Cholesbury-Hawridge Common Walk

Here’s the first in our new series of dog-friendly local walks

With thanks to George Edwards and his dog Meg (pictured).

START: Full Moon pub, Cholesbury-Hawridge Common
ENDS:Full Moon pub, Cholesbury-Hawridge Common
DISTANCE: 3.8 miles (6km)
ASCENT: 91m (300 feet)

The Walk

The walk involves a few stiles, all dog-friendly, and a few fields with livestock. Paths are generally well-marked but may be muddy. The walk passes two Diamond Jubilee memorials, a windmill (2) and an Iron Age hill fort.

With the permission of the landlord you could park at the Full Moon pub (1), along the verge outside, in the small car-park opposite the cricket pavilion (3) where there is a dog bin or along the verge outside Cholesbury Village Hall (4).

Walk towards Cholesbury Village Hall (4), noting the two Diamond Jubilee memorials on the Common between the Full Moon and cricket pavilion (3).

To the left hand side of the Village Hall is a gate: go through, following a wide track to the next two gates, keeping the parish church on your left and making for a wooded area straight ahead. There are often horses in these fields, so keep your dog on a lead.

Go through the gate into the wooded area which is Cholesbury Camp (5), a 10-acre Iron Age hill fort within an oval-shaped ditch. Cross the ditch and go straight over on to a well-marked path through more trees. Follow the path through the trees until you reach a gate into a paddock where there are usually several horses grazing, keep your dog on a lead here until you reach Drayton Wood (6).

In Drayton Wood keep left just inside the wood, with fields clearly visible beyond. At first the path is quite open, but the trees close in and the path narrows as it twists around them.

The path comes out of the wood to a track crossing left to right (7). Go left down the slope towards a house on the right, into Little Twye Road, and follow it as far as a group of houses on the right where there is a marked path on your left across fields towards Parrott’s Lane (8), which can be muddy.

When you reach Parrott’s Lane cross to the very narrow path (9) to the right of Harvest House. This reaches a wooden stile with a dog opening, emerging into a field which often has sheep in it. Head to your right along a well-marked path close to the fence, then through a stile with a dog gate in the hedge (10). Keep right downhill, left of some houses, to a metal gate in another hedge.

To your right is the delightfully named Broomstick Lane; straight ahead a wooden fence crosses the main path. Keep right, and before the wooden fence go through another wooden gate in a hedge on to a path in a nursery plantation.

This path bends to the left and uphill, eventually reaching the Cholesbury-Buckland Common road opposite Chiltern Motors garage (11). Cross the road and down the track marked Chiltern Heritage Trail. The path slopes down to an intersection of paths at the start of a wooded area (12).

Turn left on the path that follows the edge of a field. It passes through a metal gate in a hedge into another field where there may be livestock. Keep the fence on your left to an intersection of paths and metal gates; go straight on (13) through the metal gate. Follow this path towards some trees, passing through a metal gate and a stile to Ray’s Hill.

Cross the road (14) left on to the footpath signposted Chiltern Heritage Trail towards a house. Keep to the right of the house. When you come to the first intersection of paths crossing the one you’re on, carry straight on and at the next path intersection take the left narrow path up a fairly steep slope (15) between trees. This eventually emerges on Cholesbury Lane, opposite Horseblock Lane (16).

Turn left back towards the Full Moon and cross the road carefully, on to a path parallel with Cholesbury Lane, or walk along the right-hand side of the road if muddy. You will now see your destination, the Full Moon, which is a dog-friendly pub both inside and out in the garden on a fine day. Note that sandwiches only are served on Mondays.

You can download a PDF copy of the walk here.