Walk 200: Coombe Hill & Chequers..”Hello Prime Minister”

The ‘Needs to Know’

Distance: 4.53 miles (7.29km)

Time to walk: Well it should only take a couple of hours, but this is definitely not a walk to be done quickly. It’s got incredible views & therefore worth sitting, having a cuppa & just soaking up them up

Difficulty: Pretty much all off-road & quite hilly. There are no stiles so Lily loved it!

Parking: National Trust Car Park. Postcode HP17 0UR
what3words: heckler.spends.drops

Public toilets: None

Map of the route:

I’ve been wanting to do this walk for a long time so, when the weather forecast was for a warm, clear, sunny day, it was time to pack the rucksack & head 41 miles south of Northampton to wonderful Coombe Hill

Coombe Hill sits on the edge of the Chilterns near the small town of Wendover overlooking Aylesbury Vale. It’s part of the Bacombe & Coombe Hills, Site of Special Scientific Interest

The majority of the hill once formed part of the Chequers Estate, but was presented to the National Trust by the United Kingdom Government when they were given the Estate in the 1920s. The summit of the hill is 852 feet above sea level

Coombe Hill has 3 different types of land including acid heathland, chalk grassland & deciduous woodland

It truly is wonderful

But not only does this walk have Coombe Hill..it also passes Chequers, the countryside home of Prime Ministers for generations

Shall we go & see if it lives up to the hype then…

Let’s Walk!

1. Park up in the National Trust Car Park near the top of Coombe Hill & head through the gate in the picture below…

…& follow the sign through the next gate towards the Monument

2. On a day like today there’s nothing like being out in the open air & there’s an anticipation of what you’re shortly going to see. Head slightly diagonally right through the gap in the trees…

…& there ahead of you it is…

3. As you approach the Monument the incredible views come more & more into sight…

The Monument itself was one of the first & largest examples of a war memorial erected to honour the names of individual men who fell whilst fighting for their country

It was erected in 1904, by public subscription, in memory of 148 men from Buckinghamshire who died during the Second Boer War. The original Coombe Hill Monument was almost totally destroyed by lightning in 1938 & was rebuilt in the same year

The original bronze plaque & decorations were stolen in 1972 & replaced with a stone plaque & iron flag. The new stone plaque was also inscribed with the additional names of nine men believed to have been missing on the original

The monument was again badly damaged by a lightning strike in the early 1990s & spent several months in repair. It’s now equipped with conductors to prevent this from happening again

4. We’d only been walking for 10 minutes but can see the attraction of just sitting there & taking it all in. Can you see the path across the field you’ll be following shortly?

If you’re looking for Chequers it’s slightly further left than the above picture, but we’ll see it closer up later

5. So after pulling yourself away from the Monument, turn left back on yourself & follow the small narrow path along the side of the hill…

Lily was excited & already rounding us up!

6. The views as you walk along this edge are incredible…

Eventually you’ll arrive at a junction with a fence ahead of you. Now turn right & be careful walking down the hill as it’s very steep but oh…what a view!

7. At the bottom pass through the gate ahead …Coombe Hill Golf Club’s on your right…& continue down the lane to the road

Carefully cross the road, bear right & walk for a few yards, turning left along the path into the huge field…remember seeing this from the top of Coombe Hill?

8. Now it’s simply a case of putting your best foot forward as this is a big field to cross. On reaching the far side bear right &, at the fence, walk carefully down the quiet lane…

…to the junction where you’re now in Ellesborough

9. The name probably means ‘hill where asses are pastured’

This denotes its importance to the nearby settlements known today as “The Kimbles” & collectively they comprise a typical Chiltern strip parish with Ellesborough containing valuable hill pasture

The road from Wendover to Princes Risborough, which makes a very clearly defined detour around the hill on which Ellesborough Church stands, follows the route of the Icknield Way, an ancient trackway used in the Neolithic age (3000 to 1800 BC) which ran from Norfolk to Avebury in Wiltshire

The Church lies ahead on the junction

The central part of the building dates from the 15th century, with extensions & restoration between 1854 & 1871. Prime Ministers have often attended this church for Sunday morning worship when in residence at Chequers. Margaret Thatcher was famously known to have prayed at Ellesborough church during the Falklands War

The village is also home to Jackie Stewart & David Jason

10. Bear left past the beautiful cottages…

…& then left through the gate back into a field again

11. Walk through the meadow

The hill ahead on your left is Beacon Hill with its grassy mound & lone tree, iconic amongst the Chiltern Hills when viewed from within the Aylesbury Vale. It’s also the site of ‘Cymbeline’s Mount’, also known as ‘Cymbeline’s Castle’, referred to in the Shakespeare play ‘Cymbeline’

In reality, the name refers to the British King Cunobelinus who, alongside his sons, is said to have battled at this site against the Roman Invasion of the British Isles. It’s the site of a medieval motte & bailey castle

For us though we’ll be following the path that skirts to the right of it…

12. As you climb steadily pass through the gate & don’t forget to turn round to admire the views behind you…

The path’s clear to follow as it skirts the hill

13. Pass through the gate & climb the steps into the wood…

This isn’t any ordinary wood. Along with Kimble Warren this is a 170 acre biological Site of Special Scientific Interest

The site contains three deep valleys, called Ellesborough Warren & Great & Little Kimble Warrens. It’s the largest & one of the most important sites in the Chilterns for natural box woodlands, & it also has grasslands with rare plant species. There is a wide range of invertebrates and breeding birds

These warrens were areas set aside in medieval times for the breeding of rabbits or hares

14. Exit through another kissing gate & head across the grass to the next wood…

Pass through the gate…

…& immediately you realise that you’re now in a very high security area…this is the Chequers Estate

15. At the end of the wood pass through another gate…

…& follow the path as it bears left, hugging the edge of the wood

16. Head for the gap…

…& then through another gate

17. All along this next stretch of path you can see Chequers…

Chequers is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th century manor house in origin it has been the country home of the serving Prime Ministers since 1921 after the estate was given to the nation by Arthur Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham

The name “Chequers” may derive from an early owner of the manor of Ellesborough in the 12th century, Elias Ostiarius (or de Scaccario). The name “Ostiarius” meant an usher of the Court of the Exchequer & ‘scacchiera’ means a chessboard in Italian

Elias Ostiarius’s coat of arms included the chequer board of the Exchequer, so the estate may be named after his arms & position at court. The house passed through generations of the Scaccario family (spelt many different ways) until it passed into the D’Awtrey family, whose name was eventually anglicised to Hawtrey

Alternatively, the house could have been named after the chequer trees that grow in its grounds

During the First World War, the house became a hospital & then a convalescent home for officers. After the war, Chequers became a private home again & the childless Lees formed a plan. While previous Prime Ministers had always belonged to the landed classes, the post-First World War era was bringing in a new breed of politician. These men did not have the spacious country houses of previous prime ministers in which to entertain foreign dignitaries or a tranquil place to relax from the affairs of state. After long discussions with then Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Chequers was given to the nation as a country retreat for the serving Prime Minister under the Chequers Estate Act 1917

The Lees, by this time Lord & Lady Lee of Fareham, left Chequers on 8 January 1921 after a final dinner at the house. A political disagreement between the Lees & Lloyd George soured the handover, which went ahead nonetheless

The property houses one of the largest collections of art & memorabilia pertaining to Oliver Cromwell in the country. It also houses many other national antiques & books, held in the famous “long room”, including a diary of Horatio Nelson & the Chequers Ring, one of the few surviving pieces of jewellery worn by Elizabeth I. The collection is not open to the public

During the early part of the Second World War, it was considered that security at Chequers was inadequate to protect the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Therefore, he used Ditchley in Oxfordshire until late 1942, by which time the approach road, clearly visible from the sky, had been camouflaged & other security measures had been put in place

Chequers under Neville Chamberlain had one telephone…in the kitchen, but Churchill “at once installed a whole battery on his desk & had them in constant use”, according to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford, who served as Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War

18. Eventually the path reaches a “Do not pass” sign & shows you the route is to the left…

Pass through the gate & the path is straight ahead

19. This really is wonderful walking…

On reaching the road pass through the two gates & continue straight ahead. This area is the road entrance to Chequers & is, quite rightly, high security

20. At the end of the field exit through another gate &, if you fancy it, it’s time for a treat…

Our route continues straight ahead over the roads , but why not head slightly right to the wonderful Buckmoorend Farm Shop & Cafe for a stop & treat. And, if you’ve never tried it, they sell Lardy Cake!!!