Arlesey to Sandy Walk

Click the heading below to show/hide the walk route for the selected option(s).

Walk Maps

©

Walk Options

Click on any option to show only the sections making up that route, or the heading above to show all sections.

13. Main Walk (17¾ km)

1. Short Walk, starting from Biggleswade (14 km)
2. Long Walk, looping back to Biggleswade (21¾ km)
3. Figure-of-8 Walk, from Biggleswade (18 km)

Walk Directions

Click on any section heading to switch between detailed directions and an outline, or the heading above to switch all sections.

If you are doing the shorter start (from Biggleswade), start at §D.

1. Arlesey Station to Henlow Church (2¼ km)
• Leave the station via a side exit off the northbound platform. Cross the River Hiz and turn right onto the station car park's access road to go under the A507. Keep ahead on a footpath going around the eastern and northern boundaries of Henlow Bridge Lakes. At the campsite's north-western corner turn right onto a footpath going past Henlow Grange (Champneys) and then a school to Henlow church.
1. Arriving from London on Platform 2, do not cross the footbridge to the main exit but go out through a small parking area via an inconspicuous side exit by the front half of the train. Keep to the left of a bicycle shed, passing an information panel for the Hicca Way by the entrance to Glebe Meadows.
2. After crossing the River Hiz? on a brick road bridge turn right to pass under the elevated A507. Where the road turns left bear right across the grass and go through a side gate by a weir onto a waymarked footpath. Ignore another footpath off to the left to continue on this broad grassy strip around a large campsite with fishing lakes, Henlow Bridge Lakes.
3. You pass Vincent Lake and then the larger Jordans Lake on the left. The perimeter path goes three-quarters of the way around Jordans Lake (temporarily heading back towards Arlesey Station) before swinging right to continue alongside the northern edge of the campsite. At the far end go through a wooden side gate and turn right onto a broad tree-lined track.
4. After 150m an elegant mansion comes into view on the right, Henlow Grange?; later several notices reveal that this is now the home of a fashionable health spa, Champneys. Carry on along the main track, ignoring ways off and soon passing a school on your left.
5. After passing the school entrance you are on a residential street (Church Road) in the village of Henlow. In 150m turn right through a gate into the churchyard and follow the path up to the parish church of St Mary the Virgin? (which is worth a visit, if open).
2. Henlow Church to Langford Mill (3¼ km)
• Skirt around the church to leave through a gate at the rear of the churchyard. Bear right across a parking area at the end of Gardeners Lane and enter Henlow Millennium Meadow. Follow a footpath to its left-hand corner, cross a ditch and veer left to continue alongside a stream. In 200m cross the stream on a footbridge and cut across the corner of a field. Follow the footpath along the right-hand edge of two large farm fields to the B659. Turn left onto the road, then in 75m turn right into Henlow Common. Make your way across it to an exit on its right-hand side, 500m away. Go up to the River Ivel, turn left onto the riverside path and cross the river at Langford Mill.
1. Follow the path around the church tower to go across the rear of the churchyard. Leave through a lychgate and bear right across a parking area at the end of a cul-de-sac. Near the far end go through a gate and follow a grassy path across Henlow Millennium Meadow?, curving gently left towards a wooden footbridge 200m away.
2. After crossing a ditch on a concrete slab and veer left to go along the left-hand side of another part of the meadow, away from the bridge and with a stream on your left. After passing to the left of a copse you come to a wooden owl and otter sculpture where you turn left to leave the meadow, crossing the stream on a footbridge. Follow a short path across the corner of a field to a gap in the hedge ahead.
3. Go through the gap and fork right to go along the right-hand edge of a vast farm field, heading towards some barns 600m away. On reaching them veer right as directed and continue around two sides of another large farm field. In the far right-hand corner go out onto the B659 (Langford Road), cross over carefully and turn left onto its pavement.
4. In 75m turn right at a wide gap in the hedge and go through a wooden gate into Henlow Common?. You will be leaving this large water meadow through a gate on its right-hand side 500m away and the simplest route is to follow a grassy path along its left-hand edge for 150m, then fork right onto a broad mown path leading directly to this exit.
   • If there are cattle grazing you might prefer to take a fainter path off to the right after just 40m, since this would allow you to go most of the way along the right-hand edge of the meadow.
5. However you get there, go through the gate and follow a short path up to a foobridge across the River Ivel. Do not cross the bridge but turn left onto the path along a low embankment. You now follow this attractive riverside path for 800m, with views across the water meadow on your left.
6. At the end of the path turn right in front of a metal fieldgate to cross the River Ivel on a wide bridge, going past the front of Langford Mill? on its gravel driveway (this is a right of way). Off to the left in the parking area at this end of Mill Road there is a “Private Property” sign on a small wooden gate, with a less conspicuous notice revealing that this is the start of a permissive path.
3. Langford Mill to Jordans Mill (2 • 2¼ km)
• Take the permissive path along the eastern bank of the River Ivel all the way to Southill Road. Turn left onto the road to reach Jordans Mill.
  • If permission has been withdrawn go along Mill Lane to the B659 and turn left onto the main road. Follow it for 1½ km and turn left onto Southill Road to reach Jordans Mill.

Unless it has been closed the permissive path is the preferred route for this section, although it can be muddy in winter and overgrown in high summer. An alternative route through Langford village (which is still the published route of the Kingfisher Way) is described in [?].

1. Main route (2 km)

1. Simply follow the narrow path all the way along the riverbank, at first past a number of riverside properties with notices asking you to respect their owners' privacy. The path eventually comes out onto Southill Road by a bridge over a millstream.
2. Cross the road carefully (with a nice view of the mill building ahead, framed by trees) and turn left. Follow the road round to the right and walk along the grass verge for 100m to reach the entrance to the Jordans Mill site.

2. Road route (2¼ km)

1. Go all the way along Mill Lane, passing a churchyard on the left. At the end turn left onto the pavement of the B659 (Langford Road again), which you now have to walk along for 1½ km.
   • At the start of this stretch you could detour through the churchyard to visit St Andrew's church.
2. In 300m you pass The Plough pub and Langford's Village Stores on the right. After leaving the village there are just flat farm fields on both sides, giving an unimpeded view of Biggleswade Wind Farm? beyond the East Coast Main Line away to your right.
3. Eventually you turn left into Southill Road, signposted to Jordans Mill. In 40m use the designated cycle crossing to continue on a path behind the roadside hedge, soon coming to the site's overflow car park.
4. If it is open you could cut through this car park to enter the site from the rear, but the straightforward route is to carry on alongside Southill Road, crossing a bridge carrying the millstream (with a nice view of the mill building, framed by trees). …

Continue the directions at §F.

4. Biggleswade Station to Broom East Nature Reserve (1½ km)
• From the station head west on Saffron Road and go straight ahead at traffic lights onto Teal Road. Turn left into Mill Lane, cross the River Ivel and keep ahead on a bridleway. Use a flood tunnel off to the left to get under the A1, then briefly rejoin the bridleway before taking a permissive path on the left into the Broom East Wildlife Conservation Site.
1. From the island platform go up steps to the footbridge and turn left. Outside the station bear slightly left and go down to a road junction. Cross over Station Road to continue along the right-hand pavement of Saffron Road, which curves left and right and comes to a crossroads. Go straight ahead onto the B659 (Teal Road), which curves round to the right.
2. In 200m use the pedestrian crossing on Teal Road so that you can turn left into Mill Lane, passing the converted Ivel Mill? on the left as you cross the River Ivel on a bridge. On the other side there are paths off to both sides and a recreation area (Franklin Park) on the left.

   The walk continues via Broom East to Jordans Mill and returns to this point from the riverside path on the left. If you want to do a much shorter walk cutting out this entire loop (saving 4¾ km), skip to [?] in §G.

3. For the full walk carry on along the lane, which becomes a public bridleway after passing the entrance to a cluster of park homes. In 250m, with the elevated A1 about 125m ahead, veer left off this farm track onto a narrow path lined with blackthorn, the continuation of the bridleway. Just before reaching the A1 bear left onto a permissive path running alongside the embankment.

   The OS map shows the bridleway as going straight across this busy main road, but the permissive path leads to an unusual and much safer crossing.

4. Near the start of the permissive path ignore a very low flood tunnel under the road (there is no sensible way through the undergrowth on the other side). In 150m, however, follow the path round to the right and go under the A1 via one of a group of slightly less claustrophobic tunnels.
5. On the other side of the road turn half-right onto a stony path. In 100m you cross a ditch and turn left onto a grassy track, briefly rejoining the bridleway. In 30m, immediately after passing a metal fieldgate on the left, turn left onto a permissive path into the north-eastern corner of the Broom East Wildlife Conservation Site?.
5. Broom East to Jordans Mill (2¼ • 1¾ km)
• The suggested route is to fork right and follow the perimeter path all the way around the site's northern, western and southern boundaries to its south-eastern corner, but you could also take the more direct route along its eastern boundary. Leave the site in this corner and turn left onto Southill Road to reach Jordans Mill.

The suggested route is a loop around the western side of the reserve, with the alternative of a shorter route along its eastern boundary in [?].

1. Main route (2¼ km)

1. Inside the conservation area fork right at a Y-junction. The path skirts around a pond on the left and comes to an information panel about the restoration project. It continues through a plantation of new trees, with views across a rolling meadow grazed by cattle.
2. At the site's north-western corner there is a second information panel about the area's biodiversity. Turn left to stay inside the site, ignoring a path going back out to the bridleway.
3. Follow this perimeter path southwards for over 1 km, with Gypsy Lane behind the hedge on your right. About halfway along there is a viewing point over a lake created from the old gravel pits, but after this the water is mostly shielded by plantations of young trees.
4. In the site's south-western corner the path swings left to run along its southern boundary, parallel to Southill Road. In 300m, and just before reaching a gap in the hedge ahead (the other end of the eastern perimeter path), fork right to exit through a wooden side gate in its south-eastern corner.

2. Shorter route (1¾ km)

1. Inside the conservation area fork left at a Y-junction. You will be following a clear path alongside arable fields for 1¼ km, never straying far from the low wire fence marking the eastern boundary of the site. The northern part of the site consists of a rolling meadow grazed by cattle; further along there are good views across a lake created from the old gravel pits.
2. In the south-eastern corner of the site the path leads to a (usually locked) metal fieldgate in front of Southill Road. In order to get onto the road go through a gap in the hedge on your right and turn sharp left at a path junction to exit through a wooden side gate.
3. Turn left onto Southill Road, taking care as there is no pavement and you have to use its narrow grass verge for 400m. Eventually you cross a side stream followed by the main branch of the River Ivel on two narrow road bridges and bear left into the Jordans Mill site.
6. Jordans Mill to Ivel Mill (1½ km)
• Leave the mill site and turn right onto Southill Road. Immediately after crossing the main branch of the river turn right and take either the narrow riverside path or a parallel cycle / walkway on the other side of a tall hedge. In 800m fork right to go under the A1, with the same choice of paths for the next 600m to Ivel Mill.
1. Jordans is worth exploring even if you are not planning to visit its Riverside Café. From the main entrance the suggested route is to go past the right-hand side of the Visitor Centre to come to an information panel in front of the mill pond. The café's outdoor seating area is on your left, while continuing past the imposing Holme Mills? leads directly to the Mill Gardens.

   There are plenty of information panels about the cereal crops, fruit trees and flowers in these gardens. If you are not pressed for time the small wildflower meadow and patch of woodland across the mill pond are also worth a look.

2. Leave the mill site by the main entrance and bear right onto Southill Road. Immediately after crossing the main branch of the River Ivel on a narrow bridge veer right off the road onto the riverside path. You then have a choice of continuing alongside the river, or forking left onto a parallel cycle / walkway on the other side of a tall hedge.
   • The riverside path is more scenic but it has deteriorated in a few places, so you might be forced onto the cycleway at some point. There are several gaps in the hedge where you can switch between the two paths.
3. If you are on the cycleway you will need to fork right after 800m to pass under the road bridge carrying the A1. On the other side the two paths split again; the riverside path here is in better condition but once again you could fork left onto a parallel cycle / walkway.
4. In 350m the two paths are separated by a recreation area (Franklin Park) and from the riverside path you have the option of walking through it. All routes come out onto a lane near its bridge across the river, with the converted Ivel Mill? and a patch of grassland with picnic benches on the other side.
7. Ivel Mill to Biggleswade Common (1½ • 1¼ km)
• For the main route (passing several refreshment places in the town centre) cross the river on Mill Lane and go straight across the B659. Turn left into Hitchin Street, then in 100m turn right into Market Square. Make your way to the Crown Hotel on the High Street and cut through Crown Yard to Church Street. Take the passageway behind the inn (Chapel Fields) and zig-zag left and right at the far end to reach the A6001 (Shortmead Street). Turn right and go along the main road for 250m, then cut through the Fairfield recreation area to Biggleswade Common.
  • For a more attractive route (bypassing the town) stay on the riverside path. Cross the river at the next bridge and go through Fairfield to Biggleswade Common.
    

There is a choice of routes for this section, with the main route going through Biggleswade's town centre for a choice of refreshment places. If you have already stopped at Jordans (or will be having a picnic here or at Fairfield) you could take the much more attractive riverside route in [?].

1. Main route (1½ km)

1. Cross the river on the road bridge and go straight across the B659 to continue along Mill Lane, passing the Whistle and Flute pub on the right. At its T-junction with Hitchin Street the Pembroke Arms is just off to the right, but for the main refreshment places turn left.
2. In 100m turn right into Market Square. The Crown Hotel is on the town's High Street, 50m away to the left. Rosso Lounge is on the right-hand side of Market Square, with Surfin Cafe the last place on the left. The White Hart pub is on the other side of Station Road at the far end.
3. The walk continues from Crown Yard?, the passageway alongside the Crown Hotel which you cut through to Church Street. Take the broad passageway (Chapel Fields) opposite the back of the inn, heading N and passing a supermarket on the right.
4. This long passageway continues past a school and comes out by its entrance, where you turn left onto Brunts Lane. You could follow this short street up to its T-junction with the A6001 (Shortmead Street), but the suggested route is to cut through either of two cul-de-sacs on the right in order to reach it via an alleyway (Long Twitchell).
5. Either way, turn right onto the main road. At a mini-roundabout cross the side road (Sun Street) to continue along the A6001. In 100m bear right into the Dan Albone Car Park for the small Fairfield recreation area, where there is an iron sculpture commemorating the Ivel Agricultural Motor? and a few riverside picnic benches.
6. At the far end you pass a boulder with a (faded) plaque for the Kingfisher Way? (KW) and go through a gate to continue along a narrow strip of grassland between the river and Fairfield Sports Ground. In 100m go through a metal kissing gate onto Biggleswade Common.
   

2. Riverside route (1¼ km)

1. Take the riverside path heading N away from the lane, at first with a cluster of park homes behind a wooden fence on your left. Simply follow this path for 900m to the next bridge across the river, with a short stretch away from the water's edge where the original path has deteriorated.
2. At the end you get a good view of the (redundant) Meccano Bridge? alongside the A6001 (Shortmead Street). Go through a metal kissing gate and turn right onto the main road to cross the river. Cross the main road carefully and go down a slope into …
3. …
8. Across Biggleswade Common (2½ km)
• Head north alongside the river for 1¼ km, then veer right on grassy paths to reach a tunnel under the East Coast Main Line. On the other side follow the path round to the right to head east, then turn left onto a public bridleway to leave the common on its northern boundary.
1. Inside the common the most scenic route is to follow the slightly raised riverside path, although there is a broad mown path never far away which you could use instead. On the riverside path a long wooden footbridge takes you across a seasonal stream in a ditch after 500m. In a further 200m the river curves away to the left for the first of two meanders and it is now simpler to carry straight on across the grassland.
2. In 250m go through a gate to continue across the common for a further 250m, soon alongside a straight stretch of the river. Where it swings away again take the right-most of three grassy paths ahead, gradually curving away from the river towards a line of trees. In 200m cross a stream on a wooden footbridge in these trees and turn half-left to follow the grassy path towards the East Coast Main Line.
3. On reaching the railway go through a tunnel under the tracks, using side gates next to the metal fieldgates at both ends. This leads onto another part of Biggleswade Common where you bear left onto a grassy path, initially heading NE. The path gradually approaches and then bends right to go alongside a line of shrubs in front of a boundary fence.
4. In 400m go through a side gate beside a metal fieldgate. The most direct route would be to turn half-left and cut across the grass towards an isolated tree, but you would have to cross a seasonal stream in a wide ditch there. Instead, keep ahead on the broad mown path for 200m, then turn left at a clear path crossing (joining a public bridleway). In 250m go through a side gate beside a cattle grid to leave Biggleswade Common.
9. Biggleswade Common to the RSPB Visitor Hub (1¾ km)
• Follow the bridleway through a patch of woodland to reach a pedestrian entrance into The Lodge Nature Reserve. The bridleway leads directly to the RSPB Visitor Hub on the far side via its main driveway, but the suggested route detours off to the left to take in the Lodge Gardens and continues on woodland paths parallel to the drive.
  
1. Cross a stream on a wooden footbridge and follow the bridleway through a patch of woodland, with a small hump taking you over the barely-perceptible route of a disused railway?. At a junction with a broad track go straight ahead between stone pillars into The Lodge Nature Reserve, where there is an information panel showing the RSPB trails around the site.

…

2. Inside the reserve fork left, staying on the bridleway and also joining the Old Quarry Trail. At the first junction turn left off the bridleway, signposted to the gardens. At the next junction another path merges from the right and you continue along the wooded hillside, which slopes up to the right.
3. For the suggested route do not take the first path signposted up to the gardens but stay on the Old Quarry Trail. After the woodland path veers right, climbs some steps and levels out again you reach the second of these paths and this time turn right off the trail.
4. Go up a flight of steps and through a wooden gate at the top into the Lodge Gardens, at the back of the administration buildings. You will be leaving the gardens 150m away to the right and a straightforward route would be to head in that direction to reach the Fountain Pond in the more formal part behind The Lodge?.
   • If you are not pressed for time the gardens are worth exploring. For example, detouring off to the left when you enter them would reveal a “Heritage Trees” information panel by a ‘national champion’ Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo).
5. Leave the gardens through a wooden gate in their south-eastern corner, at the end of a paved path running alongside a balustrade. Keep ahead at a path junction by a large sweet chestnut tree.

   The path off to the right at this junction is the first of the two link paths from the Old Quarry Trail.

6. Where the path passes a tall Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) bear right through a wooden gate. To see the large owl sculpture with memorial plaques take the signposted path to the Tree of Life and rejoin the main path a little further on. This curves left and crosses the driveway to The Lodge.
7. Turn right at a path T-junction in front of a meadow and now keep ahead at all path junctions, following signs to the Visitor Hub. The path runs parallel to the driveway and in 500m reaches the RSPB's Welcome Hut, a low open-sided building with information panels about the reserve.
8. Cross the driveway and keep keft through a parking area to come to the ‘Visitor Hub’. The RSPB Café is in the new building behind the hedge to the right of the lawn with picnic tables; the RSPB Shop is in the 19^thC building ahead, Swiss Cottage?.

If you are doing the longer ending (returning to Biggleswade), go to §K.


10. The RSPB Visitor Hub to Sandy Station (3 • 1¾ km)
• The main route out of the reserve follows the RSPB's Hillfort Trail in a clockwise direction to a path junction in the north-western corner of the reserve, where a cycleway leads out to the B1042. Head west on this road for 600m to reach the station.
  • For a shorter route you can take the trail in an anti-clockwise direction to the same junction.
    

There is a choice of routes to the exit in the north-western corner of the reserve. The serpentine main route takes in wooded valleys and heathland and passes an Iron Age hill fort, whereas the direct route in [?] simply goes along the northern edge of New Heath.

1. Main route (3 km)

The first part of this section is a loop around the western part of the RSPB reserve along its waymarked Hillfort Trail, but at the start this circular trail is signposted in the opposite direction.

1. Make your way back to the Welcome Hut and take the path ahead signposted as the Old Quarry Trail and Turbine Trail. The sandy path heads away from the driveway and soon swings left to follow a serpentine route through heather, broom and young birch trees.
2. In 125m turn right at a path T-junction, leaving the Turbine Trail (and now also signposted as the Hillfort Trail). The path soon bends left and descends gently through a wooded valley, heading SW.
3. In 500m keep ahead at a path junction, leaving the Old Quarry Trail which branches off to the left. At the bottom of the valley the path curves round to the right as it passes some small ponds on the left.
4. The path continues through a more open area along the valley floor, now heading N. In 150m it climbs to a viewpoint over New Heath and swings all the way round to the left to double back along the top of the valley, with more fine views.
5. In 250m the path turns right to head W through the hill fort? on Galley Hill, passing an information panel about it on the far side.
6. The path turns right to head N again for 500m, through mixed woodland and heathland. Shortly after it swings left fork left at a path junction, leaving the Hillfort Trail.

2. Direct route (1¾ km)

1. Make your way back to the Welcome Hut and take the path to the right, signposted as the Hillfort Trail. Unless you want to make a short out-and-back detour to a signposted viewpoint overlooking New Heath, follow the path up to a junction with a long straight cycleway.
2. Turn left onto the cycleway, parallel to a road behind the trees on the right and heading W. After 500m through mixed woodland and heathland it swings left, away from the road. In a further 200m fork right at a path junction, leaving the Hillfort Trail.
3. To complete the walk follow the cycleway towards a pine wood, then steadily downhill through the trees to the B1042 (Potton Road). Turn left onto its pavement and go along it for 600m, passing farmland and then a cemetery on the left. Just before the road bridge across the East Coast Main Line you come to a mini-roundabout.
4. The station is down to the left and you can get directly onto Platform 1 (for trains to London) via the tarmac path next to the railway.
   • If you want some refreshment before the journey home, cross the road bridge to another mini-roundabout. The most convenient place is The Bell pub, down the road to the left and almost opposite the station entrance. Alternatively, a five–minute walk along the High Street will bring you to the Sir William Peel? pub, opposite the parish church.
   • The station entrance across the road from The Bell leads onto the northbound platform, so for trains to London you have to double back along it – passing an information panel about Captain Sir William Peel – and cross the station footbridge to Platform 1.
     
11. The RSPB Visitor Hub to the southern exit (2 km)
• Most of this section is a loop around the eastern part of the reserve along the RSPB's Turbine Trail. At a T-junction with the Old Quarry Trail turn left to reach the exit on its southern boundary.

…

1. …
2. In 125m turn left at a path T-junction, leaving the Old Quarry Trail. Keep ahead at a path crossing to return to the main driveway and go straight across it onto the continuation of the Turbine Trail.
3. In the next 250m the sandy path passes a ‘Natural Play Area’ on the left, a bench at a viewpoint overlooking the reserve's heathland on the right, then a ‘Woodland Watchpoint’ on the left. It emerges from the trees and carries on along the right-hand edge of open grassland, with a clear view of the RSPB's Wind Turbine? 500m ahead.
4. Follow the trail for a further 1 km on its loop around the eastern part of the reserve, eventually swinging down to the right through mixed woodland and heathland before heading back towards the centre of the reserve.
5. The path eventually comes to a T-junction in Old Heath where you turn left, leaving the Turbine Trail and joining another part of the Old Quarry Trail. This gradually curves round to the right and in 450m brings you back to the point where you originally entered the reserve on the bridleway.
12. The Lodge exit to Fairfield (3¼ km)
• Retrace your outward route along a bridleway to Biggleswade Common. Follow the bridleway across the common to Furzenhall Farm and turn right onto a lane, which passes a few buildings and turns left. In 325m turn right onto a track leading to a new crossing over the East Coast Main Line and continue alongside the railway on the far side. In 300m turn right onto a grassy path alongside a paddock leading onto another part of Biggleswade Common. Take any path heading south across the common and retrace your outward route into the Fairfield recreation area.
1. Exit the reserve between stone pillars and retrace your outward route on the bridleway: ahead on a broad track, then as a woodland path going over a small hump. At the end of the trees cross a stream on a wooden footbridge to re-enter Biggleswade Common.
2. Go straight ahead on the broad mown path and this time keep ahead at the path crossing after 250m. In a similar distance you leave the common and follow the bridleway past the right-hand side of the buildings at Furzenhall Farm.
3. At a signposted three-way junction turn right onto a lane, passing Furzenhall Cottage and some converted farm buildings on your left. In 100m follow the lane round to the left, now heading SSE on Furzenhall Road with a farm field on your right.

The OS map shows a public bridleway cutting across this field towards the new railway crossing over the East Coast Main Line, but there is no path on the ground and in any case there is a wire fence alongside the track at the far end.

4. Go along the lane for 325m, then turn right onto a wide cinder track with a footpath waymarker post. Follow this fenced track up to the bridge and use the steps (or ramp) to cross over the railway. On the far side continue on the cinder track, alongside the railway.
5. You could follow this track up to a T-junction at the site of the old level crossing, but there is a useful short cut: about 50m before this junction, after passing a solar array and a fenced paddock, turn right onto a grassy path between the paddock and the overflow parking area for a wedding venue (Shortmeads).
6. In the tree boundary ahead go through a metal kissing gate onto another part of Biggleswade Common and follow the grassy path round to the right. Where the path splits fork left, gradually approaching another boundary hedge. Cross a stream on a wooden footbridge in this hedge and keep ahead on a grassy path across a large meadow, heading W.
7. A straightforward route would be to follow the path up to the River Ivel and then turn left to retrace your outward route alongside the river, but (except in wet conditions) the suggested route is to turn left onto a fainter path halfway across the common.

   On this route you have to negotiate a shallow ditch across the common which might be waterlogged, whereas there is a footbridge on the riverside path.

8. If you do take the faint path (and successfully cross the ditch) it eventually merges with a broad mown path near the river. All routes lead to the southern end of Biggleswade Common, which you leave through a metal kissing gate. After retracing your outward route along a narrow strip of grassland you go through another gate into the small Fairfield recreation area.
13. Fairfield to Biggleswade Station (1¾ • 1¼ km)
• There is a choice of routes to Biggleswade town centre, essentially the reverse of the two routes in §G.
  • For the riverside route, cross the river on the road bridge ahead and follow the riverside path on the other bank to Ivel Mill. Recross the river and go along Mill Lane and Hitchin Street to Market Square.
  • For the direct route, go along the A6001 (Shortmead Street) for 250m, then zig-zag left and right via Long Twitchell, Brunts Lane and Chapel Fields to Church Street. Cut through Crown Yard to the High Street and Market Square.
  The station is 250m away from the eastern end of Market Square, along Station Road.
  

There is a choice of routes to the station, with the riverside route in [?] being much more attractive. If you are pressed for time (or did that route on the outward leg) you could take the direct route in [?]. Both routes go past all the main refreshment places in the town centre.

1. Riverside route (1¾ km)

1. Follow the riverside path through the recreation area up to the A6001 (Shortmead Street). Turn right and cross this main road carefully, with a view of the redundant Meccano Bridge? alongside the road bridge. After crossing the river turn left by a ‘Welcome to Biggleswade’ road sign. Go down a short slope and through a metal kissing gate onto the continuation of the riverside path.
2. You now simply follow the path for 900m to the next bridge across the river, with a short stretch away from the water's edge where the original path has deteriorated. Towards the end you go past a cluster of park homes behind a wooden fence and turn left onto a broad track (Mill Lane) to go back across the river.
3. Follow Mill Lane up to a road junction and go straight across onto its continuation, passing the Whistle and Flute pub on the right. At its T-junction with Hitchin Street the Pembroke Arms is just off to the right, but for the main refreshment places turn left. In 100m turn right into Market Square.

2. Direct route (1¼ km)

1. Keep left through the recreation area, leave it by the car park entrance and bear left onto the A6001 (Shortmead Street). In 100m cross the side road (Sun Street) at a mini-roundabout to continue along the A6001 for a further 150m. Just after passing Parkland Place on the right, turn left into an alleyway (Long Twitchell).
   • If you miss this turning (which simply cuts out a short distance along the main road), turn left into Brunts Lane 50m ahead and pick up the directions below.
2. On Long Twitchell turn right down either of two cul-de-sacs and turn left at the end onto Brunts Lane. At the end of this short street turn right into a broad passageway (Chapel Fields) to the right of a school entrance.
3. The passageway curves left and then runs straight for 250m, passing the school and then a supermarket on the left. At the far end the back of the Crown Hotel is directly ahead, across Church Street.
4. This Wetherspoon's inn is the first of the possible refreshment places and you pass its side entrance as you cut through the passageway on the left, Crown Yard?. For other places keep ahead past a bus stand on the other side of the High Street and turn left into Market Square.
3. On this broad semi-pedestrianised precinct Rosso Lounge is on the right-hand side, with Surfin Café the last place on the left. The White Hart pub is on the other side of Station Road at the far end.
4. To complete the walk go down Station Road for 200m (away from the High Street). The station is off to the left of this road, with access to all the platforms from a gap at the left-hand end of the station building. Trains to London normally leave from Platform 1, towards the far side of the footbridge over the tracks.
   

Walk Notes

1. The River Hiz (properly pronounced Hitch) is a short tributary of the River Ivel, flowing into it in the grounds behind Henlow Grange.
2. St Mary, Henlow dates from the 12^thC, with the three-stage tower added in the 15^thC. It is listed Grade Ⅰ.
3. The earliest parts of Henlow Grange date from 1680, but this Grade Ⅱ* building is mostly 18^thC. Its last private owner was Alan Lennox-Boyd, MP for Mid-Bedfordshire who was Colonial Secretary in the 1950s. After he moved out the house fell into disrepair, but it was extensively refurbished by a new owner in 1961 and converted into a health farm. In 1981 it became the first of a chain of health spas branded as Champneys.
4. Henlow Millennium Meadow is a small Community Nature Reserve, owned by the Parish Council.
5. Henlow Common consists of 45 acres of riverside flood meadows. It is a Local Nature Reserve which is open to the public, but the paths across its northern half are not well-defined and the area can be boggy.
6. Langford Mill operated as a paper mill from 1740 to 1861, then as a flour mill. It was converted into flats in the 1970s.
7. The Biggleswade Wind Farm began operating in 2013. There are 10 turbines with a nominal total capacity of 20 MW.
8. Ivel Mill (or Franklin's Mill) closed after a fire in 1945, but it was partially restored and used as a warehouse before being converted into flats in 1982. A History Society plaque records that there had been a watermill on the site for over 1,000 years.
9. Broom East Wildlife Conservation Site is the eastern part of a former sand and gravel quarry which was restored as a wildlife site after mineral extraction ceased in 2017. The central wetland area is closed off for conservation but there is a permissive path all the way around the perimeter.
10. Holme Mills has been the base of the Jordan family's milling business since 1855. After a fire in 1894 it was modernised, with the traditional millstones being replaced with roller mills. Over time the company switched to manufacturing breakfast cereals and cereal bars, and the flour mill ceased production in 2005. It was renovated in 2013 to enable the Jordans Mill site to open as a working museum.
11. A plaque in Crown Yard records that the Great Fire of Biggleswade started here on 16 June 1785, reportedly destroying half the town's buildings.
12. The Meccano Bridge was hastily erected at the outbreak of World War Ⅱ to take some of the traffic from a stone road bridge which had become unsafe (Shortmead Road was the A1 before the town was bypassed). The main bridge was replaced with a similar Meccano-style bridge in 1948, then this concrete bridge in 2001.
13. The 1902 Ivel Agricultural Motor was invented by Dan Albone, a Biggleswade inventor of early bicycles and motor cars. It was the first farm machine which was light enough to plough fields directly, although stationary engines had started to be used in the late 19^thC. A few of the Ivel firm's 500 tractors still exist, including one in London's Science Museum.
14. The Kingfisher Way runs for 34 km along the course of the River Ivel, from its source near Baldock to the River Great Ouse at Tempsford. However, the waymarked route made use of some permissive paths (eg. between Biggleswade Common and Sandy) which are no longer open.
15. The disused railway was originally a short branch line from Sandy to Potton, built in 1857 at the instigation of Sir William Peel?. Five years later it became part of the Varsity Line from Oxford to Cambridge. This section closed in 1967.
16. The Lodge was built in 1870 for Arthur Wellesley Peel, the younger brother of Sir William? and Speaker of the House of Commons from 1884-1895. The mansion was acquired by the RSPB in 1961 and has been their UK headquarters ever since.
17. Swiss Cottage was built for Sir William Peel? in the 1850s. It later became the gatehouse to the estate and now houses the RSPB shop.
18. The hill fort on Galley Hill is believed to have been built in the early Iron Age (c.500 BC), probably as a defensive structure. There are two other (less well-preserved) hill forts nearby: Sandy Lodge (by the mansion) and Caesar's Camp (across the B1042).
19. The third son of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, Captain Sir William Peel was a naval officer who was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the Crimean War. He had a home in Sandy and several plaques were erected to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of his early death in 1858, aged just 33. There is a marble statue of him in the parish church, with copies in Greenwich and Calcutta.
20. The RSPB installed the Wind Turbine in 2016 as part of its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is 100m high and has a nominal capacity of 800 kW.

» Last updated: May 22, 2026

Return to Top | Walk Map | Walk Options | Walk Directions.