Length 19.5km (11.6 m) Difficulty 4/10
Originally inspired by the Guardian‘s Country Diary, this
stile-free walk has reversed direction and now starts from Biggleswade. The route skirts Old Warden
Aerodrome (home to the Shuttleworth Collection of historic planes), then
continues through woods to the suggested lunch pub in picturesque Old Warden. Later, you pass the richly-decorated Abbey Church of St
Leonards (it’s got snakes on the pews!) to join the Greensand Ridge walk
towards the River Ivel and the town of Sandy, passing through another attractive village, Northill, on the
way.
Trains: Get the Thameslink from Kings Cross (platform 7) at 10:12 (Finsbury Park 10:18) arriving Biggleswade 10:55.
Trains return from Sandy at xx:15. Get a return to Sandy.
Lunch: the Hare and Hounds, Old Warden (01767 627225). Booking advised.
400m after Old Warden, St Leonards churchyard makes a good picnic stop.
Tea: The Bell, Sandy. (You also pass near the Crown in Northill (01767 627337) - maybe a little too early for tea, but never too early for beer.
Directions: here. We are doing Biggleswade to Sandy, option M. t=swc.264.
Sunday 14 April 2024
Sunday Walk: Biggleswade to Sandy
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My poor feet! There they were, looking forward to a nice soggy day wallowing in a cold mud spa, swaddled in wet socks …. and what happens….? Dry all day. Solid ground. Only the slightest occasional speck of the black stuff. Poor things were parched. Anyone would think it was summer. W=Sunny all day, flowers out, trees blooming, birds singing. What’s going on?
The directions worked well. There were n=8 of us.
We stopped at the Hare and Hounds where most sat in the garden with drinks. 2 sat inside and ordered a meal that was a long time coming.. So long coming, they were still waiting when we were ready to go. We left them there (with their blessing)and moved on.
Having bigged up St Leonard’s church, the group were itching to look inside and see the carved snake. Guess, what readers, “closed for repairs”. How we sulked.
We didn’t stop at the Crown, deciding to wait till the Bell.
There’s only only hill to speak of on this walk, - the high bridge over the A1. But that’s enough. Then, the last stretch along the Ivel - pretty with swans nesting in the river and another lounging on a lawn.
We got to the Bell for 16:55 and, with a train due at 17:15, there was deemed not enough time for a visit. (Though the rate cider ‘evaporates’ these days, I reckon I could have given it a good go). Home we sped after a grand day out.
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