Burnham Beeches Walk

Name: Burnham Beeches Walk
Rating: 9.5

Panorama from the Burnham Beeches Loop hike in Chiltern Hills, England

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The Burnham Beeches Walk is a short adventure that is great for families, as it features a couple of brief, steep climbs to challenge young explorers. Explore the primeval woodland at your own pace as you pass ponds, ancient settlements, meadows, marshlands, and thousands of beech trees.

Route Description for Burnham Beeches Walk

To start the Burnham Beeches walk, make your way from the car park to the information board on the left side of the café (open daily 10-5, except Christmas Day), and begin the trail here. Continue past the café and toilets on your right, following the trail past a small car park. When you reach the road turn left. Walk along this traffic-free road and make your way past two green gates until you reach a cattle grid across the road. Do not pass over the cattle grid. Instead, turn left along the trail and keep the fence on your right.

After about 300 m, you will find a wooden gate on your right. Head through it and follow the main boardwalk across the Mire. At the end of the boardwalk, cross another path and continue straight ahead until you reach the road.

Cross the road and stay on this main trail, making sure to ignore all of the other side trails. Here, you will head slightly downhill and climb back up, traversing another boardwalk and making your way through the woodlands until you reach Middle Pond. Stop to admire the pond habitat, before continuing straight ahead on the same trail. Soon after you will pass the 800 year old ‘Druids Oak’ on your right, the oldest tree in the park. After a little while, pass through the small metal gate above the cattle grid. Be sure to stop and read the information board about the ‘Sevenways Plain’.

Walk through the wooden gate ahead of you on the right to cross the ‘Sevenways Plain’, and exit via a wooden gate on the other side. Turn left and follow the trail for 150 m until you reach a junction, taking the path on the right to head down a short, steep hill for about 100 m.

At the bottom of the hill is a junction of trails. Take the trail on your immediate right, marked ‘Victoria Drive’ on the park map, and follow it for just under 0.8 km until you reach a road. Cross the road and follow the trail on the other side, marked ‘Burnham Walk’ on the park map.

When you reach the junction of 4 trails, take ‘Myers Drive’, which will be the second trail on your right. Follow this path for 0.5 km until you reach another junction with a small wooden fence marking the park boundary. The trail ahead leads to the road, which you can just be able to see. Turn right instead, and follow this main trail for another 0.3 km to make your way back to the car park, café, and visitor’s centre.

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Insider Hints for Burnham Beeches Walk

The trail can get muddy in winter or after heavy rainfall, so bring appropriate footwear.
Cattle graze freely in this area, so keep an eye on your children and pets at all times.
The information board and café both have free maps of the park that you can carry with you and follow. This route follows trails easily visible on the free map.
The park has also served as a popular site for many famous films, including two of the Harry Potter series, so keep an eye out for famous faces or scenes you may recognise!

Getting to the Burnham Beeches Walk Trailhead

Use postcode SL2 3LB to drive to the Burnham Beeches car park. It is open from 8am until dusk everyday. Payment is by donation only during the week, or £3 on weekends and bank holidays. Unfortunately, there is no public transport.