Walk 18 - From Amersham at the Western End of the Metropolitan Line to Beaconsfield

 

Distance8

13 km (8 miles)

Underfoot

Country paths and woodland.  Possibly muddy or overgrown in places

Outward Journey

By Metropolitan Line to Amersham.  About 55 minutes from Central London

Return 

By train from Beaconsfield

Points of Interest

Amersham Old Town, Belonscot Model Village

Refreshments

Amersham Old Town

Public Toilets

Amersham Station

Shortening the Walk

No opportunities

 

 

What To Expect From This Walk   

Of all London's tube lines, the Metropolitan Line extends furthest into the countryside, well beyond the boundary of the Metropolis.   Consequently this walk is a rural adventure rather than a suburban stroll.  The route can be found on OS Explorer Map 172 Chiltern Hills East.  Within a mile of the start  you arrive at Amersham Old Town.  You should take advantage of the refreshment opportunities here, because there are no more en route.  After this you are on a variety of paths and byways which lead you into a tract of lonely countryside with only a few farms and farm animals for company. When you enter Hedgemoor Woods there is a wide choice of paths but follow the route directions carefully and you will emerge on a minor road near Seer Green.  After some further interesting paths and easy lanes the final stretch leads through woods to Beaconsfield.

 

Route Directions

1. Come out of Amersham Station and turn left downhill. Turn left again and go under a railway bridge. Cross the road and take the path that goes between the railway and some houses. After 100m, go diagonally left uphill through Parsonage Wood. Go left again at the top and walk parallel to a road, visible through the trees on your right. Start walking downhill and take a right-hand fork (almost straight on) to emerge from the trees with a pleasant view ahead.

2. Descend on a paved path. When you reach the bottom, walk to the left along a cemetery wall, and turn right to cross a stone bridge over a stream, with a church ahead. Before reaching the church, take the first of two paths on your left which leads you through the Memorial Gardens to reach the high street of Amersham Old Town, with several cafés and pubs. Turn left and take the footway on the right-hand side for 250m to a busy roundabout, which you go straight over. Continue walking on the right-hand footway in the same direction. Go past the first house and turn right at the gate to Bury Farm, on a waymarked path. Follow this path as it swings left and goes into a field.

3. Follow a path across the field to the far right corner and go through an underpass. After leaving the underpass, continue for about 150m and then turn right uphill through a metal gate. Turn left and ascend diagonally through two fields, following the path towards the corner of a wood (Rodgers Wood). Enter the woods and emerge soon from the trees to continue ahead in the same direction.

4. Walk to the far hedge-line, where there is a marker post. Turn left and follow the hedge towards a small wood (Days Wood). 100m before you reach the wood, go through a gap on your right, between two wooden posts, and then turn left, so that you are now walking with the hedge on your left. Continue past the wood. 

5. When you reach the end of the field, turn right and walk for 40m beside a short length of fence on your left. Where the fence ends, take the path going diagonally left across the field, as indicated by a faded yellow arrow on the final fence post. Walk for 400m to the distant hedge line. Enter another field through a metal gate, turn right and walk around the field edge to the far right-hand corner. 

6. Descend towards Upper Bottom House Farm which lies ahead of you. Pass through the farmyard via a metal gate and turn right on a lane.  After 75m turn left and follow a track which ascends  the opposite side of the valley. Ignore a left fork. When you reach a house near the top, turn right and continue with the wall of the house on your right. 100m after the wall finishes, go through a kissing gate on your right and walk ahead to reach a road. Cross over the road and enter Hodgemoor Woods. 

7. Hodgemoor Woods is an extensive area of woodland, but your route always stays just inside its left-hand perimeter. 50m after entering the woods, turn left on a track which comes in from the right and follow it as it curves right. Very soon the track turns left, You, however,  go straight ahead through a waymarked gap in a fence, on a clear path into the woods. You stay on this path all the way through the woods. After 100m keep left at a fork but stay within the woods. After another 200m, ignore a left turn (with a marker post) which goes towards a hollow tree. Instead, keep ahead on the main path and follow it for another 700m  as it twists and turns amongst the trees. As a guide, the edge of the wood is always clearly visible to your left. 

8. After a while you can see that you are walking parallel to paddocks which are separated from the trees by a wooden fence. Finally, go past a wooden barrier, ignore two woodland tracks coming in from your right, and continue ahead to reach Rawlings Lane. Turn right and follow the lane. After 350m, ignore a sign for the Chilterns Heritage Trail at Rawlings Farm and continue on the lane, past Widmer Farm, to a junction with a track coming in from the right. Turn sharp left here and continue on the lane. After 250m look for a signed footpath going right. The first part of the path might be overgrown, but after 250m any nettles and briars subside and the path opens out and descends to become a broad woodland track, which swings right beside a fence. Follow it out to a main road (the A355).

9. Cross the road and enter the lane directly opposite, past a house on the corner which has the name Whites Hill on its garden wall. Walk up this lane for 800m to Wood Cottage, where there is a signposted junction of paths. Turn left and pass to the left of the cottage. After 125m leave the track and go ahead to the right of some large conifers on a grassy path. Where the trees end, turn right and walk across a field towards some woods. 

10. Enter the woods and continue in the same direction (west) along a generally clear but sometimes muddy path until you reach a crossing track with a marker post. Turn left and walk on until you see a tall wooden fence. You have now reached the outlying houses of Beaconsfield. Ignore a sign pointing to the right. Go straight ahead for about 850m, with the fence on your right (and later on your left as well) to emerge on a suburban road. This is Ledborough Lane. If you wish to visit Bekonscot Model Village, you should turn right here. To continue to the railway station, cross the road and go ahead into Wilton Road. Follow it as it dog-legs to the left and then turn right at a T-junction onto Caledon Road. Follow this road to its end, then swing left and descend on a footpath to reach Beaconsfield Station.

 

Information On The Things You Will See

Amersham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire 27 miles (43Km) north west of London. There are two distinct settlements : Old Amersham set in the valley of the River Misbourne and Amersham-on-the-Hill.  This latter area of the town was referred to as Amersham Common until the arrival of the Metropolitan Railwayin1892. After this, the of the growth of the town accelerated and It is now known locally as "Amersham town" or the "New Town" 

Amersham Old Town contains the 13thC parish church of St Mary’s and several old pubs and coaching Inns. Early trade at Amersham Market was in local grain, much of which was sold to London merchants.  During the 17th century and 18th century a key industry in the town was brewing

Beaconfield Model Village (Bekonscot) was created in the 1920s  by Roland Callingham and  portrays images of England dating back to the 1930s. Bekonscot has been run by the Church Army since 1978 and has been visited by more than 14 million people.  Callingham developed his miniature world as an addition to his large back garden portraying rural England at the time. He named the village 'Bekonscot' after Beaconsfield and Ascot where he previously lived.  It was not conceived as a visitor attraction but as a plaything to entertain him and his guests. It was only after 1930 that its existence became widely known, catching the imagination of the press and public alike.  It is open from April until October each year, 7 days a week. If you want to include it in your walk please visit http://www.bekonscot.co.uk/