Pete's Walks- Kensworth, Studham, Whipsnade Downs (page 2 of 3)
Beyond Church Grove the bridleway turned slightly left, and followed the edge of a very large arable field up and down a small valley. It continued beside a second smaller field (I spotted a Buzzard here), passed a small wooded area on the left and then continued alongside the tall fence of Whipsnade zoo - as usual there were many Wallabies and Chinese Water Deer to be seen. The bridleway ended on Studham Lane, a disused lane between Holywell and Whipsnade. I turned left and followed the old lane to its end in Whipsnade.
The bridleway from Church Grove to the Whipsnade Zoo boundary fence
The bridleway from Church Grove to the Whipsnade Zoo boundary fence
The bridleway continuing beside the Whipsnade Zoo boundary fence
Studham Lane, the old lane between Holywell and Whipsnade
Whipsnade, from near the end of Studham Lane
From the same point, looking ahead - it's not clear but the lane ends at a bend of a minor road
The lane ended at a sharp bend in the road through Whipsnade (the same road I'd started out on from Kensworth). I followed the road straight ahead. Shortly before the road turned left (just before the zoo entrance), I turned right along a drive to an activity centre, following the drive as it turned left and continuing ahead on a bridleway that started through a gate. The bridleway was soon running between hedges either side, and was particularly muddy in places. It ended just above the car park on Bison Hill, where I spotted a Red Kite.
The minor road through Whipsnade (the one I started out from in Kensorth), heading towards the zoo entrance
Near the start of the bridleway from Whipsnade to Bison Hill
The bridleway from Whipsnade to Bison Hill
The bridleway from Whipsnade to Bison Hill
I took a path descending slightly, to the right of the car park, and turned right at a path crossroads to reach a metal kissing-gate leading into an area of long grass and occasional bushes and trees (note: there are two other gates and paths further right, both leading into a huge pasture). An attractive path led on over the top of Bison Hill, curving right after a few hundred yards and starting to descend gently. I went straight on when the path crossed a sunken drovers way, the path now continuing downhill in a similar drovers way.
From near the car park on Bison Hill, looking towards Ivinghoe Beacon and the Vale of Aylesbury
The Vale of Aylesbury from the Bison Hill car park (the church is Edlesborough church)
The path on Bison Hill
The path on Bison Hill
The path on Bison Hill, now dropping downhill along an old drovers way
The path near the bottom of Bison Hill