Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Berkshire

Coombe Hill and Chequers trail

The Boer War memorial on Coombe Hill in the summer with purple flowers in the grass — The Boer War memorial at Coombe Hill | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

This is a moderately energetic circular walk offering panoramic views across the Aylesbury Vale. You will see rare chalk grassland, beautiful woodlands, the pretty village of Ellesborough and the Prime Minister’s country retreat at Chequers. You will taste the fascinating history and pre-history of a part of the Chiltern Hills that has been inhabited by people for thousands of years.

Near to

Chilterns Countryside

Start point

Coombe Hill car park, grid ref SP 851062

Map recommended

We strongly recommend using the local 1:25 000 Ordnance Survey map in addition to these instructions.

Address
Coombe Hill, near Butlers Cross, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Directions via Google Maps
Cycling
Coombe Hill is on the 170 mile circular Chilterns Cycleway. Please note that no cycling is allowed on the trail.
By bus
Start the walk at Ellesborough Church bus stop (between steps 4 and 5 on the trail). Use the Redline route 321 (Mon-Fri only, no service on bank holidays).
By train
The nearest railway station is a 1.5 mile walk away at Wendover on the Chiltern Railways line. From here, follow signs for the Ridgeway. Walk over Bacombe Hill to get to Coombe Hill. You will come out at the Monument (step 2 on the trail).
On foot
Coombe Hill is on the Ridgeway long distance footpath.
By road
Coombe Hill is 3 miles west of Wendover and 5 miles east of Princes Risborough. From Risborough, head east towards Ellesborough. Carry on to Butlers Cross then turn right onto the Missenden Road. From Wendover, head west towards Butlers Cross and turn left onto the Missenden Road. Drive for 2 miles up the hill until you reach a summit, where you need to turn left up Lodge Hill for a further mile until you reach the car park in front of you, on a tight right hand bend. SatNav: The nearest postcode is for Lodge Hill at HP17 0UR.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome, but must be kept on a lead as sheep and cattle are grazed in some areas.
Car park
Car park at Coombe Hill.
Toilet
No toilets on site. Nearest public toilets are in Wendover.
Picnic area
Shop
Refreshments are available at Buckmoorend Farm Shop and Kitchen at Point 13 (open daily 10 am to 4 pm except on Mondays)
Kiosk
Ice cream van at Coombe Hill (weather permitting).
Pub
Pubs include The Plough at Cadsden, and the Russell Arms at Butlers Cross.
There is one fairly steep climb from Ellesborough to Beacon Hill, which can be bypassed. There are three road crossings and two very short stretches of country road.

Some paths can be muddy and slippery after prolonged or heavy rain. Stout walking shoes or walking boots are strongly recommended.

Please note that parts of the route between points 3 to 11, and from point 12 onwards, are not on National Trust land. As such, the National Trust does not check for hazards on these sections of the walk. Walkers therefore follow this route at their own risk.
Total stages: 14
Total stages: 14
Start point
Coombe Hill car park, grid ref SP 851062
Stage 1
Enter the National Trust property through the main gate by the entrance to the car park. Take the path bearing diagonally left away from the path next to the picnic area fence. The path soon enters an area of heathy grassland. Continue in a more-or-less straight line across this, heading for a gap in the trees ahead. Continue through this gap and bear half right across open grassland towards the Boer War Memorial ahead of you.
Stage 2
At the Boer War Memorial, enjoy the excellent views of the Aylesbury Vale. To continue, turn back, as if to retrace your steps, but instead follow an almost parallel path to the right of two footpath markers and a tree. Just after a bench, and only 50m from the Memorial, bear right again on a narrow path. This heads diagonally downhill across chalk grassland with Chequers straight ahead of you. Towards the end of this path, the grassland on your left is festooned with anthills.
Chalk grassland
Chalk grassland is one of Britain’s rarest habitats and a reason why Coombe Hill is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. In the summer months you can expect to see over 40 different wild flower species and up to 15 different species of butterfly on these slopes. The large bumps in the turf are homes to yellow meadow ants, which in turn provide habitats for many of the wildflower species.
Ant hills at Coombe Hill | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole
Stage 3
Approaching the boundary fence and woodland ahead, look out for a path on your right (opposite a way-marker post on your left and a white tipped post in your right) and follow it steeply downhill through an area of woodland. Take great care as you descend, particularly after wet weather, as this steep path is uneven and can be slippery. At the bottom of the slope, turn sharp left on to a clear bridleway. Follow this, with Ellesborough Golf Course on your right, until you reach the corner of the National Trust property. Turn right, through a metal gate and follow the path downhill, into a track, which leads to a road. Cross this, and turn right along the footpath. After about 2 minutes (100m), turn left onto a sign-posted footpath that crosses a field in a straight line. Follow this path until you reach a crossing track.
Stage 4
Turn right onto the track, following the public footpath sign until you will reach the road and the village of Ellesborough. If you wish to cross the road to visit the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul, take great care crossing at this hazardous spot. Turn left along a narrow footpath. Pass a bus stop, and after about 30m enter a field on your left through a wooden kissing gate. Follow a path heading diagonally across the field towards a gap in a hedge. Go through a kissing gate to another field - an area of access land surrounding Beacon Hill.
Ellesborough Church from the foot of Beacon Hill | © Hugh Mothersole
Stage 5
The walk now takes a steep ascent up Beacon Hill. (You can avoid this if you wish by taking the public footpath to the right of the free standing metal gate and around the Hill until you reach a gate.) To climb Beacon Hill, take the narrow path to the left of the metal gate, and head straight uphill. Continue towards a small clump of trees at the summit.
The view to the top of Beacon Hill | © Hugh Mothersole
Stage 6
To descend from the hill, just before you reach the trees; look on your right for a narrow path downhill that almost doubles back on your upward route. It initially follows the contours and then heads more directly downhill until it meets the public footpath. Directly ahead, but hidden in the trees beyond, is Cymbeline’s Castle. Turn left on the public footpath towards trees until you reach a gate.
Stage 7
Continue through the gate into Ellesborough Warren. Go up a series of steps, through a gate then follow a path across a field. Shortly after the path is met by a wire fence on the right, go through a gate in a corner of the field, and follow a clear track through woodland. Cross over a surfaced track to reach a further gate.
Looking over box woodland at Ellesborough Warren | © Hugh Mothersole
Stage 8
The walk now starts a loop around and up Pulpit Hill. (To miss this out, and to shorten the walk by some 2.5k m/1.5 miles follow the grassy path on the left side of the field, with woodland and a fence on your left. You will soon meet the Ridgeway path. Turn left to meet a gate. Then go to straight to Step 12.) To continue on the longer route, bear right and follow a path that runs beneath the trees, signposted Outer Aylesbury Ring (OAR) on the gate post. When you emerge from the trees, head for a wooden gate in a wire fence. Go through the gate into an area of Access Land, and bear left up a short slope opposite. Turn left at the top. You will soon see views to your right across Great Kimble Common, Happy Valley and the Aylesbury Vale. The path now drops to the right below the ridge. Go past a wooden field gate, until you reach a kissing gate.
Stage 9
Go through the gate and turn right onto the Ridgeway path, with a steep wooded slope on your right. As the path soon enters more open grassland, keep left following the well-used path. The Ridgeway here is locally called the Cradle Path. Continue to follow the waymarked Ridgeway path until, just 15m after crossing another path and directly opposite a Ridgeway path marker, turn onto a grassy path branching off to your right, leading uphill to a flat-topped mound called Chequers Knap.
The view from Chequers Knap | © Hugh Mothersole
Stage 10
Turn back, taking the right hand path that descends Chequers Knap back to the Ridgeway, meeting it near a large beech tree by a metal kissing gate. Go through the gate and turn right down a sunken path. After 30 metres turn left, down some steps and through a kissing gate. Follow the Ridgeway path downhill and then up again. After 4 minutes (200m) and 30m past a bench and at the top of the rise, turn off the Ridgeway onto a branching waymarked path on your left that follows the contours. Continue until you join a sunken track (bridleway) merging from the right.
Looking up at the Rifle Butts | © Hugh Mothersole
Stage 11
Continue on this until you meet a metal, horse-friendly gate. Just after the gate, turn sharp left uphill. At a T-junction, turn left along a crossing path signed to Pulpit Hill Fort then, later, right at a similar sign. Eventually, in a small opening in the trees, you see the degraded ramparts of the ancient hillfort. Follow the path left to cross the rampart and enter the fort. The path crosses the fort for about 100m then turns right at a T-junction. Go gently downhill, straight across a crossing path, and then through a kissing gate. Continue downhill, coming into open grassland, eventually following a wire fence on your right. At a crossing of paths, turn right through a metal gate onto the Ridgeway path, and across a field to a gate.
Pulpit Hill
The small Iron Age hillfort at Pulpit Hill consists of pronounced ditches and earthworks standing on a steep-sided natural spur, which once commanded extensive views across the Vale of Aylesbury. Today the fort and the views are largely obscured by trees, particularly in the summer months. The views from the fort may be impeded, but its isolated location gives it the uniquely evocative atmosphere of a place forgotten by time.
Iron age hillfort ramparts at Pulpit Hill | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole
Stage 12
Go through the gate, following the Ridgeway, with fields and a view of Chequers and Coombe Hill on your left and woodland on your right. After 11 minutes (550m) take a sharp left through a gate, following the signpost for the Ridgeway. Continue through the grounds of Chequers in a roughly straight line across an open field, over the main driveway, through another field and a metal gate to reach a road.
Chequers and Coombe Hill | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole
Stage 13
Take great care crossing the road here; it is on a blind corner with fast moving traffic. It can be particularly difficult to hear approaching traffic in windy weather. On the opposite side, head to your left. Follow the track uphill signposted Ridgeway Bridleway soon forking to the right of a tree then eventually reaching a signpost showing the South Bucks Way. Continue straight ahead & uphill for another 200 m, then turn left along the Ridgeway. You are now in a woodland area with numerous crossing footpaths. Continue to follow the Ridgeway signs and ignore any other signs, including any further bridleways. The waymarks on posts (with the acorn symbol) will also help you keep to the route. Eventually you will emerge onto a road with a private driveway on your right.
Stage 14
Cross the road and head back into woodland on an unmarked footpath only about 10m uphill from the drive. The path takes you into Lodge Hill, passing some coppiced beech trees, then bends right uphill. Towards the top and the edge of the woodland bear left to re-join the Ridgeway. You will soon reach a metal kissing gate. Go through the kissing gate to enter Coombe Hill and turn immediately right to follow a path, with a fence and field on your right that leads to the gate where you started the walk.
End point
Coombe Hill car park, grid ref SP 851062
Trail map
Map showing the Coombe Hill and Chequers trail route | © Ordnance Survey
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01494755565

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Near to

Start point

Trail information

Difficulty*

Full trail

Short trail

Map recommended

Getting here

Facilities

Accessibility

Terrain and elevation

Trail route

Total stages: 14

Total stages: 14

Start point

Stage 1

Point of interest

Stage 2

Point of interest

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Point of interest

Stage 6

Stage 7

Point of interest

Stage 8

Stage 9

Point of interest

Stage 10

Point of interest

Stage 11

Point of interest

Stage 12

Point of interest

Stage 13

Stage 14

End point

Trail map

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