🥾 Walk 269 - Cookham, Winter Hill and Bisham Woods

On a slightly chilly Easter Monday, thirteen of us set off from the Cookham Moor car park for this varied 9 mile walk. Taking the higher path we soon crossed the railway bridge, carefully walking across the Winter Hill golf course, pausing a couple of times to allow golfers to safely take their shots.

We then carried on through the picturesque village of Halloween with its wonderful oldie-worldie thatched cottages before taking a steep climb towards Cookham Dean. Here we walked down past Kings Coppice Farm with its brown Alpacas and blossoming fruit trees, then through Bigfrith Common, passing the forlornly empty barns which later in the year house the famous Copas Turkeys.

Crossing Cookhamdean Common, we joined the Cookham Dean Bridleway Circuit, heading past vibrant yellow fields of rape before arriving at Inkydown Wood - inspiration for the 'Wild Wood' from Kenneth Graham's Wind in the Willows. Here swathes of bluebells could be glimpsed coming into flower further into the wood.

Continuing through Fultness Wood and then Quarry Wood via another steep climb led us to our lunch stop - a charming circle of sawn up tree trunks. (With thanks to Mark and Julie for revealing to Julia its secret location!).

Suitably replenished, we carried on via Winter Hill with its far reaching views down through more yellow rape fields at Cock Marsh. Arriving at the Thames, we followed the path to the quirky and popular Bounty pub for a welcome drink.

Our last leg took us further along the Thames Path, back towards our starting point in Cookham where some of us enjoyed an ice-cream as a fitting end to the walk. See our route on Google Maps.

Thank you to Julia for leading the walk and for writing it up.

📸 Back to Volume 20

Return to volume index