Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Berkshire

Cookham and Cock Marsh walk

A fallen tree lies on Cock Marsh at Cookham Commons, Berkshire. — Cock Marsh at Cookham Commons | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

Follow this circular walk along riverside paths, through lush meadows and over chalk grassland slopes and enjoy panoramic views across the Thames Valley.

Near to

Maidenhead and Cookham Commons

Start point

Cookham Moor car park. SU892853

Address
Cookham Moor National Trust car park, Cookham, Berkshire. SL6 9SG.
Directions via Google Maps
Cycling
Cookham is easily accessible by bicycle from Maidenhead on National Cycle Network Route 52. Please note that no cycling is allowed on the trail including the Thames Path.
By bus
Route 37 to Cookham runs between Maidenhead and High Wycombe and through the village. The nearest bus stop is at Cookham Village Memorial.
On foot
Please see OS map 172 for detailed rights of way. Cookham is also on the Thames Path national trail.
By train
The nearest railway stations are Bourne End and Cookham, both within 10 minutes walk from Cookham village.
By road
From the A4094, take the B4447 into the High Street. Go through the village centre to the Cookham Village Memorial and Cookham Moor. The car park (National Trust) is a further 200 metres on the right. Satnav: SL6 9SG.
Total stages: 11
Total stages: 11
Start point
Cookham Moor car park. SU892853
Stage 1
Start at the National Trust Car Park at Cookham Moor. Cross the road (B4447) and take the short path up to the Fleet Bridge and onto the causeway.
Cookham Moor
Cookham Moor is a low-lying wetland divided by Strand Water on the floodplain of the River Thames. The Moor was donated to the National Trust in 1934, along with 800 acres of other common land in the area. At the heart of local life, this open green space is used for village events through the summer. Fleet Bridge, built in 1929, was a gift to the village by Mrs Balfour Allen as a memorial to her husband Edward. Together with the causeway, the bridge has proved to be invaluable in times of flood. The moor and bridge also feature in several of Sir Stanley Spencer’s paintings of the area.
Stage 2
Turn left at the bridge and follow the causeway towards the War Memorial and Cookham Village high street.
Cookham Village
The area around Cookham has been inhabited for thousands of years. Recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) as Cocheham, the name could be Old English for 'cook village' or possibly referring to cōc(e) meaning hill. The village is listed as containing '32 villagers, 21 cottagers, 4 slaves, 2 mills, 2 fisheries and woodland at 100 pigs’. By the Middle Ages, most of Cookham was owned by Cirencester Abbey. Still visible today, the Tarry Stone marking the extent of the Abbey's lands sits by the bench at the road junction north of the Stanley Spencer Gallery.
Stage 3
Staying on the south side of the High Street, continue through the village until you reach the Stanley Spencer Gallery on your right. You are now at the junction of the B4447 and the A4094.
Stanley Spencer
Cookham was 'a Village in Heaven' to Sir Stanley Spencer, and acted as an endless source of artistic inspiration. Born in 1891 in a semi-detached house called Fernley (look out for the blue plaque on the south side of the high street), Spencer became famous for depicting biblical scenes as if occurring in Cookham, and capturing the rural life of the village. After his death in 1959 friends and patrons established the Stanley Spencer Gallery, a place within the village to display Spencer's paintings and drawings and celebrate the work of this local artist.
Stage 4
From the Stanley Spencer Gallery, cross the High Street (B4447) and follow the A4094 north for about 75 metres past the Tarry Stone on your right. Turn left down Church Gate and after a further 50 metres, turn right into the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church.
Stage 5
Follow the path to the left of the church for about 200 metres, go through a gate and you'll reach the Thames Path. Here turn left again, following the riverside path as it gently curves to the north. After about a kilometre along the waterside, you'll go through a gate onto Cock Marsh. Commoners graze cattle here so please keep your dogs on leads or under close control.
Stage 6
Continue along the edge of the Thames, with Cock Marsh on your left and the river on your right. After another 500 metres cross under a railway bridge. You'll now have houses on your left and the river on your right. The Bounty pub can be found along this stretch of river. At the end of the line of riverside buildings go through a gate and immediately turn left. Heading away from the river, follow the broad grassy path towards the slope of Winter Hill. Look out for the Bronze Age burial mounds to either side of the path.
Burial mounds
This prehistoric cemetery of four burial mounds (also known as barrows or tumuli) is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM). The largest mound rises two metres above the marsh, though the other three are less obvious. Several cremated bodies were found here, together with parts of a shield and knife when the barrows were excavated between 1847 and 1877. It's likely that the barrows were constructed in the early Bronze Age (c.200–700 BC), and also later used by Anglo-Saxons in the area.
Stage 7
The path passes to the left of the largest of the burial mounds. Continue in the same direction for a further 250 metres, towards a wooden boardwalk. The boardwalk crosses an ancient, abandoned channel of the Thames and still floods regularly in winter. Cross the boardwalk towards a wooden bench (be careful, it can be slippery when wet) and turn right onto a broad gravel and grass track. If you wish to avoid the short but steep climb up Winter Hill, turn left along the broad gravel track and follow it around the base of the hill and under the railway to reach point 11 on the route. This route is level all the way back to the car park.
A special place
The wetland meadows of Cock Marsh are very important for rare plant species, breeding waders and overwintering birds. Part of the site is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The steep chalk grassland, swiftly changing into marshy, acid meadows has created an ecosystem of rare and interesting species. As part of the historic channel of the Thames, the ponds here support specialist plants like water violet, marsh arrowgrass, marsh stitchwort, marsh pennywort and water hemlock. The rare sedge Cyperus fuscus (brown galingale) is found here and in only a handful of other sites in Great Britain. It relies on cattle to tread or poach the ground on the pond edges to create the perfect habitat to grow. The cattle here work hard to help maintain a rich botanical diversity of grassland habitat.
Stage 8
Follow the track west with the steep slope on your left and Cock Marsh on your right. After about 400 metres you'll reach a junction of paths by a hollow in the hillside. Turn sharp left, taking the steep path uphill for 200 metres, where you'll meet a crossing path. Turn sharp right and continue on a reasonably level path for 150 metres. Look out for an uphill path to a wooden gate on your left.
Winter Hill
The steep chalk escarpment was created long ago by the erosion of the River Thames. Ancient river gravels sit on top of the plateau deposited by glacial waters nearly half a million years ago, during the Anglian Stage Ice Age. Admire views across the Thames Valley towards the surrounding villages of Marlow, Bourne End and Cookham. The chalk slopes support orchids, rock rose and other flowering species, which are great for foraging insects. Patches of woodland and scrub provide shelter for birds and small mammals. Watch out for red kites riding the thermal updrafts and scouring the grassland for prey.
Stage 9
Head up the slope, pass through the wooden gate and continue straight ahead along the edge of a field with a fence on your left. Here you can see downriver, with parts of Cliveden House visible on the distant hilltop. As you approach a cluster of buildings, turn left onto a waymarked footpath heading gently downhill following the hedge on your right. At the end of the hedge continue straight ahead along the public right of way across Winter Hill Golf Course. You'll eventually reach a bridge over the railway line.
Cliveden
Positioned on top of chalk cliffs and overlooking the Thames, the site for Cliveden was chosen by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham in 1666 for its striking views of the river and surrounding countryside. Built on the 200ft (61m) chalk cliff with the dene, or valley, running below, the estate was originally named Clief-dene. The National Trust have looked after the house and gardens since 1942. Though the house is now let as a hotel, it was home to the influential Astor family through the wartime era.
Stage 10
Cross the bridge and turn immediately right, following the grassy path and keeping to the edge of the golf course. The path leads to a small car park and heads towards a lane. Just before you reach the lane turn left along a waymarked footpath, which is initially a track but soon becomes a narrower path between a hedge on your right and a paddock on your left.
Stage 11
On reaching a kissing gate, turn right following a footpath between a stream (Strand Water) on your left and some paddocks on your right. When the path meets a crossing track, turn right into Cookham Moor car park where you started the walk.
End point
Cookham Moor car park. SU892853
Trail map
A map of the Cookham and Cock Marsh walk | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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Start point

Trail information

Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

Getting here

Facilities

Terrain and elevation

Trail route

Total stages: 11

Total stages: 11

Start point

Stage 1

Point of interest

Stage 2

Point of interest

Stage 3

Point of interest

Stage 4

Point of interest

Stage 5

Point of interest

Stage 6

Point of interest

Stage 7

Point of interest

Stage 8

Point of interest

Stage 9

Point of interest

Stage 10

Stage 11

End point

Trail map

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