On Sunday, nineteen Morgans set out on our latest Scenic Run from Wycombe Air Park, where members had gathered at The Runway Bistro Café.
Our run organiser, Richard Cartwright, had spent months planning this and was all prepared only to find out on Thursday that, contrary to the Highway Authority's website, there was a chance Marlow Bridge was going to be closed. He therefore had to quickly prepare a modification. He found this was for the better particularly as the gap between the bollards restricting the entry to the bridge is only about 6' 6" which could be a challenge for the Aero 8 and more modern Morgan models.
Leaving the airfield behind, the route carried us through Lane End and on towards Bolter End, where the landscape begins to open into classic Chilterns scenery, before turning into the quiet lane leading to Fingest, a tiny village at the head of the Hambleden Valley. The village name of Fingest comes from the Anglo-Saxon name Thinghurst, meaning 'wooded hill where assemblies are made'. With its 300‑year‑old Chequers Inn and the remarkable Norman church of St Bartholomew with its tower unusually topped by twin gables, Fingest offered one of the most characterful moments of the run.
The road then wound gently into Skirmett, a ribbon village of timber‑framed cottages and the well‑known Frog pub, before we continued south to the beautifully preserved village of Hambleden. Hambleden remains one of Buckinghamshire’s most picturesque stops, with its Georgian houses, triangular village green and long list of film credits, such as The Captive Heart, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Witches, The Legacy, Dance with a Stranger, The Black Cat, the opening scenes of the remake of The Avengers starring Ralph Fiennes, some scenes in 101 Dalmatians, and the mini-series Band of Brothers. It was also the home of W H Smith who gave us the high street store.
Re-joining the main road, the route followed the Thames corridor through Medmenham, passing the Dog & Badger (1390) and the historic Danesfield estate, once home to the RAF’s wartime photographic intelligence unit. The Dog & Badger at Medmenham was the venue of the first ever ThamesMog (Reading Centre then) meeting. From here the run continued into Marlow, entering via West Street—famous for its Shelley connection and now for Tom Kerridge’s Hand & Flowers pub.
Leaving the bustle of Marlow behind and now crossing the River Thames by the by-pass, then passing the National Sports Centre in Bisham, the road climbed steadily to the top of Winter Hill, offering wide views across the Thames Valley, where a number of the participants stopped to enjoy the outlook over Buckinghamshire.
The descent into Cookham brought us past Moor Hall, the HQ of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and into the High Street, with the Stanley Spencer Gallery at its eastern end.
Crossing Cookham Bridge, the route swept through Bourne End, past the railway station of “Marlow Donkey” fame, before turning towards Wooburn Green. Here the run passed Manor House Lodge (1837), formerly the village school. More recently it was purchased by Arthur Neal, a local solicitor and a Vice-President of the MSCC and therefore the childhood home of Charles Neal, the Editor of Miscellany and Communications Director of the MSCC today. Afterwards the route began the long climb over the M40 ridge.
The final stretch carried us into Beaconsfield Old Town, with its coaching‑inn heritage and long history as a crossroads of major routes. Continuing north, the run followed the Amersham Road to its final destination: the Harte & Magpies, where the group gathered to celebrate the end of a varied and thoroughly enjoyable drive, extending to some 30 miles.
After lunch Richard, and wife Penny, were presented with a "Thank You" Morgan themed card cleverly prepared by Lynne Doughty and which Lynne had secretly arranged to be signed by all the participants. Richard has said that this was a lovely surprise and much appreciated.
There were suggestions that Richard and Penny should come up with another run for next year. We shall see.
A youtube video can be viewed here.