Thursday 3rd June Wrest Park, 7 ramblers, 7 miles led by Jill

We were lucky to have a lovely sunny day for our walk on the 3rd June when seven of us met in the car park at Wrest Park. Setting off to the east on the track towards Gravenhurst we'd soon climbed our first incline and could look back over Wrest Park with Silsoe village in the background. As we came into Gravenhurst we took the public footpath opposite the school, skirting round the side of the village until we joined the route heading north towards Cainhoe. The fields here can be very wet after heavy rain, often meaning a detour via the road is needed. But a few dry days meant a clear easy route through the corn fields that soon brought us to Cainhoe Manor Farm. After a short walk along the road we crossed over the A507 and made our way to Cainhoe Castle - a mound on the site of an old motte and bailey. The mound provided an ideal spot for a coffee break, giving us lovely views over the lakes created in the old Fuller's Earth quarries which are now being turned into a nature reserve. The footpath around the lakes took us into Clophill village. We returned to Silsoe via a track at the side of the petrol station which eventually led us onto the High Street and down Park Drive back to Wrest Park. Different estimates of the distance were given, but it was just under 7 miles.