The White Horse Beaconsfield Town and Country Walk

Standing in the front courtyard with your back to the pub, cross over the road to reach the far pavement (there is a zebra crossing to your left if the road is busy). Once you reach the far pavement, turn right along this to reach the roundabout. Follow the pavement as it turns left into Park Lane. Ignore the first left-hand side road (a cul-de-sac called Crossways) and take the second left-hand side road, Candlemas Lane. After just a short distance, turn right into Meadow Lane. Keep ahead along this private lane, the first stretch being a gravel road and the second stretch being tarmac. For such a small market town, Beaconsfield has links with a surprising number of famous faces. In the Victorian era, the town was the home constituency of the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Beaconsfield was the birthplace of the author Terry Pratchett, the presenter Zoe Ball grew up here and other notable residents have included Enid Blyton, James Corden, Beverley Craven, Peter Jones (of Dragon’s Den fame) and Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees). The town is the burial place of the author G.K. Chesterton (most famous for writing the Father Brown mysteries). At the end of the Meadow Lane you will reach a junction with Ronald Road, with a tarmac footpath visible ahead. (This path is the one we will use for the return leg). For this outward leg, turn right along Ronald Road to reach a T-junction with the main road. You will see the footpath we will take signed directly opposite, but to cross the road it is safest to use the designated crossing island just a few paces to your right. Join the footpath and follow this between fenced fields (once grass fields but now being developed into housing). At the far end, cross the one (or perhaps two) stile(s) directly ahead to enter a woodland tunnel. As you emerge from the trees, you will be at the edge of the golf course.

NOTE: The next stretch of our walk crosses several fairways within this golf course, so please show respect for the golfers by walking quietly and allowing them to play their shots before you cross. Remember to watch out for any stray flying golf balls. Maintain your direction to cross the first section of golf course, passing between tees and greens to reach the next woodland belt ahead, with a footpath fingerpost. Go ahead to follow the wide path through this tree belt (known as The Mount). You will emerge to the next stretch of golf course. Keep straight ahead to cross the fairway and reach a fingerpost at the edge of the third tree belt. Follow the footpath leading you ahead through the trees to reach a T-junction with a track. Turn left to cross the railway via the track bridge. At the far side of the bridge you will have the next section of golf course ahead. Turn immediately right to follow the grass footpath with the woodland on your right and the golf fairway on your left. Continue alongside the trees on your right, passing one footpath fingerpost (pointing ahead) to reach a second fingerpost (this is at a point where a golf hut has become visible ahead and directs you slightly left). Follow the fingerpost direction, bearing diagonally left across the fairway, through a line of conifers and crossing a second fairway to reach the waymarker post at the far side. Continue on the path, through the trees and emerging via a kissing gate to reach the pavement of Longbottom Lane.

Turn left to follow the pavement of Longbottom Lane, passing several of the detached properties of Seer Green on your right. Part way along, the left-hand pavement ends and you are forced to swap to the right-hand pavement. Where the main road bends left, turn right into Bottom Lane, passing the village sign which declares Seer Green to be the Cherry Pie Village. Follow the edge of Bottom Lane, taking care of any traffic and noting a couple of old cherry trees within the hedgerow on your left. Seer Green is a small village but again has plenty of historical interest. Today the surrounding land is mainly arable, but until the early 1900s it was known for its cherry orchards. The fruit was picked and sent by train to the market in Covent Garden. A local baker named Lofty made cherry turnovers which were local delicacies. In honour of this tradition, the local school holds a Cherry Pie Fair every summer. The village has more famous face connections, including the author Frederick Forsyth and the singer Val Doonican. Where Bottom Lane bends right, turn left, passing through a stone layby and metal bridle gate to join the signed public bridleway. Follow this grass track leading you between fenced crop fields. Beyond the fields, the bridleway leads you into a section of woodland, Blue Close Wood, to reach a fingerpost marking a choice of two paths.

Take the left-hand bridleway, passing through an old gateway and continuing on the level unmade path through the heart of this beautiful mixed broadleaf woodland. The Chiltern Hills AONB is famed for woodland, particularly beech, with around 21% covered in woodland. The remnants of beech forest were once part of much larger scale beech production. Back in the 1800s nearby High Wycombe was home to a large number of furniture makers using this beech timber and the town became famous for making Windsor chairs. In 1875, it was estimated that 4,700 chairs were being made every day. Towards the end of the woodland (just before the trees on your right end), you will reach a fingerpost marking a crossroads with a footpath. Turn left here, leaving the bridleway thoroughfare to join the public footpath which leads you steadily uphill through the trees. At the top of the slope, ignore the wide gate ahead, instead turn right through the kissing gate to enter a grass paddock (which may be holding horses). Head diagonally right across this single paddock to reach the far right-hand corner (where the wooden fence meets the woodland). Pass through the wooden kissing gate to enter the woodland, Birchen Spring. Follow the obvious footpath, leading you between fences as it passes through this woodland. You will emerge from the trees directly to the edge of the A355. NOTE: This road can be busy with fast-moving traffic, so take time to wait for a suitable gap. Cross over diagonally right to reach the entrance drive for South Lodge.

Do NOT head along the entrance drive, instead take the metal kissing gate a few paces to the right of the drive. Follow the short stretch of path between walls then pass through a tall (and tight!) metal kissing gate. Keep ahead to join the tarmac avenue, lined with beautiful old trees and crop fields beyond. This was once the grand entrance drive for an estate mansion, now called The Grange. The Grange has passed between many owners over the years, including former Chelsea owner Ken Bates and Labour Peer, Lord Paul. Follow the tarmac drive leading you ahead and, where it swings right, you will see a waymarker ahead. Turn left at this point, to join the footpath leading you through the trees and then continuing straight ahead with a hedgerow on your left and a crop field on your right. At the end of the field, keep straight ahead, passing through the trees and emerging through a hedge gap to reach a large area of old grass parkland. Follow the obvious footpath (at about 11 o'clock) leading you across this parkland. At the far side you will emerge via a kissing gate to reach the roadside of Ledborough Lane (with a T-junction just to your left).

Cross over to the far pavement and turn right along this, heading towards Beaconsfield New Town. Follow Ledborough Lane for about 0.6km, ignoring a private road on the left, to take the first left-hand public side road, Wilton Road. As you reach a T-junction, turn left and immediately right to continue on Wilton Road. At the next T-junction go straight ahead to join the tarmac footpath and cycleway. This leads you between fences and hedges and across the railway, emerging out to another road. Cross over to the far pavement and turn left along this, passing a primary school on your right. Immediately after passing House 35 on your right, turn right down the small tarmac lane signed as a public footpath. Keep directly ahead on this path, crossing a grass circular island and continuing ahead as a narrow lane and then a pedestrian width path between hedgerows. At the end of this enclosed path, you will emerge to a junction with Ronald Road (which you should recognise from the outward leg). From this point, we will be retracing our steps back to the start point. To do this, keep ahead along Meadow Lane. At the far end, turn left to reach the T-junction and then turn right along Park Lane. At the roundabout, turn right onto London End to reach The White Horse on your left for some well-earned hospitality. Before or after your refreshments, it is worth strolling along London End, the heart of the Old Town. The town's architecture and accessibility have made it a popular filming location. Scenes for many films have used Beaconsfield as a backdrop, including Brief Encounter, Thunderball (the James Bond film) and Hot Fuzz. It has also been used for TV series including Midsomer Murders and Lewis.