Chiltern Walks: Naphill and West Wycombe
View across Bradenham Cricket Green to the church and manor
Start / Finish: The Black Lion, Woodlands Drive, Naphill, High Wycombe, HP14 4SH
Distance: 10 km (6.1 miles)
Elevation Change: +/- 191m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched: None
Other Pubs / Cafes on route: The Apple Orchard Coffee Shop, West Wycombe High Street, Red Lion Team Room both at 4 km in
Map: OS Explorer Map (172) Chiltern Hills East
Links: Naphill, West Wycombe, West Wycombe Park National Trust, Hellfire Caves, Bradenham
Having been West Wycombe and Naphill a few times recently I was keen to check out a circuit that connects them. 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.
There’s many places that you could start, but we chose the Black Lion Pub at the Northern most point of the route. From here follow the edge of Naphill Common on a straight South-Easterly direction for ~1.5 km. Take a right turn and follow paths through fields and woodland for ~2 km to the A40 / West Wycombe High Street.
West Wycombe village is a lovely Chiltern village spoilt slightly by the really busy road that runs through the middle of it. There’s a few options for rest stops but we chose the Apple Orchard cafe behind the shop of the same name. You can also visit the West Wycombe Park National Trust property or the Hellfire Caves. Having been to both a couple of times before we moved on, heading North West out of the village. The Dashwood Mausoleum and St Lawrence Church are well worth a stop on the way.
At ~2 km North of the Mausoleum take a right-hand / Easterly footpath which takes you down the hill to the A4010 and the Red Lion Tea Room. We were there on a very hot Summer’s day and looking forward to a rest but arrived to find it closed. Continuing East the route takes you through Bradenham Village, a highlight of the walk. If you were to draw a picture of what a Chiltern village should look like, you’d probably draw Bradenham. Heading out of the village, the path climbs steeply up a wooded hill, back to Naphill Common and the Black Lion Pub.
