YOU wouldn't think there'd be much chance of finding a deserted country lane a stone's-throw away from Beaconsfield motorway services.
DESERTED: escape from the roar of traffic
After all, many rural main roads are litter-strewn rat-runs where nature seems under siege.
And if you do find a relatively straight stretch of tarmac round here, chances are that boy racers are deafening the local wildlife with their roaring engines and illegal pop-bang exhausts.
DAPPLED LIGHT: byways offer a peaceful backdrop
Well, whisper it quietly but in fact there are a wealth of smaller byways round these parts which hark back to a more peaceful era before the motor car ruled supreme.
More anti-social drivers tend to be deterred by the potholes, occasional floods, paint-scratching hedgerows and likelihood of encountering country hazards like tractors and horses to venture down these roads. And that suits the locals just fine.
SENSE OF CALM: Park Lane by Burnham Beeches
Here, away from the thrum and roar of traffic, life moves at a slightly slower pace, from the back roads around Burnham Beeches and Hedgerley and to those over by Wooburn Green and Hedsor.
The main tourist attractions round these parts include Cliveden and Odds Farm Park, but just yards from those hotspots you don't have to venture far into the undergrowth to discover a network of footpaths offering a genuine breath of fresh air.
SERENE SURROUNDINGS: behind Odds Farm Park
Drivers haring along Wooburn Common Road probably don't have a clue that there's a serene park home estate right next to Odds Farm Park comprising 50 privately owned residential homes on the edge of glorious countryside.
It's a tranquil place for the over-50s with meticulously cared-for gardens, and the footpath through the estate leads out towards surrounding farmland in the direction of Green Common Lane.
QUIET RAMBLE: Green Common Lane
This must win prizes for being one of the quietest roads in Buckinghamshire, making it possible to incorporate it into your ramble between footpaths without dicing with death.
If you're lucky you may not see a vehicle at all before diving off the tarmac again at Hicknaham Farm.
The mixed farm is known as a wedding and duck shooting venue, and is a glorious location at harvest time.
Paths lead on towards Littleworth Common or you can circle back to Odds Farm or explore the other end of Green Common Lane.
HARVEST TIME: ripening crops
As you emerge onto the lane again and round the corner, excited shrieks from younger visitors at the adjoining farm park accompany you on the easy amble back towards Castlemans Farm Shop.
There, the cries of children are supplemented by a cacophony of ducks, geese, goats and other assorted animals adding to the bleats and braying from Odds Farm opposite.
Bird watchers and other more adventurous souls can add an extra loop to their ramble here by heading towards Springfield Farm Quarry, a 250-acre sand-and-gravel extraction operation which also acts as a landfill site.
High hedgerows shield the quarry from view and act as home to a wide variety of wildlife. Banks of nettles and brambles guard the shadows from unwelcome intruders, red kites circle overhead, butterflies flutter around and the occasional rabbit or fox darts across the path from the dense undergrowth.
EXTRA LOOP: beside Springfield Farm Quarry
Relatively few ramblers come this way, so although the views may be limited, the hedgerows are bustling with life, with plenty of intriguing scents to keep canine companions occupied too.
There are a couple of different opportunities to emerge onto Lillyfee Farm Lane, another contender for one of the area's least-travelled roads despite the fast-moving traffic whizzing past at either end of it from Holtspur round to Burnham and Beaconsfield.
From here, you can cut across to Mill Wood, although some of the paths are hard to follow, and take the long straight path towards the pretty hamlet of Berghers Hill and Farm Wood before looping back round at Hedsor.
Local landmarks passing motorists may have missed round here include Hedsor Golf Course, which claims to be the most peaceful and beautiful pay-and-play golf course in Buckinghamshire.
PEACEFUL: Hedsor Golf Course
But you don't have to be a golfer to appreciate the footpaths which flank the golf course.
On one side you can pick up the Beeches Way towards Littleworth Common and savour a glorious array of ferns and foxgloves, depending on the season.
In May, a circular detour on the other side of Sheepcote Lane exposes you to a glorious array of rhododendrons in full bloom, although at various times of the year the paths here can get pretty waterlogged.
Pick up the Beeches Way on the other side of Wooburn Common Road and you can head on to Littleworth, Burnham Beeches and beyond. The 16-mile long-distance path ultimately connects the Thames at Cookham with the Grand Union Canal at Denham, passing through various ancient woodlands along the way.
But those not wanting to wander too far can slip down a broad path on the other side of the golf course which also borders the home of the White Mark Bowmen, a field archery club.
Dire warnings remind ramblers of the dangers of straying off the path round these parts, since the 10-acre site is laid out in the form of a 14-target course for beginners and experienced archers alike: but the fencing is unambiguous and the marked route alongside straight and clear.
The good news is that from here, you're close to where you started, just across the road from the Royal Standard, a cosy and convivial local adorned with colourful hanging baskets where a refreshing pint awaits.
It's fair to say that most of these backroads are never going to be mobbed with ramblers, but they do provide a welcome chance to slip away from the busy main roads which criss-cross this part of the Chilterns.
There may be a motorway on one side and a quarry on another, but wandering these farms and footpaths on a summer's evening, such noisy bustling places seem a world away.
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