File this oh so lovely Swyncombe circular walk under ‘snowdrops’ and return in February when the churchyard at St Botolph’s, the starting point for this walk, will be full of them and the church itself open (see poster below for dates) for tea and cake afternoons – how very quaint!
This walk is short at only 3km and is very doable for little legs. The hamlet of Swyncombe is within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Beauty and it certainly lives up to this; the route itself passes along the Ridgeway National Trail, through fields, woodland and across the Swyncombe Estate with its sloping views of the Chilterns below – it’s really quite breath-taking. There is the option to lengthen the walk along the Ridgeway instead of the shorter route across the estate, and there were plenty that were: families with young children in carriers, solitary walkers and groups of ramblers.
The sheep in the fields seemed totally unfazed by us but we were fascinated by them; they had really quite human faces, I was almost expecting them to rise up à la Animal Farm!
We made it back to St Botolph’s church and had a nosy inside; it’s damp coldness a strangely comforting smell. Small but architecturally very interesting, it is open 24 hours for all who wish to peak inside.
