Saturday 11th April 2026
On a sunny but windy afternoon 8 members met the walk leaders, Jenny and Peter Milledge, behind the Chequers pub in Barley to do one of the HGTs Landscape Parks circular walks. Jenny had brought some old maps and photos for us to look at as we went along to give us some idea of the history of the landscape and how it compares to today.
We set off in an anticlockwise direction, the opposite way to the leaflet, as there is a steep slope on the first path which is downhill this way around and would otherwise be uphill at the end of the walk! Looking across the Newsells estate to the north-west we can just make out the new 30-acre vineyard the current owner planted in 2022, this south-facing chalk land is ideal for growing the grapes for their high-quality sparkling wines. The first harvest in September 2025 yielded 37 tonnes of grapes which should result in up to 35,000 bottles of sparkling wine.
The route then turns left in a southerly direction down to Newsells village where there are just a few large houses and a nice stone war memorial remembering men from the village who died in the great war.
The path then runs through Newsells Park, which has been a stud farm for many years, and mares and foals can be seen in the paddocks. Security is tight on the estate, as these are very valuable racehorses, so it is important to keep to the footpaths. Close to the path on the left we can see the remains of a walled garden, this is no longer part of the Newsells estate, it is in the grounds of a neighbouring property. The manor house and an obelisk can just be seen on the left as we pass out of the estate, the path then takes us down to the B1368, which we will cross to pick up the route back through the Cokenach estate.
The route follows the path along the driveway, the house and some of the gardens can be seen on the right, this is a private house and has no public access except on occasional open days and events. It does have a superbly restored walled garden and there also canals and other features. We now start to make our way north across the estate towards Barley, there are some wonderful views along the way including the restored windmill at Great Chishill.
Crossing a minor road, we continue towards Smiths End Lane, a bit of light rain at this point does not spoil our afternoon. The leaflet takes you off on a footpath that leads through Barley village but we decided to stay on Smiths End Lane until it reaches the B1368 where we cross the road and, after about 3 hours and 5 miles, we find ourselves back at the Chequers where, to our surprise, Jenny and Peter had organised tea in the pub and our Chair Helen had brought a lovely cake! A pleasant end to a most enjoyable walk. We look forward to the next one at St Paul’s Walden & Stagenhoe, please see the events listing at the end for details on how to book.
