The weather remains very cold and sunny, so to make the most of it I decided to get out early for a walk then get a haircut (not sure it was the right weather for that) then see if there was enough time to get another walk in later before Helen got back from her shopping trip to Burford with the cousins. My morning walk was to start at Dunsmore.
I was up at Dunsmore just after 9, and found parking difficult, not because there were lots of people (there were in fact none) but because there are no parking spaces at all. I found somewhere to dump the car on the grass verge and headed down the steep hill towards Coombe Hill parking but left the road at the bottom, and headed up hill to join the ridgeway. There were a few parties of scouts about all going in different directions, they were all either lost or all had different routes to take.
I followed the ridgeway for a bit then turned right to over a field toward the pub at Little Hampden. Turns out the pub is not a pub any more, it looks like a private dwelling. I am not surprised as the premises are at the end of a long country lane which is a dead end. You will not get passing traffic that’s for sure, still it is a shame because the pub makes a great stop for a pint if you are doing a long circular walk. Helen and I would like to time it so the pub was 2/3 to 3/4 of the way round, taht way it was a welcome break and left not too far to go before the end of the walk.
From the ex-pub I headed left back across the valley towards the ridgeway, where I took a left which took me back to Dunsmore. The weather had been cold but crisp ideal walking conditions. I had seen a few yellow hammers and got fooled by my green woodpecker message alert on the blackberry!
Once home I had a coffee started a new stored procedure to create requisitions from tasks (work stuff) and headed into Aylesbury for a hair cut. Silky Snips is my favourite barbers in Aylesbury they do a good job and there is never a queue on a Sunday. So number two on top and number round round the side it was all over in 10 minutes, and I was £7 lighter, and my head must 7 degrees colder!
Once back I did a bit more work on the stored procedure, then headed out to Dancersend for a quick walk round the valley in the hills above Aston Clinton. I parked up at the usual spot just before the grand manor house at the junction at the top of the hill. I headed up to the junction on foot took a right then the footpath on the immediate left, then headed down across the field. There is a local business that does shooting at the weekend and they must own most of the land in the valley. They have planted lots of sweet cord for the game birds and I was flushing pheasants and partridge left right and centre. I then headed up the hill towards the path that run along the base of the hill directly ahead and leads to the old water works.
Back on to the road I took the path on the right which leads directly up the hill to the local phone mast, then I took a right along the top of the hill before dropping down the hill to come out near the farm where the shooting is run from. The hill is called Hang hill at the end of the road are three cottages, that are really tucked away as they are at the end of a road that goes almost full circle from the junction I set out from. From the cottages it is only about 200 yeards up a bridle path back to where I started.
The temperature was getting very cold by now as the valley is quite sheltered and the sun had gone down behind the hill, but I was well wrapped up and did not feel it. It is really great to get out and about on the fine cold days, much better than rainy or overcast days when the temperature is much warmer. I certainly felt I had made the most of my Sunday.
