Walk 727 - Cookham and Cookham Dean

On Sunday 24th August, seventeen Ramblers met in the NT car park at Cookham Moor, including three walkers from other local Ramblers groups and Monty, a well behaved dog. Unusually for a bank holiday weekend, the car park was relatively quiet.

Setting off across the moor towards Cookham village, we soon passed the artist, Stanley Spencer's house, easily spotted by having a blue plaque. Turning left at the end of the High Street, we walked through Holy Trinity churchyard, before turning left to follow the Thames path. The Thames at Cookham is especially attractive with houses of all shapes, sizes and designs on the opposite bank.

After about two miles, we left the Thames and headed south across a field and then west to ascend Winter Hill. This was the first of several ascents and we were rewarded with lovely views over the river towards Marlow and this proved to be the perfect place for a drink stop.

At the top of Winter Hill, we followed a narrow wooded path parallel to the Thames, which at times felt as if we were walking through a tunnel. Crossing a road, we then entered Quarry Wood with lovely open and undulating paths. Our next ascent was somewhat steeper than the first and the reason why the walk was described as Easy/Moderate (lots of easy walking on the level, interspersed with three moderate hills to climb).

Leaving Quarry Wood, we walked along the edge of a field, leading us towards Cookham Dean Common and Cookham Dean where there were many perfectly manicured hedges lining the road. On reaching the Church of John the Baptist, we took a footpath eastwards across fields towards Cookham Rise and past the Cricket Club.

The final leg of the walk was along residential roads, passing Cookham Station and a wonderful mix of interesting houses, quaint cottages and Victorian villas. Having started the walk at 9:00am, we arrived back at Cookham at midday. On reaching The Old Swan Uppers pub, eleven of us decided to stop for some well-deserved refreshment, with the remainder of the group saying their goodbyes.

In just 7½ miles, we'd enjoyed a real mix of different terrains, lovely views and managed 570 feet of ascent. See our route on OS Maps.

Thanks go to Sue for leading this walk and for writing it up.

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