Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
Walk 41 : Bow Brickhill to Leighton Buzzard
The Greensand Ridge & River Ouzel
| Length | 13.8km (8.5 miles), 4 hours 10 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 6 hours. |
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| OS Landranger Map | No.165. Bow Brickhill, map reference SP 896 347, is in Buckinghamshire, 9km north of Leighton Buzzard, which is in Bedfordshire. |
| Toughness | 2 out of 10. |
| Features | This is a short and straightforward walk. It has a potentially muddy bridleway near the start. In wet weather, you may prefer to begin on the more strenuous but less muddy route described in Walk 17 (Bow Brickhill to Woburn Sands), starting at the same station and joining Walk 41 by the sequoia trees in Back Wood (see the asterisk [*] in the book's walk directions). After Back Wood and its sequoia trees, this walk goes south through Duncombe Wood to a pub for Lunch in Great Brickhill. After lunch, the route joins the Greensand Ridge Walk, with fine views out over the River Ouzel, and so to the Grand Union Canal for a drinkl at the Globe pub or a cream tea at Tesco. (Note that Bow Brickhill Station may be closed on Sundays - although Leighton Buzzard, the end station, is open. On Sundays, you could join the walk by taking a taxi for the brief ride from Bletchley Station to Bow Brickhill.) |
| Shortening the Walk | There are buses about three times a day from the lunchtime pub in Great Brickhill to Leighton Buzzard or Bletchley. Alternatively, you could call a taxi from Great Brickhill or from the teatime pub just outside Leighton Buzzard. |
| History |
Lower Greensand is very different from the surrounding claylands, and consists of marine sands with few fossils - a terrain that supports a tree population dominated by pine. Great Brickhill was a centre of the curious coprolite industry: the mining of fossilised phosphatic nodules used to manufacture superphosphatic fertiliser. The Globe Inn, the suggested teatime stop, was first licensed in 1830 as a beer shop, to serve passing trade on the Grand Union Canal. |
| Lunch | The suggested lunch stop is the Old Red Lion pub (tel 01525 261 715) in Great Brickhill, serving food from midday to 2pm Monday to Saturday, midday to 2.30pm Sunday. This is a friendly pub which has a garden with a fine view out over the valley. |
| Warning | This text was taken from an older edition of the book, and is a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk. |
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Walking Instructions
For a map and detailed walking instruction, please see Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
