Chiltern Walks: Denham Golf Club and Bakers Wood
Where the Misbourne meets the Chiltern Line and M25
Start & Finish: Denham Golf Club Station, Denham, Uxbridge, UB9 5EL
Distance: 4.9 km (3.0 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 67 m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Pubs / Cafes on route: None
Map: OS Explorer Map (172) Chiltern Hills East
Links: River Misbourne, Denham, Denham Golf Club Station, Baker’s Wood
This trip was both part of our River Misbourne Circulars and our walks based around the rail and underground stations of the Chilterns. The River Misbourne runs from its source at Great Missenden, to Denham where it joins the Colne. There’s much more interesting, less-motorwayey walks on the Misbourne so this is probably one for the completists. The guidance below will help you navigate but don’t use it as a fully accurate turn-by-turn guide. Always take a map and/or a GPX route and prepare well for the weather and terrain.
From Denham Golf Club Station, follow Station Approach and the imaginatively named Middle Road and Side Road south to the Community Centre. Continue further south on a footpath along a private farm road, crossing the Misbourne. The path climbs steeply up through woods and onto Broken Gate Lane, the main road in Bakers Wood. When the lane meets Red Hill take a right and find the gate into Caps Wood. By keeping to the main path through the wood you’ll pass a Thames Water plant on the right and come out onto a noisy, ugly layby on the A413 within sight of the M25 fly-over. This isn’t a great part of the walk but it’s soon over when you take the footpath into the fields on the right before the M25.
The footpath runs parallel to the motorway for ~600 metres, crossing over the Misbourne on a narrow wooden footbridge. The area at the end of the bridge was flooded when we were there so we had to scale a farm fence to avoid a soaking. Not far along from here you’ll pass under the intersection of the Chiltern Rail line and the M25 where the Misbourne flows under both in a tunnel. After the bridges the footpath start to curve round to the right (east) and up a hill to Over The Misbourne Road. Continue along the road marveling at the oversized houses before turning right onto Slade Oak Lane. This will take you back down to Denham Golf Club station. It’s a narrow road with no pavement but fair quiet and safe enough if you watch and listen out for cars.
