Marhig one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Walked from Marlow to High Wycombe, Feb 2022.
Very pleasant coming out of Marlow through residential areas, skirting Marlow Bottom and then into open countryside with birdsong. The A404 is audible some of the time. A couple of trees were down after the two recent storms, but I could get round them. Surprisingly dry underfoot considering the recent rain (thank you chalk hills!).
Not so enjoyable after the M40 tunnel and emerging between John Lewis and Asda to Cressex and its dual carrriageways, but after a mile or sol you continue into HW down a footpath, away from the traffix.
Safe enough - watch out for fast cars on the 100 yds on Ragmans Lane after Marlow Bottom.
No stiles. Hilly and steep in places. Easy to follow and no route problems.
Toilets in Marlow Higginson Park, at the two petrol stations in Cressex, and at HW station and bus station.

The route is reasonable with some very pleasant countryside in the middle of it. The hills are quite long out of Marlow and steep on the High Wycombe end so need some stamina to deal with them. The underpass under the M40 is fairly unpleasant (but short) and that part of the route is along some very busy roads. Some of the paths are a bit overgrown and narrow so may be harder to navigate for some. Overall a reasonable route but with some disadvantages.

I walked this route from Marlow to High Wycombe. This route was good, but not great, I'd say. It was reasonably direct and safe and navigable, but it had a few cons going for it.

For one, on both the Marlow and High Wycombe ends, there was quite a bit of walking along roads or through neighborhoods and not out in quiet countryside spaces. It just felt like it took a very long time to come into High Wycome especially along larger roads, though the path was always safe and accessible and paved, with many crossings siganlised. Still, less pleasant to walk along than a path through the rolling hills (in my opinion anyway!).

The middle section between Marlow and High Wycombe among the hills was very gorgeous, peaceful, and lovely walking, and I did appreciate how the route did a very good job bringing you through quiet areas as much as possible outside of High Wycombe.

I think other routes attempting different approaches into High Wycombe could be beneficial, but this route really was overall sufficient to be included in the network.

Photos:
1) Walking out of Marlow
2) Typical view in the (hilly) residential areas around Marlow
3) Residential paths tucked among fences
4-5) Lovely countryside of central portion of route
6) Some less attractive paths approaching High Wycombe
7-8) The final approach into High Wycombe was down a very steep hill (including many steps).

This is a good route, but beware that some of the paths are quite narrow and are prone to become quite overgrown. I did this route with friends at the beginning of July 2021 and parts of it were a battle against quite dense foliage so I would definitely recommend trousers to protect from nettles.

The first part of this route is shared with the route to Lane End (see review), and is rather busy around the Cressex area. Once under the motorway, it becomes a pleasant country route between hedges, with good views. It joins the Chiltern Way to go through Marlow Bottom, and then climbs up through Hunt’s Wood and follows a series of jitties to reach Marlow near the river.

A better alternative to avoid the first section would involve climbing up through Keep Hill Wood and heading south and west to join the Chiltern Way near the Three Horseshoes pub.

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