Beacon Hill, Juniper Bank and Aston Wood Walk
Since Roman times, people have faced the test of transporting people and goods between the lowlands of the Oxford Vale, across the steep Chiltern Escarpment, to and from London. This walk explores various ways in which this challenge has been tackled over time, and not always without controversy. Meanwhile, other transport routes that have kept to the lowlands haven't necessarily succeeded.
This walk between points 4 and 9 coincides with part of the Aston Rowant Discovery Trail (ARDT). Its sign boards and green way marker arrows will help you appreciate the area and follow the route.
If you would like to identify wildlife species, you may wish to use some of the many mobile phone nature apps produced by recognised UK conservation and wildlife groups, such as The BTO, The Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, Butterfly Conservation and The Natural History Museum.
The walk starts at Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, which is located high on the Chiltern Escarpment, offering panoramic views on the Vale of Oxford. In the summer you can walk through acres of chalk grassland and wildflowers, while eye-catching butterflies flutter through the meadows. Red kites are commonly seen gliding overhead. By contrast, the National Trust woodland areas of Juniper Bank and Aston Wood offer an altogether different landscape, with tall trees with ample shade. In autumn these woodlands are richly coloured, and they are excellent places to see a wide range woodland flowers, butterflies, birds, deer, and a range of unusual fungi.
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park. Grid Reference SU731965.
Difficulty Moderate
Distance 4.5 miles (7.2 km)
Map OS Explorer 171 - Recommended
Dogs allowed Dog friendly
Chilterns Countryside Buckinghamshire
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Bluebells in Aston Wood in May David Ellis
Chalkhill Blue National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Icknield Way at Aston Rowant National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Facilities and access
Walk route Ordnance Survey
Begin trail
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park. Grid Reference SU731965
There are two paths into the Nature Reserve from the car park. Take the right-hand path between the wooden notice board and the litter bin. Follow the path to a concrete-floored viewpoint with benches. From the viewpoint, continue along the path to the right of the information board about the red kites. Go through a gate and take the right fork upslope. The path soon levels out, with excellent views across the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve and the Vale of Oxford.
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the escarpment of the Chiltern Hills and a large part of it is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The reserve is home to plants and butterflies of chalk grassland. The flowers include a number of orchids and the Chiltern gentian. As well as chalk grassland, the reserve contains woodland with beech, yew, and juniper. The Reserve's diverse habitats support a variety of bird life including large flocks of finches and winter visitors such as fieldfare and redwing. Red kite, wheatear, whitethroat and blackcap can also be seen. Volunteers carry out regular surveys and ring ouzels, firecrests, hobbies and ravens have all been spotted on the reserve. Other birds to look out for include brightly coloured bull finches, yellowhammers and green woodpeckers. Thirty species of butterfly have been recorded on the reserve and key species include chalkhill blue and silver-spotted, dingy and grizzled skippers. The Aston Rowant reserve is managed by Natural England assisted by the Oxford Conservation Volunteers.
Aston Rowant Nature Reserve National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Continue along the level path and through a second gate. The path then curves to the right, past a metal seat sculpture, to a third gate. Go through the gate and continue up the grassy path and then straight ahead until the path forks left towards a large wooden sculpture (the red kite sculpture). This has a talking guide built in with six different topics, which can be activated via a manual wind up mechanism. At the sculpture, turn left downhill, following a clear, partly sunken path through scrub vegetation, ignoring two metal gates on your right hand side. Go through the next metal gate and follow the clear path across the chalk grassland. After another sunken section of path that curves left, continue downhill towards a wooden gate. This is a good point to see the M40 Motorway cutting or 'Stokenchurch Gap' ahead of you.
The Stokenchurch Gap
The Stokenchurch Gap, also known as the Aston Rowant Cutting or 'The Canyon' is a steep chalk cutting, constructed through the Chiltern Hills during the early 1970s for the M40 motorway. It is 1,200 metres long and up to 47 metres deep. The cutting has been declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest of geological importance as it has revealed layers of rocks that are very significant to geologists; notably it provides the best 'Coniacian' section in central England; the rocks dating between 89.8 and 86.3 million years old. The curved route of the cutting was designed to reduce impact on the skyline, and to minimise the impact on the local landscape. It was dug with unusually steep sides, which have been monitored for movement since construction. At the time of construction, the cutting was extremely controversial, as it cuts directly through the ecologically-important Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve. During the construction, archaeologists unearthed a Saxon village and burial ground close to where junction 6 now stands and when the cutting was created, a Roman road was found which crossed over the ridge of the Chilterns at this point. An aerial shot of the cutting, looking northwest, is shown during the opening titles of the BBC sitcom, The Vicar of Dibley.
Stokenchurch Gap, Chilterns Countryside National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Don't go through the gate, but turn sharp right, following a clear path gently downhill, with the Nature Reserve's boundary fence on your left. Continue on 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 and then the metal kissing gate to reach the Ridgeway long distance footpath, which locally is part of the Icknield Way. Between the two gates there is an information board about the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve.
The Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern England that goes from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. It is thought by some to be one of the oldest traceable routes in Britain; however, the evidence for its being a prehistoric route has been questioned. The earliest mentions of the Icknield Way are in Anglo-Saxon charters from the year 903 onwards. The charters refer to several locations that span a distance of 40 miles from Wiltshire to Buckinghamshire. Between Lewknor and Ivinghoe there are two parallel courses known as the Lower Icknield Way and the Upper Icknield Way. The Upper Icknield Way, which doubles as The Ridgeway National Trail, has probably been a drovers' route for over a thousand years.
Turn right onto the Ridgeway path and follow it for about 600 metres (12 minutes) until you reach the A40 main road. Take care crossing the road and continue in the same direction along the Ridgeway path on the opposite side. After another 250 metres (5 minutes) 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. As you walk, you will see wooden and concrete posts that once supported the fencing and gates alongside the single-track branch line.
Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway
For a short distance the Ridgeway follows the route of the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway, between Lewknor Bridge Halt and Aston Rowant Station. The WPRR was an independent English railway company that connected the Oxfordshire towns of Watlington and Chinnor to the main line railway network of the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Princes Risborough. It opened in 1872. The company was always short of money and was obliged to sell the line to the GWR in 1883; investors sustained a considerable loss. Competition from roads led to a decline in usage and upon nationalisation of the railways in 1948 the line was subject to a review of its future and passenger operation eventually ceased in 1957. A large cement works at Chinnor kept part of the line in use for cement trains until the closure of the factory in 1989. A heritage railway group took over this remaining section of track and they now operate it successfully as the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway.
Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway 1959 Creative Commons - Lamberhurst 1959
After another 450m (9 minutes) turn right at a signpost next to a small Aston Rowant Discovery Trail notice board onto a crossing bridleway.
The bridleway initially follows a field boundary, but it soon becomes hedged on both sides. Continue along the bridleway 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.
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 stagecoaches 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'.
Juniper Bank National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
As you approach a double metal gate, turn sharp left up a wide, gently sloping track. You are now on the route of the medieval 'London Weye' and the abandoned Stokenchurch turnpike road. Continue up the track for 1 km until you reach the modern A40 main road. Turn left, following the narrow path alongside the road for about 150m. When you are opposite a layby, cross the road and go through a gate into the National Trust's Aston Wood.
Aston Wood
Aston Wood forms a curving block on a plateau and the north-west facing escarpment. About two thirds of the wood consists of beech forest, which once provided the materials for local furniture industry, but a number of other trees share the canopy, especially ash and cherry, but also oak, whitebeam, sycamore and hornbeam. Holly, hawthorn and elder form a sparse understorey with rowan and hazel coppice stools at the eastern end. The eastern third of Aston Wood is dominated by ash with oak and beech, the boundary bank being marked by three large stools of small-leaved lime. Look out for red kites, buzzards, fallow deer, Muntjac deer and carpets of bluebells in the spring. The beech woods contain a number of flint and chalk pits, which once provides the materials for local house and road building. Smaller hollows may have been sawpits associated with the furniture industry.
Immediately after the gate 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 will be able to see the Oxford Vale through the trees on your right, but this is largely obscured when the trees are in leaf.
On reaching the far side of Aston Wood, go straight ahead, ignoring a right-hand footpath (L12). You will soon reach a lane. Turn right and follow the lane back to the car park.
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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 NNR, and one long ascent up Juniper Hill. You will need to cross the A40 main road twice. There are no stiles but a number of gates. Some paths can be muddy and slippery after prolonged or heavy rain. Stout walking shoes or walking boots are recommended in wet conditions or after heavy rain. Dogs are welcome, but must be kept under strict control to protect the wildlife that may be encountered along the walk route. In places where livestock is grazed, please keep your dog on a short lead at all times.
Please note that parts of the route between points 1 and 7 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.
chilternscountryside@nationaltrust.org.uk
Directions via Google Maps
Leave the M40 at junction 5 at Stokenchurch. Initially head towards Stokenchurch, but after 100m turn left onto the A40 signposted to Oxford and Lewknor. After 1 km (0.6 mile) turn left towards Christmas Common. After just 500m, turn right following the signs to the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park.
NB. There is an additional small car park for 4-5 cars along the lane leading to the main National Nature Reserve car park. It is about 100m before man car park on the right, between Point 1 and Point 9 on the map.
SATNAV: The nearest postcode is HP14 3YL. Latitude: 51.663406, Longitude: -0.943307
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is a short walk from Stokenchurch. Please see OS map 171.
There is a regular bus service between High Wycombe and Oxford that stops near 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 which stops at Lewknor village.
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.
Parking is available at the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park. Grid Reference SU731965. There is a voluntary parking charge of £1.50 per hour or £3.00 per day which is used towards the upkeep of the nature reserve.
There are no public toilets on site. The nearest public/disabled toilets are in Chinnor (3 miles away) at the Chinnor Village Centre 01844 353733
Nearest refreshments at Christmas Common (the Fox and Hounds pub), Chinnor or Stokenchurch. There is a large picnic area at the end of the car park.
The Aston Rowant National nature reserve is managed by Natural England. Call 01844 351833 for more information about the reserve or to report any problems.
Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a short lead in areas grazed by livestock, and under control at all times.
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