Walk 10 : Beaconsfield (round walk)

Bekonscot Model Village, (tel 01494 672 919) in Beaconsfield is a 1.5-acre miniature 1930s village, mainly for children (admission for adults £3.60; children £1.80). It is open mid-February to October 30th, 10am-5pm daily (including bank holidays).

The village of Chalfont St Giles is largely unspoilt, with many listed buildings and lying mostly within a Conservation Area. (It was used as Warmington-on-Sea in the film of Dad's Army)

It was a Quaker, Thomas Ellwood, who acquired a cottage in Chalfont St Giles as a refuge for John Milton. In London, the plague was a serious threat and, as a high-profile supporter of the republican cause, Milton's liberty was also at risk following the Restoration. It was during the short time that he lived here that he completed his epic poem Paradise Lost and was inspired (by a question from Ellwood) to begin Paradise Regained. The cottage was probably built in the late sixteenth century, and has an interesting history - it is now a museum, containing the first edition of Paradise Lost. Incidentally, Milton was himself a keen walker. Milton's Cottage tel 01494 872 313) is open from March 1st to October 31st, Tuesday to Sunday (plus bank holiday Mon-days),10am-1pm and 2pm-6pm; admission £2.

Old Jordans Farm, now run as a guesthouse, dates back to the Middle Ages, and had close associations with the early Quakers of the seventeenth century; George Fox was one of the many visitors. Meetings here were raided - it was an offence for Quakers to gather in groups of five or more for worship, and informers could earn £50. The Quakers at Jordans were also often heavily fined or imprisoned for non-payment of tithes.

Jordans Meeting House was built within the grounds of the farm in 1688, the first meeting house to be erected following James II's Declaration of Indulgence which gave the Society of Friends the freedom to congregate. William Penn is buried next to the house, along with his wives Gulielma and Hannah, and ten of their 16 children. Penn founded Pennsylvania, the only example of a state without a military presence, with no religion or aristocratic group in control, and where the Indians were fairly treated. As Voltaire commented: 'William Penn could boast of having brought forth on this earth the Golden Age.'

The burial ground at Jordans has several hundred more burials than there are headstones, the reason being that for a hundred years, from 1766, the Quakers believed that even a simple headstone with inscription was too ostentatious.

On the south side of the farm building is a large wooden barn, which is reputed to be constructed from the timbers of the Mayflower, the ship of the Pilgrim Fathers - those Puritan pilgrims who in New England persecuted the Quakers, had their ears cut off and flogged, branded and executed them.

Lunch The suggested lunch place is Merlins Cave pub (01494 875 101). This serves lunch between midday and 2pm Monday to Saturday (on Sunday it has live jazz instead, though the pub will cater for groups on Sundays, if booked in advance).

Old Jordans (Quaker Guest House that served tea) is closed. [details]

This text was taken from an older edition of the book, and is a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk.