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Burnham Beeches

1.6 miles (2.5 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap This hugely popular National Nature Reserve and woods has miles of good walking trails to try. The area consists mostly of beech woodland with lots of peaceful footpaths to follow. There's also ponds, streams, grassland and heathland with over 500 acres to explore.
The reserve is great for wildlife too. Look out for Exmoor Ponies, Berkshire Pigs, Jacob Sheep and grazing cattle. Facilities are very good with a car park off Lord Mayors Drive and a nice cafe.
Burnham Beeches proximity to London and the beauty of the area attracts over half a million visitors per year. It has been used as a film location for Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1.
Please note this circular route is devised for walkers but cyclists can enjoy a network of tarmac surfaced roads, the majority of which are closed to cars. Please note off road cycling is not permitted in the reserve.
If you'd like to extend your outing then you can pick up the Beeches Way which runs through the reserve. If you head east you'll come to Farnham Common and Stoke Common where you'll find attractive Gorse and Heather heathland. If you follow the trail west it will take you to Cookham and the delightful Cliveden House. The Italianate mansion is surrounded by beautiful parkland and gardens with miles of walking trails and views of the River Thames.

Postcode

SLSL2 3LB - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

Burnham Beeches OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Burnham Beeches Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

At the visitor centre there's a lovely tea room where you can sit outside in a wooded glade. There's light bites, nice cakes and ice cream to refresh yourself here after your exercise.
If you would like to sample one of the local pubs we recommend the splendid Blackwood Arms Country Pub. There's great food, a cosy fire indoors, and a delightful garden area with nice views of the countryside. It's perfect for relaxing in on warmer days. You can find the pub at address Common Lane, Littleworth Common, with a postcode of SL1 8PP for your sat navs.

Dog Walking

The reserve is a great place to walk your dog with miles of wide tracks and some off lead areas. The on site cafe mentioned above is also dog friendly with water bowls provided.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

Just a few miles to the east there's two more highlights of the area at Langley Park Country Park and Black Park Country Park. Langley Park's rhododendron gardens and Arboretum are particularly lovely.
If you follow the Beeches Way north west you could visit the village of Wooburn Green. There's a pleasant large green here with a number of historic properties including a 16th century public house. There's also a pretty local park with walks along the River Wye and peaceful adjacent woodland.

Photos

Burnham Beeches - geograph.org.uk - 18931

Burnham Beeches Woodland

Burnham Beeches, Middle Pond - geograph.org.uk - 1046503

Middle Pond. This pond and the Upper Pond are both man-made having been created by damming across a small stream that flows south-westwards out of the woodland of Burnham Beeches.

Burnham Beeches, Druids Oak - geograph.org.uk - 1046492

The Druids Oak. This is considered to be the oldest living tree in Burnham Beeches, a pollarded oak that is probably at least 800 hundred years old. It was probably named during the penchant for naming things in Victorian times and old photographs from this era reveal that its overall shape has not changed greatly in the last hundred years or more. It can be found on the south-east side of the Lord Mayors Drive, so named because the City of London own and manage the woodland.

Burnham Beeches, Victoria Drive - geograph.org.uk - 1046759

Victoria Drive. The Corporation of London purchased Burnham Beeches in 1880, so this drive was probably named after Queen Victoria. Like most of the drives in the woodland there is an asphalted surface beneath the layer of fallen autumn leaves.

Burnham Beeches - geograph.org.uk - 1046462

This massive old tree stump is about 12 feet high and must be the remains of an old tree that thrived here several hundreds of years ago. It can be found just to the east of Middle Pond.

Upper Pond, Burnham Beeches - geograph.org.uk - 591146

Upper Pond. In the autumn.

Tea Room at Burnham Beeches - geograph.org.uk - 1464268

Tea room and visitor centre

British White cattle for conservation grazing, Burnham Beeches - geograph.org.uk - 825519

British White cattle for conservation grazing. The area was historically grazed by a variety of commoners' livestock. With these removed areas became much more overgrown, changing the vegetation. To get it closer to its former condition, grazing animals have been introduced.

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Burnham Beeches.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Burnham Beeches.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)