This scenic gently undulating stile-free walk takes you through a variety of habitats.

Length: 2.5 miles (Allow 1½ hours)

Start & finish: Roadside parking along Commonside, Downley HP13 5YA, W3W:rests.drag.faced

Access Information: Mostly easy walking on good wide paths, some of which can be muddy after rain. One moderate climb at the end. Stile-free and four gates.

Food & drink: Le De Spencers Arms just off route on Downley Common

Route

Go along the top of the common with the road on the right. Go past the bus stop and, just before a large tree, bear left across the grass into the wood.

1. Fork right and follow the path down through the wood to the bottom of the hill. Turn right onto a bridleway out of the wood for 150m and take the path on the left signed to Naphill.

2. Go through the gate, cross the field to a second gate and continue straight ahead towards Naphill. Climb gently through the woodland and a third gate, continue up the valley on a grass path and through a fourth gate onto a lane (Hunts Hill Lane).

3. Turn left along the lane, continue to the end of the surfaced section and bear right onto a wide track. Follow the main track, ignoring turnings off, until you come to the overhead power lines and a bridleway on the left.

4. Turn left along the bridleway, go under the power lines, and continue straight on for around 200m to a sometimes dry small pond on the left (Mannings Pond). Continue forward for a further 100m to an offset crossing path and fork right past the newly planted trees towards the cottages. Turn left past the cottages and continue along the wide stony track with the allotments on the right to a lane (Plomer Green Lane).

5. Cross the road onto the common, cross to the right of the cricket pitch walking towards the radio mast on the horizon. Drop down the bank, stay in the same direction downhill past the Downley Garage on the right to the bottom. Continue forward and, where the lane becomes surfaced, bear left uphill across the grass and past the beacon to return to the start.

This walk was produced in partnership with The Chilterns National Landscape and updated in 2026.