Coombe Hill and Wendover Woods (8.5 miles / 13.5 km - Moderate, Booking Required)

This walk is for up to 25 people, including the leader.

This walk visits two very popular spots for walkers either side of Wendover. There are multiple ascents and descents as we walk between different parts of the Chiltern Hills escarpment. Some gentler path options have been selected for this walk, so there are no really steep sections and no steps, but instead some long slopes. The terrain is a mixture of chalk grasslands, beech woodland, farmland and some town walking.

We begin by walking along the long summit of Coombe Hill to the viewpoint. Here stands an imposing granite monument commemorating those local men lost in the Boer War. There are outstanding views of the surrounding country, with the Vale of Aylesbury to the north and the Oxfordshire plains to the west. This is also the highest viewpoint in the Chiltern Hills at 260m.

We then begin a long steady descent from the hills towards Wendover, following a section of the Ridgeway footpath over Bacombe Hill which offers more fine views to the north. 

Near the edge of the town, we have to cross the construction site of part of the Chilterns tunnel for the HS2 railway on a temporary bridge. The other footpaths in the area have been closed for the tunnel construction so we will use the bridge again on our return leg. 

Next we walk through Wendover, first along the charming high street with its many period buildings, before residential roads take us to the head of a footpath that will lead us back up into the hills.

A steady gradual ascent up the ridge leads us into the beech trees of the Wendover Woods, an extensive ancient woodland managed by Forestry England. We’ll stop for lunch near the visitor centre in the middle of the woodland, where there are plenty of picnic tables, some public toilets and a cafe. This visitor centre sits more or less on the summit of Haddington Hill, officially the highest point in the Chilterns at 267m, although being in dense beech woods there are no views to be had at this point.

After lunch we set off towards the southwestern corner of the woods, passing the site of a large Iron Age Hill Fort. We descend steadily off the ridge into the valley, where we turn west and follow a section of the Icknield Way back towards Wendover.

Then we follow a route along roads and through a park, crossing the HS2 tunnel site again before taking a southerly route back towards Coombe Hill. We cross some rolling arable fields before following paths through unbroken woodland back to the start point.

Dogs are welcome on a lead.

For information about walking with the group, including our dog policy, please visit the Stag Walkers website.

Booking your place: Please book your place using the free Meetup website/app. Join the Stag Walkers Meetup group and click the 'Attend' button on the event page.

Please do not turn up for a walk without booking, as places are limited.

If the walk is fully booked, please click 'join waitlist' then please check back regularly as you will likely get a place. The waitlist gives priority to single bookings so if you wish to bring a guest, we recommend booking separately.