Summary                   

The Chilterns Conservation Board and Chiltern Society have developed a series of 23 walks across the Chilterns which are social-distance friendly, avoiding crowded honey-pot locations and narrow paths where possible. This scenic gently undulating stile-free walk is one of them and takes you through a variety of habitats.

Length:                         2.8 miles (Allow 1½ hours)

Start & finish:               Roadside parking along Commonside, Downley HP13 5YA

Access Information:     Mostly easy walking on good wide paths, some of which can be muddy after rain. One moderate climb at the end. Stile-free and four gates.

Food & drink:               Le De Spencers Arms just off route on Downley Common

Route

1. Go along the top of the common with the road on your right. Go past the bus stop and, just before a large tree, bear left across the grass into the wood.

2. Fork right and follow the path down through the wood to the bottom of the hill. Turn right onto a bridleway out of the wood for 150m to a path on the left signed to Naphill.

3. Turn left through the gate, cross the field to a second gate and continue straight ahead towards Naphill. Climb gently through the woodland and a third gate, continue up the valley on a grass path and through a fourth gate to a lane (Hunts Hill Lane).

4. Turn left along the lane, continue to the end of the surfaced section and bear right onto a track. Follow the main track, ignoring turnings off, until you come to the overhead power lines and a bridleway on the left.

5. Turn left along the bridleway, go under the power lines, and continue straight on passing a small pond on the left (Mannings Pond) to a fork in the track. Fork right past the cottages and continue along the track with the allotments on the right to a lane (Plomer Green Lane).

6. Cross the road onto the common, go diagonally across to the right of the cricket pitch walking towards the radio mast on the horizon. Drop down the bank, stay in the same direction down the common and past the Methodist Church on the right. Bear left uphill across the grass and past the beacon to return to the start.