Stonor Valley, the Chilterns

Distance 43.3 km (26.9 miles) Climbing 1,020m (3,346ft) Time 2hrs 30mins to 4hrs

Route summary A ride that demands effort and concentration again and again, as it winds and climbs its way around the excellent Chilterns countryside, with lots of fast singletrack along the way

Start/ inish Layby parking in Stonor (grid ref SU 736/884, postcode RG9 6HE) 1

Go north on the B480, past White Pond Farm, then right after 200m on a track. Keep ahead for 3km, then proceed on tarmac to Christmas Common. Go left on a road, right at a T-junction then right again. Take a left 200m ahead, ride downhill, bear right on the bridleway for 3km to more tarmac and turn right. This then climbs uphill.

2

Turn left at the top, right by picnic tables and left on more tarmac, joining a bridleway on the right (before the M40). Descend, keeping right, over a road at the bottom. Continue uphill, right on a road and right into the woods on a bridleway. 3

Make a right before exiting the woods, head downhill and turn left along the bridleway in the valley bottom. Cross some tarmac, climb uphill, keep left on the road to Northend. Go straight ahead then left on the road, to Turville Heath.

4

Fork left then left again at the crossroads. Head immediately left on a bridleway into some trees and across a common (there’s a cafe here) to a bridleway between houses straight ahead. Cruise downhill to a road and go right on it, heading onto a bridleway alongside it (on the left) and eventually joining the road, to Turville. 5

Head right in the centre, between the houses, through some fields to a road, and go left. Take a right on the forest track, by a left-hand bend. Keep straight ahead, climbing uphill and ignoring the permissive bridleway, to a road past Kimble Farm, where you go right.

6

Keep left at the junction then continue ahead, going o -road after 1km as the road turns left. Take the right onto a bridleway after 100m (this is easy to miss), which descends steeply. Turn right on the road, then left (Maidensgrove), heading uphill and right at a bridleway crossing before the top. 7

Follow the white arrows downhill, then uphill on the field’s edge. Go left at the top on the bridleway in the trees, continuing straight ahead. Ride through a farmyard, join some doubletrack to Russell Water (pond) and go left on the road, then right shortly after, on a bridleway (by the green).

8

Head left and cruise along the valley bottom, past the nature reserve. Join the tarmac to the left after 1km on the bridleway (again, easy to miss). Proceed uphill, before the church ruins. Take a right at the top and ride downhill to the road. Follow it left, back to Stonor.