Nuffield after the gales

We're getting  close to completing all of the Adventurous Pub Walks in the Chilterns, and had planned to tackle the one based on Nuffield, on the North West of the area - quite a drive from home. It had rained for most of Saturday and then blown a gale for much of Sunday night. It was only when we started the walk that we noticed that the description said is "especially suited to winter...." with "good firm walking".

The outward leg was straight-forward on an unsurfaced road , taking us to the King William at Hailey (bottom left of the map and picture on the right) that we'd visited with David and Alison on one of our early walks with them. This is an attractive pub with good food, but not our stopping spot today.After two right turns, we gained height and could see familiar parts of the Thames Valley before entering Mongewell Woods and then heading towards Nuffield village and golf course to find The Crown.

This Brakspears pub obviously focuses on food, and has a separate dining area. However, they've keep a proper cosy 'pub' area with an open fire, and a mixture of tables & chairs and sofas. The menu was promising too - just a few choices, all of which were sounded good. As I was cooking duck for dinner, we were restrained and shared a home-made mushroom and sweet corn soup (OK but not 100% successful) and creamy mushrooms (very nice). Worth a visit for a proper meal. It was fun to see another couple carrying the same book in the pub. It turned out that there had been a short shower when we'd been in the pub - there only rain of the day.

After more golf course, we entered a wood that had obviously suffered from the previous night's gales - there was a fallen tree across the path. From there, we descended back to the car and headed home for dinner which, though I say it myself, was good - and left us with duck fat for the Xmas lunch roast potatoes,

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