LETJOG PEAK No 50: Haddington Hill, Buckinghamshire (267 metres)
Walk Date: Sunday 17 September 2023
Wendover – today’s start- and end-point
How time flies when one is enjoying life. Exactly six months ago, to the very day, I set off alone from my front door on the walk up to Pavis Wood on the summit of Hertfordshire. The trek was the first walk of my LETJOG Peaks adventure, a challenge that I had set myself at the start of March, to climb all of the County Tops of the 48 Ceremonial Counties of England – plus the former counties of Westmorland and Middlesex, to make up a nice round 50 ascents. Today, close to home once more and just over the border into Buckinghamshire, my task concluded with another fabulous ramble through the Chiltern beech-woods, this time to the top of Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods, the shire summit at 267 metres of elevation.
With a couple of small detours this circuit works out at around 11 miles; starting from the attractive Chiltern town of Wendover the route follows the Ridgeway path south-westwards out of the town and then turns northward on a climb through the woods to the summit; the walk continues in an anticlockwise direction, first steeply downhill to meet the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal and then leading back to the town along the canal towpathThe walk profile shows the climb to the woodland plateau, the steep descent, and the flat canal section
This walk, near my home patch, is certainly a most appropriate finale for my venture. Over many years Rachel and I would bring the children up to Wendover Woods for strolls, picnics and even occasional barbecues with friends, and so these woodlands have been special to us for a long time. It is fitting also, after all her support of my venture (emotional and practical), that Rachel could join me on the walk today. We were also accompanied by five good friends from our Chiltern walking group – Helen, Christina, Angela, Paula and Richard; usually it is on a Saturday that we all set our alarms for a walk, but on this sabbath, even with rain in the forecast, these kind folk boldly agreed to meet for a 9.00 am start in Wendover village ahead of our five-hour ramble. As things transpired the weather gods were on our side, and we had dry conditions throughout, with the promised downpours arriving just a couple of minutes after our return to Wendover. Here is the story of our walk.
On the junction of Aylesbury Road, Tring Road and the High Street stands Wendover’s iconic Clock Tower: originally built as a single-storey market hall and gaol in 1842, the structure was extended upwards in 1870 to incorporate the clock that still remains in working order todayThe town’s central square is called The Manor Waste, and this was formerly an open area of common ground provided by the Lord of the Manor to accommodate agricultural fairs and weekly markets – the charter for the latter was bestowed on Wendover by King John in 1214: the space had its latest makeover in 2015 and the Thursday market continues to this dayThe ‘Twinning Stones’: Wendover is twinned with Liffré in the French region of BrittanyReady to go – the ‘Magnificent Seven’ setting off across the Wendover Brook, a small chalk stream notable for its clear waterStill within the town, Hampden Pond was enlarged in the late 18th Century to provide water to serve the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal: unreliable flows led eventually to the abandonment of the pond and it was allowed to dry up for some decades, before being restored in more recent times as ‘a peaceful oasis where the needs of people and nature are balanced’Passing St Mary’s Church . . .. . . and joining the Ridgeway path out of the townLight at the end of the tunnel . . .. . . as our climb started, up Hogtrough LaneOver farmland, and our first view of Haddington Hill (right centre, in the far distance) . . .. . . and into Wendover Woods now, on a steeper pathWonderful Chiltern beeches, with leaves yet to turnThe final climb, along a sunken section of Grim’s Ditch (see my Blog ‘Green Green Grass’ of 17 March) . . .. . . and made it – the seven of us on the summit of Buckinghamshire: Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods, at 267 metres of elevation!Haddington Hill has a prominence of 180 metres, so qualifies as a rare South East England ‘Marilyn’, but being in a forest the views that it offers are very limited: however, after a welcome stop for coffee and cake at the top, we took a short diversion to the trig point on Aston Hill, a few metres lower than the peak but with more open vistas . . .. . . that improved further, northwards over Aylesbury Vale, as we continued on our path down the slopeTesting topography on the Chiltern Forest Golf Club fairways . . .. . . before we completed our descent to the canal through Cobblers Pits, an area of woodland on the lower slopes that is managed to promote ecological diversityThe Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal opened in 1799 having been commissioned to capture water off the Chiltern Hills, primarily to feed the main canal at Marsworth where the two waterways meet, close to the Tring Summit level – but despite the later installation of reservoirs and pumping stations the water supply from the Arm proved unreliable and the canal was finally closed to navigation in 1904 (although there is a current project to restore and to re-open this seven-mile stretch of waterway)A haven for ducks . . .. . . and for an angry swan, who resisted my intrusionRounding a bend in the canal, near Halton . . .. . . before we crossed into the fields at Oliver’s BridgeBack into Wendover, at the very end of the Wendover Arm
Thank you fellow walkers for joining me today, it is very much appreciated. I am sure we can agree that early autumn in the Chilterns is special, and we will certainly be back in these parts over the next few weeks as the colours continue to turn and as the russet carpet of leaves appears in the woods. A big thank you also to all those who have walked with me and those who have kept me company in the evenings during my travels, and to everyone who has followed my Blog and supported my efforts in so many ways over the last few months as my LETJOG Peaks adventure has progressed. This is not quite the end of my blogging: in a few days, when my muscles and mind have calmed a little, I will post here once again with some facts, figures and reflections around my experiences atop England’s highest mounts. Meanwhile I am attaching below a link to my JustGiving fundraising page, for anyone who would like to support the British Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
With many thanks to everyone once again for all of your support for my latest walking challenge.
Growing by the canal we identified this interesting plant as a Himalayan honeysuckle
‘Seasons End’ seems like a fitting Blog heading under which to conclude the story of my journey – not just as a sign-off to my challenge but in acknowledgment of the changes in the weather as our countryside readies itself for the fall and for the winter. My choice is inspired as ever by music: ‘Seasons End’ is the title of the 1989 album by neo-progressive rock band Marillion, who were formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire in 1979, and the group played their first ever gig in the Civic Centre in my home town of Berkhamsted in March 1980. Marillion’s original line-up featured lead-singer Fish, who left the band in late 1988 to pursue a solo career: his replacement Steve Hogarth featured as the principal vocalist on the ‘Seasons End’ album, including on the title track, on which he shares writing credits with his bandmates.
Seasons End – with Rachel, on my 50th (and final!) County Top
3 thoughts on “Seasons End”
Yay! Well done, you!!! I’ve enjoyed your blogs, despite them making me a teensy-weensy bit jealous. What a gorgeous country we are luck to live in.
So sorry I missed the final peak but it looked like you had lots of entertaining company. Well done Nick on achieving yet another superb challenge. I have really enjoyed ‘travelling’ around the counties with you.
Linda x
Walking for Fun, Challenge and Charity! 
Yay! Well done, you!!! I’ve enjoyed your blogs, despite them making me a teensy-weensy bit jealous. What a gorgeous country we are luck to live in.
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*lucky
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So sorry I missed the final peak but it looked like you had lots of entertaining company. Well done Nick on achieving yet another superb challenge. I have really enjoyed ‘travelling’ around the counties with you.
Linda x
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