Ridgeway - Princes Risborough to Ivinghoe Beacon (★★★★☆)

On the previous day I had walked the Ridgeway from Goring to Princes Risborough, and today the plan is to continue to walk round to the eastern end of the trail at Ivinghoe Beacon.

Having stayed over in Aylesbury, my first task of the day is to head out by train to Princes Risborough, and then walk through the town to meet up with the route of the Ridgeway.

Here the trail climbs up onto the ridge that sits above Princes Risborough, and although it's not ideal to be climbing up fully weighed down with drink, the views at the top ensure a great start to the day.

Looking down on Princes Risborough

Here there are overlapping trails - and so it is often easier to navigate using the excellent finger posts, rather than trying to work out which trail is which on the map.

But in any case, we are soon cutting cross this bumpy stretch of land, and start walking across Grangelands and Pulpit Hill Nature Reserve.

Near Pulpit Hill

At a similar spot

We don't pass very close to it, but if we were to divert off across Open Access Land, we would find what remains of Pulpit Hill fort - which dates back to the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age. 

The area in which the fort sat is now woodland, but has been detailed by Historic England in a report, and here we are here in an area of notable ancient activity:

Location of ancient sites, Source: Historic England

From here our path heads on between Beacon Hill and Pulpit Hill - with Beacon Hill being home to Cymbeline's Castle - which is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle (although these days what remains is essentially a grassy field). 

The site of a second motte-and-bailey castle can also be found to the west (nearer to Little Kimble train station).

Although less well placed, the lower castle (which is thought to have been built in the 11th century) is thought to have been the more successful - with a number of buildings including All Saints Church having been built up around it in the 12th or 13th century.

Further details about both castles are fairly limited - but there are indications that the lower castle was built on the site of a former Romano-British villa (occupied between the 2nd and 4th century).

As we continue on, our next site of interest is more modern, and comes in the form of Chequers - which acts as the country house for the Prime Minister. And here it is important that we stick to the footpath to ensure that we are not shot.

A polite warning

A view of the house

The fence between us and the grounds of Chequers is a very small one, but as I turn to head down to cross over the main drive towards the house - I do pass a group of four police, who are either out for a stroll or heading over to check up on me.

According to the locals, the police here get very bored and have a lot of monitoring equipment in the area - and so will usually come out to see you. And they look a lot better trained than my local police, and it probably isn't advisable to wander off the main footpath.

Once through the grounds (without getting shot), the path continues on through some woods - and then makes its way on round towards Coombe Hill.

On the run to Coombe Hill we get some great views out over the country below.

On the way towards Coombe Hill

And from here it is a short walk on before we reach Coombe Hill itself - where a monument marks the men who lost their lives in the Second Boer War.

Coombe Hill Monument

The view out from Coombe Hill on the far side

But the thing that most seems to be interesting people, is the view out towards the route of HS2 - and you have to say that they are making decent progress for a line now not expected to fully open until at least 2040.

From here there certainly seems to be plenty of progress visible - and it seems to be the London end of the line that is causing much of that delayed delivery.

And trains could be running along this section of countryside as early as 2036 (although this is about ten years from now).

As we continue on along this ridge, we continue to get views out over this new train line - and then we drop down, and cross over the line itself (at a section where they are putting in a covered cutting).

Checking in on the progress of HS2

With this site crossed, we head into Wendover - and this is a pretty town to walk through - and as we head out from here we have view out towards Boddington Hill - where another Iron Age hill fort once sat.

An orchard in Wendover

Looking out towards Boddington Hill

From here we head through Barn Wood and then Hale Wood - as we start a section of the trail that is dominated by trees once again, with a succession of new woods to follow.

Now in Halton Wood

(I think) in Pavis Wood

This run of woods mean that it is quite hard to tell the different between one section and the next - but we do get a break from the trees as we come up to Chivery Hall Farm, and then as we pass through Hastoe - before we once again head back into the trees, as we walk above Tring Park.

Walking above Tring Park

Although we can't see this through the trees, we are walking along a ridge here - and at two points along this section there is a gap in the trees that shows the view out from the ridge (which is lovely).

A pretty view when you can see it

But by this point I have seen enough trees, and fortunately we return to open fields as we head past Wigginton, and head down to cross over the A41.

Through the fields

And with this road crossed, we head on, cross over the Grand Union Canal, head past Tring train station - and then cut up onto Pistone Hill - where we reach the very best section of the day so far.

View from Pitstone Hill

Here we are also re-united with Grim's Ditch once again, and the views improve further as we turn and start to head towards Ivinghoe Beacon.

Heading towards Ivinghoe Beacon (far left)

View to the side

This walk from Tring station to Ivinghoe Beacon is excellent - and before long we cross over a very minor road, and start to climb up towards the top of Incombe Hole.

From the top of Incombe Hole

Slightly further along

Next we head to the far side of Steps Hill, where we continue to get views out over the countryside, before we start to drop down as we come up to the base of Ivinghoe Beacon.

From the far side of Steps Hill

Here we get our first view of Whipsnade White Lion, which was carved in the 1930s to mark the opening of Whipsnade Zoo - and it certainly adds a bit of class to the landscape.

Ahead of Ivinghoe Beacon

But from here it is only a short climb up to Ivinghoe Beacon - where we get views out across the countryside - and more views out towards Whipsnade White Lion.

Beacon Hill (it's a 360 degree view of similar fields)

Towards the lion

Ivinghoe Beacon was itself the site of an Iron Age fort, but it also was a key signaling point - with human activity dating back to the Bronze Age.

But really it is just a lovely spot to stand or sit at - with great views out across the countryside - and it offers a very fitting eastern end to the trail.

From here we do still have to get home - but fortunately this is easily done by continuing on along until a track drops down to the road - and this pop out by the road at a bus stop - from which a bus takes us back to Tring station.

And so here, our two days along the Ridgeway come to an end. 

If I'm honest, I expected a little bit more from this trail (although today has been better than the previous day). Overall the walk has been in lovely countryside, but with limited view of that countryside except through occasional gaps in the trees - but I'm still excited to complete the other half of the trail across the North Wessex Downs (where I think the views will be improved).

Total Distance: 19.1 miles (18.3 miles on the Ridgeway)

Total Ascent: 2,270 feet (2,218 feet on the Ridgeway)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 165 OS Landranger map - while there is also a Ridgeway guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is very well way-marked