Chilterns National Landscape – Ipsden Wood loop from Swyncombe
Chilterns National Landscape – Ipsden Wood loop from Swyncombe
19
riders
Chilterns National Landscape – Ipsden Wood loop from Swyncombe
02:36
41.5km
390m
Cycling
Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: May 12, 2026
Tips
Your route passes through protected areas
Please check local regulations for:
Waypoints
Start point
Bus stop
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918 m
Round Copse
Forest
3.51 km
View of the Rolling Hills and Wildflower Fields in Chilterns National Landscape
Highlight • Viewpoint
Tip by
13.0 km
Chilterns National Landscape
Highlight • Forest
Tip by
13.5 km
View of the Chiltern Hills
Highlight • Viewpoint
13.6 km
Blue Tin Farm Shop & Smokehouse
Highlight • Cafe
Tip by
18.6 km
Quiet Lane to Checkendon and Hook End
Highlight • Trail
Tip by
23.1 km
St John the Baptist Church, Kidmore End
Highlight • Historical Site
Tip by
30.7 km
Ipsden Wood
Highlight • Forest
Tip by
31.6 km
Basset Wood
Forest
32.5 km
Maharajah's Well and the Golden Elephant Statue
Highlight • Monument
The 368-foot deep well, under its domed canopy (made by a foundry in Wallingford), was paid for by the Maharajah of Benares (now Varanasi). He had met the young Edward Reade, the local squire, who spent many years in India where among other work he helped to sink a well for a village in Benares. He told the Maharajah that drought conditions also occurred on parts of the Chilterns.
Moved by Reade's stories of water shortage in Ipsden (the parish which then included the settlement of Stoke Row) – the water had to be fetched by hand from miles away – the Maharajah paid for a well to be dug in Stoke Row, at a cost of around £400, as well as a small well-keeper's cottage and a cherry orchard. The cherries from the orchard provided an income to help pay for the well’s upkeep.
The well is 4 feet in diameter, dug by hand mostly through chalk, and is deeper that the height of two Nelson's columns. It took a year to complete and was opened on the Queen’s birthday in 1864. The well was in use for over 70 years and was a huge benefit to Stoke Row as a community.
Prince Philip's visit to mark the well's centenary in 1964 is still remembered in the hand-coloured red helicopter on every copy of the village newsletter, the Stoke Row News.
In 2008 the canopy was re-painted to restore it to its original Victorian glory.
Tip by
41.5 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
40.9 km
381 m
186 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
23.2 km
17.9 km
422 m
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Elevation
Highest point (230 m)
Lowest point (70 m)
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Weather
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Monday 18 May
17°C
9°C
98 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 28.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.