Saturday Walkers' Club

Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1

Walk 17 : Bow Brickhill to Woburn Sands



Woburn, its park & abbey

Length 17.5 km (10.9 miles), 5 hours. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 9 hours 30 minutes.
OS Landranger Maps Nos.165, 153 and (for the last kilometre) 152. Bow Brickhill, map reference SP 896 348, is in Bucking­hamshire, 2km east of Bletchley. Woburn is in Bedfordshire.
OS Explorer Map No.192.
Toughness 6 out of 10.
Features

Woburn is the main delight of this walk – the ancient town itself, the deer park, Woburn Abbey and the Safari Park (from the public footpath, without paying admission, you may be able to see brown bears, zebras, buck, bison, elephants, giraffes, rhino and wallabies). The route reaches Woburn   mainly through woods and via a golf course, with some impressive redwood trees along the way. After the Safari Park the route is through the pleasant village of Aspley Guise then on to Woburn Sands.

Short bits of this walk can be very muddy in wet weather and there are (relatively easy) uphills and downhills all day. Be careful not to allow dogs to disturb deer in Woburn Park, particularly when they are rutting or giving birth – the deer may leave their newborn calves or give birth prematurely.

Note : the train service from Bletchley to Bow Brickhill and back from Woburn Sands does not run on Sundays (see the Saturday Walkers’ Club Section).

Shortening the walk Note : there are still 10 km (6.2 miles) remaining to be walked after lunch in Woburn. Buses from Woburn go to Leighton Buzzard and Bletchley. You can head for the railway station in Aspley Guise instead of continuing the walk to Woburn Sands, cutting out the last 2 kilometres of the walk.
History

Woburn Abbey (tel. 01525 290333), set in a vast park about 16km in circumference, is the seat of the Duke of Bedford, although it was founded for Cistercian monks in 1145 by Hugh de Bolsbec, a Norman whose father came over with William the Conqueror. Both Elizabeth 1 and Charles 1 were entertained here. The Abbey was rebuilt about 1744 in Totternhoe stone. The House is open to the public from 11am until (last entry) 4pm, from 04 April until 04 October. Admission for adults £13; children   £6; family ticket   £30. Admission to the Abbey Grounds and the Deer Park (for those wishing to venture from the public footpaths) is adults £ 2-50, children free.

Woburn , the town, was almost completely gutted by fire in 1729. St Mary Old Church, Woburn, whose tower dates from the twelfth century, is now a “Heritage Centre” (tel. 01525 290631) covering local history. From Easter to September the Centre is open Monday to Friday 2pm to 4-30pm, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays, 10am to 5pm (plus weekends only in October).

St Mary , the parish church, graced with devilish gargoyles, was built by the eighth Duke of Bedford in 1868, and has a memorial to Mary, Duchess of Bedford.

The village of Aspley Guise was originally called Aepslea, meaning a clearing in the aspen, with large herds of swine kept in the surrounding woods. The Parish Church of St Botolph, Aspley Guise, has Norman and medieval traces, and a brass from about 1410 of a kneeling priest.  

Saturday Walkers Club

Take the train nearest to 9- 50 am from London Euston Station to Bow Brickhill, changing at Bletchley, journey time about 1 hour. But note: allow plenty of time for the change at Bletchley, if need be taking an earlier train from Euston than the rail timetable might suggest, as the train from Euston has a habit of running late: many a SWC walker has missed the connection and had to pay for a taxi from Bletchley to Bow Brickhill.   The return is from Woburn Sands to Euston, again via Bletchley (although as an alternative you could take the train in the other direction from Woburn Sands to Bedford, and connect with a Thameslink train back to King’s Cross).

Rail ticket : buy a day return to Woburn Sands.

On Sundays - as noted earlier – there is no train service on the branch line between Bletchley and Bedford. Sunday walkers can club together and pay for a taxi ride from Bletchley to Bow Brickhill (12 minutes, about £ 8) and likewise back from Woburn Sands to Bletchley (about £ 10).    

This walk appears in the Book’s rota late in April each year, although it makes for an enjoyable outing in all seasons, particularly late autumn .  

Lunch

There are three very acceptable pub-hotels in Woburn plus a number of restaurants to choose from for your lunch stop.

The suggested stop per earlier versions of the TO Book is the Black Horse pub (tel. 01525 290210) at 1 Bedford Street, which serves excellent main courses from 12 noon to 2-45 pm, plus deli platters and lighter meals until 6pm, plus a choice of roasts on a Sunday. This establishment is very popular and is often full up.

Less trendy than the Black Horse, and less full, but very comfortable and walker-friendly, is The Bell Inn (tel.01525 290280) lower down on Bedford Street, which serves a variety of main courses, deli platters and light meals from 12 noon to 5pm, plus roasts on a Sunday. It often has very good 2 meals for the price of 1 deals.

40 metres further up Bedford Street from the Bell Inn is The Magpies Hotel (tel. 01525 290219), open Wednesday to Saturdays for lunch from 12 noon to 3pm, and until 4 pm on Sundays, for bar menu and main course choices and roasts on a Sunday.

Tea

The suggested tea place at walk end is the Station Hotel (tel. 01908 582495) in Woburn Sands, next to the railway station. This walker-friendly pub serves meals all day at weekends and tea and coffee, in addition to a good range of beers.

Those in need of a carbo-blast can try the Deep Blue fish and chips shop (formerly known as Henry Higgins).

For an early tea stop in the village of Aspley Guise, you can try The Wheatsheaf pub (tel. 01908 583338) which is open all day at weekends, and all day during weekdays in the summer.
Travel by Train
  • Out:
  • Back:
Travel by Car

Start: Bow Brickhill Station is near : MK17 9JN [gmap]

Finish: Woburn Sands Station is near : MK17 8SG [gmap]

Return to your car by train:

  • (park at the start) at 4pm
  • (park at the end) at 10am
OS Explorer Map

192 : Buckingham & Milton Keynes [Amazon]
Revised

This walk was fully revised in : Aug-09

For the walk map, please see the Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
Updates

Red cover editions only : Major diversion around Woburn Safari Park. [details]
Other Hertfordshire Walks Garston to St Albans, Bow Brickhill to Leighton Buzzard, Harlow Circular, Welwyn Circular,

Walking Instructions 



[Numbers refer to the map]

  1. [1] Coming off Platform 2 at Bow Brickhill Station, from the Bletchley train, turn left over the level crossing, southwards, down the road “V10” Brickhill Street.
  2. In 75 metres ignore a turn left towards Bow Brickhill and keep ahead, along the grass verge of the road.
  3. In 80 metres take the signposted footpath to the left, over a stile, turning right then immediately left, to continue ahead, due east, with the field edge on your right and a barbed wire topped, post and wire fence on your left-hand side. In 345 metres cross a farm track to continue straight on, through a wooden kissing gate, on to a path between fences and houses.
  4. In 40 metres this path comes out on to an estate road, and you keep straight on up this road, ignoring a turn-off to the left.
  5. In 170 metres you come to a T-junction where you go right, your direction 150 degrees. In 45 metres [2] pick up a signposted path to continue in your previous direction (105 degrees).
  6. In 25 metres go through a wooden kissing gate, swing left then continue straight on (slightly left), ignoring the grassy path to your right, across a field of mounds (a remnant of the old ridge-and-furrow field system). In 55 metres, at a path junction, keep ahead, with the field edge on your left-hand side, your direction 120 degrees.
  7. In 80 metres go over a stile to the left of a metal field gate and keep straight on between timber fences. The path soon starts to go uphill.
  8. In 260 metres, by a three-armed footpath sign, follow a bridleway sign to the right, upwards, on an earth car road, your direction 160 degrees. In 30 metres you come to a path junction [3] where you have a choice of ways. The route ahead, slightly right (south-west) is used by Walk 41 – Bow Brickhill to Leighton Buzzard and connects with Walk 17 at para 16. The “middle route”, on your left, beside the tree marked No. 25, follows an undulating, meandering path uphill, which is particularly enjoyable in autumn, and eventually joins up with the main route near point [4] – although you can keep going in a south-easterly direction and rejoin the main route at para 12.
  9. But we will take the TO Books original route, as follows: [!] take the leftmost fork, your direction 145 degrees, uphill into Back Wood (as marked on the OS map). In 140 metres you start to have a barbed wire fence with wooden posts on your left-hand side. The path is now in a cutting as you head steadily uphill.
  10. In a further 230 metres you come to a fence on your right-hand side, with yellow arrows on a corner fencepost [4]. Follow the arrow to the right, your direction 240 degrees, soon with a glade on your right-hand side. In 175 metres from the fencepost, ignore a fork going steeply downhill on your right, and in 60 metres, ignore another. At this point, you have a fine view out over the valley and Bletchley, unhindered by trees.
  11. In a further 10 metres you come to a corner fencepost on your left-hand side, and you follow its arrow left to continue on through pine trees, your direction 110 degrees, with the fence now on your left-hand side.
  12. In 45 metres cross over a path junction and keep ahead, now steeply downhill, with gorse on your right-hand side. In a further 110 metres, follow arrows as the path veers right, now due south. Then in 80 metres, ignore the path to the right (the “middle” route from point [3] joins here) and, in 5 metres, veer left with the path, to go uphill, your direction 70 degrees, with a fence on your left-hand side.
  13. After 220 metres going uphill along a sandy channel, you come out on to a sandy earth road heading towards a golf course, and with a footpath post on your right with yellow arrows, turn right downhill on a sandy path, your direction 200 degrees.
  14. In 150 metres [5] at a triangular clearing with a footpath post in its middle, take the fork left downhill, your direction 140 degrees. In 90 metres cross a set of planks over a swampy area, to carry straight on, now gently uphill.
  15. In 200 metres cross a main path and keep ahead, your direction 145 degrees. Go straight on, now downwards, for 100 metres and at a path junction, with a fence ahead, follow the arrow right, your direction 250 degrees, with young trees on your right-hand side.
  16. The path soon heads downhill and in 215 metres you come down to a stream (dried up in summer) on your left-hand side, which you cross by going left on a car-wide bridleway (marked with blue arrows) uphill, your direction 135 degrees. (Walk 41 – Bow Brickhill to Leighton Buzzard – crosses here).
  17. Head uphill towards the Sierra redwood (Wellingtonia) trees. The path begins to level out and after 350 metres, and ten metres beyond the end of the forest on your left-hand side, with a clearing to your right, [6] take the steps on your left uphill (marked on your right by a yellow arrow on a post), your direction 60 degrees, now with the forest again on your left-hand side. At the top of the slope keep ahead between fences, with a maintained    green space on your right.
  18. In 380 metres exit this enclosed path by going over a stile to turn left onto a tarmac road, your direction 20 degrees.
  19. In 340 metres you ignore a possible way into the woods on your right-hand side, but in a further 160 metres – 5 metres beyond the entrance driveway to the Woburn Golf Club clubhouse on your left – go through a wooden kissing gate on your right onto a signposted gravelled footpath, a tarmac drive to its right, your direction 105 degrees.
  20. In 175 metres, with a footpath post on your right, as a path joins from the right, keep ahead and in 15 metres follow the public footpath sign ahead, ignoring the track off to the left.   Little Brickhill Copse (as marked on the OS map) is over to your right. In 200 metres, at a path junction, the path swings to the right, with a practice driving range over to your left and golf links to your right, your direction now 145 degrees. Keep ahead and ignore all ways off and path crossings.
  21. In 250 metres, as the open field (driving range) to the left comes to an end [7], follow the Woburn walk (WW) arrow to the left, on a grassy car-wide way, with the edge of Charle Wood (as marked on the OS map) on your right, your direction 30 degrees.   In 110 metres the car-wide way comes out onto a new gravel track, where you keep ahead, along it, your direction now 50 degrees.
  22. In 150 metres fork right off the gravel track across grass, following the footpath sign, your direction 80 degrees, with a house ahead and over to your left. In 75 metres cross an entrance drive and keep ahead. In a further 90 metres you pass the house on your left.
  23. In a further 75 metres, go through an open gateway and continue with the field to your left and the wood to your right, gently downhill, your direction 60 degrees. In a further 130 metres, by a three-armed footpath sign, carry straight on, along a concrete path (marked WW). The route is straight on, latterly uphill, and you ignore all ways off.
  24. In 240 metres, as the concrete path swings left, you exit the wood ahead, around a wooden barrier, to follow the WW sign straight across open fields, along the line of the telegraph poles, your direction due east. In 175 metres, at the end of the field, you need to continue on, following the footpath arrow, down, between woods.
  25. In 220 metres you come to a T-junction [8], with a stream ahead on the other side of the hedge. Here turn left following the WW arrow, your direction 20 degrees. In 60 metres turn right over the stream, following the WW arrow (your direction 105 degrees) across a field.
  26. In 240 metres go through a gap in the field boundary and follow the WW arrow into the next field, your direction 90 degrees.
  27. In 120 metres go through an archway cut in the hedge and over a wooden footbridge with wooden handrail. Ignore the path ahead and instead [!] turn left, your direction 5 degrees, now with the ditch on your left-hand side.
  28. In 35 metres follow the WW arrow right [!] to go diagonally across the field, your direction 75 degrees. (There may be future diversions here. If so, follow any WW arrows or check this walk’s update pages on the SWC website).
  29. Aim for the footpath post with a yellow top ahead and in 325 metres you go through a gap in the hedge to continue on into the next open field. In a further 275 metres you go over a wooden footbridge with wooden handrail, then through a kissing gate, and keep ahead.
  30. In 80 metres go over a ditch and through a wooden kissing gate to go half left, your direction due east. In 45 metres go through a wooden kissing gate and up beside the fence of a house on your right-hand side. In 50 metres pass through a barrier and come out onto a road.
  31. Turn right on this main road (Bedford Street) and up into the town of Woburn. In 100 metres on your left-hand side you pass The Bell Inn, opposite the Bell Hotel, a possible lunch stop.   In a further 40 metres on your left-hand side you pass The Magpies Hotel, another possible lunch stop. In a further 120 metres up Bedford Street on your left-hand side is the Black Horse pub, the TO book’s suggested lunchtime stop.  
  32. Coming out of the Black Horse pub after lunch, turn left, due south. In 35 metres turn left on Park Street, your direction 70 degrees. In 100 metres you come to St Mary, the parish church of Woburn, with its dreadful gargoyles. Continue down Park Street and in 65 metres you enter Woburn Park by the cattle grid and lodge, and go half right on a signposted footpath, your direction 15 degrees. Soon you pass a lake over to your left.
  33. In 450 metres take the tarmac path to the left of cottages nos. 2 and 3 (the ones with mock-Elizabethan chimneys), to go straight on, your direction 105 degrees.
  34. In 95 metres go through a swing gate to the left of a cattle grid and keep straight on, with the estate’s Bedford office to your right, on a wide tarmac road. In 60 metres pass through a wooden barrier, with a timber-framed pavilion with its ha ha over to your left, and in 50 metres [9] as the road swings to the right, [!] turn half left off the road by a yellow topped post, to cross the grass, your initial direction 45 degrees.

  35. At this point there is an optional detour to Woburn Abbey. The detour is along public footpaths, to look at the outside of the Abbey buildings, without having to pay the Park entrance fee (but Note: unless you take the 3.7 km walk extension to Potter’s End and Church End via the Greensand Ridge Walk path, you will have to retrace your steps to this point).

    Optional detour to Woburn Abbey

    1. Instead of turning half left off the tarmac road, stay on it as it swings right, with a lake soon on your left-hand side and stables to your right, your direction 195 degrees.
    2. You come to the ticket office, which you pass. In 90 metres, and 5 metres beyond the end of the lake, leave the road to go straight on, following the gravelled farm road marked “No entry”, your direction 210 degrees. Woburn Abbey is on your far left-hand side. Follow the fence on your right-hand side for 600 metres. When you come to the four-armed footpath sign by a metal swing gate, take the path signposted Greensand Ridge Walk, left, your direction 75 degrees, heading well to the left of the Abbey, following occasional waymark posts on the way.
    3. Head on between lakes and across the estate drive, your direction 80 degrees, in 500 metres joining a gravelled road to go straight on, your direction 100 degrees, with the Abbey garden railings on your right-hand side, to the pedestrian entrance to tearooms on your right. To visit the Abbey you will have to pay the entrance fee.
    4. After looking at the Abbey buildings from the outside, or after visiting the Abbey itself, retrace your steps to the end of para 34. Note: if you try to take a short cut northwards from the Abbey along one of the “No Entry” estate roads, trying to rejoin the main walk close to the Safari Park, the Park Rangers will stop you and turn you back.
    5. The 3.7 km walk extension: instead of retracing your steps, you can head east after the tearooms to follow the Greensand Ridge Walk path. Follow the clear signs – or refer to the OS map – as the path eventually swings south-east after 1.5 km to the road at Potter’s End, where you head north-east along the road for 400 metres to Church End. You then follow a minor road via Hills End and Froxfield for 1.8 km to rejoin the main walk directions at the cattle grid, point [10] below.
  36. Continuing along the main route : having turned half left off the road, at point [9], cross the grass and in 50 metres you pass the end of the lake on your right. Here your route swings to the right, on a well-defined grassy path, your direction due east, initially parallel to a main estate road, 100 metres over to your left, which later converges with your path.   Follow the “Keep to Public Footpath” signs and the marker posts with yellow tops as you head gently uphill. Herds of deer are usually off to the left and right.
  37. In 825 metres cross a gravel estate road (which heads right to the Abbey) and keep ahead on the grassy path in the same direction as before. In 175 metres the path swings left to cross another estate road with a barrier on your right. Keep ahead on the path, now parallel to the main estate road, just 5 metres to your left.
  38. In 180 metres, as the road on your left comes to a cattle grid [10] and   your grassy path comes to an end, cross the road and take the footpath on your left just before the cattle grid, your direction 20 degrees.
  39. Follow this grassy path, mostly uphill, ignoring all ways off, marked by regular posts, for 600 metres until your path is parallel to the road on your left beside the Safari Park’s high fencing. Your now follow the grassy path some 3 metres to the right of this road, northwards. The brown bear enclosure is over to your left.
  40. In 400 metres go over stiles on either side of a cattle grid with Trusslers Hill Lodge on your right-hand side. In 35 metres [11] [!] fork left on a path downhill, following the line of mini-pylons, your direction 310 degrees, into Hay Wood (as marked on the OS map).
  41. In 250 metres at the bottom of the path, having passed through some muddy sections, you pass through high metal gates and keep ahead, soon crossing the Safari Park’s entrance drive [12] (with pay kiosks over to your left) to go straight on, your direction 310 degrees, on a tarmac road.
  42. In 100 metres – and 20 metres past the end of the quarantine area on your right-hand side - [!] take the signposted public footpath to your left through a wooden kissing gate, your direction 210 degrees.
  43. Now follow the path with the Safari Park high fencing on your left. You should be able to see zebra, buck, rhino, bison   - and later elephants. After 450 metres you pass the new elephant house on your right and go through a high wooden kissing gate to go down into a wooded area, your direction 220 degrees (ignoring the path before the kissing gate on your right). You may now see giraffes over to your left.
  44. In 40 metres at the bottom of the slope, follow the sign on a tree to go right to follow the footpath with a streambed on your left-hand side, your direction 285 degrees. Keep ahead along this path, muddy in places, through a lightly wooded area, as you pass the wallaby enclosure to your left, then the Go Ape adventure area and other attractions: further over to the left is the Dolphinarium.
  45. Ignore all ways off, and in 450 metres you come to a tarmac road, where you go right, your direction 345 degrees.
  46. 350 metres down this road (where the simplest route is to go straight on, which leads directly out to the Crawley Lodge exit to Woburn Park, you are meant to take the official footpath - but if it is wet and or you are in a hurry to get to the walk-end, stay on the road to the Lodge: otherwise, you should follow the official route) [!] fork right off the road by a footpath post, your direction 5 degrees, along a rough and at times overgrown path. In 220 metres you come out to cross a tarmac road (with an earth road to its right). Continue straight on, through a wooded area, towards a (broken) stile, your direction 315 degrees.   In 40 metres cross over or pass by this stile to go left, your direction 275 degrees, along a part fenced-in, rough and at times overgrown path, in 125 metres coming out onto the estate road just to the left of a cattle grid in front of Crawley Lodge.
  47. Exit Woburn Park through the gate to the right of the Lodge, and turn right onto the main A4012 road, your direction 20 degrees. In 40 metres [13] turn left into Horsepool Lane, your direction 310 degrees, following the sign to Aspley Guise village.
  48. Continue along Horsepool Lane, uphill, towards the village, ignoring all ways off. (There is a public footpath which runs to the left of the lane across agricultural fields and through a lightly wooden area for 500 metres before it rejoins the lane, if you don’t like road walking). In 1 km you reach the top of the hill and a short distance over the top, you pass The Wheatsheaf pub on your right-hand side, an early tea stop option.
  49. In 200 metres you come to a road T-junction [14] where you turn left, your direction west. In 60 metres you pass two thatched cottages (Park Cottage and Valentine Cottage) on your left-hand side, and in a further 80 metres you cross the road to go through a metal kissing gate on your right-hand side, to follow a signposted public footpath, with wooden fences on both sides, your direction 310 degrees.
  50. In 250 metres, at the top of the path, go through a metal gate and out on to a road T-junction where you go right, your direction 340 degrees. In 70 metres you pass the Parish Church of St Botolph, Aspley Guise, on your right. [!] For Aspley Guise railway station, continue down this road for 600 metres – the station is on your right.
  51. Continuing on the main route: opposite the Parish Church, take the signposted footpath [15] uphill (not into the churchyard) your direction 240 degrees, with the hedge and churchyard on your right.
  52. In 140 metres, you veer right with the path. In 35 metres go through a wooden kissing gate and onwards, on a clear path with an open field on your left and a wooded area to your right, your direction 235 degrees, heading towards some telecom. masts with outbuildings below.
  53. In 180 metres go through a wooden kissing gate and keep straight on, along a car-wide road. In a further 180 metres you go right through a metal kissing gate marked with a yellow arrow, your direction 285 degrees, into playing fields (West Hill Recreation Ground), towards Milton Keynes. Pass by a children’s playground on your right, and after 135 metres [!] head slightly left to go down to a wooden kissing gate, which you go through and come out onto a golf course.
  54. Follow the yellow-topped posts over the golf course, your initial direction 330 degrees. In 185 degrees you come out on to an earth car road [16] where you go left, your direction 290 degrees.
  55. In 200 metres you pass Golf Course Cottage on your right and a metal shed on your left. In a further 120 metres ignore the road and footpath off to the right [17] by Radwell Farm.
  56. Continue ahead along the track, soon with golf links to your left and right, and in 260 metres, shortly after the track swings to the left, you exit the golf course and carry straight on, your direction 235 degrees, on Mill Lane. In 80 metres this lane becomes a road between houses on both sides (Burrows Close).  
  57. In 110 metres you cross Weathercock Close to continue straight on, now along a tarmac path, your direction 230 degrees. In 50 metres this path comes out onto the A5130 road, with the Weathercock pub on your right-hand side (if you turn left at this point, in 40 metres you come to the Deep Blue fish and chips shop (formerly Henry Higgins) on your left-hand side).
  58. To follow the main route: turn right on the A5130 road, your direction 330 degrees, signposted Wavendon. You pass new housing development on your left-hand side and in 250 metres you come to the Station Hotel, also on your left-hand side, the suggested tea place.
  59. Some 30 metres beyond the Station Hotel you come to Woburn Sands Station, with Platform 1 for Bletchley on the near side.