Pete's Walks - Kensworth, Studham church, Whipsnade
I did this short local walk on Wednesday, 11th March 2009. It was a very grey morning, so I'm afraid the photos aren't great.
From Kensworth, I headed up the Whipsnade Road a short distance, then took the field path on the left to reach Dovehouse Lane. Turning right and following the hedged lane downhill, I then crossed Buckwood Lane. Instead of taking my usual route along a path on the edge of Holywell, I followed a path next to Buckwood Lane, and then walked through Holywell. I went a few yards along the old lane to Whipsnade, then took a footpath on my left. This is one of my favourite local paths, and led me to Studham church.
The path from Holywell to Studham church
The path from Holywell to Studham church (just visible in the trees, top left)
Looking back along the path from Holywell
From near the church I turned right on a path across an empty pasture to Church Grove. Just inside the edge of the wood, I took a bridleway going right. This soon left the wood, turning right and following a hedgerow through two large fields. It then continued along the fence of Whipsnade Zoo to return me to the former lane between Holywell and Whipsnade. I followed it to the left, still with the zoo on my left, then took a path on the right. In the field corner I turned left, and crossed a meadow to reach Whipsnade church.
The path from Studham church to Church Grove
The bridleway from Church Grove to Whipsnade Zoo
Looking back from near Whipsnade church - the hedge line in the valley bottom is the old lane from Holywell to Whipsnade
Approaching Whipsnade church
From Whipsnade church, I turned right and headed downhill across part of the huge village green, meeting the road opposite the Old Hunter's Lodge bar/hotel. Immediately I passed a wooden gate - there are traffic signs warning that the gates across the road may be closed. The other gate is close to the entrance to Whipsnade Zoo (at the far end of the green). I have vague childhood recollections of the gates being occasionally closed in the 1960's (my parents dispute this, though), but they certainly haven't been closed since. Obviously villagers must have had grazing rights for animals on the enormous village green, but with so much traffic to the zoo nowadays it would be quite impracticable to enforce them.
Just after the gate I went half-right on a short path I'd never walked before (even though it's only a mile or so from my home!). It led to where Buckwood Lane terminates at a junction with the Dunstable Downs to Studham Road, just yards away from the crossroads at Whipsnade Heath. The path was in fact the former continuation of Buckwood Lane, which was once the main route into Whipsnade from this direction. It was supplanted about 1930 when the new road from Kensworth to Whipsnade ('the Whipsnade Road') was built, to cater for visitors to the zoo that opened at that time. Incidentally, the new road split Whipsnade Heath in two, I'm not sure that they could get away with such environmental vandalism nowadays!
Remains of an old lane, between Whipsnade and Whipsnade Heath
I took the path from the small car park that goes straight through the wood at Whipsnade Heath and continued on across two fields to return to Common Road, Kensworth, opposite Green End Farm. I turned right to return home.
Looking back to the woods of Whipsnade Heath from the path to Kensworth
Looking south from the path from Whipsnade Heath to Kensworth
I didn't see too much in the way of wildlife on this walk, but I did spot two Skylarks, a Yellowhammer and a Bullfinch.