St. Mary's, Haddenham

The next church in my Jenkins quest was the delightful St Mary's in Haddenham (Buckinghamshire). It is mainly noted for a Norman Aylesbury font, and for carvings on the pews, but for me the real treats were a formidable Early English tower, a light and airy interior (very little Victorian stained glass) and a charming location, next to the village duckpond.

I rode out via Marlow and Stokenchurch. After a break for lunch surrounded by ducks I rode a couple of miles further on to Nether Winchendon, where there is another Jenkins church.

Oddly the distances to the next eight churches on my list only differ by a mile or so. Although they are only a few miles apart, Haddenham ranks 20th by distance from home, while Nether Winchendon ranks 33rd, and doesn't come close to this years list. When I got there, the scaffolding was up to repair the roof, and the church was closed. The interior seems to be the main attraction, so I've decided it deserves another visit if I am still doing this next year.

After Nether Winchendon I worked my way back via Princes Risborough and High Wycombe. My original plan had been to pass by Lacey Green windmill but in the end I chose to stay on the main road for a faster return. If I had realised that the mill was open today I would probably have made the extra effort.

The weather was sunny and not too windy. I added sixty three miles, or just over 100km, to this years tally without covering much new ground for Open Street Map. There were a lot of other riders out, on a glorious day, and I only hope that they enjoyed themselves as much as I did.