Stewartby to Ridgmont Walk
In the footsteps of John Bunyan - Stewartby Lake, Millennium Country Park, Lower Shelton, Marston Thrift Woods, Cranfield and Holcot Wood. Largely flat.
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A return to nearby Bedfordshire to undertake a new walk on a very pleasant December afternoon. The sun shone and the temperature was around 11 degrees, so very conducive. This walker chose to undertake a shorter 9.8 mile variant (to Beancroft Road), which turned out to be perfect for the shorter day and getting a look in Ridgmont's Heritage Centre. The walk starts out passing a man-made lake at Stewartby (the site of the future Universal Studios theme park, alongside Kempston Hardwick), then crosses fields to the SSSI at Marston Thrift. Lunch is had the church of St Peter and St Paul, Cranfield, though a pub alternative is also available. Afterwards, it's mainly walking along the pleasingly quiet NCN51 cycle track to reach Holcot Wood before following what appears to be a former rail line into Brogborough. Ridgmont station is reached afterwards, via a large warehouse area. The paths were pretty good today, despite heavy rain the night before, with many being cinder-based. The GPX track worked well, with no need to use the notes. (Apologies to Thomas as I've since seen that this was a Mike walk).