AS PRETTY country parishes go, Wooburn has a lot to recommend it.
Following the curving valley of the River Wye chalkstream from near Loudwater until it joins the River Thames near Cookham, this was always a place where the rich soil was easily worked and the meadows and woodlands made it a desirable place to live.
Sweeping views across the valley reveal a plethora of green spaces to explore, among them the delightful wildlife haven of Farm Wood, much enjoyed by dog walkers but easily overlooked by anyone passing through the village on the main road to Bourne End.
One of a number of open spaces cared for by Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council, it lies just off Broad Lane at the top of Wash Hill, so anyone accessing the wood from the village has a reasonably stiff climb ahead of them.
But a small car parking area off the main road provides an easier starting point for dog walkers, and a level bridleway leads off towards the pretty hamlet of Berghers Hill and on to Mill Wood.
This level route is popular with ramblers, being easily built in to a circular route encompassing Hedsor and Littleworth Common, or a more challenging 5km circuit encompassing the tougher gradients to be found in both woods.
At the Broad Lane entrance, a parish council sign points out some of the main wildlife attractions to watch out for, including woodmice and tawny owls, slow worms and weasels.
Picnic benches at both ends of the bridleway can be glorious on a summer’s day, although some of the paths can get muddy in winter.
Bluebells, rhododendrons and foxgloves add a splash of colour in the spring and there are plenty of mature trees to add to the appeal of this little oasis.
Towards the lower end of the wood a footpath cuts diagonally across open fields towards Wooburn Park, with views across the Wye Valley – perfect for anyone dropped off at the top of the ridge and wanting an easy downhill saunter into the village.
More tables clustered around a small pond offer another picnic venue in the depths of the wood, with additional information boards for nature-conscious visitors.
It’s not huge, but Farm Wood is well cared for and a perfect place to unwind, hidden away from the busy main roads that criss-cross the area.
Berghers Hill is a picturesque conservation area which was the home of Kate Frye (Mrs Kate Collins), an Edwardian actress, suffragist activist and diarist whose home was at Hill Top from the latter part of the First World War.
As recounted by the suffrage historian Elizabeth Crawford, it was there that Kate chronicled when war ended in November 1918 and there too, perched on the ridge above Wooburn Green, that she recounted the drone of German planes overhead for hour after hour in September 1940, along with “a great red glow over London”.
Thankfully the paths around the settlement are a great deal quieter today, perhaps the perfect place to take a seat in the sun and catch up with Crawford’s painstakingly researched biography of Kate Parry Frye, whose diary ran from the late 1890s to 1958.
Alternatively, carry on walking to WIndsor Hill and you find yourself in Mill Wood, a relatively narrow strip of land above Wooburn Green bordered by busy roads.
It’s not as picturesque or peaceful as Farm Wood, but the flat main path towards Holtspur is popular with dog walkers and those wanting to tackle some more testing gradients can loop up and down through the ferns and foxgloves towards the valley bottom.
Depending on the wind direction, it’s not always possible to escape the roar of traffic from the nearby motorway and busy A roads, and on a bad day locals are none too happy about the “foul stench” emanating from the landfill site at Springfield Farm Quarry.
But despite such distractions, paths through the private wood offer a calming space where echoes of modern life can quickly fade away, especially on a spring morning when the sound of birdsong is at its peak.
Most dog walkers park at the top of Windsor Hill and opt for the easy path, but those wanting a more challenging circuit can loop round to the bottom of the valley and head back across the fields, or take one of the circular rambles mentioned earlier.
Another option is to head the other side of Farm Wood and pick up the Berkshire loop of the Chiltern Way towards Hedsor and Cookham.
The Berkshire Loop is a 28-mile walking route diverging from the Chiltern Way south of Penn, crossing the Thames at Cookham Bridge and taking in Winter Hill, Ashley Hill and Remenham Hill before re-crossing the Thames at Henley Bridge to rejoin the Chiltern Way in Harpsden Bottom.
Off this well-trodden path lies a delightful private wood much treasured by locals where you can get permission to walk on request.
It’s such an oasis of calm that its precise location is worth protecting, but contact details are on the gate for those happy to respect the peace of the place, which remains gloriously free of litter, poo bags and the other detritus that can plague public parks.
Here, amid the glorious fragrance of soaring evergreens, a basic figure of eight loop gives joggers and dog walkers a chance to find a place of calm away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.
As in other local woods, bluebells carpet some of the dells in April, foxgloves line the paths in May and rhododendrons add to the splashes of colour against the backdrop of greens and browns.
To complete the full circuit involves some challenging gradients for those less fleet of foot, but to be deep among the trees as dusk starts to fall is to find a very special place of solace and respite, of refreshment and renewal.
Back on the Berkshire Loop towards Hedsor and the Thames, or returning to Farm Wood, Wooburn locals can relish the fact that their ancient valley offers so much space to roam and so much variety in its landscape.
Slow Ways is an initiative to create a national network of paths, ways and trails designed to encourage people to leave the car at home and get back in touch with nature, on foot.
In the fields and woods around Wooburn, we have just such a network on our doorstep, and for hundreds of local families it’s a daily delight to escape into the fields and woods that make it such a special place to live.
