There are many reasons to get out on a winter walk in January when daylight hours are few and all the more precious for it. Fresh air and the simple movement of limbs is so important for our wellbeing, especially at this time of year. However, when the days can be grey and the going distinctly muddy, we sometimes need an extra push to encourage us to appreciate the sculptural natural beauty revealed by winter.
Across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, there are many different walks to suit your mood and the moment. We’ve buggy-friendly winter wanders with Percy the Park Keeper if you need to get out of the house with little ones, long hikes over rolling hills for mindful meanders or country estate walks for waxed-jacket-and-wellies escapism.
Some of the walks are across countryside looked after by the National Trust but they don’t require membership to access. There are woodland walks for drizzly days, pub walks for a social get-together and riverside walks for reflective moods.
So pull on your boots, wrap up warm and make the most of the season in all its stark beauty.
Around Buckinghamshire
Best for littlish legs
Cliveden woodland play trail
- Taplow, near Maidenhead
- 1.6 miles, easy terrain but likely to be muddy
- Best for 7+ age group
- Dogs welcome.
- Normal admission applies
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cliveden/trails/cliveden-blue-walking-trail
You can reach the woodland play trail along Green Drive from the main car park at Cliveden or from the woodland car park, or do the circular walk below.
Nestling amongst the trees there are log stepping stones, balance beams, a rope swing, den building and Clive’s Den – a wooden den big enough for the whole family. The woodlands are wonderful to explore and there are some fantastic views through wintry trees to the river below.
There are also picnic tables and toilets nearby in the ‘woodland lounge’.
Best for designed views and monuments
Stowe’s ‘A garden undressed’ walk
- Buckingham
- 2 miles, easy terrain
- Buggy and wheelchair friendly
- Dogs welcome on leads
- Normal admission applies
- Café at Stowe
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stowe/features/winter-at-stowe
‘Capability’ Brown knew a thing or two about a good view. You can see his carefully designed landscape here at Stowe, studded with temples and monuments to draw the eye. One of the most famous (and instagrammed) is the Palladian bridge. It’s a magical spot for photos in winter as the sun lowers in the golden hour before the garden closes for the evening.
This walk also highlights the natural beauty of winter, suggesting trees to note and places to look out for woodpeckers dip-dipping over the meadows by Eleven Acre Lake.
Typical Chilterns – pretty village, wood and meadow
Bradenham beech woods, bunkers and ballroom
- Between High Wycombe and Princes Risborough
- 4.4 miles, medium terrain
- Not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs
- No membership or admission charge
- Dog friendly
- Café at the end (or start!) for refreshments
Bradenham Beech Woods, Bunkers and Ballrooms | National Trust
This meander through woodland then meadow and farmland starts in the pretty Chiltern village of Bradenham. The landscape is a classical Chiltern blend of hills topped with beech woodlands, and gently rolling valleys with a mixture of grazed and ploughed fields divided by hedgerows.
The walk offers a variety of glimpses into the deep and varied history of this part of the Chilterns, ranging from ancient earthworks to war-time bunkers and ballrooms. At the end, if you walk down the hill to the T-junction with the main road, there’s a café in the Red Lion pub serving perfect fare for walkers.
The traditional country estate
The boundary walk at Hughenden
- Near High Wycombe
- 4 miles, medium terrain with some steep slopes
- Not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs
- Normal admission
- Dog friendly
- Café at Hughenden Manor at the start / end of the walk
Boundary walk at Hughenden | National Trust
This walk starts at Hughenden manor and follows the outer boundary of the Hughenden estate. You’ll explore typical beech Chilterns woodland, open farmland, managed parkland and a rare chalk stream.
The walk takes you up to the D’Israeli monument where you can look back at Hughenden manor from across the valley. It’s a lovely view in any season but particularly magical if there’s frost or a dusting of snow on the ground.
You can get lunch or a hot chocolate and cakes at Hughenden when you return. You deserve it!
Best for birdwatching
Watlington Hill short walk
- Bucks/Ox border off the M40 at Stokenchurch
- 1.5 miles
- Not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs
- No membership needed, pay and display car park
- Dog friendly
- Take drinks and snacks
Watlington Hill short walk | National Trust
Winter is a great season for birdwatching as new visitors arrive from even chillier climes in Northern Europe and Russia. Plus, they’re easier to see without leaves on the trees.
Watlington Hill is a great spot to see birds of prey like buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks hunting the grassland. The views over the Oxfordshire vale go on for miles and off the edge of hill, silhouetted against a blue sky you’ll see the ubiquitous red kites and often ravens tumbling and sweeping on the thermals in extraordinary air displays.
Winter visitors include bullfinches, waxwings and redwings chattering noisily in the thorn trees, especially if a buzzard or red kite is around.
Around Berkshire
Best for little legs
Simons Wood centenary walk
- Finchampstead, near Wokingham
- 1.3 miles easy terrain
- Well-defined paths suitable for all terrain buggies, but a few tree roots and may be muddy
- No membership or admission charge, free car park
- No toilets or food, couple of benches by the pond
- Dogs on leads as there are rare birds which are sensitive to disturbance
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/runnymede/trails/simons-wood-centenary-walk-at-runnymede
The centenary walk at Simons Wood winds through tall trees that feel like a big exciting forest to children, with the reassurance to parents of wide paths and a well way-marked route. The green trail arrows lead you through to Heath Pool, a big pond covered with lily pads and a small island in the middle colonised by ducks and geese.
There’s a boardwalk over an area of lowland heath – an important habitat where you might hear nightjars or Dartford warblers.
Best for riverside views
Cliveden woodland play trail
- Taplow, near Maidenhead
- 1.6 miles, easy terrain but likely to be muddy
- Best for 7+ age group
- Dogs welcome
- Normal admission applies
- Café at Cliveden
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cliveden/trails/cliveden-blue-walking-trail
You can reach the woodland play trail along Green Drive from the main car park at Cliveden or from the woodland car park, or do the circular walk above.
Nestling amongst the trees there are log stepping stones, balance beams, a rope swing, den building and Clive’s Den – a wooden den big enough for the whole family. The woodlands are wonderful to explore and there are some fantastic views through wintry trees to the river below.
There are also picnic tables and toilets nearby in the ‘woodland lounge’.
Traditional country house parkland
Basildon Park parkland walks
- Near Reading
- Four walks from 0.5 to 3 miles
- Easy terrain
- The shorter routes are suitable for buggies if it’s dry, hard-going if muddy
- Dogs welcome on leads
- Normal admission applies
- Café at Basildon Park
Winter walking at Basildon Park | National Trust
As you weave in and out of the woodland on the parkland walks at Basildon Park, you get regular views back to the elegant Palladian façade of the house. You can get a decent walk in the 400 acres of parkland, but genuinely feel like you’re strolling in the grounds.
On a winter walk the evergreens come into their own with yew trees and cedars providing much-needed splashes of green. You might see robins and wrens and even a tawny owl sweeping on silent wings across the parkland.
Best for book lovers
Maidenhead and Cookham Commons’ Wind in the Willows walk
- Near Cookham
- 3 miles, moderate terrain
- Dogs welcome
- No membership or admission charge
- Pubs en route
This 3 mile walk goes through the attractive, unspoilt village of Cookham Dean along quiet country lanes, across common land, farmland and woodland.
The route passes the boyhood home of Kenneth Grahame, author of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ and continues through Quarry and Fultness Woods, which were the inspiration for the ‘Wild Wood’ of the book where badger lived.
There’s a longer, 5 mile route for those who are feeling energetic, and there are a couple of pubs en route if you get thirsty.
Best long hike for clearing the cobwebs
Streatley’s chalk grasslands trail
- Goring and Streatley, West Berkshire
- 7 miles, some challenging hills
- Dogs welcome
- No membership or admission charge
- Take drinks and snacks
This walk takes in three adjacent areas of National Trust land, Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down and has wonderful views over Streatley and the Goring Gap.
Parts of the area were once used as a motorbike scrambling course, but the habitat has gradually been restored and now it form one of the largest remaining areas of chalk grassland in the country. In the winter the bare bones of the landscape are revealed, but it’s also worth coming back in summer for the wild flowers and butterflies.
Around Oxfordshire
Best for little legs
Percy the Park Keeper winter wander trails at Greys Court (near Henley-on-Thames) and Badbury wood (near Faringdon) throughout January
- Trails cost £2 per child (plus normal admission at Greys Court)
- Easy terrain
- Dogs welcome on leads. Suitable for all-terrain buggies, can get muddy though.
- Normal admission applies
- Café at Greys Court
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/badbury
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greys-court
Join Percy the Park Keeper and give nature a helping hand at Greys Court or Badbury woods this January. Percy’s left a special note asking you to help him find his equipment so he can complete his winter tasks. Along the way, his animal friends will help and you can take part in special games and challenges.
It’s a great way to get little gets outside exploring nature. There are more suggestions to get kids out on a winter walk here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/7-ways-to-get-your-kids-out-for-a-winter-walk
Best for birdwatching
Watlington Hill short walk
- Bucks/Ox border off the M40 at Stokenchurch
- 1.5 miles
- Not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs
- No membership needed, pay and display car park
- Dog friendly
- Take drinks and snacks
Watlington Hill short walk | National Trust
Winter is a great season for birdwatching as new visitors arrive from even chillier climes in Northern Europe and Russia. Plus, they’re easier to see without leaves on the trees.
Watlington Hill is a great spot to see birds of prey like buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks hunting the grassland. The views over the Oxfordshire vale go on for miles and off the edge of hill, silhouetted against a blue sky you’ll see the ubiquitous red kites and often ravens tumbling and sweeping on the thermals in extraordinary air displays.
Winter visitors include bullfinches, waxwings and redwings chattering noisily in the thorn trees, especially if a buzzard or red kite is around.
Best hike for blowing away the cobwebs
White Horse Hill to Ashdown walk
- Uffington, near Faringdon, West Oxfordshire
- 4 miles, some steep slopes
- No membership or admission charge
- Dog friendly
- Take drinks and snacks
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/white-horse-hill/trails/white-horse-hill-to-ashdown-walk
This walk starts at the iconic White Horse Hill. Take a moment to think about the people who created this chalk-cut hill figure, the oldest in Britain at around 3000 years old. There are incredible, far-reaching views over six counties from the top of the hill.
The walk then follows a section of the Ridgeway route across the ancient chalk downs of Oxfordshire. It takes in a Neolithic, chambered long barrow, Waylands Smithy, and Ashdown, an unusual Dutch-style house nestling in woodland.
The traditional country estate
Greys’ estate walk
- Greys Court, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
- 2 miles, gentle hills
- Dogs on leads
- Café at Greys Court
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greys-court/features/explore-the-estate-at-greys-court
This short walk is easily followed as it’s waymarked by red arrows. You can ask at visitor reception where to start. You’ll walk through woodland with bronze beech leaves clinging on to branches, ancient gnarled oaks and cherry trees. Look out for veteran trees with broken branches and holes where birds, squirrels and dormice might be nesting.
You’ll walk rolling Chiltern hills with restful views and farmland with grazing animals, so please keep dogs on leads. Head back to Greys Court for a hot chocolate or lunch in the Cow Shed tea room.
Riverside bridge, weir and wharf
Buscot Red walk
- Buscot, near Faringdon in West Oxfordshire
- 3 miles, flat terrain
- Dogs welcome
- No membership needed, pay and display car park
- Café at Buscot village
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-buscot-and-coleshill-estates/trails/buscot-red-walk
This walk follows a section of the Thames path near its source. The walk starts in the pretty village of Buscot and crosses the smallest lock on the River Thames. You pass two Second World War bunkers and a Wharf built by Edward Loveden in the late 18th century when the estate was at a prosperous high point. It was used for transporting cheese to London and coal back from London to the estate.
You’ll cross large and little wooden bridges, farmland and see lovely riverside views. Look out for kingfishers, otters and kites near the weir.
