Thursday 26th January Woburn/Woburn Sands walk led by Margaret

 This 7 mile walk should have been led by Tony M, however as he was unable to lead it Margaret took over. It was very popular as it had 21 walkers with 4 more attending the half way lunch.

We started off form Woburn car park, turned left off Leighton Street, took the path though the woods which led back to the road where we crossed by Marylands. We followed the path down a steep slope where some of the walkers needed assistance to reach the ruined Horsemoor Farm.  At  the top of the hill we stopped for a water break  before descending to Longslade Lane which we crossed and after passing a field of black sheep we reached the wide footpath along the bottom of New Wavendon Heath.. We soon stopped for our coffee stop.

Two pictures of our coffee stop.

We then followed the track down to Sandy Lane which led to the double roundabout where we crossed the road to the Fir Tree Inn. We removed or covered our muddy boots and entered the pub to order our long awaited food.
Due to the numbers service was a little slow in the pub but everyone was talking and time passed quickly. We were soon outside where we donned our boots and said goodbye to the non walkers.
We left the road and entered the woods climbing up the track which has become rather churned up due to forestry operations being carried out there. We descended the steps to the Greensand Ridge walk poem and carried on to past Burnmoor Farm. As the "bridge" over the ditch leading to the football pitches has disappeared we continued on to the main road which we following into Woburn itself. Soon we were back at the car park and our cars. We all thanked Margaret for successfully leading the walk at such short notice.

Track of walk, walked in clockwise direction

Sunday 22nd January Flitwick walk led by Nita

Five walkers enjoyed a sunny 2 mile walk in Flitwick Wood. A very frosty morning but only muddy in places where the sun had melted the frost.

The Council have recently re-surfaced many of the paths which made for easier walking.

We had a clear view across the fields to Steppingley.

Tony P, Anna, Jean, Penny & Nita

Anna is now feeling better and was more than pleased to be with us as she had never been to Flitwick Wood before.

We finished the walk in time to be home for Sunday lunch.

Track of walk, walked in clockwise direction

Saturday 21st January Great Gaddesden, 9 miles,

 6 ramblers, led by Keith and Bev

 

What a lovely day for a walk! Bright sunshine, and frost that melted in the warmth of the sun, despite temperatures remaining at about zero.   We met around the corner from the garden centre, walked through the church yard to the lane past the Buddhist temple. Building works were going on and we had to drag one of our party away, reminding him that he had retired!  We turned downhill through, irritatingly, the shade of a hedge and speculated on the possible finds of two men, who were scouring the fields with a metal detector.   After crossing the road, we paused for a photo before summoning the energy for the steep sunny hillside

 

 

 

We arrived in Studham for an early lunch stop, enjoying the warmth of the sun on the wide bench we chose.  

 

 Next we crossed the common and passed through some woods and Beechwood School. The last part became a little muddy as the sun was finally managing to thaw some of the ice on the fields,  but at the end some rough grass removed much of the sticky stuff before we returned to the cars.

We finished the walk with coffee and chat at the garden centre. What a lovely day!

Thursday 19th January Baldock/Radweel walk 5 miles led by John Dixon

There were 10 walkers on this walk which started from Copthall Rroad to the south east of the town centre
It was a cold but bright day and so we walked through the town, under the railway bridge before turning off past the allotments into Ivel Srings nature reserve. We crossed the infant Ivel before reaching a road that took us under the A1(M). We left the road and followed the river before passing through Bury Farm which had many large tractors. We stopped at Radwell church for a few minutes before stopping again at a large lake which contained many hungry swans, ducks and gulls. Here we stopped for a drink and snack.

Penny, Sue, John, Richard, Wendy, Ged, Jenny, Tony P, Hilary & Tony R by the lake

We then passed by the closed Radwell Lake campsite where we lost 2 of the ladies for a few minutes before reaching the Ivel again. We left the river and came to a picnic area where it had been intended to have our picnic, We soon came to Norton Bury and then Norton village itself. We descended on a track towards the motorway with Baldock church in sight. We joined Norton road which helped us cross the A1(M) before turning off into the woods. This path led to a pedestrian tunnel under the railway and hence into the town of Baldock. We crossed the old A1 and made our way back to our cars.

Track of walk, walked in anti-clockwise direction

Sunday 15th January Harlington Blue Plaque afternoon walk led by Hilary

Thirteen members started from Harlington Village Hall. Tony was unable to walk with us but he came to say hello before we left.

The walkers gathered in front of Harlington Village Hall

Hilary gave us a resume of the area before we started walking.

It was quite cold but thankfully it did not rain.

Hilary made the walk very interesting, lots of questions which she was able to answer. 

 

 

Hilary with booklet in hand explaining about the Grand National plaque

 

We had the key to the church and were amazed at its history. Certainly worth trying to have another visit there.

 

At the west door of the church

We briefly called on Cynthia who came to the front door, we were all pleased to see her looking so well.

Outside 120 (Cynthia's house)

After the walk seven of us enjoyed tea or coffee with some Christmas biscuits at Hilary's house.

Many thanks to Hilary for a most enjoyable afternoon. 

 

 

 

Saturday 14th January - Offley walk led by Lynn

Despite the foul weather forecast, 5 intrepid TRC members in their waterproofs turned up to join Lynn on her walk - Tony R., Beryl, John, Kate and Tony P, meeting at The Red Lion in Great Offley.
We set out following the Chiltern Way heading north past the church, turning right at Hoar’s Lane and right again at the corner of Charlton Road, just before Offleyholes Farm. Next was a climb up Pinnacle Hill, which definitely warmed us all up, and from there we headed along side the wood, then down through Stopsleyholes Farm to the edge of Ley Green. 

John, Beryl, Lynn, Kate, Tony P & Tony R

We cut across from Kingswell End to Hoo Lane and now we were back in a dip at lowest altitude, from hereon in, everywhere was sodden with lots of lying water, including the road which was one large puddle after another. Thankfully, the vehicle drivers were considerate and really slowed down so as not to soak us.
As there were a number of cars coming along the road, Lynn thought  it would be safer to go across the fields back to Offley but it was hard work and whilst Beryl & Lynn in their wellingtons did not have a problem with all the lying water, it was difficult for the others to avoid getting a bootful of water.
Once back at Offley, we all enjoyed a very good lunch in The Red Lion. (The pub is under fairly new management and has been refurbished. We were all impressed with the food, attentive service and nice atmosphere).
It is a lovely route and does have some nice views, which the low cloud obscured this time, so look out for a repeat later in the year!

Track of walk, walked in clockwise direction.

 

 

Thursday January 12th Toddington, 5 miles, led by Tony M

We are a hardy lot: heavy rain and wind in the night and only a promise of lighter drizzle and yet ten ramblers turned up at the village hall fully clad in waterproofs. Much of the early part of the walk was on the firm surface of the Icknield Way bridleway towards the M1, then turning right at Cowbridge Farm, walked briefly along the Luton Road, turning off to pass through the new spinney and past Manor Farm. Four soggy-looking horses eyed us up then galloped into the next field.

 

We stopped for a short drinks break by the pond of the golf course: it was too damp and windy to linger. Finally, we passed Crowbush farm and Kimberwell to Toddington High Street, where several of the group headed for the café. 

Track of walk, walked in clockwise direction.

 

Sunday 8th January - Ampthill Park Gentle Walking Walk 2.5 miles led by Nita

This walk started at 10.30 am form the west car park of Ampthill Park. 9 walkers joined Nita's first club walk for 3 months.
The weather was good to us, some sunshine but very windy at times. It rained briefly towards the end of the walk & as we left the woods we saw a rainbow.
The walk was enjoyed by all & they all showed interest in having similar walks organised in the future.

Viv, Joan, Jean, Penny, Nita, Hilary, Vivienne & Joyce (non member) Photo by Beryl

 

Thursday 5th January, Flamstead to Redbourne, 7 miles. 10 ramblers, led by Ruth

I had promised a mud free walk: it didn’t quite work out that way as the early part through the Flamstead village dog-walking routes were quite churned up after the recent snow and rain, but soon we left the mud behind and headed up-hill across grass to cross the M1 and then into Redbourne.  We walked along the high street, and turned west at the end to pick up the ‘Nickey Line'; a disused railway track that runs from Harpenden to Hemel Hempstead. 

This was a good surface for walking and we got to the Redbourne Church as the clock struck 11.45. There was a funeral taking place, but we hid on the seats of the memorial garden for our coffee and snack.  As we left, we passed the wake in the church hall and wondered if there would be any left-overs?   We were back on firm surfaces as we re-crossed the M1 and then fields and woods back to Flamstead.  A steep downwards slope looked muddy and slippery, but it turned out to have gravel under the surface and all was well.

We finished the walk along the Flamstead streets, not wanting to risk another muddy path. The rain started just as we were heading off in the cars, so satisfying!

The knitted village sign

Track of walk, walked in clockwise direction

Sunday 1st January Annual Harlington New Year's Day walk led by Tony R

This 4 mile walk had 16 walkers.
Due to family problems this walk was not advertised externally apart from in the Harlington Village Shop and therefore only attracted 2 non-club members
We started off form Harlington Village Hall Car Park and crossed Bury Orchard to the Spinney which we walked through meeting a couple of dog walkers. We soon came into open fields with some surface mud..

Walkers getting strung out across the muddy field

This path led to the Bottoms Road, now traffic free due to having one end blocked in an attempt to reduce fly tipping. We walked along the road to the point where it meets Sundon Road. There we left the road and walked up the old trackway, though the gate into the woods at the bottom of Sundon Hills. We turned left avoiding the metal spikes in the ground, past the interpretation board. climbed some steps to enter the open field at the top of the hill.
 

Beryl handing out sweets to accompany our drinks

 We stopped for a coffee/banana break before leaving this field and crossing the road to enter another field having an electric fence keeping a flock of sheep enclosed.
We walked along the perimeter of this field with glorious view of Bedfordshire before turning right to follow the old track through the woods towards Harlington. At the bottom of the hill we stopped for a group photo.

We then followed the field boundaries before passing to the rear of Wood Farm and hence exiting the footpaths onto Sundon Road which we followed back to the starting point.

Track of walk, walked in clockwise direction

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