Summary (by AI): Northern Chilterns; Aston Hill Bike Park closed; Wendover Woods beech pine woods; Ancient Icknield Way; Ivinghoe Beacon; Chequers mock-Tudor residence; HS2 cost concerns; E-bike boost mode crash; Pulled leg tendons; Post-ride pint
Blog: An ABC Bike Ride in the Bucks Chilterns
It is June 2026, and the weather here in the UK is being its usual unpredictable self. We’ve had rain, rain, and more rain for the last week. This is made all the more frustrating because the week before—the end of May—was absolutely gorgeous: boiling hot and easily over 30 degrees. The weather is a bit topsy-turvy at the moment, but when I noticed that Friday was forecast to be dry and sunny, I thought, right, time for an ABC bike ride.
I had a quick look at where I hadn’t been yet. I didn't want to travel too far, and I realised that Buckinghamshire—the county I grew up in, right next door to Oxfordshire where I live now—was one of the routes I hadn't ticked off yet. To be fair, I do cycle in Buckinghamshire quite a lot anyway, because Henley is right on the county border. The southern Chilterns, where I spend a lot of time on two wheels, is technically Bucks. This time, however, I decided to head further up, and I hunted out a route on Komoot in the northern part of the Chilterns, all over and around the Wendover area.
I drove up and parked at Aston Hill Bike Park, which is a dedicated downhill mountain bike park. Unfortunately, it is shut at the moment. I say "unfortunately," but it is probably quite fortunate for me; I remember the last time I went there, many moons ago, I ended up breaking my arm. Still, I have very fond memories of the place.
From there, I had a fantastic ride around the North Chilterns, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I started off in Wendover Woods. I don’t think I’ve actually ever been to Wendover Woods before, and it is quite an operation. When you drive in, it feels a bit like you've entered an American National Park—there is a really long, single-track, one-way road system that takes you deep into the heart of the forest. They have a Go Ape high-ropes course, frisbee golf, and all sorts going on, but it is nestled right in the middle of these beautiful beech and pine woods, perched right on top of the hill.
As it turns out, the history of the woods is fascinating. They had to be replanted because there was such a massive demand for timber during the war that a lot of the ancient, native beech forests were chopped down. Afterward, they replanted the area with a mix of fast-growing pines and the broader, slower-growing native broadleaves. That effort is really coming to fruition now, which is why it’s such a gorgeous place to be.
I also ended up doing a lot of cycling on the Ridgeway. I do quite a bit of riding on the Ridgeway anyway, as it runs all the way out through Wiltshire and Berkshire—I’ve done a couple of walks along those sections which you can find elsewhere on the blog. The bits of the Ridgeway up here take you towards Ivinghoe Beacon. A lot of the ride also ended up on the Icknield Way, which is one of the oldest roads in Great Britain. It stretches 110 miles all the way from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Norfolk. There is archaeological evidence of the Icknield Way being used well before 2000 BC, back into the Neolithic and Bronze Age. When you are pedalling along, realising the sheer history of the route you are cycling on, it is quite fabulous.
Another highlight was cycling past Chequers. It’s a striking, mock-Tudor stately home that serves as the official country residence of the Prime Minister. It was gifted to the nation in 1917 by Sir Arthur Lee and his wife, Ruth. Arthur Lee realised that the political landscape was changing, and future prime ministers would not necessarily come from landed, aristocratic families with their own country estates. He gifted Chequers so they would have a place to relax and host foreign dignitaries, and by all accounts, it works wonders when prime ministers bring their respective international guests to such a beautiful part of the English countryside.
The route criss-crossed HS2. Now I’m all for large scale infrastructure projects, and generally I’m not a naysayer about things like this, but come on - £1Bn a mile (as the latest estimates are predicting the all in cost to be). It’s utterly ridiculous. That’s a 1,000 million quid for a mile. Really !
And then a bit of a mishap. Just outside of Chequers, I stopped at a cafe. As I was getting back on the bike to leave—and I have never done this before—the bike somehow shifted itself into "boost mode." As I hovered over the saddle, launched myself forward, and put my foot down on the pedal, the e-bike just took off from underneath me. I must have had my foot clipped in, because the bike went flying, I went flying, and I managed to have a spectacular crash while doing literally zero miles an hour.
I really pulled a load of tendons in the back of my leg. Naturally, because there were about four people watching, I styled it out, hopped back on, and carried on riding. I can tell you now, though, the last couple of days have been absolute agony!
Despite the sore leg, it was a lovely ride. I managed to call in for a well-deserved pint afterwards, and then stopped by my mum and dad's house on the way home. All in all, a brilliant way to spend a Friday afternoon.
ABC biking, here we come!
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