Length: 18.7 km (11.6 miles)
Toughness: 6 out of 10
London Euston: 10-15 hrs West Midlands Trains service to Birmingham New Street
Arrive Bletchley: 10-49 hrs Change
Leave Bletchley on Bus: 11-01 hrs
Arrive Bow Brickhill railway station: 11-10 hrs
Return
1) 15-42 train from Woburn Sands to Bletchley, then train to Euston:
2) 17-27 hrs train from Woburn Sands to Bletchley, then train to Euston:
3) 18-59 bus from Woburn Sands to Bletchley, then train to Euston:
4) 16-11 hrs train from Woburn Sands to Bedford, then train to St Pancras.
The best of the above is probably 2), leaving time for refreshments in Woburn Sands.
Rail ticket: buy a day return to Woburn Sands
Covid-19 Compliance: [until 19 July 2021] please note the current guidance on this website and observe social distancing. You should all come prepared to exchange contact details for track and trace purpose. You can either pre-register for this walk (not essential ) by e-mailing me at swc-marcus@walkingclub.org.uk or, if you prefer, please write your name, e-mail address and contact 'phone number on a small piece of paper for handing to me on the train or when we assemble at walk start. Thank you.
We usually avoid walks with replacement bus services, but as the bus journeys today are short in time we will make an exception and put up with this minor inconvenience today.
There are a number of highlights on this enjoyable walk once we get through Back Wood, which can be muddy at any time of the year. After walking alongside Woburn Golf course we head over fields to the picturesque town of Woburn, where we stop for lunch at one of its pubs or tea rooms (see the Walk Directions). I usually stop at the good value Bell Inn on Bedford Street.
Then it's on through the vast grassy expanses of Woburn Park with its herds of deer. We eventually drop down to the entrance to Woburn Safari Park, where we join a public footpath which takes us cleverly along the edge of the Safari Park, usually allowing its residents - which include zebras, buck, bison, elephants, giraffes, rhino and wallabies - a chance to check out and observe human visitors. After the wallabies section the public footpath heads past a Go Ape Adventure Centre to exit the grounds of Woburn Park at a main road. We then head up a road to the village of Aspley Guise before continuing on to Woburn Sands. The pub next door to the railway station, or the Costa Coffee shop next door, serve as very acceptable refreshments stops before we board a train (or bus) back to Bletchley, to connect to a main line service to Euston.
This walk is especially recommended for those who haven't tried it before - and for the rest of us it is always enjoyable walking alongside the Safari Park.
T=1.17
Wall Directions are here: L=1.17
1 comment:
N=6 went into deep dark Back Wood on a w=sunny day. They got lost, were eaten by wolves and never heard from again. The end.
Except….. it wasn’t quite the end. A kindly GPS heard them crying and showed them the way out. Everyone was happy. Except the wolves, who went hungry.
And so they came to Woburn where the innkeeper of the Black Horse gave them something to eat and drink. The Bell was shut.
Then into Woburn Park where four went the right way and saw elephants and giraffes and probably other things. Two at the back, who weren’t paying attention, went the wrong way and just got deer and a squirrel. Big antlers though. Then they came out through the wrong gate.
The 4 who went the right way finished up at Woburn Sands where they were given a drink by another innkeeper.
Mr Google heard the other two were lost and very kindly showed them how to get back on the shining path to Aspley Guise. That path was not very nice because of the traffic. They were careful though. When they got there, they got the train because, by now, they were very, very late.
And guess what. It was the same train the others got and everyone was happy. The end.
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