Pishill to Henley (Oxfordshire Way 10)

Pishill church

At last: the final leg of the Oxfordshire Way - from Pishill to Henley. We met Merv and Pud at Pishill and walked up a lane to find the oddly L-shaped church. Pevsner explains that it was rebuilt in 1854, replacing a plain Norman church, but does not comment on the very strange shape. It feels as though the new church was built at right angles to the old one. Inside there is some very pleasing Victorian stained glass and a single, very striking, window of 1967 by John Piper of the Sword and Gospel.

There was soon a lovely view over the valley which leads down to Henley from Stonor through Middle Assendon. The weather prospects were obviously not great.

Now through the very pleasant Doyley Wood, past the hamlet of Maidensgrove and the Warburg nature reserve - all this mostly in rain - to emerge overlooking Bix Bottom.

We followed the track down to the bottom and then onwards to Middle Assendon, across the B480 and up a steady climb on the other side of the valley. On the way up we saw a lone Speckled Wood and at the top a Small Heath took flight from the long meadow grass, but soon disappeared as it began to rain again. But then we were cheered by the sight of a lark ascending in a welter of song.

We now passed Henley Park, a house so undistinguished that I did not think to take a picture. Fortunately, Wikipedia has one. It was the Dower House of nearby Fawley Court. It is only worth mentioning because very soon you enter the lovely and quite large deer park which descends gently to the very edge of the town. More rain prevented a picture of this.

Once at the edge of Henley we diverted to the ironically named Dry Leas car park where we had left the car to change out of our boots. We delighted to spot on our way back towards the town a pair of lodges, one either side of Marlow Road. Pevsner dates them to 1780. This one is called the Toll House, but Pevsner's description makes me wonder if that was its real origin.

We walked a little further and turned left into New St, with on the right, the Barnaby Almshouses, the speculatively named Anne Boleyn's Cottage and the former Brakspear's brewery. This and the rest of the town is more fully described in a walk around Henley I did a year ago.

At the end of New St you reach the river, where preparations for the Regatta, which starts on 3 July, are well advanced. We were enchanted by this Coot which seemed to be making a nest on a jetty, with the marquees of the Regatta behind. We wished her well, but without much optimism.

Now along the riverside to the bridge (rebuilt in 1786), usually photographed from the other side.

We had lunch at the excellent Angel on the Bridge and I was pleased to get one photograph with some blue in the sky: it is St Mary's church with its "cheerful late Gothic exterior" (Pevsner).

Conditions: reasonably warm, but quite wet.

Distance:  7 miles. Distance now covered: the full 68.25 miles.

Maps: Explorer 171 (Chiltern Hills West)

Rating: four stars.

Hampstead

Church Row

We had a free afternoon to fill in London before going to see La Bohème in the evening, so we naturally thought of doing another city walk from the excellent London's hidden walks vol 1 by Stephen Millar (Metro Publications). We decided on Hampstead, an area neither of us had veer visited.

You leave Hampstead tube station to soon reach Church Row, one of the best preserved Georgian streets in London.  At the end of this terrace is the 1745 church of St John-at-Hampstead. We liked the circular window ingeniously fitted inside the clock (or maybe the other way round).

We now walked up Holly Walk to pass the rather continental-looking Catholic church of St Mary, which dates from 1816. It was built for French émigrés at a time when a new Catholic church would have been a great rarity.

At the top of nearby Holly Hill there is Fenton House, set back behind impressive gates.

This is one of the oldest houses in Hampstead. It was once the home of a successful Baltic merchant and is now run by the National Trust. It has a fine garden.

You now walk around the side of Fenton House and up Hampstead Grove. Both a large street sign and our walk book directed us to Admiral's House, built by an eccentric naval lieutenant in 1700. It seems to get its name from a character in Mary Poppins who was based on the lieutenant. Like so many buildings  mentioned in the walk description, it owes its interest to who lived there (the eminent architect Sir G Gilbert Scott). I found that quite surprising, since it is an exceptionally ugly house.

We passed Hampstead Observatory, not unfortunately a miniature Greenwich, but merely some recording instruments on a small hill to reach Whitestone Pond. At 136m it is one of the highest points in London and was the location of one of the chain of beacons which gave news of the Spanish Armada. The flagpole marks the spot.

We passed the famous Jack Straw's castle pub (or rather, an ugly modern rebuilding of a famous old pub) to enter the Heath and discover a real hidden delight: the Pergola and Hill Garden, built by Lord Leverhulme behind his own massive house, The Hill. Leverhulme was also responsible for Port Sunlight, where we had a very interesting walk a few years ago.

You enter at one end of the Pergola and are immediately taken by its charm, quiet and spaciousness.

Its great scale gradually becomes apparent and it is only at the end that you can look back and fully appreciate how it was constructed.

We now walked through some woodland to emerge by another famous old pub, The Old Bull and Bush, which I had always imagined was in the East End.

Walking around the edge of the Heath brings you to Wildwood Terrace, where Nikolaus Pevsner lived for nearly 50 years. I am normally rather sniffy about houses with Blue Plaques, but Pevsner is a hero of mine and his Buildings of England series remains an essential resource.

Almost next door is the 17th century Wyldes Farm, a remarkably rural-looking building to find in a London suburb.

We emerged near Kenwood House, a grand 18th century house now owned by English Heritage, which is home to Vermeer's Guitar Player. Then along Spaniards Road and across the Heath to find ourselves in the wonderfully named Vale of Health.

We walked along this and crossed the busy East Heath Road to pass Cannon Hall (1730, once a Magistrates Court) and walk down Cannon Lane. Here there is the Old Lock Up, used for a hundred years to imprison offenders.

At the bottom there is a Victorian drinking fountain which refers to the Chalybeate (iron-enriched) water which caused Hampstead's emergence in the 18th century as a popular spa resort.

We now slightly foreshortened the walk and followed Well Walk and then Flask Walk back to the tube station, passing the Bath and Wash House of 1888 ...

... and the Flask pub, said by our guide to be one of the best in London, with fine art nouveau tiles on the outside.

Conditions: cool, cloudy, some drizzle.

Distance: about four miles.

Rating: four stars. Interesting and illuminating.

Selborne and Noar Hill

 Selborne from the top of the zig-zag path

My plan for today was to continue my butterfly sites project at Noar Hill, but rather than just park nearby and wander round the nature reserve, I thought I would make a proper walk of it by starting from nearby Selborne. Selborne is famous as the home of the great, pioneering, 18th century naturalist Gilbert White and I passed his house before parking at the end of the village. My plan was to walk across Selborne Common and then swing round to reach Noar Hill.

I started by climbing the zig-zag path shown on the map. I was delighted to discover that it was cut by Gilbert White and his brother in 1753. The picture below attempts to capture the zigs and zags: the foliage which surrounds the path is carried on a sort of wicker framework supported on posts.

The view from the top is excellent with Selborne in the foreground with Gilbert White's house on the left and the view towards Surrey beyond. White would no doubt have been surprised and probably dismayed to see the yellow fields of oilseed rape.

At the top I entered the wooded common and took a path off to the left of the main drag. This was the signature plant: Sweet Woodruff.

The path continued through sunny glades and areas of deeper woodland. I saw only a few White butterflies.

At the far side of the common, I took a left which took me downhill to a small road and I soon  turned off it to take a path which would bring me to the back of Noar Hill - i.e. the part furthest away from Selborne. This led through more woodland and I noticed this Yellow Archangel.

Emerging into the open, Noar Hill lay ahead.

I followed a field edge path where there was a profusion of delicate yellow flowers beside the ploughed area. It seems familiar, but I have failed to identify it.

A final left turn through more woodland and a short climb brought me to the reserve. It was the site of medieval chalk working and there are numerous banks and hollows. Apparently a large area was scraped back to bare chalk in the 1990s by the Hampshire Wildlife Trust, but now careful management has produced a wonderful mixture of chalk grassland and scrub.

I spent a happy couple of hours spotting and trying to photograph small butterflies on the grassy and bushy slopes. The most common was the Small Heath, although they seldom stayed put for long

I also managed a nice picture of a Common Blue.

And I saw, but failed to capture photographically, the elusive Duke of Burgundy, Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, and I think a Brown Argus. I clearly need to improve my speed at taking pictures of small butterflies!

Finally, there was this beautiful Heath Spotted orchid, just coming into flower.

Conditions: hot and sunny.

Distance: about 5 miles.

Map: Explorer 133 (Haslemere and Petersfield).

Rating: four stars.

Rutland Water: the Hambleton peninsula

The first view of the lake

Rutland Water is a drinking water reservoir created only in 1976. It was formed by flooding two valleys and is said to be one the largest man-made lakes in Europe. What is now the Hambleton peninsula was once a ridge that separated the valleys. Effectively therefore, the lake is shaped like a thick horsehoe - see map. Hambleton village was originally Upper Hambleton and its name was shortened after Lower Hambleton became part of the reservoir.

We started our walk with Sally and Malcolm at the Finch's Arms pub and walked past the church to be drawn to the little group of estate cottages of 1892 including the Old Post Office. We especially loved the art nouveau clock on the right gable.

Further along the road a left turning led down towards the lake, giving the view shown above. Once we got to shore level there were pleasant views across the lake to the north shore. The object in the water looks like a diving platform, but no doubt has some function obvious to an engineer.

We crossed a temporary surfaced track and wondered about the construction work that was obviously going on - surely they weren't building a waterside hotel and spa? After a quiet section of woodland, Armley Wood, we followed a wide track, dodging passing cyclists, to reach this pleasant inlet.

As we approached the end of the pensinsular, the explanation for the temporary track became clear: extensive works were underway to strengthen the shoreline with an edge of small stones. When we saw the finished product later, we thought it made the lake look much more obviously artificial.

Once we had fully turned the corner, the next section, looking towards the west from a grassy shore was very attractive.  

Then came a nice section of mixed woodland, with pleasant glimpses of the blue water after which we emerged onto a grassy area with views of the Old Hall (1611) sitting on a small promontory.

We climbed back up to the village, now able to get a better picture of the 12th century church of St Andrew, with its with its low broach-spire and original Norman doorway. Like so many churches, it was vigorously restored in the 19th century.

Conditions: warm and sunny again.

Source: the AA.

Distance: 4.5 miles.

Rating: three and half stars. Lovely lake views, but the construction work - and the cyclists - made it feel a bit busy, even slightly urban. Surprisingly little wildlife, although the main wildlife focus, especially water birds, is on the south side of the lake.

Kinoulton: the search for the old graveyard

The avenue of Poplar trees

Today's walk was a bit different: we were in search of an old graveyard on the outskirts of Kinoulton in Nottinghamshire. We were there visiting our friends Sally and Malcolm. Malcolm knew more or less where it was and the search provided a nice focus for a local walk on a lovely sunny afternoon.

We set out from near the Nevile Arms pub along Owthorpe Road and soon turned left into a beautiful avenue of poplars. They are a memorial to the 184 officers and men of the ninth battalion, Sherwood Foresters who were killed in the battle of the Somme in 1916. Until 1919 most of the land around Kinoulton was owned by the Nevile family, commemorated in the name of the pub. The estate was bought by Sir Jesse Hind who planted the trees (his son was one of the dead). The trees you see today are obviously not the original ones and in fact were replanted by the Parish Council for the Millenium.

On the left was a wonderful field of buttercups.

At the end of the avenue of poplars you reach the Grantham canal. It dates from 1797, but like many canals only had a short productive life before being eclipsed by a new railway and left to decline. There has been some restoration but the green algae sludge suggests more is needed. The effect is rather surreal.

Now we climbed the hill to the derelict Vimy Ridge Farm. This was also part of Sir Jesse's new estate and was renamed by him. The original Vimy Ridge near Arras in northern France was captured by the Germans in 1914 and only taken by a heroic Canadian attack in 1917.  It is often claimed to be the only unequivocal success of the allies during the war in France. After the war the farm was used to train ex-Serviceman and later orphans in agriculture

The splendid water tower is a landmark for miles around and from a distance could easily be taken for a medieval keep or an 18th century folly.

We headed on in the same direction across fields and then turned left along a tracked with fields on both sides. We were now entering the target area. We understood that the gravestones were few in number but still standing. We scrutinised several fields without success and were a bit disheartened to reach the road without success. We decided to ask at a nearby house and we told to retrace our steps and we would find the gravestones in a field on the right. The lady we spoke to said that the gravestones were lying flat.

This was the field we were were directed to.

A delightful field but not a gravestone in sight! We spread out: surely there must be some trace? Eventually the cry went up "I've found them" - in the next field and standing up as originally expected.

This was the graveyard of St Wilfrid's church which was abandoned and demolished in 1793. A new parish church (St Luke's) was built about the same time in what is now the centre of the village and it seems that the coming of the Grantham canal was the decisive factor in the movement of the village's centre of gravity.

The gravestones date from the early 1700s and are mostly slate. This one especially caught my eye.

We partially retraced our steps along the lane and then headed downhill to reach the long main street and return to the start.

Conditions: sunny and warm.

Distance: we managed to walk about five miles.

Map: we didn't use a map - and the graveyard is not shown on the OS map.

Rating: three and a half stars.

Martin Down

Martin Down National Nature Reserve is a famous site for butterflies and wildflowers and I have decided to launch a new project of journeying specifically to such sites, rather than simply walking in conveniently located bits of countryside. The reserve consists of two distinct parts, a wooded area on one side of the A354 near Salisbury and a large area of chalk grassland on the other side.

A meadow separates the wood from the road and the track running along the edge of the wood marks the route of a Roman road.

A grassy track leads to the first of a series of clearings which are a feature of the wood and indicate how it is being managed for wildlife. I have read the elusive Duke of Burgundy has been seen here, but at first all I see are lots of Brimstones, mainly males (a deeper shape of yellow), flying around presumably looking for mates. I also heard my first cuckoo of the year.

My first picture subject is a reasonably large moth, which a bit of searching revealed to be a Treble Bar.

The first clearing also offered a group of wonderful orchids, the red one at the head of this post and this lovely pink one.

I began to see some other butterflies: Comma, Large and Small Whites, Green-veined White, Peacock, Large Skipper. But as a I reached a large clearing, I couldn't help but be aware of a fantastic profusion of cowslips.  I decided on a close-up photo, highlighting the delicate spots of orange inside the flowers.

While I was doing so, I again heard the sound of a cuckoo, but this time is was coming towards me. I looked up and for the first time actually saw one. It saw me and promptly veered away. I followed a small path out of the clearing which led towards the edge of the wood a and then, in a more open area, the beautiful bell-like flowers on tall stems, maybe two feet from the ground. It is Columbine, wild aquilegia.

I retraced my steps to the big clearing and followed the right hand path which soon led to the edge of the wood. I saw some Speckled Woods on the way. The path continued in further woodland, but it was instructive to see how different it was: the trees were much denser and there were no little clearnings, only the odd path junction created any open space. I saw only a few more Brimstones.

I retraced my steps again and took the southern exit from the clearing which I could see would offer a curbing route back to the entrance to the wood. After a while, I noticed a pair of Brinstomes circling in a mating dance and followed them deeper into a large clearing on a sunny slope to see if I could get a picture. I no sooner had it framed than another passing male decided to barge in, resulting in this fascinating image, which showed me for the first time what the upper wings of a Brimstone look like (they always roost with their wings closed). You can see that the orange dots on the underwings are mirrored on the upper wings.

Later I chanced to read the chapter on the Brimstone in Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington's masterful The butterflies of Britain and Ireland. It seems that the female may emit some sort of aphrodisiac and that the attraction of other males is not uncommon.

To complete the joy of this particular clearing, I found this gorgeous blue and white flower, in clumps close to the ground. Unfortunately it is another one I have yet to identify.

It seemed appropriate now to try the grassland and see what that could offer so I headed back to the car park, spotting an Ornage Tip on the way, and followed the right edge of the reserve, following the line of Bokerly Dyke.

After a while without noticing anything, I reached a large mound, presumably a burial mound - the area is dotted with neolithic remains. I wondered if the south-facing slope might be a good place and I was soon encouraged by the sight of a Small Heath and of some fellow butterfly spotters.

They told that there were many Grizzled and Dingy Skippers to be seen. And sure enough within moments my first Grizzled Skipper presented itself for inspection. In real life, it seemed less moth-like than book illustrations suggest: a very dainty little brown and white butterfly. The Dingy Skipper is smaller and much more moth-like and, I found, harder to photograph. There were also a number of small blues.

It was time to head home but I could not resist the temptation to climb the mound and walk along its ridge, which offered a nice views east towards Salisbury.

A view back presents a clear image of the mound or barrow, with hills beyond.

Conditions: Mainly sunny, some cloud, a bit windy on the grassland. About 20 degrees.

Distance: probably only about 3 mile.

Map: Martin Down is very inconveniently located on the corner of two maps: Explorer 130 (Salisbury and Stonehenge) and 118 (Shaftesbury and Cranbourne Chase). The village of Martin is also on OL22 (New Forest).

Rating: four and half stars. A marvellous day out and a great start to my butterfly site project.