ELLESBOROUGH church stands atop a prominent hill, projecting from the main ridge of the Chilterns. It's hard to imagine a church better sited. The bells were ringing on a dank Sunday morning as I took a look at the nearby almshouses, their presence betrayed by tall chimneys behind a barn, and admired the row of thatched cottages of Church Hill.

This is grand country, although the extensive views were lost in the morning's clammy shroud. Trees stood spectral-like, while beyond all was lost in mist. The path, sticky and slippery after days of rain, climbed steadily and entered a wood. The sound of bells faded behind me, and I had the Chilterns to myself.

After crossing open country, I joined the Ridgeway footpath which led into the extensive grounds of Chequers Estate. In 1916, Viscount Lee presented Chequers to the nation for the use of its prime ministers. At first, the house is masked by trees, but comes into view as you near it, the wooded escarpment rising beyond. It's a grand scene.

The Ridgeway crosses the celebrated Chequers driveway, used by successive prime ministers in their black sedans. There was no sign of today's incumbent: perhaps he was out of the country. There are plenty of surveillance cameras to ensure visitors are on their best behaviour, but there cannot be many countries in which one can walk freely so close to such a place.

Leaving the Ridgeway, a quiet lane leads to the South Bucks Way, passing through lovely beechwoods, a mile of Heaven leading over higher ground until it meets another lane coming up from the opposite direction. This is Little Hampden. If you need refreshment in this remote place your luck is in, for the Rising Sun stands by the roadside, just begging for a visit, providing (as the notice says) you remove your boots.

Further on I came to an isolated, anonymous church with a 15th century, timber-framed porch (restored). A plaque nearby proudly states: "This community is recorded in the Domesday Book". Outside, scots pines adorn the cemetery. It's a lovely spot.

Now I headed to the escarpment opposite, through woodland with spectacular views over the Chiltern hills and valleys, shrouded in mist. They are clearing away old, dying trees here, and planting beech, ash and cherry. It is unsightly now, but a grand legacy for our children.

Dunsmore is timeless, a remote, sleepy backwater of tidy houses and a simple church, built in 1897. It has no pretence of grandeur, a simple cross is fixed to the wall by the entrance. Further on there's a duckpond, with ducks, a scene more suited to a summer day than today's rain, which was now falling steadily. The ducks seemed content enough, even though I had nothing for them.

Now a bridleway led for over a mile through magnificent woods of beech and oak. The path was muddy, the rain steady, but there cannot, surely, be a better way to spend a Sunday than walking in such country. Yet I passed not a soul all the way to the open hillside beyond, where a sign proclaimed the land, Coombe Hill, to be owned by the National Trust. As I emerged from the relative shelter of the woods, the rain now lashed down, blown across the hillside.

A tall monument loomed up ahead. It commemorates the Boer Wars, the South African campaign of 1899-1902. The stone information tablet was fixed in 1972, following the theft of the original bronze one. At 850 feet, Coombe Hill is the highest point of the Chilterns, and the monument is a prominent landmark. This is a popular spot on sunny days, a place to linger and take in the views.

Not today. Instead, battered and just a little damp, I slithered down the steep hillside beyond to calmer ground, emerging at the Wendover road, after which the right of way negotiates a golf course, crosses fields and climbs up to Ellesborough church.

Once again I was on the lookout for cars, or rather one in particular. Ellesborough has a famous resident. Alas, there was no sign of Del Boy or his Robin Reliant. He'd have had more sense than to be out on a day like this.

Approximate distance: 8 miles

Start and Finish: Church of St Peter and St Paul, Ellesborough (2 miles west of Wendover, not to be confused with Edlesborough)

Route

Ellesborough Church, the Ridgeway, Chequers, Little Hampden Common and church, Hampdenleaf Wood, Dunsmoor, Coombe Hill (Boer War memorial), Butlers Cross, Ellesborough

Abbreviations

l.=left; r.=right; n. s. e. w.=north, south, east, west; br.=bridge; r.o.w.=right of way; PH=public house; m.=mile; s/post=signpost; f/post=fingerpost; b/way=bridleway; ch.=church; f/p = footpath; r/way=railway; cont.=continue; FM=farm

Routefinder

Take r.o.w. opp. ch. flanking Beacon Hill, to woods. Join Ridgeway, which follows through grounds of the Chequers Estate. At the road, follow metalled lane s.e. for 0.5m. Take South Bucks Way to Little Hampden (Rising Sun PH) and to unnamed church. From church, head e across valley, climbing almost to top of ridge. Take the left of two kissing gates, follow path to Dunsmore. Proceed straight through village. Take b/way to Coombe Hill and monument. Go down to the Wendover road (care needed when crossing), follow r.o.w. across golf course (waymarked). Take Aylesbury Ring f/p. Turn up the hill to the church.

Pubs

Little Hampden: The Rising Sun

Butler's Cross (off route): The Russell Arms

Size of map: 49k