Colver one

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Date walked : 26 Mar 2022
Weather on the day : Clear, full sunshine, 17C
Weather previous week: Mostly warm and sunny
Direction walked: From Vernham Dean to Collingbourne Ducis

For most of the walk the conditions underfoot were unusually dry and firm for March, but there were some muddy sections to negotiate particularly in parts of Collingbourne Wood towards the end of the walk.

At Vernham Dean the walk starts outside The George, a lovely country pub. Immediately out of the village a farm track climbs gently up Conholt Hill. On exiting a section of woodland halfway up the hill (covered in a massive carpet of wild garlic when we passed through) the climb becomes quite steep for a while. Approaching the top of Conholt Hill there are lovely views down Hippenscombe Bottom valley. There are one or two kissing gates to negotiate up the hill.

At the top of Conholt Hill there is a short section of quiet country road before passing through another kissing gate into the estate parkland of Conholt Park. The path through the park is easy to walk and clear to follow. On leaving the park the walk again joins quiet country roads passing through the pretty villages of Chute Cadley and Lower Cadley (here find The Hatchet Pub – very pretty (see picture) though we didn’t stop). On leaving Lower Cadley the path continues on quiet country roads (but narrow in places) until reaching a narrow gap in a hedge, signposted as a footpath but easy to miss, and passing into a field.

The path crosses the field straight towards Collingbourne Wood. Halfway across the field, passing under power lines, it is unclear on which side of the field boundary ahead the path continues. We took the right-hand side, however on reaching the tree line at the far end of the field the path through the trees looked very unused and was obstructed with badger setts and fallen trees (see pictures), which it would be difficult for those on wheels or with mobility issues to negotiate. On emerging through the trees into the next small field the path was unmarked. According to the map it should have passed straight through the field, but there was no sign of this so we walked around the field to meet up with the bridleway running along the edge of Collingbourne Wood.

Passing through Collingboune Wood the path was muddy and rutted in places, particularly at one point where logging operations had been happening and the track was like a quagmire. We had to go ‘off piste’ to work our way round it. Several tracks meet up at times in the woods and there is no obvious signposting as to the correct path and there was one point where we were unsure which way to take.

On leaving the wood there is a map error – the footpath is meant to turn left through the middle of a field to reach some farm buildings but no path was visible. Instead we walked on to the field boundary where there was a definite path to the farm buildings.

At Mount Orleans Farm the path is meant to pass around the farm buildings but the footpath is unmarked and to follow the given route involves climbing over two locked gates, which would be impossible for those with mobility issues. The rest of the path to Collingbourne Ducis was easy to follow and negotiate.

Apart from the specific issues mentioned above the rest of the walk was very pretty and relatively easy to walk with pubs at either end and in the middle to provide refreshment. I would recommend the route as part of the Slow Ways network, but possibly with some changes to the route to avoid some of the issues mentioned.

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