Red Kites are a Ridgeway Delight

By Matt Speak

Last year, for my first fam trip here at Mickledore, my partner Damien and I enjoyed our first long distance walk together, along the western section of the Thames Path from Kemble to Oxford. We loved every second of it, so we were incredibly excited as to what we might get to do this year. We settled on the second half of The Ridgeway.

As part of my role at Mickledore I have been lucky enough to book Ridgeway holidays for our clients since we launched the route in 2023. It has proved incredibly popular, so we thought it would be the perfect choice for us this year, and it is an area that neither of us have ever visited. We chose to walk the five day RGC6 itinerary over the Chiltern Hills from Goring on Thames to Aldbury.

Goring to Watlington

We had an extra day in Goring before we started our walk. It is a charming village situated on the banks of the River Thames with lots of cafés, pubs and restaurants to try. You are certainly going to be spoilt for choice, which is handy because with this itinerary you have two nights in the same location.

We departed Goring on a grey morning and headed out on what is the longest day on this itinerary. You walk up alongside the Thames passing through charming villages and spectacular riverside properties before heading under the impressive Moulsford Railway Bridge which the guidebook says is actually two viaducts built close together. You pass through open corn fields along flat and well maintained paths. The path then splits off and you can head into Wallingford, or as we did, keep going. You have to cross a busy road, which after a quiet day with nothing but the red kites and the odd train, or distant long haul departure from Heathrow keeping us company, was quite a change. We were soon glad to be back in the relative calm of the countryside.

The path takes you along Grim’s Ditch which is actually one of many in the UK, and was probably built in the Iron Age. It is an interesting and fairly straightforward path with bushes lining the side, but also offered far reaching views over the local farmland and beyond. Here we started to see the number of red kites increase and it was an amazing spectacle wherever you looked.

The rain had started to increase a little as the afternoon went on so it was handy that in the later part of the day we found ourselves under the cover of amazing woodland, which being summer and being in full leaf, kept us pretty dry.

We arrived in Watlington where the weather had really changed now so we picked up the pace and headed to our meeting point for the taxi where we got a beer to celebrate the end of our first walking day. Sadly we had just missed the cut off point for Pizza but with dinner booked for later it was a good job we did.

Watlington to Princes Risborough

So today started out with a taxi transfer from our accommodation in Goring back to where we finished yesterday in Watlington. The mileage today was less than yesterday but still a relatively lengthy day nonetheless. We prepared for another potentially wet day ahead as we headed out under the grey skies. Today was more open and less woodland so we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best that we weren’t going to get a repeat of the weather from the night before. The landscape today, whilst similar in parts, was definitely different than yesterdays walk. It was more rolling meadowland and large open cornfields, offering superb open views over the whole area and was incredibly picturesque from the get go, and as the guidebook describes on this section, you can really slow down and enjoy the scenery and the familiar calls of the circling red kites which again dotted the trail.

On today’s section of the trail and like some of the other days there are options to deviate away from the trail and head into one of the local villages for a pit stop and grab some lunch, but we decided today just to keep going and had brought our lunch with us. We crossed under the M40 which you can definitely hear before you see, but what is quite nice about the trail as a whole is whilst you may have moments like this the trail runs through or passes by some lovely nature reserves like Aston Rowant, and for the most part was incredibly peaceful.

We got a surprise over the later part of the day, the sun came out as we passed by the Chinnor Chalk Pits, the temperature started to creep up and the waterproof jackets came off and we were soon walking along in our t-shirts for the rest of the afternoon. The last section of the day was one of my favourite parts of the day and a real glimpse into the beauty of The Ridgeway trail. We walked up to Lodge Hill which offered a welcoming bench and fantastic views over the surrounding countryside, and gave us that final push on our walk down into Princes Risborough for our transfer on to our next accommodation in Wendover, where we again celebrated the end of another successful day. This time with a complimentary sloe gin waiting for us in the hotel.

Princes Risborough to Wendover

The sun was shining!!! After a tasty breakfast at the accommodation it was soon time to get our transfer from Wendover back to Princes Risborough where we finished the day yesterday.

Today is the shortest day on this itinerary and in no mad rush we steadily worked our way from Princes Risborough enjoying the morning sun shining over the expansive cornfields fringed by cooling woodlands as we worked out way up through Brush Hill Nature Reserve. The views at the top were well worth the extra bit of morning cardio.

Today was where the trail changed again. Today was a lot more up and down (all very much worth it for the views) so as we wandered down from Whiteleaf and Brush Hill Reserve we were soon wandering our way back up into the countryside that borders Chequers. You get a great view of the Prime Ministers country retreat. We later found out the current Prime Minister took up residence later that day. As we crossed the driveway and out the gate house to Chequers you are greeted by signs for Buckmoorend Farm Shop, which the guide book recommends, and whilst it was still fairly early on in the day it wasn’t a bad place for a quick refreshment stop. I happened to spot their Scotch Eggs and I am a sucker for a Scotch Egg, so I couldn’t resist. I truly think I will struggle to find a nicer Scotch Egg than the one I had at the farm shop (I have had one of my old favorites since and it didn’t compare).

We wound our way up the hill away from Chequers through mature woodland. We were soon on top of the hills with panoramic views back towards the rear of Chequers and the stunning countryside that wrapped around us, appreciating the beauty of our surroundings and the amazing views beyond. The trail takes you to Coombe Hill which looks down over Wendover. There is a monument on Coombe Hill which commemorates men from Buckinghamshire who were killed in the Boer War.

As we reached the monument it became apparent it was quite a popular spot for picnickers, as there were a few people sat enjoying their lunch in the sun alongside a small herd of cows using the monument as a resting point, and not phased at all by the picnickers beside them.

We left Coombe Hill behind and worked our way down on the outskirts of Wendover. We found there to be a very small diversion on the way into Wendover due to the works taking place in the area for HS2, but the diversion is easy to follow and we soon found ourselves back at our accommodation and an afternoon to explore our surroundings in Wendover and the rest of the day to relax in the sun.

Wendover to Aldbury

The sun was shining once again as we woke up in Wendover. As per our itinerary we had a choice to make today. Today you can either do today and tomorrow’s walk all in one go, and walk from Wendover to Ivinghoe Beacon and then on to your accommodation in Aldbury, or walk to your accommodation in Aldbury and walk to Ivinghoe Beacon the following day. We changed our mind at various points that day and it was only as we got closer to the point where you split off that we made the decision.

So after another hearty breakfast we set off working our way through the pretty side streets of Wendover. We soon found ourselves on a lovely woodland walk through Wendover Woods. There is a section of woodland path where you have to walk up the trail in a ditch The guide book suggests you can walk this, but to avoid it after wet weather, and there is an alternative path alongside you can also take. We decided that as it hadn’t rained for a few days we would be safe. It was a touch muddy in places but generally fine. We soon found ourselves back out in the open and walking down country lanes through the lovely picturesque village of Hastoe before finding ourselves on the edge of Tring. Wandering our way through Tring Park we decided today to follow one of the suggested diversions away from the trail to get some lunch. We found ourselves in Wiggington, which has a well-stocked café/shop and not too far off the trail. After a brief pit stop we soon had Aldbury in our sights.

We crossed over the Grand Union Canal on the outskirts of Tring towards the junction where you split to go to Ivinghoe Beacon or Aldbury. We decided in the end to head to the accommodation in Aldbury.  It was quite hot by now and with no signs of it cooling down we thought we’d get to the accommodation and cool down and tackle the last section before it got too hot the following day. So we worked our way on the corn field pathway through to the chocolate box village of Aldbury. It has been used as a backdrop for a number of films and tv shows and you can truly see why. After a great meal at the accommodation and a wander around the village we headed to bed and readied ourselves for the last day of this walk.

Aldbury to Ivinghoe Beacon

The final day and it’s a hot one! We thought we were lucky last year on our Thames Path walk and didn’t think we would get as lucky a second time but we did.

We followed the trail out of Aldbury and back towards the junction for our walk up to the end of The Ridgeway at Ivinghoe Beacon. Walking through the woodland it suddenly stops and the landscape starts to open up as you reach Pitstone Hill and we steadily wandered taking in the open views. The path flattens out and gives you your first glimpse of Ivinghoe Beacon. The final stretch you find you are going up and down (some of the hills you can go around ) or if you are in a position where you are in a car, there is a car park where you can park up and enjoy a shorter walk up to Ivinghoe Beacon.

We decided we were glad we made the decision not to do Ivinghoe Beacon yesterday as we got to enjoy it and appreciate it more today. We reached the top and took in the stunning beauty of the small villages and farmland and all that lay below us as we sat up on the hill and with the now very familiar sound of a circling red kite nearby that we had come to enjoy every day of this walk.

After a brief rest we retraced our steps in the heat back towards Aldbury. We stopped for a celebratory cold drink and ice cream at a local café on the fringe of Aldbury before heading back to our accommodation to toast to the end of an amazing week.

This has been a fantastic week and a route I would thoroughly recommend. It is a route that wont disappoint, it offers such variety and history, and is quite often incredibly quiet apart from the call of a local red kite breaking the silence.

If Matt has inspired you to walk the Chiltern Hills, or indeed all of The Ridgeway and you’d like to know more, email us [email protected] or call us on 017687 72335 to speak with one of our walking holiday experts. As well as the whole of The Ridgeway, we offer the Chiltern Hills, and the North Wessex Downs as separate holidays. Our general manager Tara walked the North Wessex Downs last year, and you can read about it here.