Buckinghamshire: Chorleywood to Magpies (South Chiltern Woodlands)

17 May 2011                           OS Explorer 172 Chiltern Hills East

Length: All day

This walk concentrates on old Chiltern woodlands and their typical flora.  It starts and ends in Hertfordshire but is mostly in Buckinghamshire.  Plants commonly seen in many of the sites visited, most of them ancient woodland indicators, include: bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, bugle Ajuga reptans, coralroot Cardamine bulbifera, dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, gooseberry Ribes uva-crispa, hairy wood-rush Luzulua pilosa, primrose Primula vulgaris, remote sedge Carex remota, sanicle Sanicula europaea, three-nerved sandwort Moehringia trinervia, wood melick Melica uniflora, woodruff Galium odoratum, wood sedge Carex sylvatica, wood sorrel Oxalis acetosella, wood speedwell Veronica montana, wood spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon montanum, and the beautiful stars of yellow pimpernel Lysimachia nemorum.  The ideal time to visit for bluebell and coralroot would be in late April, but this later date had its compensations with other interesting plants in flower.

From Chorleywood we drove SW up Old Shire Lane to the end of the surfaced portion and then a further 100m along the unsurfaced section to park in the widened space at the start of Philipshill Wood (Woodland Trust) TQ014950.  Old Shire Lane is an ancient way with high banks each side, bordering the eastern side of the wood.  It is thought to have been the boundary between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, and may have then formed the old boundary between Bucks and Herts, which is now a few hundred metres further west. 

Boot adjustments, Old Shire Lane

Walking south down the lane, where a bridleway enters from the west there is an impressive old laid beech Fagus sylvatica indicating the antiquity of the boundary here.  Behind is dense young woodland of beech and conifers planted in the 1960s, rather dark, but with some good patches of bluebells.  On the left hand bank of the lane further on is a small patch of Star-of-Bethlehem Ornithogalum angustifolium. 

Star-of-Bethlehem, Old Shire Lane

While this plant occurs often as a garden escape, this site is quite far from housing with no other specimens in between, so could be native.  Just past here is an old laid hornbeam Carpinus betulus on the left-hand bank and many formerly coppiced hazels Corylus avellana.  Flowers along the banks include goldilocks buttercup Ranunculus auricomus.

At the end of the lane we took the right-hand path into the wood and followed close to the wood-edge with good views of red campion Silene dioica, bluebells and yellow pimpernel. 

Phillipshill Wood, path on southern edge

Just before a larch plantation on the left we took a path on that side going uphill.  Along here we saw some plants of twayblade Neottia ovata although the flower spikes had been eaten off by deer.  This path brought us to the wood-edge and a path south, a hedge on our right, through grassland with some isolated trees, remnants of the former Newland Park.  The first half of this long field was red with common sorrel Rumex acetosa, while the second half was dominated by sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum.  Beyond is an entrance to the Chilterns Open Air Museum (Chiltern Society) and the Chalfont Campus of Bucks Chilterns University.  The path leads on to the drive to the museum and then to Gorelands Lane.  Straight opposite is another path through a narrow belt of woodland.  Just inside the wood is a patch of ramsons Allium ursinum with garden yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon argentatum, easily told by its silver-marked leaves.  The latter is a sure indicator that ramsons is also a garden escape here.  The path continues across another lane beside a horse paddock.  At the kissing gates we turned left along the path going SW across two more fields and by the back of gardens on the outskirts of Chalfont St. Giles, joining another track just where a large old marker oak Quercus robur of 432cm girth (300 years or more old) still stands.

We turned right here along a path enclosed by garden fences on each side.  Unsurprisingly we encountered several garden escapes.  This path continues on the other side of the Amersham Road A413, again by garden walls and fences.  At the bottom of a wall was a single plant of grey sedge Carex divulsa divulsa and some annual mercury Mercurialis annua.  After the gardens the path crosses a field with the parish church of Chalfont St. Giles (late 12^th century) standing prominently on the other side.  A cuckoo could be heard a little way off.  Just before the church we crossed the Misbourne stream flowing well here, with hemp agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum and gipsywort Lycopus europaeus. 

The churchyard, according to an apologetic notice, is cut just once a month for the wild flowers, so it might appear untidy at times!  It looked as if it had just been mown, but clumps of long grass harboured ox-eye daisies Leucanthemum vulgare.  There is an impressive wooden porch to the church (1330) with a carving of St Giles at the top (patron saint of lepers, beggars and blacksmiths!) and an old lych-gate with rotating gate. 

Churchyard, Chalfont St Giles

South porch of St Giles

Lych-gate, St Giles

From here a cobbled passage gives on to Deanway in Chalfont St. Giles, up which we went, past shops where one could buy snacks if already hungry and Milton’s Cottage Museum, among several other old buildings.  This cottage is where Milton completed “Paradise Lost” after he had left London to avoid the plague.  Walls have yellow corydalis Pseudofumaria lutea and ivy-leaved toadflax Cymbalaria muralis.  At the top of the hill we turned right along Back Lane beside the White Hart and immediately took a footpath to the left.  At a kissing gate we took the left-hand footpath once again.  Here is a pond looking newly made but well-stocked with ragged robin Lychnis flos-cuculi, yellow iris Iris pseudacorus, purple iris Iris versicolor, and bulrush Typha latifolia.  Cowslips Primula veris on the banks had finished flowering, but a mound presumably made from the excavated soil was white with ox-eye daisies.  A recently-emerged female broad-bodied chaser Libellula depressa was perched on a dead stalk drying its wings, body and wings in pristine colour. 

Pond, Chalfont St. Giles

Newly emerged female Broad-bodied Chaser

The hedge further on had hops Humulus lupulus scrambling over it and beyond was an abandoned orchard with a few old standing and fallen fruit-trees, including cherry.  It is a little difficult to follow the path from here through modern horse-paddocks that have altered the topography, further confused by many horse-riding tracks, but one essentially keeps due west to the edge of Hodgemoor Woods.

The woods are an SSSI owned by the Chiltern District Council and managed by the Forestry Commission.  An ancient core is surrounded by more recent plantings and the soils vary from acid Reading Beds to calcareous clays over chalk.  If one has time there are many other interesting plants and rare butterflies to be found here by exploring the wood, but our walk was limited to the southern and (on return) northern edges.  We entered the wood by a large old oak and turned left along the footpath following the edge around to the end of a small lane, where a large ride took us on westwards, still by the wood edge.  The wood seems to be mainly oak here, with some rhododendron invading.  There is a large colony of pignut Conopodium majus along here and some ramsons that may in this case be native.  When we reached a large deep pit with a half-dead old beech on its rim, we took the path to the left.  Along here there is a small colony of coralroot - at this time of the year, after flowering, still apparent by the dark purple bulbils decorating their stems.

Mature oak, Hodgemoor Woods

 Old beech by pit, Hodgemoor Woods

Soon after this we emerged from the wood into a surfaced lane and took this SW.  Just before a bend we passed a large patch of crosswort Cruciata laevipes on the verge, and at the bend itself took a footpath to the right.  This descends between a double hedgerow and high banks and is clearly an ancient way.  There was a clump of tansy Tanacetum vulgare not yet in flower but the leaves were distinctive.  The old way continues down through Starveacre Wood, largely bare apart from dog’s mercury, carrying on across another track.  After leaving the wood we soon reached another Amersham Road, this time the A355.  Just before the road on the left is a good clump of hard shield fern Polystichum aculeatum.  The track continues across the road past cottages, along the edge of Owlsears Wood.  After one field we reached Wood Cottage and we took the path into Great Beards Wood, largely beech and oak, property of the Penn House Estate.

Formerly laid trees beside ancient way approaching Great Beards Wood

As there was no shooting we were able to follow a pleasant ride off to the right across the centre of wood to a path on the west side, where we turned right again to reach the footpath along the north edge.  (If this is not possible a longer route is necessary, keeping to the footpath to the far end of the wood at Knotty Green and then taking a footpath north via Seagrave’s Farm to gain the footpath eastwards along the north side of Great Beards Wood.) 

Hard shield-fern

There is a fair amount of wood meadow-grass Poa nemoralis here, distinctive even before flowering because of the narrow horizontal leaves, square-stalked St. John’s-wort Hypericum tetrapterum, and white helleborine Cephalanthera damasonium. 

White helleborine, Great Beards Wood

Path in Great Beards Wood

At the north edge of the wood we took the footpath to the right (eastwards).  A little way to the left there was a small colony of coralroot among the bluebells (as we discovered when we turned the wrong way before realising our mistake), but we passed several more groups of this flower walking east.  At the end of the wood, after turning left (northwards) at a crossroads of tracks, we passed more coralroot again before leaving the wood. 

This becomes another old lane between banks climbing uphill through wheat-fields to Ongar Hill Farm, where we took another track to the right as it crosses just behind the farm.  There was a clump of dame’s violet Hesperis matronalis as we headed down along another old lane.  At a sharp bend a small path takes one straight on into the garden of the Harte and Magpies pub, which is helpfully open all day for those who have found the morning walk rather long, but at least we were now well over halfway through the walk!

Harte & Magpies

The pub had recently been called The Mulberry Bush before a change of ownership brought back a reference to the original name of The Magpie (still in evidence in the name of the lane beside it).  After local Chiltern Ale and a decent meal we were ready to proceed, if somewhat more slowly!  There was formerly an orchard where the outside benches now stand, as shown by remnants of old pear-trees and cherries.

Old orchard pear, Magpies

The pub stands beside the A355, which we had to cross once again to the path opposite.  This climbs quite steeply through a small beechwood with large clumps of male fern Dryopteris filix-mas. 

Male ferns

We emerged in a track along the east side of the wood (not quite where it is shown on the Ordnance Survey map) and had to turn left to reach Botterells Lane, where we turned right past Stockings Farm (with swallows nesting).  The hedgerows along this lane are very mixed with many different species and are obviously ancient.  Lots of greater celandine Chelidonium majus have become established along here, and there were a couple of very stout prickly purple stems of great lettuce Lactuca virosa.  As well as dog-rose Rosa canina, there was at least one small-flowered sweetbriar Rosa micrantha, with beautiful deep pink flowers and fruity-smelling leaves.  On some of the dog-rose leaves there were small round bright orange spore-clusters of the common rust fungus Phragmidium mucronatum.

This lane led us again to Hodgemoor Woods, this time along the opposite, northern, side.  We left the lane to take a parallel path inside the wood.  Damp hollows had a lot of bog stitchwort Stellaria uliginosa, there was more coralroot, and even some common cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense just coming into flower. 

Old beech, Hodgemoor Woods

Cow-wheat, Hodgemoor Woods

Long-horned Moth Nemophora degeerella, Hodgemoor

At the end of the wood we returned to the lane where it bends northwards for just a few yards before taking a footpath across fields through Flexmoor Farm and past Hill Farm House, and then the path NE downhill (Chiltern Way) towards the Misbourne Valley again, just north of Chalfont.  Pendulous sedge Carex pendula and tutsan Hypericum androsaemum herald a series of garden escapes near the cottages here.

Path through cow parsley near Hill Farm

Path descending into Misbourne Valley

As we descended the hill through several fields there was an unusual pollard hornbeam in the hedge. 

Pollard hornbeam

The path ends at a track through a small copse, which we took to the right for about 100m, when a small path branches to the left to Misbourne Farm.  The farm is now unfortunately mainly a dump and the river here is far from scenic, although maintained by Misbourne River Action Group volunteers. 

Misbourne Farm, one of the less scenic parts of the Chilterns

After a few yards a wooden bridge crosses the stream, where today there was a swarm of large may-flies Ephemera danica. 

Mayfly Ephemera danica in water (on rescuing it flew off and crashed in again!)

Over the bridge we passed through the farm buildings, where giant hogweed Heracleum mazzegantianum and Japanese knotweed Fallopia japonica make an evil duo, before reaching the A413. 

A miscellany of letterboxes at Misbourne Farm

A track opposite takes one straight up the hill to Bailey Wood, which has little botanical interest apart from small balsam Impatiens parviflora which has taken over in large colonies.  The yellow flowers were just emerging.  This plant continues along the subsequent track and a belt of woodland leading to Nightingales Lane B4442, the road from Little Chalfont to Chalfont StGiles. 

Small balsam

We turned right here along the road.  After a little way it was possible to walk along the verge on the right hand side.  This road passes among mansion-sized multi-million-pound houses with large grounds.  After passing a lane on the left, we reached the entrance to Shortenills Centre, which provides residential courses for Bucks schoolchildren.  As the right-hand verge ran out here, it was necessary to cross the road and use the verge on the other side for a short distance to the footpath off left, which goes through the woods along the perimeter fence of the Centre.  At the end of the wooden fence we took the left-hand footpath through woodland and fields to arrive back in Philipshill Wood where we started.  Just inside the entrance to the wood, on the steep chalk slope, there was a large scattered colony of white helleborines, all in perfect flower.  This was a pleasant end to an uninteresting stretch and it was now just a short walk along the path to the corner of the wood where we began.

White helleborine, Phillipshill Wood