Walks from Downley

Walks from Downley Route 2

Great Cookshall (Naphill) woods to WW & back

This is a beautiful peaceful woodland walk of just less than 4 miles which should take about an hour and half.

1. From Downley Common walk through to the rear left hand side of the sports pitch and take the path past Mannings Field, the allotments and cottages into the woods.
2. Continue along the path to the crossroads with Cookshall Lane and go straight over.  Pass the pond on the right hand side and the swing and walk through two parts of a fallen tree. 
3. Shortly after this, where the path forks, take the left fork.  After a short distance you’ll come to two trees in the middle of the path to walk between.
4. The path then becomes a little more windy.  It continues downwards until you are walking in a ditch.  At the bottom of the dip there is a gate on the left hand side.  You could take this left path and it will take you two sides of a square back to Cookshall Farm.
5. Otherwise, continue straight on the path until the path ends at a T junction and turn left.  You will be walking along the edge of a Christmas tree plantation (on your left) and on the right hand side will be a horse field and farm. 
6. At the end of the plantation you continue across a track to walk alongside a young tree plantation.  The path then widens out into a track and crossroads – turn left down the gentle hill. 
7. Continue straight on the track until a junction when it heads into private land and you take the single path slightly right.  It winds gently downhill through older plantations of varied tall straight trees until it gets steeper with mature trees. 
8. At the bottom go through a metal gate onto a cinder track alongside the railway track.  A few years ago you could cross the track and walk up to the Golden ball (you can still see the path) but H&S have stopped this.  Turn left and walk along the cinder track until you reach the railway bridge when you have a number of routes back to Downley.

   Option 1

   1. You can turn left before the railway bridge into the field.  Keep the fence on your left hand side and walk up the field edge to the little woodland.  Follow the path through this, along the edge of another field, (mainly used for pheasant habitat) through another little woodland until you come to a track.  Go straight across through a gap in the hedge and up the centre of the field to the shooting lodge.
   2. Turn left on Cookshall Lane and continue for about 100 yards.  As the road bears left take the right fork along a grassed track.  As the track becomes more wooded on both sides (after a couple of hundred yards) turn right up a steep path.
   3. At the top of the path you will enter a field mainly used for pheasant habitat – walk straight across keeping the hedge on your left hand side.  Go through the metal gate into the grassy field to the rear and side of Downley Sports Pavillion.  Another metal gate will take you to the cricket pitch which you can cross to return to the common.

   Option 2

   1. Or turn right under the railway bridge and across the cropped field to the Risborough Road.  Walk along for few yards, enter Pedestal Playing Fields and diagonally across to the gate. 
   2. Turn left up Cookshall Lane and either turn right at the metal gate into the fields or right up the path just beyond the white fences.  Both will take you uphill back to Downley

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