Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire does not spring to mind as the county you should seek out for that well earned walking holiday. However, the county is not all motorways and brick works and there are many great areas where you will find quiet peaceful countryside offering excellent walking. So, if you find yourself in Bedfordshire don't despair; you can spend many happy hours discovering it's rural charms.

The Great Ouse river meanders through the county, seemingly undecided as to its best course, and the meadows and pastures along its banks can be peaceful places to spend a few hours. Near Bedford the attractive village of Odell and the adjacent Harrold and Odell Country Park provide riverside access and there are lakes and a wildlife reserve between the villages.

The southernmost part of Bedfordshire has the most varied scenery where the Chiltern Hills sweep across the county with their steep escarpment facing north west, best seen at Dunstable Downs which provides some splendid walking. The Downs are the Mecca of British gliding due to the perfect thermal soaring conditions. Nearby is Whipsnade Wild Animal Park with its rare and endangered species.

A little further north is Woburn, sited on a ridge of sandstone running south west to north east, a landscape of pine woods and heathland. Between this ridge and the Chilterns escarpment lies an area of intensive cultivation. In the north east the area around Sandy and Biggleswade is home to many market gardeners exploiting the rich river gravel soils of this region. Water seems to dominate in the pasturelands of northern Bedfordshire where the Great Ouse meanders. This is a peaceful area with quiet unspoilt villages, many with thatched cottages and stone spired churches. This is relaxing walking country through watermeadows edged with willow and Alder and sleepy country lanes.

Bedford is an elegant county town renowned for its lace-making, museums and galleries. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, lived here, as did US bandleader Glenn Miller during the Second World War. The River Great Ouse embankment and gardens in the centre of Bedford are very attractive.

Long Distance Paths Traversing Bedfordshire
Icknield Way
The Lea Valley Walk
An Oxbridge Walk

	Guide Books: [Click for further information or to purchase]
	Walking in Bedfordshire by Alan Castle. This excellent guide book divides the walks into three sections of South, East and North Bedfordshire. Some of the the walk locations are: Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs; Eaton Bray, Totternhoe Knolls and Castle Hill; Streatley and the Galley Hills; Sundon Hills Country Park; Rushmere Park; Woburn Abbey grounds and Milton Bryan; Silsoe; Ampthill; Millbrook; Cranfield; Elstow; Clophill; Northill and Shuttleworth; Wrestlingworth; Roxton and Tempsford; Wilden; Colmworth; Bedford; Stagsden; Bromham and Stevington; Turvey; Milton Ernest and Oakley; Thurleigh and Ravensden; Pavenham; Odell; The Colworth Estate; Risley and Melchbourne Park; Yelden, Upper Dean and Shelton.
	Village Walks in Bedfordshire by Barbara Bignell. The villages on which the routes are based have been carefully chosen for their interest and beauty. Among the most picturesque are Upper Dean, Stevington, Blunham, Old Warden, and Silsoe. Many of the villages featured once relied on the thriving cottage industries of straw plaiting and pillow lace making. There is a seperate section about places of interest to visit nearby such as Willington Tudor Dovecote and Stables; the Shuttleworth Collection of vintage aircraft and cars; the Bunyan Museum; Bletchley Park, the Second World War decoding centre; Woburn Abbey; and the Lodge, Sandy, UK headquarters of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
	Pub Walks in Bedfordshire by: James A Lyons. The walks vary in length from 2.5 to 6 miles and each route is described in detail with its own accompanying sketch map. The walks make full use of Bedfordshire's variety of scenery and terrain, from the downlands of the Chilterns in the south to the farmlands of the north. There are routes through pretty villages like Clophill with its neat 17th century cottages; while the county's main river river the Great Ouse, with its tribtaries the Ivel and Ouzel, offer relaxing strolls along their banks. Memories of the last war are also woven into a walk centred on Milton Ernest Hall where Glennn Miller and his band played, and nearby Twinwood airfield from where he took off on his last tragic flight.
	Walking Close to Bedford by: Clive Brown. The directions are clear and precise and the pencil drawn sketch maps are particularly attractive as well as practical. This guide focuses on the Great Ouse near Bedford with nine varied and interesting circular walks, mainly about 6 miles in length. The walk locations are: Souldrop and Sharnbrook Tunnel; Great Ouse Horseshoe and Pavenham; Yelnow Lane and Harrold-Odell Country Park; Bromham and Bromham Mill; Harrold-Odell Country Park and St Nicholas's Church; Piper's Highway and Stevington; Pinchmill Islands and Sharnbrook; Ravensden Brook and Mowsbury Park, Bedford; Hanger Wood and Bromham.
	100 Walks in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire compiled by: Katherine Appleton, Bob and Celia Wallace. The wide choice of routes covers the whole region, with 70 of the walks in the larger county of Cambridgeshire and 30 in Bedfordshire. The walks vary in length from 2 to 12 miles, the majority being in the 4/6 mile range. They are listed in the contents by length, making it easy to find routes that suit your party and the time you have available. In addition to the route descriptions, details are given of points of interest along the way, places to eat and drink and where to park the car. Sketch maps and route descriptions are on facing pages.