30th March At last we choose the correct day to go for a walk. Saturday turns out to be beautiful! Today, walking Tottenhoe's green lanes is an opportunity to leave it all behind and just enjoy the moment. We leave the lanes as we cross the A5 and we're out onto the Bedfordshire flatlands. Here, only a couple of weeks ago, we disturbed boxing hares. No sign of them today. We skirt Tebworth and, at Hockliffe, cross Watling Street. The northward march of Roman legions have long been replaced by an on-rushing stream of juggernauts and white vans. Getting across we take our lives in our hands...but survive!
March
walks in March
Hexton
23rd March Search as hard as you like, it's difficult to find anything of note to say about this part of Bedfordshire...Barton-le-Clay, Hexton, Higham Gobion, Wrest Park, Silsoe and Pulloxhill should all be names to conjure a multitude of interesting stories...but nothing! Literally nothing! Perhaps the landscape has inadvertently influenced the attitudes of those who've lived around here. People around here prefer to blend in than stand out...and there's nothing wrong with that, I'd like to add!
Tebworth
16th March It's that time of year when, once again, I find I'm younger than I thought I was...for most a good experience...however it does mean retiring, and doing what I really want to do, is further away than I'd hoped...that thought always spoils the day. To overcome the disappointment we select another walk in our slow encirclement of Luton. The first part of our walk reprises the previous Toddington 'not one of your better walks' route, before emerging the other side of Toddington into Alma Farm.
Puttenham
9th March So this walk completes the Aylesbury Canal...which we'd started over a year ago. The canal itself was started well over 200 years ago...and never finished. The intention had been to drive a canal as far as the Thames to the south and, via the Kennet & Avon canal and the Thames, link Bristol and the West with the Grand Union Canal. Money ran out, railways arrived and, instead, the canal finishes in Aylesbury...an 18th Century equivalent of buying a 3D TV and finding the world had move on to 4K TV. However, today the Aylesbury Canal is a pleasant walk in early spring.
Bryant’s Bottom
2nd March This always seems like the most 'tucked away' part of the Chilterns...perhaps because it takes us so long to get here. Anyway, walking around here is always good and today was no exception. It's been a while since we walked any hills...Bedfordshire and North Hertfordshire are both flat...and to tell the truth, it was a struggle in places. Nevertheless its good to get back to walking in the woods and the outward stretch is pretty much all woods. It's great to watch the seasons tick by and today it certainly feels like spring is just around the corner.
Bucklers Hard
4th March Hampshire has some special memories, even if it's over 30 years since I lived around here. I'm sure I didn't really appreciate this part of Hampshire back then. Having said all that, last time I was at Bucklers Hard I'm sure it didn't cost to get in.
Stonor
25th February A Sunday afternoon walk in one of the most beautiful parts of the Chilterns. We love Hambleden and the surrounding woods.
Sandridge
17th February In spite of my general distrust of everything 'St Albans' we're back, less than 2 miles north of the city centre. Once again my hackles are raised! St Albans, a city?! A quick consultation of Wikipedia and I discover that between 1877 and 1888 any municipal borough in which an Anglican see was … Continue reading Sandridge
Lyndhurst, Hampshire
We head out to the Forest. This is the weather we've been waiting for; bright blue skies and a warm breeze. We park just outside Lyndhurst, close to the The Oak Inn and walk south towards Brockenhurst. The paths are busy, well for the first part of our walk. Things thin out on the return as we take a more 'off piste' route.
Nettlebed
In spite of the dull weather, today's walk was enjoyable. Quiet lanes, views over the Thames Valley and South Oxfordshire and a descent from the Ridgeway along Grim's Ditch. If I'm feeling old this particular earthworking is over 2400 years old.
Where Angells Tread! 