This is a fairly new walk that had its first outing last year - I missed it that time so looking forward to trying it out this Saturday. The morning section passes the headquarters of the RSPB and explores the surrounding heathland, before continuing over Biggleswade Common to follow the River Ivel to a lunch stop at Jordans Mill. The route then continues to follow the river as best as possible to Arlesey.
Trains: UPDATED TIMES - this now requires taking a train to Stevenage and changing there: the service from Horsham calls at various London stations including: East Croydon 09:31, London Bridge 09:46, Blackfriars 09:52, Faringdon 09:56, St Pancras 10:01, Finsbury Park 10:11, arrives at Stevenage at 10:35. Or take the 10:06 from Kings Cross, arriving at Stevenage at 10:27. From Stevenage take the 10:45 to Sandy, arriving at 11:05. Return trains from Arlesey at xx:05, also with change at Stevenage. Buy a return to Sandy.
Lunch: The Riverside Cafe at Jordans Mill serves light meals with indoor and outdoor seating. You can explore the gardens here for free, tours of the Victorian mill are available for a charge.
For refreshments at the end of the walk, the Old Oak is a traditional pub with a garden 150m beyond Arlesey station.
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3 comments:
A recent comment advises against wearing shorts as the 2 km stretch along the permissive path after Jordans Mill "is very narrow in parts through high nettles". I guess that's one of the disadvantages of using these paths – the local council isn't responsible for their maintenance so it needs volunteers to keep them in good condition. [The walk notes do mention an alternative but it's a mundane route along roads.]
You were right Sean, it was certainly overgrown and the nettles were so high I got stung on the shoulder! However:
- I think all agreed it was a lovely walk otherwise
- there were #10 of us including one who joined us from another walk after her group didn’t turn up at Sandy
- it was #sunny throughout
- the RSPB section was if anything even prettier than last year
- we encountered lots of cows, unnerving after some of us had read about cow peril in the press over the last week, but our expert livestock whisperers ensured we passed safely
- some had lunch at Jordan’s Mill where we all regrouped briefly and most got the 1605 train
@Sandy: I'd planned to join you but I'd forgotten that on sunny weekends Thameslink's drivers find reasons to do anything other than turning up to drive trains. My fault for not spotting the updated walk post with emergency schedule until this morning. In any case the thought of a 2+hour journey with some of the hourly return services already showing as Cancelled put me off.
I'd looked around the RSPB reserve in August and the heather was pretty colourful then, so glad to hear it was still in good shape today.
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