Maidensgrove Common - A circular walk with the possibility of snowdrops

Meet ready for a 10:00 am start - parking on the right hand side of Maidensgrove Common, off Park Lane, Stonor, near Henley-on-Thames. 

The walk has 1180 feet of ascent.

We'll start our walk heading downhill from Maidensgrove Common into the BBOWT Warburg Nature Reserve. Then along the valley bottom before gradually climbing up towards Park Corner - keeping an eye out for wild deer in the fields to the right. We go through Haycroft Woods to Swyncombe Church, where we'll stop for a mid-morning break, and hopefully see a few snowdrops before our path takes us on to Nettlebed. Perhaps bring some mid-morning snacks today as our lunch stop in Nettlebed is likely to be a bit later than usual.

Lunch will probably be after 1:15pm, and by then we'll have already walked more than 7 miles! The plan is to picnic near to the outdoor Cheese Shed cafe - in case anyone wants to supplement their picnic lunch with a takeaway hot drink and / or cake.

After lunch, our route takes us via Crocker End and Wellgrove Wood on the Chiltern Way. Look out for the ruined Saxon Church of St James, dating back to 1600, before we start to head upwards through Freedom Wood, and back to Maidensgove Common. 

Bring plenty to drink, picnic lunch and snacks. Walking poles might be handy if you use them.

No dogs on this walk please. Please consider car sharing where possible, especially if travelling from Reading, as there isn't an easy public transport option for this walk.