Henley via Turville Circular walk

Main Henley circular via Turville walk is 24km (15 miles) but with bus options to shorten the walk - see below.

Long Henley Circular via Turville and Stonor Park 27.5km(17.2m) but with the same bus options as for the main walk to shorten.

You add another 400m to both walks if you wish to visit the village of Fingest as well as Turville – see walk instructions

Explorer OS 1:25,000 map 171 Chiltern Hills West.

Landranger OS 1:50,000 map 175, Reading and Windsor, Henley on Thames and Bracknell

5/10 for the main walk ; a few gentle inclines with 301m of ascent and descent.

8/10 for the longer circular walk via Stonor Park. The 9.3km (5.8m) section of this walk has 314m of ascent and 261m of descent

This Thames Valley and Chilterns walk is inspired by the locations used in the Midsomer Murders TV series.

In many respects this is a similar walk to the Book 2 Walk 6 Henley circular via Stonor and Pishill walk. It’s a bit longer and a fair bit flatter but both go along one side of a valley in open countryside on the opening leg and return to Henley on the other side in the afternoon, often through attractive woodland. This walk, however, also finishes with a lovely, peaceful Thames path back to Henley

However this walk covers completely different territory to the Book 2 favourite visiting new villages and countryside not incorporated in other SWC Henley and Chilterns walks in the area. This is a high summer walk although shorter options can be done in autumn or winter given dry and sunny weather.

You should allow at least 11 hours for travel, refreshments and walking for the main walk.

Henley on Thames

This is a popular start and destination for a number of SWC walks and you can find details about the town in TOCW Volume 1 Walks 1, 9 and 51 and TOCW Volume 2 Walks 6,7 and 8.

This walk visits a number of places familiar to those who have done the relevant walks in Books 1 and 2 but after Hambledon you visit 2 or 3 villages that are not on the route of other Henley or Thames Valley walks in the SWC itinerary. These are:

Skirmett

An attractive hamlet where you pass a former flint church which has been converted into a home.

Fingest (optional)

The village name of Fingest comes from the Anglo Saxon name Thinghurst, meaning 'wooded hill where assemblies are made'. The parish church of St Bartholomew's dates from the early Norman period. It has an unusual tower, with a double vaulted roof. The church is a Grade I listed building .

Turville

A picture post card village which has not only featured in the Midsomer Murders but also the series the Vicar of Dibley. There is an old windmill on a hill giving splendid views of the village and surrounding countryside.

The beautiful St Mary and the Virgin church is well worth a visit and is a fine place to rest before the return leg of the walk

See pdf for details on shortening the walks by taking buses

Take a train from London Paddington to Twyford and from there change to take a connecting train to Henley.

On the return journey you again change at Twyford to pick up a connecting train to London Paddington

At weekends take the nearest train to 10.00am from London Paddington to Twyford where you pick up a connecting train to Henley. Your journey time to Henley should be just over an hour. The train to Henley usually departs about 10 mins after your arrival at Twyford from London Paddington.

March 2017