Stoke Poges and a Garden Graveyard

Savour the peace and beauty of a cherished ornamental landscape before crossing Gray's Field to a striking monument.

Distance 4 miles (6.4km)

Minimum time 1hr 45min

Ascent/gradient Negligible

Level of difficulty Easy

Paths Semi-residential paths and drives, field tracks and paths, some road walking and stretches over golf courses, 9 stiles

Landscape Partly residential, interspersed with golf courses and stretches of open countryside

Suggested map aqua3 OS Explorer 172 Chiltern Hills East

Start/finish SU 977825

Dog friendliness On lead on golf courses, in Memorial Gardens and churchyard and in residential areas

Parking Opposite Memorial Gardens

Public toilets Memorial Gardens, closed evenings and weekends

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Directions
Background
Information

1 From the car park, turn right and walk along the road. When the pavement ends, cross over and look for a waymark and a kissing gate by an oak tree on the right. Go through the gate and follow the path as, initially, it runs parallel with the road. Pass the entrances to various private houses and go through two more gates before the path joins a residential drive - Duffield Park. Bear right when you get to the road junction and then take the first footpath on the left, by the sign for Snitterfield House.

2 Follow the wide tarmac drive and, avoiding the stile on the left and the turning on the right, continue for several paces to a right-hand stile just before the next sign for the house. Cross the paddock to the stile, make for the boundary, cross a stile and footbridge and then keep along the right edge of the field. Look for a stile by an oak tree in the corner and cross the next field to a hedge gap by the road. Turn left, passing the hospital entrance. Just beyond it, on the right, is a private drive sign and an electricity transformer. Bear right here to a stile and gate and follow the track.

3 Cross the next stile after about 50yds (46m) and continue ahead to Bell Farm. Pass the outbuildings and keep ahead on a grassy track to a stile and gate. Turn left and follow a bridleway (Galleons Lane) to a plank bridge and stile on the left. The walk now crosses a golf course. Cut across the fairways to a wide path and follow it to the club car park. Take the drive, veering right to a stile by a row of houses and follow the track to the road. Bear right and walk along to the Plough.

4 Swing left into Plough Lane and when it bends right, go straight on along the public bridleway. Cross the next road to a kissing gate and continue on a waymarked path. Keep ahead, crossing the old driveway to Sefton Park and then a golf course before reaching a kissing gate leading out to the road. Turn left and walk along to Rogers Lane on the right. Make for the kissing gate on the corner and follow the outline of the path ahead to a second gate.

5 Branch half right and follow the path towards the Clock House and through four more gates before reaching the road. Cross over to a kissing gate and follow the straight path across Gray's Field. Keep to the right of the monument and look for the gate leading into the churchyard. Walk through it to the car park.

The dawn of the 21st century promises significant changes at Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens. Following a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, money has been made available to restore the gardens over a two-year period, preserving the rich mosaic of trees and shrubs.

The gardens were founded by Sir Noel Mobbs in 1930 on land that formed part of Stoke Park. Sir Noel's aim was to provide a corner of peace and beauty in an increasingly hectic world, and by the late 1930s they had been designed, landscaped and completed to everyone's satisfaction. The arrival of the motor car brought noise and pollution to the streets of Stoke Poges, but the gardens escaped the intrusive bustle of the 20th century. Today, more than 60 years after they were first landscaped, they remain a haven of tranquillity in a particularly hectic corner of south east England .

The gardens were designed by Sir Edward White, one of Britain's leading landscape architects, and are considered an important example of his work. Dedicated in 1935 as non-denominational memorial grounds, they were acquired by the local authority in 1971 and are registered as Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of special interest in England.

The Memorial Gardens are regarded as unique in this country - one of the few surviving gems of the pre-war period that have stood the test of time. Even more heartening is that they are still in use today. Those who have loved the gardens in life often choose them as their final resting place. They buy a plot here so their ashes can be interred in beautiful surroundings, where flowers, trees and shrubs reflect the changing seasons and the constant, uninterrupted cycle of life. In short, this is a garden graveyard.

The grounds cover 20 acres (8ha) with 2,000 private gardens, including rock and water gardens, rose gardens, parterre gardens, heath gardens and individual specimen trees and shrubs. There are also formal gardens enclosed by yew hedges and informal gardens surrounded by glorious flowering shrubs. Running through the Memorial Gardens is the main avenue leading down to the colonnade, characterised by columns, water channels, magnolia trees and multi-coloured flower beds.

With over half a century behind them, the gardens have reached the stage where decay and disease are beginning to take their toll. Refurbishment work will restore the character and beauty of the Memorial Gardens for future generations.

While you're there

Take time to look at the monument to Thomas Gray, poet and scholar. Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) has been described as our most famous poem and it was here at Stoke Poges that he composed the final lines. Gray spent much of his time exploring the Buckinghamshire countryside that he dearly loved. The monument was erected in 1799 by John Penn, grandson of William Penn.

Where to eat and drink

The Plough at Wexham Street is a useful watering hole. Expect traditional home cooking, a Sunday roast and local real ales. There is a beer garden where you may like to relax on a summer's day.

What to look for

Stoke Poges church is usually open and inside you'll find evidence of Saxon, Norman, early Gothic and Tudor influences. At the western end of the church is what is known as the 'Bicycle Window'. The window depicts a figure sitting astride what appears to be some sort of ancient hobby-horse, which he pushes with one foot while playing a trumpet. It looks and sounds comical but, in fact, it was designed as a Second World War memorial.