Cross Bucks Way Project

Iain Connell who manages the Long Distance Paths database on behalf of LDWA, notified members of paths for which there is limited information and if not adopted will be deleted from the database.  The Cross Bucks Way was identified as one of those paths that is at risk and we have notified Iain that we wish to adopt this path.

A small team consisting of Sara Waldron, Jim Blakelock, Ed Kendrick and Trevor Jones & Charlie (the dog), completed a survey of the Cross Bucks Way during August 2025, identifying issues with stiles and footbridges, and noting diversions due to the construction of the East-West rail link (Oxford to Cambridge) and HS2.

We have concluded that the Cross Bucks Way remains walkable but with care required in a few places.  The path does not always follow the OS Map route and sometimes it is unclear which direction the path takes.  Therefore, it is recommended that the updated GPX route which we have produced, is used as the preferred navigational aid rather than relying solely on OS Maps.

New footbridges have been constructed over the East-West rail link and these provide a new permanent route. HS2 has closed the marked path at Twyford and an unmarked diversion follows roads to rejoin the path beyond the HS2 works. The revised total length of the path is approximately 26 miles, compared to the published length of 24 miles.

The path suffers from many of the stiles being in a poor state. 16 items have been reported to Buckinghamshire County Council for remediation.  BBN have sponsored the replacement one of these stiles with a gate under the “Donate a Gate” scheme. This was installed in April 2026. The path would benefit from clearance of undergrowth in a few locations and from additional waymarking.  We have been in contact with Buckinghamshire County Council but they have run out of Way Mark discs.  These are now on order and we will be notified when they become available.  Also, the Cross Bucks Way is a 'Promoted Path' on the Council website and they will be updating their documentation about the path in due course.

We have provided Iain with a written report and the revised GPX and have received a positive response back.  The report and GPX can be found on the LDWA website: https://ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?menu_type=S&path_name=Cross+Bucks+Way

UPDATE June 2026: The Cross Bucks Way in a Day was a social walk planned for July 2026.  When the route was recce'd it was found that the road that we used as a diversion was also now closed.  Therefore at present, there is no useful foot access to Twyford from the East and the CBW is blocked at Twyford.  We will monitor the Bucks County Council website for information about when the diversion is reopened.

Before and After pictures for the replaced stile.