower and walk up the Tring Road keeping to the right hand path. Passing the bus shelter go up into the housing estate and turn up Colet Road and then 1st left along Barlow Road that becomes a small FP signed lane called Beechwood Land. Follow this up and take the FP with nice new railings until it meets with one of the many Wendover Woods trails. Turn left along the bottom of the woods that is shared with joggers, walkers and sometimes, bikes & horses! This way-marked track basically keeps to the right of several housing developments and then RAF Halton before climbing away and up into the woods-proper. Its best to remember to just keep to the straight ahead trail, don't go left or right but wend your way along for some way until rounding a corner a FP sign and worn steps ascend steeply to the right. Take this path and climb continuously through the trees crossing other paths, tracks and small lanes until eventually meeting a style at the top. Go over and take the clear path across the field ( sometimes with cattle) passing and greeting a Trig Point before another style and out onto a road. Left here and keep on the verge to stay safe. Almost immediately cross the other side and take the footpath alongside the Aston Hill trail bike course. Follow the FP besides the occasional biker that use their own trail before descending through the lovely beech-woods. A view here to the left will allow you to see across the vale towards Ivinghoe Beacon, Mentmore Towers and even the MK Snow-dome.....on a very clear day of course! The footpath ends at Dancers End lane where you take a right along it for 100 yards before going left on the next marked FP. Follow this path out into the fields for a little way until a larger marked path crosses. Take this path right and walk down towards meeting another small lane, crossing over and taking the lane marked towards 'Hanghill' pondering as to where it got its name from? After a few yards look for a FP on the right into a field with a 'Welcome to our Farm' and please keep to the footpaths. Walk on to the end of the field then through bushes and follow it round to the left as far a way marked sign that points left....but don't, go right as the sign is only on the back of the post, visible only, if you are coming from the other direction. Watch out for rabbit holes along the few hundred towards a house. Go through a farm gate and left up a small lane and take the 1st FP right, passing by a nice house with tennis court at the end of their garden. The path takes a diagonal across a field to a post but it may be prudent if the field is muddy to ad a few yards and to walk around the outside. Reaching the post, turn left walking up the field edge for a few hundred yards admiring the views back down the valley. At the top and by an unmarked post, do not follow the FP left but go through the trees straight on, to find another way mark and farmers track. Turn right passing a house and cross the lane ahead taking the footpath up into a signed 'Nature Reserve'. Here the path goes straight ahead and carries on basically straight, right through the woods on a sometimes quite indistinct path that crosses other rights-of-way several times before you plop-out into a field. Time again to admire the view and look towards the mast that sits beside the Ridgeway on the edge of Wendover Woods. Cross the 2 fields and join the quite busy road, turning left and keeping to the left side verge for safety. After just a hundred yards or so, a FP sign on the right is our way off the road. The path runs diagonally across the field heading for the woods. Just inside the woods there is choice. Take the left fork and wend your way through the woods on another sometimes indistinct path. Ducking branches and weaving around fallen trees you will reach another choice. Go straight on here following the white arrow on the tree. Making a mistake here just takes you to the Wendover woods 'exit' road which our path joins with later on. Back on our path it was nor clearly marked or visible all the way but muddy puddle sections showed we were going where others have already been! If you are 'temporarily unsure of your position' (lost). the exit road is never far away to your left. On reaching the road, marked by a wooden fence, turn right towards the car-parks. Keep left along the road or simply to the left of the Cafe in the Woods unless you are stopping off here for a welcome break. 
Stay on the exit road (or come back onto it) for a little way, looking out for a way-marked 'Firecrest Trail'. Take this trail under zip-wires and other scary-tree things used by Go Ape! The trail winds through the woods adjacent to the main track used by cars until it starts to descend just after a clearing with a notice not to BBQ. Look out for a path off of the trail to the right that runs for just a few yards and joins one of the several shared tracks that encircle the woods. Don't take the left fork that continues to descend but take the right fork with views across the valley thanks to a recently cleared wooded area. Continue on this broad and made up track ignoring tracks to the right, until reaching the road through a gate, Hale Lane. Turn right and walk down the lane towards Wendover in the distance. Right again at the T junction then look for a bridle path on the left signed to the station, avoiding the 1st footpath sign. Go down to the chalk stream, turn right and follow the Ridgeway for a few hundred yards back to the Clock Tower.
* *Check bus timetables as with most rural services there are limited or no service in the evening or Sundays. Bus 50 & 55 are from Aylesbury. Bus 55 from Chesham & Amersham. Wendover station has an excellent service every day from London and is only 5mins from the start