The Chilterns are well known for their beech woodlands. This
4 mile (6.4km) gentle walk takes you through the beech hangers on
Chesham’s doorstep enabling you to appreciate their beauty. There
is an option to swap ‘fields and views’ for more beech woodland
halfway round, but none of the paths are arduous. History hides
away along the route. The remains of mills along the River Chess
take one back to early times. Lord’s Mill was a corn mill in Saxon
times when they farmed the Chess Valley. Chesham harboured
nonconformist Lollards and Thomas Harding, the 16th-century
martyr, was arrested in Aldridge’s Dell in 1532 and burnt at the
stake as a heretic on White Hill, where there is a memorial stone.
Along the route there is a wide range of wildlife to be enjoyed.
Look for egrets and herons on the Chess. On the Chess lakes there
are wildfowl including unusual ducks, grebes, geese and swans.
Look out in the woods for woodpeckers, nuthatches and, in the
spring, a profusion of wildflowers including wild orchids. Autumn
will bring out its crop of fungi amongst the beautiful leaf colours.
You might even glimpse a deer in the woods or the blue dart of the
kingfisher along the Chess.
Credits:
This route is part of the Chiltern Society Free Walks, printable instructions can be found here: https://chilternsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Chesham_Bois_and_the_Beech_Hangers.pdf
These instructions are free for anyone to use, note they are strictly NOT for resale.