Pete's Walks - Kensworth to Little Gaddesden (part 4)
The path was much less steep now, with a young plantation now on my left. I passed through the edge of a small wood, then carried on beside a mature hedge on my right. A short driveway by a couple of properties then took me to Common Road, Studham. Across the road, a path went half-right across a ploughed field, descending a small valley. At the field corner I went through a gateway and turned left along Valley Road, Studham.
The path heading towards Common Road, Studham
The path between Common Road and Valley Road, Studham
At the top of the hill I turned left into Church Lane. I usually take a path on the left along here, but today followed the lane to its end and passed through the churchyard (the path goes to the left of the church). In the field behind the church I immediately turned left over a stile, and followed a fence on my right through a small pasture, passing a couple of mature trees. On the far side a stile took me to the path that I could have joined earlier.
Studham Church - the skip is early 13th century :)
A path I didn't take - this is the very pleasant path that runs from Studham Church to the edge of Holywell, which I often use on my shorter local walks
The path I did take, from Studham Church to the wood
I turned right, following the path through the edge of a wood. The path soon left the wood, going right, alongside another tall hedgerow on my right. It descended and re-ascended a shallow valley, then passed through a small wood to reach the boundary fence of Whipsnade Zoo. The path continued between the Zoo fence and a mature hedgerow - there were plenty of Chinese Water Deer in the compound beyond the fence today, but unusually I didn’t spot any Wallabies.
The path from Studham heading towards Whipsnade Zoo
This cute fellow is a Chinese Water Deer, I believe - he and his his companions were safely behind the fence of Whipsnade Zoo
The path beside the Zoo fence
The path ended at the old lane between Holywell and Studham, closed to traffic many years ago. I turned left and followed it for about a third of a mile, then (just after some bollards) I took another footpath on the right. At the next field corner I took a path going left, which ran along the edge of a meadow and brought me to Whipsnade Church. I walked through the churchyard (again going left of the church) to reach part of the huge and irregularly shaped village green, where I walked off to the right, soon heading downhill and joining the road that runs through the village by the Old Hunter’s Lodge, a popular bar and restaurant (it was Anne’s Cafe when I was a kid).
The old lane from Holywell to Whipsnade
The path from the old lane
Approaching Whipsnade Church
The end of the green at Whipsnade. The wood in the background is on Whipsnade Heath, the much-extended building is The Old Hunter's Lodge Hotel and Restaurant
It was just a short distance to the crossroads at Whipsnade Heath (actually there’s been a roundabout there for several years now, but it’s still know as the crossroads). I crossed over and turned left through a car park to take the path through Whipsnade Heath - as I went through the picnic area I spotted a Muntjac deer disappearing into the trees (all I really saw of it was its white tail). I followed the short path through the woods, and carried on across a couple more fields to return to Common Road, Kensworth. It was then a short downhill stroll left, back to my home, which I reached about 3.30pm.
Path through Whipsnade Heath
Footpath approaching Common Road, Kensworth, near Green End Farm
This is definitely my favourite long local walk. There are several other really good walks that I do, but every time I do this walk it re-affirms its position as my favourite and always reminds me how fortunate I am to live in a very attractive part of the English countryside. I usually have a few interesting wildlife encounters on the way, but I have to admit that today was a bit exceptional! The encounters with the fox and the deer leaping the fence will be memories that will stay with me for a long time.