X9/X90/130 Route

To support visits to local pubs using public transport and to mark the government scheme of a maximum £2 single bus fare (between January and June 2023), the local branch has produced a guide to pubs on three of the most frequent bus routes within the branch (with frequencies of every 15 minutes during the day and hourly services running at off-peak times, including up until 10pm on weekdays).

Each of the following pubs serves real ale and is accessible from the X9, X90 or 130 bus routes. Town pubs will be listed only if the bus route passes very close to the pub. For more rural parts of the route pubs will be listed up to around half a mile’s walk from the route (and slightly further in some particularly scenic parts of the Chilterns). Inclusion in the list does not mean any particular recommendation by the local CAMRA branch, although eight of the pubs in the list feature in the 2023 Good Beer Guide (available online and from all good bookshops).

Further details on each pub can be found on CAMRA’s WhatPub database by following the link by the photograph of each pub. Pub opening times are listed on WhatPub but it is recommended that these be checked with the pubs before planning a trip, especially the more rural pubs.

Feedback (including updates on pub details) can be entered directly into the WhatPub website. CAMRA members can also enter beer scores for each pub using WhatPub.

The X90 and 130 routes take a more direct route for part of the journey, missing some of the X9 pubs and passing others. Details follow the pubs on the X9 route.

Key to symbols:

Pubs likely to serve 4+ real ales

Countryside pubs in good walking areas

Originally numbered after a ceremonial county dating back to the Domesday Book, the Arriva X9 route from High Wycombe runs through the ancient Three Hundreds of Aylesbury on its journey to Buckinghamshire’s county town.

The route weaves appropriately through history and timeless Chilterns countryside, passing Disraeli’s Hughenden Manor and within strolling distance of Chequers, diving through age-old beech woodland, past chalk streams and offering spectacular views of Aylesbury Vale as it descends the Chiltern escarpment from Lacey Green windmill. The bus sets down at a good half-dozen cosy country pubs with splendid real ale, large beer gardens and roaring winter fires

Rose & Crown, High Wycombe

The Rose and Crown is only a few steps from High Wycombe bus station.

Chiltern Taps, High Wycombe

The Chiltern Taps is opposite High Wycombe bus station.

Spindle & Thread, High Wycombe

The Spindle & Thread is a short walk from the Morrisons or Beaconsfield Arms stops. The Beaconsfield Arms is directly on the 300 route but has been closed since the mid 2010s.

Wheel, Naphill

The Wheel is at the Naphill Village Hall Stop.

De Spencer Arms, Downley

Le De Spencer is around a ten-minute walk on public footpaths through the woods to the south of Naphill (muddy in wet weather).

Black Lion, Naphill

The Black Lion is at the end of Woodlands Avenue (which looks like a cul-de-sac on a housing estate) near the Naphill, Holly End stop.

Black Horse, Lacey Green

The Black Horse is at the Lacey Green Millennium Hall stop.

Whip Inn, Lacey Green

The Whip is at the The Whip PH stop, Lacey Green.

Pink & Lily, Lacey Green

The Pink & Lily is a twenty-minute walk along Pink Road from the Whip Inn.

Bird in Hand, Princes Risborough

The Bird in Hand is a five-minute walk down Poppy Road from the Poppy Road stop, Princes Risborough.

Bell, Princes Risborough

The Bell is at the Bell Street, Princes Risborough stop.

George & Dragon, Princes Risborough

The George and Dragon is right next to the Market Square bus stop.

Whiteleaf Cross, Princes Risborough

The Whiteleaf Cross is close to the Princes Risborough Market Square stop.

Red Lion, Whiteleaf

The Red Lion is a five-to-ten-minute walk uphill on The Holloway from the Monks Risborough, the Holloway stop.

Stable Bar at the Three Crowns, Askett

The Stable Bar at the Three Crowns is a five-minute walk along Askett Lane from the Askett Roundabout stop.

Plough at Cadsden, Cadsden

The Plough is a fifteen-minute walk up Cadsden Road from the Askett Roundabout stop. Note that there are no footpaths on the road and it becomes narrow with fast traffic near the pub. An alternative route can be used via public footpaths from the Red Lion, Whiteleaf.

Swan, Great Kimble

The Swan is a ten-minute walk down Church Lane from Great Kimble, St. Nicholas’s Church stop. This stop used to be named after the Bernard Arms which stood opposite the church but has now been closed and demolished.

Russell Arms, Butlers Cross

The Russell Arms is a fifteen-minute walk up Chalkshire Road from the Terrick Crossroads stop. Also served directly by occasional 130 services.

The Chiltern Brewery shop is a five minute walk up Nash Lee Road from the Terrick Crossroads stop.

Woolpack, Stoke Mandeville

The Woolpack is principally a food destination pub but also serves drinkers real ale. Two minutes walk from the Bull, Stoke Mandeville stop.

Bull, Stoke Mandeville

The Bull is at the Bull, Stoke Mandeville stop.

Bell, Stoke Mandeville

The Bell is at the Bell, Stoke Mandeville stop.

Aristocrat, Aylesbury

The Aristocrat is marooned in the middle of a traffic island and passed on all sides by buses. Aylesbury Magistrates Courts and Walton Street stops.

Broad Leys, Aylesbury

The Broad Leys is a short distance up Wendover Road from the gyratory system around the Aristocrat. Aylesbury Magistrates Courts and Walton Street stops.

Bricklayers Arms, Aylesbury

The Bricklayers Arms is opposite the Aristocrat on the gyratory system. Aylesbury Magistrates Courts and Walton Street stops.

Bell Hotel, Aylesbury

The Bell Hotel is in Town Square next to Aylesbury Bus Station.

King's Head, Aylesbury

The Kings Head is a three-minute walk from Aylesbury bus station, just set behind the Market Square.

X90/130 Route

Includes the first two pubs near the bus station in High Wycombe on the X9 route then:

Bird In Hand, High Wycombe

The Bird in Hand is at the High Wycombe, White Horse stop.

Golden Cross, Saunderton

The Golden Cross is at the Saunderton, Golden Cross stop.

The X90 and 130 routes then join the X9 route between Lacey Green and Princes Risborough.

If visiting multiple pubs, check to see if the bus company’s all-day tickets (e.g. Arriva’s Orbit ticket) will not be cheaper than the number of £2 capped fares you plan to take. At current prices it’s likely that the day ticket will be cheaper if you plan to take four or more journeys.

Disclaimer: all information on this page believed to be correct at the time of publication (February 2023) but the managements of pubs change frequently, and information may change. WhatPub information is published by the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd and is updated by volunteers as quickly as updated information is received but individual pub details may also change at short notice. The page has been updated to reflect the change in bus numbers from January 2024 and the reopening of the George and Dragon, Princes Risborough.