Burnham Beeches

25 Oct 2005

• Total distance : 3 miles, all on metalled road or good paths.
• Start point : The car park at the end of Grove Road, a mile north east of Burnham, SU 945845.
• Weather : Sunny and windy, later dull.
• Temperature at start 17C.
• Muddiness rating (*=dry, *****=awful) *
• People passed : Twenty or thirty, but it didn't feel crowded.
• Step counter : 7890.
• Camera : Olympus C-5060W. Images taken before deletions = 92.

A few years ago one of the Sunday papers invited some celebrities to talk about their favourite bits of countryside, and the only piece I remember was by Ken Livingstone, who wrote about Burnham Beeches. I wondered why, as he famously lives in a house full of newts somewhere in south London and commutes only by tube and London bus - but there's a good reason why he's interested in the place.

He owns it, basically.

Or, to be precise, the Corporation of London does. They bought it in 1880 when it had been offered for sale "for the erection of superior residences". For reasons which are unclear, the Corporation wanted it to be preserved, and we should be eternally grateful for this act of philanthropy which has led to 540 acres of pristine ancient woodland lying practically at our doorstep.

Attracting over half a million visitors a year, The Beeches has been continuously wooded since the last Ice Age, and has been inhabited since the Iron Age. There's a large but unobtrusive staff who pay close attention to the management of the forest and maintain traditions such as "pollarding" of the trees. The area is well served by footpaths and is a beautiful place to visit at any time of the year.

Puzzling, then, than we make such sparse use of the place. It may have something to do with navigation. Once in the woods finding your way around is easy - you can pick up a free map at the splendidly unmodernised 1950's-style cafe near the car park - but finding your way there through the surrounding network of narrow and largely unsignposted lanes can be tricky. It's easy to promise your family a day of autumnal colour, only to introduce them instead to five different ways of getting onto Slough Trading Estate.

The area contains three miles of roads (but almost no vehicles were evident the day I was there) and at least as many paths. Many of the trees are obviously very old, and the pollards - trees cut at around head height, to promote both growth and longevity - occupy about a quarter of the area. Interspersed with the trees are unexpected areas of common, heath and bog, and a few fine conifers. At the northernmost point is a well preserved Iron Age fort called The Moat (see fourth picture in the gallery). Throughout the place, litter is noticably absent.

This fleeting visit, late in the afternoon, was enough to remind me what a fertile place it is for the photographer. Bumping up the Congestion Charge by a few quid seems an entirely reasonable way to fund its upkeep.

Click here for map > BeechesMap

Burnham Beeches website > http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/living_environment/open_spaces/burnham.htm

Choose another walk > TheWalks

-- RodBird - 29 Oct 2005