Wendover to Princes Risborough: Saturday Chilterns Adventure

Overview

Our last Saturday Adventure Ride of 2025 is a shorter, but challenging, ride in the Chilterns.

We will take the train to Wendover and ride via Great Missenden, where we have our lunch stop, to Princes Risborough, for the train home.

Please note: This is a very hilly ride! There are some steep climbs and some steep descents as well. You need to be ready for a challenge! Of course, it’s fine to get down and walk when you need to, and there’s absolutely no problem about waiting for one another and regrouping when necessary; but you need to be willing to give it a go.

We will cancel the ride if the weather looks seriously unpleasant and/or dangerous, i.e. heavy rain all day, high wind speeds.

There are fewer places than usual available on this ride, so that we can make good time in limited daylight hours. Please book a place only if you are sure you will be available to come on the day.

The Ride

From Wendover station, we ride through this attractive small market town, and quickly turn into quiet country lanes, riding through dense woodland and then into open countryside. We tackle several challenging hills, before an easy smooth descent through Chartridge and on towards Chesham. On the outskirts of Chesham, we take a sharp turn, doubling back on ourselves to ride over more undulating terrain, and then descending into the Missbourne Valley for our lunch stop in the village of Great Missenden, famous for its connections to the author Roald Dahl.

After lunch, we climb out of the valley and have approx. 1km of unsealed track through woodland, before an undulating route takes us around Prestwood and on to Great Hampden. After ascending Whiteleaf Hill, we negotiate the long steep descent of Kop Hill to Princes Risborough. We ride through the town to reach the train station.

Travel Arrangements

Wendover and Princes Risborough are both served by Chilterns Railways services from London Marylebone. Full details of timetables can be found at https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/ .

For the outward journey, the 09.27am service from Marylebone reaches Wendover at 10.16am. I will be joining this train at Harrow-on-the-Hill at 09.39am. You can reach Harrow-on-the-Hill via Metropolitan Line services. The standard fare for an Any Time Day Single is £15.20; Senior Railcard discounts apply; Oyster 60+ is valid as far as Amersham.

For the return journey, trains go from Princes Risborough to Marylebone at 25 and 51 minutes past the hour. The 25 mins past train is the faster service, taking 54 mins to Marylebone. The 51 mins past train is slower, taking 1 hour 9 mins, including stopping at Wembley Stadium. The standard fare for an Any Time Single is £20.90, but you get a Split Save discount if you book via https://thetrainline.com ; Senior Railcard discounts apply; Oyster 60+ is valid from West Ruislip.

Train-assisted ride through the Chilterns

Quiet country lanes; some steep ascents and descents; some roads are single-track and in a poor state of repair; approx 1km on unsealed track through woodland, which could be muddy

Lunch stop in Great Missenden

Helmets recommended due to some steep descents; lock for your bike; money/card for cafe; please book train tickets in advance; water & snacks Wear bright clothes/reflective if possible. Make sure your lights are fully charged. If it's a dull day, we might want to keep our lights on for much of the ride, and you will need your lights for your onward journey home.

First-timers welcome!