12th May
In 1870, John Marius Wilson’s Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Edlesborough as follows..
EDDLESBOROUGH, or Edlesborough, a village and a parish in the district of Leighton-Buzzard and county of Buckingham; and a sub-district partly also in the county of Bedford. The village stands near the boundary with Bedford, and near Icknield-street, 3 miles E by N of Cheddington-Junction r. station and 5½ SSE of Leighton-Buzzard.
Well, not much to note there…and 148 years later not much has changed, except an intervention by Dr Beeching, who made sure Cheddington is no longer a Junction.
With this walk, we’ve walked the complete length of the Chilterns in circular walks of various distances, from Luton and Dunstable all the way to the River Thames at Goring..and this is the 101st walk we’ve recorded on this blog. Increasingly, it’s feeling like we need a change, even if Edlesborough itself has steadfastly resisted.
This was a really enjoyable 11.9m walk and, apart from a stiff climb up onto Dunstable Downs at the beginning, and a slightly easier climb onto Ashridge at about 8 miles, it’s a relatively easy walk. The long walk around Whipsnade Zoo is rather uninteresting (and could be avoided) and the Tree Cathedral is underwhelming, to say the least. However, this is more than made up for by the views from Dunstable Downs, Hog Hall Valley on Ashridge and Gallows Hill at Ivinghoe.
We arrive back at the car tired but satisfied…perhaps there is some wisdom in resisting change, after all.
Edlesborough picture gallery (more pictures on Flickr):
Distance: 11.9 miles ; Difficulty: Moderate
Postcode for Satnav: LU6 2JN
Edlesborough walk profile
Where Angells Tread! 