The Chiltern Hills’ Interlinking Paths (CHIP) walk is a series of 33 caches. The complete circular walk is approximately 6 miles from CHIP 1 to CHIP 33 and takes between 3.5-4.5 hours to complete, although the exact distance and time will depend on the route you take to start your walk (see details below). CHIP takes you along the Thames Path between Goring and Whitchurch and returns through quiet woods and farmland, following part of the Southern Extension of the Chiltern Way.
This is a varied walk with river views, woodland and fields. As you can guess from the title of this series, the going is not always flat! The walk is primarily on public footpaths, with some sections on quiet country lanes. There is a short section on the footpath by the B471 at Whitchurch.
After an early arrival (07:30) I made my way to Chip1 from Goring, where I parked in the centre of the village and found myself by the river Thames on a slightly drizzly day. The footpaths are all very well marked, with a few spots where going was very sticky indeed. The views, especially on the ‘river side’ were fantastic and I also took the time to go into Goring after the series to complete the caches around the spectacular weir that you cross when you enter the village.
The caches themselves were all in excellent condition and are well maintained. The hides were varied, not difficult to find but when doing 10 miles, you don’t really want them to be! A couple of the hides made me chuckle, I have my eye on you!
A couple of deviations off the path to get some other caches, including two church micros and a sidetracked meant this was a really good day out.
