Consistently hilly with a couple of medium-challenging climbs, much of this walk was spent on one side of a valley with a couple of lovely stops along the way. There was plenty of wildlife in the form of thrushes, skylarks, butterflies, bees, and flowers such as daisies, daffodils, crocuses, primrose, violets, red dead nettle and an incredibly fragrant wild currant which was on someone's verge next to their garden.
Unfortunately it's a couple of days later and I'm kinda of sketchy on the details of this walk as I was tired and considerably hung-over, but it was a good one and I'd like to do it again, perhaps in reverse for variety.
20 March 2011
Old Wolverton, Cosgrove, Castlethorpe circular, 8.7 miles at 2.7mph
OMG sunshine, and lots of it! Probably the best, most clear and warmest day of the year so far, we made the most of it with this wonderful walk quite near to home. After stopping in Stony Stratford and braving the busy Saturday morning bakery, we set off to a car park in nearby Old Wolverton on the very north-western tip of Milton Keynes near the canal.
We started off north-east towards the railway line that runs out of central MK. As we approached a crossing over a feed into the Great Ouse a few trains were kind enough to cross and I caught one in shot as I was appreciating the build of the bridge and serenity of the flowing water. The Great Ouse here is already considerably more voluminous than where I live, being twice as far from the source as Buckingham is and fed by the Tove and water flowing out of the lakes at Cosgrove Leisure Park.
We followed the river along past the lakes - what a beautiful area this is, even the caravans and holiday homes not spoiling the views or the feel of countryside wonder that comes with riverside walking. We stopped for a break along this stretch before joining the canal over the Iron Trunk Aquaduct. I remember coming over this on a boat as a kid and being freaked out by the lack of railings on the edge of the bridge - every high crossing I'd been over until that point had a wall or railings to stop you falling over the edge but this, nothing. My mother admitted her hatred of heights during the walk and made me wonder if that's where I got it from; not that I suffer from vertigo now having trained myself out of it as a teenager by climbing trees, but I don't know, I wonder if kids pick these things up.
The walk along the Grand Union Canal is pretty to say the least. Boats and their varying smells of diesel, wood-fire and paint, white and purple violets, walkers of all ages, runners, dogs and cats. We passed through Cosgrove and I related memories of the village and bringing the boat through it as a youngster, something my parents said they had forgotten all about. We carried on along and as I looked at the up-coming section of the map I spotted somewhere I've been before: The Navigation Inn at Cosgrove. I was there for a sunshine-and-sunset drink with my friend towards the end of last summer and used to have lunch with an old boss there occasionally. It's a great spot and it'll be the focus of a future walk with friends.
We carried on along the canal for another mile until turning right into open country. I must admit it was a nice refreshing change to have a view of open countryside on both sides; my plans to walk the length of the Grand Union Canal through Milton Keynes will have to bear in mind that at least one side of the view will likely be restricted for the whole journey. Following a waterway can be nice for a while but I'm not sure it offers enough variety for a longer-distance walk. We'll see anyway, as I'm planning that walk after I finish this post and hope to walk it over the next week or so.
We walked down past Castlethorpe without entering the village and headed down along the river to have lunch in a lovely little riverside spot, almost perfect in that it dipped below the level of the field towards the river and cut out the breeze that had cooled us for much of the day. During lunch a Peacock butterfly landed and sunbathed on a nearby fallen tree, so I crept up and took a few photos while it obligingly posed and strutted for the camera. Go on, yeah! You're a butterfly! *snap snap*
After eating, we passed through Cosgrove again, over the canal and cross-country for an extra mile, half of which followed the Great Ouse back toward the Iron Trunk. Through the soggy pedestrian tunnel under the bridge and along the canal back to the Galleon Pub and the car park on Old Wolverton Road.
This walk was utterly lovely, gorgeous sunshine, plenty of water and wildlife, rail, boats, humans and variety. It certainly didn't feel like 8.7 miles but considering the best part of it was flat and my two most recent walks were 11.5 and 15 miles I'm hardly surprised. I'll definitely be repeating a proportion of this walk with others, with either the Galleon or Navigation pubs as start/end points.
13 March 2011
Whitchurch, Creslow, Dunton, Mursley, Whaddon, Nash, Thornborough linear, 15 miles at 3.2mph
Woo. Writing this the following afternoon I'm still enjoying the power of natural happy chemicals, the tips of my feet sting slightly thanks to some blisters but my legs feel fantastic; not a twinge, ache or sore anywhere.
The mileage total has a kilometre to the bus stop added on for the day. The route all the way home was marked to 18.5 miles but I decided half-way between Nash and Thornborough that I'd aim for a pint and a cab home once I got to the Two Brewers.
Along through Dunton village to join the footpath north for a good three or four kilometres of wonderful, uninhabited countryside with enough variety underfoot to keep things interesting. By now the sky had mostly cleared and the sun was warming my neck as I walked toward my shadow once again, this time with morning light. The water tower at Mursley acts as a natural landmark to head toward.
The village itself is pretty enough: the usual mix of new and old houses, wandering cats, people gardening and kids riding scooters. As you leave the village on the footpath, the water tower appears to your right behind the raised bank of a small reservoir. I liked this view but for some bizarre reason didn't get a photo.
After a few fields you cross the old railway track with sturdy embankments either side. I stopped here after seven miles, rolled my sleeves up and had my first break, ate half my supplies and chatted with Tess for fifteen minutes before setting off again towards Norbury Coppice, east then north through Broadway Wood and across the A421. Here I was amazed at the ability of the wood to cut out the noise of the road - it was only about fifty metres away that I began to hear the heavy Saturday lunchtime traffic and without woods on the other side the noise lasted for a fair kilometre before becoming almost too quiet to notice.
The path leads alongside Thickbare and Thinbare Woods - what glorious names! - and up to Whaddon. To my right approaching the village I could see Kingsmead, the most south-westerly development of Milton Keynes, less than a kilometre across the fields. It empathised with life-long residents of the village who must have seen MK gradually creep towards them as the land is sold off to developers and the city fills its boots. I'm not sure how I'd handle that kind of threat to my home town, and for the first time I was disappointed to see modern development getting so close to rural life.
Here, after ten miles of north, a few of west. Following the North Bucks Way to Nash and lunch, finishing my supplies and my water. Another two kilometres and another break, this time to find out which of two paths to take, but I ended up sitting on a stile for ten minutes before going again. It was by this point it was becoming apparent I wouldn't make it all the way back to Buckingham; I knew I had blisters coming along on my toes and one on my heel and I was starting to enjoy it less and less. By the time I'd got into Thornborough I resigned myself to a pint and a cab home. The pub was shut, no disaster. I caught a cab home, bathed, massaged and chilled for the evening.
I'd repeat this walk in an instant. I'll try it again with more stops, tighter boots and more supplies. Something I couldn't slot in above was a wonderful experience with three Greater Spotted Woodpeckers. I was trying to take a photo of the branch in this picture, honest.
I got so close to this one I could see him looking at me. Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery before I had a chance to get the manual focus working properly, the process of which I'll definitely have to learn before trying it again five seconds from a shot at almost full-zoom. If it were an SLR I'd have it in an instant but with this handy digital it's a little more tricky.
Lovely walk. Here's looking toward twenty miles.
09 March 2011
Buckingham, Maids Moreton, Lockmeadow, Hyde Lane, Thornton, Beachampton, Calverton, Two Mile Ash, Loughton, Central Milton Keynes linear, 11.6 miles
After yesterday’s walk I knew today was going to be sunny, so all day at work I was itching to get out. I decided quite early on to challenge myself and walk to Milton Keynes; 11.6 miles with nine of them cross-country and the remainder on tarmac. I knew it’d be dark by the time I finished, but guessed correctly that I could make it to civilisation before I ran out of light. I knew it would be an adventure – it turned out to be uneventful but the challenge of getting to the station for a particular time and perhaps having to navigate the last few miles in the dark really motivated me to keep my speed up.
I set off at 3.25pm having been home after work to get my boots and map and pack my tiny bag. I packed water but forgot something to eat which turned out to be a mistake – much of the walk I was haunted by images of rich exotic foods and when the first pang of hunger twisted in my stomach, the knowledge that the nearest shop was ten miles away drove me onward. I’d rather not have had the distraction to be honest, but lesson learned.
I walked from the flat via Maids Moreton playing fields to Lockmeadow Farm. Here, the footpath has no obvious direction and I often find myself wandering among the crap and the caravans trying to find a suitable route through. The route I usually take is now occupied by a static caravan and a locked gate and, not wishing to disturb the residents, I hopped a different fence and made my way into open countryside, following the Great Ouse for a stretch before joining the canal-side path at Hyde Lane. The canal group have done a great job of tidying-up the canal and shoring-up this path; it’s starting to look rather pretty. The running water near the lock has been cleared and it seems a rather nice place for lunch. This time however I strode on along the path, spotting sheep with brand new babies over the way and getting quite close to some few-days-old lambs on the approach to the main road. I headed out past Thornton College and across a few fields to Beachampton.
Every time I get to this village I’m somewhat relieved to find civilisation and distracted enough to miss investigating the beautiful circular church tower that guides you into the village. One day I’ll remember. It’s a short walk into the village before turning towards MK again, following my ever-lengthening shadow which pointed the way for much of the trip. Shortly after leaving Beachampton I crossed four stiles in fifty metres – some kind of record this; I’ll be interested to see if I can better it at any point. Further down and the map says you can go either side of the hedge – you can’t. I ended up hopping a barbed-wire fence to join the path proper which ran in an almost-straight line all the way to Calverton.
You see very little of this pretty village on the way through but it seems a thoroughly nice place to live, although it seems to be a bit of a rat-run at this time of day. As I left the village the sun was starting to drift slowly behind the trees and it started to cool down, so I rolled my sleeves to my wrists and pushed on to MK. I found the path to the main road which I failed to find last time and plugged my earphones in as the traffic flew past.
It’s deceptively far from the footpath to the central station. I upped my pace as the temperature dropped, racing through Two Mile Ash in the dusk and Loughton in the almost-dark. I rounded on the station and spotted from some distance that my bus was waiting at the stop, so I instigated the first running finish to a walk I’ve ever done to save me having to wait 25 minutes for the next one. I hopped on the bus in the nick of time and enjoyed the feel of the seat under my backside.
The whole walk was virtually non-stop; just a couple of ten-second stops to get my bearings. I’m very proud of this, and chuffed with the fact that my legs and feet didn’t ache afterwards nor do they now, the following day. This 11.5 miles followed 6.8 miles yesterday, making my two-day total 18.3 miles. There’s a chance I’ll pop another eight or ten on that total this afternoon depending on how I feel when I get home – I woke with a slight headache and sore throat this morning so I may invest my spare time in some rest, although the challenge of walking three days in a row is calling me quite insistently.
I set off at 3.25pm having been home after work to get my boots and map and pack my tiny bag. I packed water but forgot something to eat which turned out to be a mistake – much of the walk I was haunted by images of rich exotic foods and when the first pang of hunger twisted in my stomach, the knowledge that the nearest shop was ten miles away drove me onward. I’d rather not have had the distraction to be honest, but lesson learned.
I walked from the flat via Maids Moreton playing fields to Lockmeadow Farm. Here, the footpath has no obvious direction and I often find myself wandering among the crap and the caravans trying to find a suitable route through. The route I usually take is now occupied by a static caravan and a locked gate and, not wishing to disturb the residents, I hopped a different fence and made my way into open countryside, following the Great Ouse for a stretch before joining the canal-side path at Hyde Lane. The canal group have done a great job of tidying-up the canal and shoring-up this path; it’s starting to look rather pretty. The running water near the lock has been cleared and it seems a rather nice place for lunch. This time however I strode on along the path, spotting sheep with brand new babies over the way and getting quite close to some few-days-old lambs on the approach to the main road. I headed out past Thornton College and across a few fields to Beachampton.
Every time I get to this village I’m somewhat relieved to find civilisation and distracted enough to miss investigating the beautiful circular church tower that guides you into the village. One day I’ll remember. It’s a short walk into the village before turning towards MK again, following my ever-lengthening shadow which pointed the way for much of the trip. Shortly after leaving Beachampton I crossed four stiles in fifty metres – some kind of record this; I’ll be interested to see if I can better it at any point. Further down and the map says you can go either side of the hedge – you can’t. I ended up hopping a barbed-wire fence to join the path proper which ran in an almost-straight line all the way to Calverton.
You see very little of this pretty village on the way through but it seems a thoroughly nice place to live, although it seems to be a bit of a rat-run at this time of day. As I left the village the sun was starting to drift slowly behind the trees and it started to cool down, so I rolled my sleeves to my wrists and pushed on to MK. I found the path to the main road which I failed to find last time and plugged my earphones in as the traffic flew past.
It’s deceptively far from the footpath to the central station. I upped my pace as the temperature dropped, racing through Two Mile Ash in the dusk and Loughton in the almost-dark. I rounded on the station and spotted from some distance that my bus was waiting at the stop, so I instigated the first running finish to a walk I’ve ever done to save me having to wait 25 minutes for the next one. I hopped on the bus in the nick of time and enjoyed the feel of the seat under my backside.
The whole walk was virtually non-stop; just a couple of ten-second stops to get my bearings. I’m very proud of this, and chuffed with the fact that my legs and feet didn’t ache afterwards nor do they now, the following day. This 11.5 miles followed 6.8 miles yesterday, making my two-day total 18.3 miles. There’s a chance I’ll pop another eight or ten on that total this afternoon depending on how I feel when I get home – I woke with a slight headache and sore throat this morning so I may invest my spare time in some rest, although the challenge of walking three days in a row is calling me quite insistently.
07 March 2011
Buckingham, Maids Moreton, Foscote, Leckhampstead, Akeley circular, 6.8 miles short
I say “short” as I usually take a slightly longer route between Leckhampstead and Akeley, but there’s a story attached to this. When I first got into walking I tried to encourage my daughter to come out with me because it’s something I’d really enjoyed doing with my parents as a youngster. I bought her some boots and a little rucksack and we had a couple of successful short walks.
One sunny day I asked if she’d like to try five miles with me and go to look for four-leafed clovers. We walked out to Foscote, then Leckhampstead, stopping on the bench at the T-junction to each our lunch in the sun (insert smiling dandelions photo).
After our break we set off intending to follow the short path back to Akeley, but my map-reading skills weren’t as honed as they are now and I couldn’t find the shorter path, so we walked up past a farm and out the back route to Akeley, stopping again to rest in a big patch of clover to search for the elusive four-leaf. After fifteen minutes of looking we gave up and stood up to go, and Sophie looked down and shouted “There’s one!” and gently picked it out of the ground. I think she still has it somewhere to this day.
Unfortunately, as that walk was around seven and a half miles, her little legs ached like hell when she got back and it’s put her off walking since. I’m absolutely gutted about this, I must admit, as I feel like my mistake has ruined something we could do together, something I really enjoy and has the potential to be good for her too. I’d love it if we could share some of my shorter walks; I think she’d get great benefits from walking in general and I hope she takes it up in future. I won’t push it, though, as I think there’s something special to be gained from discovering it yourself.
So, the shorter walk. I set out for my staple five-mile circuit with a client for Walking for Wellbeing, but it was a no-show. Despite my disappointment, as the day looked nice enough I decided to carry on anyway, perhaps adding a couple of miles by getting out to Leckhampstead. Within a few metres a lady blackbird flew across my path and stood on a nearby fence with a beak-full of twigs and brush, checking me out a while before jumping into a bush to build her nest. I walked through Maids Moreton, past heavily-populated rugby pitches and into the fields. Most of the way across the first field and BOOM! A scare-crow cannon in the next field scared the crap out of me as I babbled along to myself. Down the hill to Beatles Cove – named by my daughter as a place her and her friend go to and, apparently, do very similar walk-and-talks to Walking for Wellbeing. It’s a lovely spot with a huge oak overhanging a brook shallow enough to paddle, its roots twisting out of the earth and providing a nice place to sit. I occasionally come out here myself just to get away from it all, and it’s lost none of its charm over the winter.
Across to Foscote where I saw the year’s first lambs – March 6th 2011. They weren’t gambolling or bouncing around so I guess they were pretty new. Their mothers looked at me almost expectantly as I walked past. As I passed the manor house and entered the next field a kestrel was putting on a display, circling right over my head, so I sat on the tree stump a while to watch in wonder at its mastery of the sky. Down then up for a kilometre into Leckhampstead, all this while talking to myself to get stuff out of my head. I’ve done this a little in the past but today I must’ve spent around an hour talking and asking myself questions, a little self-therapy if you will. I found it most beneficial and came to some interesting conclusions which I’ll save for a post in another blog.
Skirting Leckhampstead village, I followed the road a short distance toward Akeley and took the path under the pylons, then downhill to the bridge over the stream. This really is a gorgeous spot, spoiled only slightly by the crackling electricity wires overhead. By this point the skies had cleared somewhat and the clouds were becoming less formed and more scattered. I sat and rolled up my sleeves and took out my map.
Here’s where the story above comes in. As I sat by the babbling stream at the bottom of the hill, soaking up some of the evasive sunshine and rubbing it all over my face, I remembered the dilemma Sophie and I faced as we arrived here that time. I looked again on the map and saw my mistake instantly – I’d been looking for the path on the wrong side of the stream! After ten minutes or so I packed my fleece into my rucksack and, with sleeves still high, set off back up the hill, spotting the stile instantly I reached the peak. From here it hugged hedgerows scattered with chaffinches and intended to cross a small crop field to the opposite corner but as there was no obvious sign of the crossing, I stuck to the track and reached the road, turning right and recceing where the path should have been before crossing the road and heading towards Akeley village.
With the sun still in effect, I headed back to Maids Moreton via the usual route, behind the houses, across two small fields to the top of the long, muddy field which, while as long as usual, was thankfully nowhere near as muddy. Up and across, then follow the hedgerows back to the road at the village. When I came around the corner I spotted something I’d not seen before, perhaps due to overgrowth or sheer determination to get home: a public footpath on the opposite side of the road. The path crosses behind the vets and past the allotments, through perhaps the craziest narrowest stile/crossing I’ve ever seen which I had to remove my rucksack to get through, across various rugby pitches and a field to join the new estate where I live. This is a much more scenic route that heading back through the village along the main road and I’ll definitely be using this one from now on.
This was a cracker. It may even become my new staple route, seeing as I can do the other 5.2-mile one in about an hour and a half now. Honestly, I’m so glad I got out and even happier the sunshine accompanied me for much of the way. I’m writing this the day after the walk and I’m enthused again by the sunny weather, planning a walk to Milton Keynes this evening to catch a bus back.
I think this proves something I’ve been feeling for a while: the winter grey has been here far, far too long. I haven’t suffered strong symptoms of SAD for in the few years since I had my therapy, but this year along with other contributing factors the relentless lack of colour outside has really affected my mood and motivation for walking. I’d become sick of the drab countryside, the limited visibility, the way all my photos were underexposed and lifeless, the constant desire for a sunny walk never fulfilled. It’s been grey for many months with few exceptions, and the short days have meant that those exceptions are short-lived. I’m pleased to see the sun again now, and I’m going to make the most of it today and tomorrow to lift my mood and get some more miles on me. I’ve been slack this past couple of weeks, really slack, so it’s time to get back on it.
I hope the weather agrees with me.
One sunny day I asked if she’d like to try five miles with me and go to look for four-leafed clovers. We walked out to Foscote, then Leckhampstead, stopping on the bench at the T-junction to each our lunch in the sun (insert smiling dandelions photo).
After our break we set off intending to follow the short path back to Akeley, but my map-reading skills weren’t as honed as they are now and I couldn’t find the shorter path, so we walked up past a farm and out the back route to Akeley, stopping again to rest in a big patch of clover to search for the elusive four-leaf. After fifteen minutes of looking we gave up and stood up to go, and Sophie looked down and shouted “There’s one!” and gently picked it out of the ground. I think she still has it somewhere to this day.
Unfortunately, as that walk was around seven and a half miles, her little legs ached like hell when she got back and it’s put her off walking since. I’m absolutely gutted about this, I must admit, as I feel like my mistake has ruined something we could do together, something I really enjoy and has the potential to be good for her too. I’d love it if we could share some of my shorter walks; I think she’d get great benefits from walking in general and I hope she takes it up in future. I won’t push it, though, as I think there’s something special to be gained from discovering it yourself.
So, the shorter walk. I set out for my staple five-mile circuit with a client for Walking for Wellbeing, but it was a no-show. Despite my disappointment, as the day looked nice enough I decided to carry on anyway, perhaps adding a couple of miles by getting out to Leckhampstead. Within a few metres a lady blackbird flew across my path and stood on a nearby fence with a beak-full of twigs and brush, checking me out a while before jumping into a bush to build her nest. I walked through Maids Moreton, past heavily-populated rugby pitches and into the fields. Most of the way across the first field and BOOM! A scare-crow cannon in the next field scared the crap out of me as I babbled along to myself. Down the hill to Beatles Cove – named by my daughter as a place her and her friend go to and, apparently, do very similar walk-and-talks to Walking for Wellbeing. It’s a lovely spot with a huge oak overhanging a brook shallow enough to paddle, its roots twisting out of the earth and providing a nice place to sit. I occasionally come out here myself just to get away from it all, and it’s lost none of its charm over the winter.
Across to Foscote where I saw the year’s first lambs – March 6th 2011. They weren’t gambolling or bouncing around so I guess they were pretty new. Their mothers looked at me almost expectantly as I walked past. As I passed the manor house and entered the next field a kestrel was putting on a display, circling right over my head, so I sat on the tree stump a while to watch in wonder at its mastery of the sky. Down then up for a kilometre into Leckhampstead, all this while talking to myself to get stuff out of my head. I’ve done this a little in the past but today I must’ve spent around an hour talking and asking myself questions, a little self-therapy if you will. I found it most beneficial and came to some interesting conclusions which I’ll save for a post in another blog.
Skirting Leckhampstead village, I followed the road a short distance toward Akeley and took the path under the pylons, then downhill to the bridge over the stream. This really is a gorgeous spot, spoiled only slightly by the crackling electricity wires overhead. By this point the skies had cleared somewhat and the clouds were becoming less formed and more scattered. I sat and rolled up my sleeves and took out my map.
Here’s where the story above comes in. As I sat by the babbling stream at the bottom of the hill, soaking up some of the evasive sunshine and rubbing it all over my face, I remembered the dilemma Sophie and I faced as we arrived here that time. I looked again on the map and saw my mistake instantly – I’d been looking for the path on the wrong side of the stream! After ten minutes or so I packed my fleece into my rucksack and, with sleeves still high, set off back up the hill, spotting the stile instantly I reached the peak. From here it hugged hedgerows scattered with chaffinches and intended to cross a small crop field to the opposite corner but as there was no obvious sign of the crossing, I stuck to the track and reached the road, turning right and recceing where the path should have been before crossing the road and heading towards Akeley village.
With the sun still in effect, I headed back to Maids Moreton via the usual route, behind the houses, across two small fields to the top of the long, muddy field which, while as long as usual, was thankfully nowhere near as muddy. Up and across, then follow the hedgerows back to the road at the village. When I came around the corner I spotted something I’d not seen before, perhaps due to overgrowth or sheer determination to get home: a public footpath on the opposite side of the road. The path crosses behind the vets and past the allotments, through perhaps the craziest narrowest stile/crossing I’ve ever seen which I had to remove my rucksack to get through, across various rugby pitches and a field to join the new estate where I live. This is a much more scenic route that heading back through the village along the main road and I’ll definitely be using this one from now on.
This was a cracker. It may even become my new staple route, seeing as I can do the other 5.2-mile one in about an hour and a half now. Honestly, I’m so glad I got out and even happier the sunshine accompanied me for much of the way. I’m writing this the day after the walk and I’m enthused again by the sunny weather, planning a walk to Milton Keynes this evening to catch a bus back.
I think this proves something I’ve been feeling for a while: the winter grey has been here far, far too long. I haven’t suffered strong symptoms of SAD for in the few years since I had my therapy, but this year along with other contributing factors the relentless lack of colour outside has really affected my mood and motivation for walking. I’d become sick of the drab countryside, the limited visibility, the way all my photos were underexposed and lifeless, the constant desire for a sunny walk never fulfilled. It’s been grey for many months with few exceptions, and the short days have meant that those exceptions are short-lived. I’m pleased to see the sun again now, and I’m going to make the most of it today and tomorrow to lift my mood and get some more miles on me. I’ve been slack this past couple of weeks, really slack, so it’s time to get back on it.
I hope the weather agrees with me.
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