Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Berkshire

Beacon Hill, Juniper Bank and Aston Wood walk

Natural Sculpture Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve — Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve | © National Trust/Hugh Mothersole

Starting at Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, located high on the Chiltern Escarpment and offering views over the Vale of Oxford, this walk will take you through acres of chalk grassland with wild flowers. Moving on to the woodland areas of Juniper Bank and Aston Wood, you'll encounter an altogether different landscape, with chances to spot a wide range of flowers, butterflies, birds, deer and unusual fungi.

Near to

Chilterns Countryside

Start point

Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park. Grid ref: SU731966

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 4.5 (km: 7.2)

Duration2 hours

Dog friendly**

*This walk comprises a range of surfaces and gradients. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**Dogs are welcome, with conditions. For further details, please see section marked Facilities.

Walking in history

Since the Roman era, people have faced the test of transporting people and goods from the lowlands of the Oxford Vale, across the steep Chiltern Escarpment, to London. This walk explores various ways in which this challenge has been tackled over time. Steps 4 and 9 are part the Aston Rowant Discovery Trail (ARDT).

Address
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park, Oxfordshire, HP14 3YL
Directions via Google Maps
On foot
The Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is a short walk from Stokenchurch. Please see OS map 171.
By bus
There's a regular bus service between High Wycombe and Oxford that stops close to the reserve at both Stokenchurch and The Lambert Arms at Aston Rowant. The Stagecoach Oxford Tube runs a frequent service between Oxford and London that stops at Lewknor.
Cycling
Please see OS map 171. The Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is bordered by the Ridgeway National Trail and Swan’s Way. The reserve is easy to access by bicycle, and there are cycle racks in the car park at Beacon Hill.
By road
Leave the M40 at junction 5. Head towards Stokenchurch, but after 100m (110yd) turn left onto the A40, signposted to Oxford and Lewknor. After 1km (0.6 miles), turn left towards Christmas Common. After another 550yd (500m), turn right, following the signs to the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome but must be kept under strict control to protect the wildlife that may be encountered along the route. In places where livestock is grazed, please keep your dog on a short lead at all times.
Car park
Parking is available at the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park. There's a voluntary charge, which goes towards the upkeep of the reserve.
Toilet
There are no public toilets on site. The nearest public toilets can be found at the Chinnor Village Centre, 3 miles away.
Picnic area
There is a large picnic area at the end of the car park.
Pub
The Fox & Hounds pub at Christmas Common serves a wide range of meals and light bites.
The walk is almost entirely on soft footpaths, with one short stretch on a quiet country lane. There is one long descent through the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, and one long ascent up Juniper Hill. You'll need to cross the A40 main road twice. There are no stiles but you'll have to pass through a number of gates. Stout walking shoes or boots are recommended after wet weather, as some paths can become muddy and slippery.

Please note that parts of the route between Steps 1 and 7 are not on National Trust land. As such, the Trust does not check for hazards on these sections.
Total stages: 9
Total stages: 9
Start point
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park. Grid ref: SU731966
Stage 1
From the car park, there are two paths into the nature reserve. Take the right-hand path between the wooden noticeboard and the litter bin. Follow the path to a concrete-floored viewpoint with benches. From here, continue along the path that runs to the right of the information board about red kites. Go through the gate and take the right fork uphill. During wet weather, this path can be a bit slippery due to the drop-off of the slope to your left. (There's an alternative path from the car park that runs downhill to the left, leading directly to Step 3. This may be a safer option when the ground is wet.)
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve
Located on the Chiltern Escarpment, the reserve is home to plants and butterflies native to chalk grassland. The flowers include several orchids, as well as the Chiltern gentian. There is also a large expanse of woodland here, with beech, yew and juniper trees all present. The reserve's diverse habitats support a variety of birdlife, including large flocks of finches, plus winter visitors such as fieldfare and redwing. You can also see red kite, wheatear, whitethroat and blackcap.
Stage 2
Continue along the level path and through a second gate. The path then curves to the right, passing a metal seat sculpture and eventually leading to a third gate. Go through this gate and continue straight ahead until the path forks left towards a wooden sculpture of a red kite. At the sculpture, turn left downhill, following a clear, partly sunken path (ignore the two sets of metal gates on your right). Go straight through the next metal gate and follow the clear path across the chalk grassland. After about 55yds (50m), you'll see a bench on your left, below a large yew tree. From here, you'll get a great view of the Chiltern Escarpment to the south-west. After another sunken section of path that curves left, continue downhill towards a wooden gate.
Stokenchurch Gap
Also known as 'The Canyon', Stokenchurch Gap is a steep chalk cutting through the Chiltern Hills that was made in the early 1970s during construction of the M40 motorway. The cutting has been declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as it's revealed layers of rocks that are significant to geologists. Notably, it provides the best Coniacian section in central England, with rocks dating between 89.8 and 86.3 million years old.
Stokenchurch Gap | © National Trust/Hugh Mothersole
Stage 3
Don't go through the gate but take a sharp right, following a clear path gently downhill with the reserve's boundary fence on your left. Continue along the path, through an area of scrub woodland. Go through a wooden gate, then fork left and downhill to reach two more sets of gates. Go through the wooden gate, then the metal kissing gate, and you'll come to the Ridgeway long-distance footpath, which is part of the Icknield Way. Between the two gates, there's an information board about the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve.
The Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. In this part of the country, it follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and the Chiltern Hills. The earliest mentions of the Icknield Way are in Anglo-Saxon charters from the year 903 onwards. Between Lewknor and Ivinghoe, there are two parallel courses known as the Lower Icknield Way and the Upper Icknield Way. The latter, which doubles as the Ridgeway National Trail, has probably been a drovers' route for over 1,000 years.
The Icknield Way | © National Trust/Hugh Mothersole
Stage 4
Turn right onto the Ridgeway path and follow it for about 660yd (600m) until you reach the A40. Take care crossing the road, then continue along the Ridgeway path on the opposite side. After another 275yd (250m), the Ridgeway is joined on its left side by a narrow belt of trees and scrub vegetation. This is the abandoned route of the former Watlington and Princes Risborough railway. The path here can get quite muddy during wet weather, but it's generally wide enough to allow visitors to avoid the worst parts.
Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway
For a short distance, the Ridgeway follows the route of the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway (WPRR), between Lewknor Bridge Halt and Aston Rowant Station. The WPRR was an independent railway company connecting Watlington and Chinnor to the main railway network of the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Princes Risborough. Founded in 1872, the company was always short of money, and it sold the line to GWR in 1883. After passenger services ceased in 1957, a cement works at Chinnor kept part of the line open until 1989. After this, a heritage railway group took over the remaining section of track, operating it as the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway.
Stage 5
Continue in the same direction along the Ridgeway Path. After another 495yd (450m), you'll come to a signpost next to a small Aston Rowant Discovery Trail noticeboard. Turn right onto the crossing bridleway.
Stage 6
The bridleway initially follows a field boundary, but soon becomes hedged on both sides. Continue along it, uphill, into an area of woodland. Follow the white arrows on the trees until you reach a National Trust sign announcing Juniper Bank. Here, turn right off the bridleway, following the route of the Aston Rowant Discovery Trail.
Stage 7
As you approach a double metal gate, take a sharp left up a wide, gently sloping track. You're now on the route of the medieval London Weye and the abandoned Stokenchurch turnpike road. Continue up the track for 0.6 miles (1km) until you reach the A40. Turn left, following the narrow path alongside the road for about 165yd (150m). When you're opposite a lay-by, cross the road and go through a gate into the National Trust–managed Aston Wood.
Juniper Bank and the 'London Weye'
Juniper Bank contains particularly diverse woodland including beech and ash forest, and stands of alder and field maple. One steep bank consists of mixed scrub and chalk grassland and juniper trees. The uphill track comprises a short section of the medieval ‘London Weye’ from Oxford to London: once the main road between the two cities. However the road had its problems. A Parliamentary Committee was told in the early 18th century that the route “was frequented by wagons and other heavy carriages and had become so very ruinous and out of repair that in the winter season it was dangerous to travellers”. In an attempt to remedy this, the road became a turnpike (toll road) in 1719, maintained by the Stokenchurch to Wheatley Turnpike Trust. Despite the improvements, one section was so steep that extra horses had to be put at the bottom of the hill to help struggling stage coaches get to the top. In 1824 this route was 'found inconvenient' and was diverted to the southwest along the route of the present A40, so as to be more 'commodious to the public'.
Stage 8
Immediately after the gate into Aston Wood, take the left-hand fork and follow the woodland path, the route of which is marked by white arrows on the trees. In winter, you'll be able to see the Oxford Vale through the trees on your right, but this is largely obscured when the trees are in leaf.
Aston Wood
About two-thirds of Aston Wood comprises beech forest, which once provided materials for the local furniture industry. The remaining third comprises a number of tree species, including ash, cherry, oak, whitebeam, sycamore and hornbeam. Holly, hawthorn and elder form a sparse understorey with rowan and hazel coppice stools at the eastern end. Look out for red kites, buzzards, fallow deer, muntjac deer and carpets of bluebells in the spring.
Stage 9
On reaching the far side of Aston Wood, go straight ahead, ignoring a right-hand footpath. You'll soon reach a lane. Turn right and follow it back to the car park.
End point
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park. Grid ref: SU731966
Trail map
Map of the Beacon Hill, Juniper Bank and Aston Wood walk | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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