Pete's Walks - Kensworth and Totternhoe (page 2 of 2)
I entered a gate at the foot of the nature reserve, and went on a short wander around - the only flower I saw that I'd not already seen was Common Twayblade, a not very attractive type of orchid. I then made my way uphill, through a gate in the reserve fence and on up to the top of the 'motte' on the old castle site here.
The path from the works to Totternhoe Knolls
The bottom section of Totternhoe Knolls nature reserve
Looking back over the nature reserve
I stopped here to eat my packed lunch, then wandered on, through the castle's 'bailey' and along a good track back towards the village of Totternhoe. I turned right to reach the road through the village, where I turned left towards Dunstable. At a junction on a bend, I turned right and then took the second left, Wellhead Road. This soon left Totternhoe and headed south, back towards Dunstable Downs (when I next do this walk, I think I may well use some field paths to avoid the rather lengthy road walk through Totternhoe).
Looking from the 'motte' of the castle site at Totternhoe Knolls, southwards over the 'bailey' towards the Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs
A close-up shot looking west towards Ivinghoe Beacon
Looking north over the Vale of Aylesbury
The track from the Knolls towards Totternhoe
Path near Totternhoe, looking towards the Whipsnade Downs (the White Lion at Whipsnade Zoo is just visible at the right end of the Downs)
Wellhead Road, looking towards Dunstable Downs
At the end of Wellhead Road, I crossed the Dunstable-Tring road and continued along a path on the eastern edge of the London Gliding Club. That ended at the foot of the steep slopes of Dunstable Downs, where I turned right and followed a lengthy path along the foot of the steep escarpment. After about a mile, I headed uphill on an old drover's track that had worn a groove in the hillside, to reach the top of Bison Hill.
The path along the foot of Dunstable Downs
The path up Bison Hill (a good spot for butterflies!)
The path at the top of Bison Hill
I followed a bridleway from Bison Hill towards Whipsnade, taking the second footpath on the left to reach Whipsnade Tree Cathedral and then emerge in the centre of this interesting village. I decided to take the short way home, omitting Holywell, as I'd been walking for about four and a half hours already (due to photographing so many flowers). I headed off to the left to reach Whipsnade Heath, where a short path led through the tress and then through two fields to return to Kensworth.
The bridleway from Bison Hill to Whipsnade
Whipsnade Tree Cathedral
Looking towards Whipsnade Heath from Whipsnade
The path to Kensworth from Whipsnade Heath
This was a very pleasant day for a walk, generally quite sunny but never too warm. As I said at the start, I was more interested in seeing the flowers today than I was in the walk itself, but it was still an interesting enough route. I would probably use field paths to miss out Totternhoe and most of Wellhead Road, though, next time that I do it.