Station to Station: Chalfont Latimer to Chorleywood

A linear walk starting at Chalfont and Latimer railway station and finishing at Chorleywood station. Following the Chess Valley Walk footpath for much of the route, be warned it was extremely muddy for much of the walk, please see photo 2 and 25 for examples. Wellies strongly recommended!

Exiting the station from the north side, turn left down Bedford Avenue and then right down Chenies Avenue. Follow the Chess Valley Walk at the end of the avenue. Passing through West Wood, then turning left out of the woodland and towards Latimer Park Farm. Cross over Latimer Road and onwards crossing River Chess, with views of Latimer House ahead.
This stands on the site of the old Manor House where Charles I was held and Charles II is said to have sought refuge.

Follow the footpath parallel to the river, crossing over Latimer Bottom. Please ignore the detour further down Latimer Bottom where we’d tried to find an alternative route due to the flooded footpath. Continue along Chess Valley Walk which is well signposted. By the side of this well defined path there is a railed-off tomb. This is the resting place of William and Alice Liberty. William was a freethinker who wished to be buried away from the church. To the right, nearer the river, once stood the old Flaunden Church. The church, always difficult to reach, was abandoned when Sir Charles Gilbert Scott built his ‘new’ church in Flauden village in 1838.

Follow the path to the Floating Water Meadow sign at Mill Farm. This was flooding the fields by a system of ditches and streams to improve them for grazing. The practice of ‘floating’ water meadows began in the 1500s. Once widespread in the chalk stream valleys of Southern England, it was rare in the Chilterns and these at Chenies Bottom are unique in Buckinghamshire.

Turning left up Chenies Hill, continue along Chess Valley Walk, through Frogmore Meadows Nature Reserve and passing the Sarratt Watercress beds. Unsurprisingly the path here was very flooded.

However, once past Holloway Lane the path improves and is on a wooden broadwalk. Turn right at the signpost onto Moor Lane, then left up Dawes Lane, before taking the footpath to the right up through fields and at the owl handmade metal gates, take the Parish path up to Sarratt. There are 2 pubs on the green at Sarratt; The Boot and The Cricketers. Can recommend The Cricketers as a good stopping off point.

Retrace the Sarratt Parish footpath back down, taking the left track this time past the handmade metal gates, through open fields. This leads to the Holy Cross at Church End, Sarratt, founded around 1190. There is a further third Sarratt pub, The Cock Inn along Church Lane.

Follow the footpath from the southern exit from the church, through fields down to the site of Sarratt Mill. Originally a water mill built in medieval times to grind locally grown grain into bread flour, in 1740 it was converted to a papermaking mill. However by 1877 it went out of business and was bought by the 11th Duke of Bedford who demolished the water wheel and working buildings, and turned the house into a fishing lodge.

Follow the path to Chorleywood House estate with well signposted routes through the woodland, down to pass Chorleywood House on the right.

Crossing over the Rickmansworth Road, enter Chorleywood Common by the entrance behind the café at the pavilion next to the cricket ground. Look out for the animal sculptures and the moving Memorial Tree.

Finally follow the footpath down to Common Road and from there onto Betjeman Gardens which leads down to Chorleywood railway station.