Past Walks

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Woburn, Bedfordshire

Explorer 192
Buckingham and Milton Keynes

14.6 miles

SP 50816 75219

January 2009

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The Woburn ramble was broken into two parts for both the A and the B groups with the morning walk to the west of Woburn and the afternoon walk around the Woburn estate.

An early start brought a hard ground frost, which lasted for most of the morning despite it being a perfect sunny day for walking.

The two groups went the opposite way round in the morning with the A group encountering the only two small muddy fields whilst they were still frozen. The rest of the morning walk was predominately through woodland.

The A walk commenced down to the end of the main street toward Woburn Sands, turning left across the fields, past the derelict Horsemoor Farm and up behind the farm into the woods and on toward Woburn Sands. In Woburn Sands the walk turned left into Bow Brickhill Road for a short distance, before turning left up into Aspley Heath crossing the Milton Keynes Boundary Walk and on to Bow Brickhill All Saints Church for coffee.

The walk continued around the outer perimeter of Back Wood, past Broomhills Wood and back across The Warren to the Woburn Golf Club, where it turned right up into the golf course joining up and turning south on the Milton Keynes Boundary Walk. On reaching Greensand Ridge Walk, it was time to head for the nearest pub in Woburn for lunch. The approach to Woburn was truly spectacular along the Wayn Close, in full view of the Abbey in the distance.

Lunch was at The Royal Oak which had been recently refurbished by its new owners who had provided a large covered outside area for smokers (and muddy booted ramblers?). Excellent facilities, though it took a long time to get served!

The B group had gone out on Wayn Close along the Greensand Ridge turning right up Milton Keynes Boundary Walk returning back to Woburn past Horsemoor Farm.

In the afternoon, both groups crossed the A4012 into the Woburn Estate by Speedwell Cottages, along a fenced path, of late very muddy, but recently overlaid with gravel, and through a kissing gate into the deer park and on south to Paris House.

This black and white, half-timbered house was built in pre-fabricated sections for the Paris exhibition in 1878, shipped home and rebuilt on its present site by the Duke of Bedford. Over the years, it has served many purposes, from temporary hospital, to a weekend retreat for members of the Royal Family during World War II. Today, it is an up-market restaurant. The walk continued out the back of the estate into Milton Wood and Linden Lake, before turning back westward on the Greensand Ridge Walk. It continued through a plantation and back into the estate, re-joining the estate road and passing the north side of the Abbey and down between the lakes, passing the equine statue of Mrs Moses, a much loved horse from the Abbey stables. A sharp right turn took us to the Bedford Estate management buildings at Park Farm and via the Lion Gate entrance back to the car park in Park Street.