I was combining this pedal to Wycombe Rye parkrun adventure in July 2025 with a trip to the YesWoods, a piece of woodland near Henley-on-Thames owned by the YesTribe, a voluntary community group which is all about getting people enjoying the outdoors together.
My plan was to get the train down to Luton on Friday, cycle to High Wycombe, stay in a Premier Inn, and run at Wycombe Rye parkrun the next day. Then I’d cycle on to the YesWoods for a night in a bivvy bag amongst the trees. That meant quite a lot of luggage to tote around on my bike.
Here’s how I got on…
Pedal to High Wycombe
I caught the train from my home station of Beeston (Nottingham) down to Kettering, where I changed onto another train to Luton Airport Parkway.
From the station it was straight onto the Upper Lea Valley Way – a lovely traffic-free walking and cycling route following the site of a disused railway between Luton and Harpenden. The sun was out and it was a glorious start to the day.
I paused to try and take a timer selfie with Eric Morecambe who the information board said lived in Harpenden and was a Director of Luton Town Football Club. I have a similar photo with the statue in Morceambe, which confused me a bit, so I had to do some research – apparently he was born in Morecambe but lived in Harpenden from the 1960s until his death. So, now you know.
I cycled to the aforementioned Harpenden and then joined The Nickey Line, another former railway, which I followed for about 8 miles. This was a bit more gravelly in places and I was glad I had my slightly grippier tyres.
It was a really pleasant trail overall, but there were a couple of dicey bits. At one point I passed through a section where the air was thick with dust next to some gravel works just outside Redbourn. There was also a really dark tunnel – I didn’t have my lights on and couldn’t be bothered to dig around in my bag to find them, but in hindsight I probably should have as I couldn’t see the floor at all.
I reached Hemel Hempstead and wound my way through some urban cycle paths and quiet streets before my route took me into a hospital car park that I couldn’t find a way out of until I finally found someone to ask for help.
I carried on through town and onto some kind of busy ring road with a cycle path. I’d started to look on Google Maps for somewhere to eat as I was getting pretty peckish. After a couple of false starts, I discovered the delightful Fishery Wharf Café down by the Boxmoor Grand Union Canal.
I treated myself to Eggs Royale and enjoyed a rest in the lovely tranquil surroundings.
Then it was back on the bike and time to cycle the rest of the way to High Wycombe. This part of the route was all on quiet country lanes through some really picturesque villages. In Little Missenden there were a couple of steam engines parked outside the village pub!
Then it was down a huge steep hill and into High Wycombe.
Exploring High Wycombe
I checked into the Premier Inn and headed out to explore the town.
There seemed to be a strong frog theme to the street art. After looking up the connection, all I can find is that there is an area of the town called Frogmoor and that there is an annual music festival called FrogFest. If you have any ideas about a deeper connection, do let me know!
I had a wander down to Wycombe Rye although I didn’t go as far as the parkrun start as it would have made it a pretty long walk. It seems a nice enough town, with some nice historic areas and some newer slightly less salubrious areas – pretty much like most places. I did spot the former home of a prime minister I’d never heard of though.
I grabbed a Subway sandwich and a Terry’s chocolate orange (nutritious fuelling!) and headed back to my room to enjoy the feast.
Wycombe Rye parkrun
I got up nice and early and set off for parkrun. It was less than 2 miles away, down a segregated cycle lane and then through the park (I think I accidentally went a longer way round than was necessary!).
I was looking for somewhere to lock my bike and a fellow pedal to parkrunner suggested the railings at the front of the lido. I think there is some more bike parking in the car park itself, but I followed her lead.
After the first timers’ briefing and the main briefing, we all walked over to the start. This was a very wide line across the middle of the field – a great way to avoid congestion in the first 500m or so.
The briefing had mentioned the “steps of doom” which were a bit tricky, but otherwise the slopes didn’t feel too bad. It was a great route, an out and back with a small loop at the end.
I headed back to the Premier Inn (taking a more direct route across the park this time) and had a shower and some breakfast before hitting the road again.
Pedal to the YesWoods
My next destination was the YesWoods near Henley-on-Thames, 18 miles away.
I headed out of town towards West Wycombe. Thankfully I didn’t have to cycle up anything like the hill I’d come down yesterday. The weather had turned slightly and it was getting a bit chillier and damper.
I’d seen the Hellfire Caves on the map when I’d been looking for points of interest, and decided to check them out, even though it meant a slight detour up a steep hill. An adult ticket is £9.50 and it’s a self-guided tour with lots of interpretation boards and information through speakers.
The caves were the idea of Sir Frances Dashwood in the 1740s during a period of poverty and unemployment. He decided to build a road and employed local people to excavate the chalk and flint from the hillside. The caves later became used by the Hellfire Club to host their ritualistic and hedonistic gatherings. Benjamin Franklin is known to gave visited the caves in 1772.
I had a cup of peppermint tea at the café on the way out and then hit the road again. The route through the Chilterns was pretty, but there were a couple of pretty brutal hills!
I reached The Rising Sun at Highmoor Cross, just as friends and fellow YesTribers, Alison and Ann, had finished their lunch. They had parked up in the car park with permission to leave their vehicles overnight during the camp-out. I ordered some food and then had to hide under an umbrella as it started to rain.
The YesWoods
I caught Ann and Alison up on their way into the woods and we walked in together. It was about a mile to the camp. The YesTribe is the guardian of the YesWoods – almost 7 acres within the wider woodland, which we’re able to use for events. Andy is the main volunteer here and was there to welcome us along with Becky who had also arrived the night before.
Andy gave us a tour and then helped us set up our camp spots. I’d gone for a tarp and bivvy set up. I don’t use my bivvy that often, but it’s nice to have an opportunity.
We were joined by two more people before dinner, then we gathered around the campfire to chat, cook our food, then toast marshmallows.
I had a fairly good night’s sleep, listening to the Muntjac barks before drifting off. I had definitely put too many layers on though, as I woke up during the night way too hot and had to strip a few off!
The next morning I lay on top of my bed for a while, enjoying the peace of the woodland before my bladder forced me to get up and wander over to the composting loo with a view.
We had a wonderful breakfast pancake feast cooked up by Andy. Amazing!
We packed up camp and as we were walking back out of the woods it started to rain pretty heavily. We sheltered for a while before continuing to the pub car park where I loaded my bike into Ann’s van for a lift back to Nottingham.
A wonderful weekend with so many experiences packed into two and a half days!