Page 42 - Phonebox Magazine September 2014

Phonebox Ramblings
Woburn walk: Revised and reversed
This is an easy and interesting circular walk from the car park at Aspley Heath. Turn right off the A5130 between Woburn Sands and Woburn, into Longslade Lane. The car park is on the right shortly after Longslade Cottage, which is also on your right hand side.
Duration: Circa 3 1/2 miles and about 1 hour 45 minutes. Mostly flat with a couple of slight ascents and descents.
There are plenty of refreshments en-route in Woburn to suit all tastes and purses.
1. From either of the two parking areas within this gated car park, walk along the path to your left (parallel to Longslade Lane). There is a narrower path that runs slightly higher, which is used by mountain bikers, but also makes an interesting walk. Follow the path for about a kilometre (mostly keeping parallel to the road) and eventually there will be a T junction. Turn right and pass Fullers Earth lodge on your left to a gate and cross the A5130 (with caution here).
2. Go through the gate over the road and continue straight on the path, keeping the woodland on your left and rough fields to your right for about half a kilometre. You will reach a cross way of paths and a sign to turn right, down a path with a house on your right. Cross over Aspley Lane with caution, as it is a little blind for traffic coming from the right. Proceed up a couple of steps into a field and keep the cottage on your left. Follow the left hand perimeter of the field until it joins a broad track, then turn right with views of the church at Woburn in front of you. Follow the track, which will become Birchmoor Green.
3. Shortly after the cottages on your right there is a gap in the hedge on the left across a ditch. This leads in to a playing field, walk round the perimeter to leave the field to the right of the club house. Cross over the A4012/Crawley Road by the pedestrian crossing and turn right. At the T junction turn left onto the A5130 and into Woburn town centre. Cross over the road at the pedestrian crossing to the right hand side continue on and cross Leighton Street and head out of town on the A5130.
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4. Continue past the pub and turn right before the motor
bike showroom into the road that leads to the fire
station. Keep over to the left hand fence (by the side
of the bike yard) to a small path into the trees. This
leads on and then round to the left to a gate on to a
broad agricultural drive. This is Wayn Close, and was
part of the landscaping for Woburn Abbey designed
by Humphry Repton circa 1802. If you look to the left 33 there are fine views back down to the front of the Abbey.
Continue right up the hill to the metal gate at the top. Once through, follow the track down to where it passes a gate onto Leighton Street.
42 Phonebox Magazine