National Grade:Moderate  Distance: 12 mi /19.3km  Leader: Rob J. Date:  May 17th 2026

 Eight ramblers gathered in Cadmore End to hear the walk leader briefly describe the hilly walk he had planned.  Although a Hillingdon walk, we had visitors from Chilterns Weekend Walkers and Henley & Goring.  We also welcomed a potential new member.  

We were very lucky with the weather.   It was dry and pleasantly warm. The first stage of the walk took us through Hanger Wood and then down to the familiar and pretty village of Fingest.  We were soon walking up the other side of the valley into Mousel Wood.  The stile we negotiated had been erected in memory of  Henry Fearon, a journalist who used to write a weekly walks column in the London Evening News.   The memorial  plaque included this charming verse:

“O, lucky, lucky travellers …..rest awhile

Beside my simple country stile.

My eyes have looked across this valley

and my heart has pounded at the beauty of it.”

We soon found ourselves walking down in to Skirmitt and then up into Great Wood which gave us a splendid view across the valley towards Fingest and the windmill at Turville.  Soon after we stopped for a short break.  At this point one of our fellow walkers, Robin, noticed some butterflies.  We watched him with great interest as he skilfully photographed them.  He managed to do this by approaching the butterfly at a well judged angle.  You can see some of the photos he took at the top of this report.  The butterflies shown are a Small Heath, a Dingy Skipper and a Brimstone.

When we reached Gussets Wood we found some conveniently felled tree trunks to sit on and enjoy a picnic lunch.  The next couple of miles were easy walking and, looking south, we had some excellent views across the Thames Valley. When we reached Stonor we were treated to a spectacular sight of deer racing through the woodland. Passing through the deer park we had some lovely views of the house and were fortunate that one of our party knew something of its history and was able to explain that during the reign of Henry VIII the family had remained loyal to the Catholic faith, a dangerous decision after Henry decided to set up his own church.

As the afternoon progressed we could see the Turville windmill coming into view.  It was a strenuous climb up to that landmark but once we reached the top and caught our breath we were rewarded with a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside and the peaceful village of Turville.  There was just one more hill to negotiate before  we arrived back in Hanger Wood and not long after we were back at our cars.

As we said our goodbyes we wished two of our guests all the very best for the 26 mile (!) Jurassic Coast walk they will be undertaking in June in order to raise money for Cancer Research.

Report by:  Rob Jones-Owen