17.3 km 10.7 miles. Toughness 4/10
(Can be lengthened to up to 15.2 miles, toughness 6/10, by finishing in Flitwick).
Dust off your blunt pointy hats and follow the John Bunyan Trail along a northern outcrop of the Chilterns. The Sundon Hills and Sharpenhoe Clappers were the inspiration for the "Delectable Mountains” in Pilgrim’s Progress. The Clappers are also home to a neolithic hill fort.
After lunch in Pulloxhill, the alternative ending takes you back to Harlington, past Bunyan’s Oak, where he used to preach.
(Of course, pilgrims, there’s nothing to stop you taking the longer walk to Flitwick. A variety of lengths are available - from 11.9 to 15.2 miles).
Trains: Get the Thameslink (Bedford direction) from St Pancras at 10:21 East Croydon 9:51, London Bridge 10.05). Arrives Harlington at 11.05.
4 trains an hour return to London.
From Harlington; xx:03, xx: 18, xx:33, xx: 48. From Flitwick; xx:14, xx:29, xx: 44, xx: 59.
A return to Harlington will do for the circular but a return to Flitwick, the further station, costs no more and covers all options.
It's possible to finish early by getting the (infrequent) 200 bus to Flitwick from Pulloxhill (Fieldside Road) at 13:22 or 15:37.
Lunch
The circular and some (but not all) of the Flitwick options take you to The Cross Keys, Pulloxhill, (01525 712 442).
Two later pubs in Westoning are only useful for the Flitwick walk, particularly if taking shortcut 1 (see directions).
Tea
Harlington has two pubs: The Carpenters Arms (01525 872 384 opens at 4) and The Old Sun ( 01525 877 330 open from 11)
Flitwick offers plenty of options for any taking the main walk, but there is an earlier recommended stop, The French Horn in Steppingley.
Walk Directions here
For the circular, use the “alternative ending in Harlington”
T=swc.230
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
IF tube strike goes ahead..may be some difficulty in the morning?
Just n=3 today. Perhaps others were deterred by the erratic underground after yesterday’s strike. Or maybe the prospect of a rainy day?
The rain was never heavy but the w=slightly-damp conditions lasted all day.
Off we went skipping gaily over the hilltops, singing merrily, birds tweeting , flowers flowering.
Well, not exactly. Flowers were flowering – violets – but, can’t tell a lie guv, today was a bit of a slog. Apart from a few merciful stretches of tarmac or pavement, a patina of slippery mud covered the whole of the route. This slowed progress. We contemplated taking “shortcut 1” but weren’t confident we would spot the intersect with “Alternative route back”. So we pressed on to Pulloxhill, arriving just before 3 when the Cross Keys was closing. We had our sandwiches in their smokers’ shelter and, rather than face 4 more slidey miles back to Harlington, we opted for the infrequent bus to Flitwick, which, after an anxious wait, did eventually come.
A walk best attempted in drier conditions.
Post a Comment