Amersham Circular Walk
This circular walk around the market town of Amersham visits the nearby village of Chalfont St Giles while exploring the attractive countryside of the Misbourne valley. There's riverside paths, woodland trails and a series of moderate hill climbs with splendid views of the Chilterns countryside.
The walk starts near the train station and passes through Parsonage Wood before heading east towards Little Chalfont. You then skirt the edge of Pollards Wood and continue into Chalfont St Giles. It's a pretty village with a duck pond fed by the River Misbourne. Other highlights include the church of Saint Giles which is of Norman architecture and dates from the 12th century. You can also visit the former home of John Milton, author of the epic poem 'Paradise Lost'. The house is now a open to the public as a museum and includes an extensive collection of 17th-century first editions of John Milton's works, both poetry and prose.
The village is roughly the half way point on the walk so a great place to stop for refreshments on one of the nice pubs or cafes.
After exploring the village the route then follows footpaths through the attractive farmland to the south of the river. You'll pass close to the pretty Hodgemoor Woods which is worth a short detour if you have time. The 250 acre bluebell wood has miles of good footpaths and mountain bike trails. The woods also have a healthy population of muntjac deer to look out for.
The South Bucks Way long distance trail runs through the area. You can use the waymarked path to go directly to Chalfont St Giles if you prefer a shorter walk. The path continues south through Chalfont St Peter before coming to the splendid Colne Valley.
Just to the north of the town you can pick up the Chess Valley Walk and enjoy a riverside stroll along the River Chess.
Amersham Circular Walk Ordnance Survey Map 
- view and print off detailed OS map
Amersham Circular Walk Open Street Map 
- view and print off detailed map
Amersham Circular Walk OS Map 
- Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking
Amersham Circular Walk Open Street Map 
- Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking
Pubs/Cafes
The Kings Arms can be found on Amersham High Street. It's an historic pub of some note dating back to the 15th century when it was formerly a coaching inn. The pub was used as the exterior to the 'Lucky Boatman' in the film “Four Weddings and a Funeral”. You can find them at postcode HP7 0DJ. The pub is dog friendly.
There's also the Crown Hotel which dates back over 400 years. The interior was used here in the Four Weddings film. Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell spent a night in one of the Courtyard Suites.
Near the train station in Little Chalfont you'll find The Metropolitan. The beautifully restored pub serves high quality food and has a nice garden area and patio to sit out in. You can find them at Chalfont Station Rd, HP7 9PN. Near here you could also pay a visit to the Little Chalfont Nature Park. The lovely little park includes a rare wild flower meadow, old woodlands and relics of its past as a farm and a cherry orchard. There's information boards where you can learn about the variety of flora and fauna at the site. You can find them on Cokes Lane at postcode HP7 9QB for sat navs.
Further Information and Other Local Ideas
Just to the east you could pay a visit to the picture postcard village of Sarratt. The delightful settlement is well worth a visit with a pretty village green, quaint old cottages, a pond, a fine old pub and waterside trails along the River Chess Valley.
To the south is Gerrards Cross where there's some nice trails on the town's common and a notable 17th century commonside pub to visit afterwards.
Just to the west of the old town you could visit Shardeloes Park. There's some nice trails around a pretty lake with bluebell woods to see in the adjacent Mop End. The delightful village of Little Missenden is also nearby.
To the south west there's the peaceful Penn Wood where you can look out for deer and enjoy some bluebell woodland walks during the spring months.
For cyclists the town makes a good entry point for the epic Chilterns Cycleway. The signed circular trail runs for about 170 miles through the Chilterns AONB on quiet country lanes, visiting a series of delightful villages.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Chilterns Walks and the Buckinghamshire Walks pages.
Cycle Routes and Walking Routes Nearby
Photos
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Countryside near Amersham
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Poppy field in Amersham
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Pond in Chalfont St Giles
Footpath through barley near Amersham. This shows the hundred or so yards of footpath that clips the corner of this grid-square with Day's Wood in the background to the left.
Footpath across ploughed field, with view to Amersham. Taken looking north-east near Rodger's Wood.
One of Little Chalfont Nature Park's carved benches next to the wildflower meadow
River Misbourne, Amersham Old Town
The Kings Arms, Amersham Old Town. There are many fine looking ancient buildings in this section of the town. Other highlights include the mid 15th century Amersham Museum and the Market Hall, that once contained the town's gaol, dates from 1682.