Pete's Walks- Bison Hill and Totternhoe (page 2 of 3)
I followed the path for some distance until it turned right, when I went through a metal kissing-gate and continued straight on. I crossed a meadow, which I think is actually the 'bailey' of the Motte and Bailey castle, then followed the path as it climbed to the top of the small mound or 'Motte' of the castle. There were fine views again from here, out over the Vale of Aylesbury and back to the Downs.
The path to Totternhoe Knolls (where the track turned right and I went straight on)
The path continuing towards the castle mound on Totternhoe Knolls
Approaching the 'motte' of the 'motte and bailey' castle at Totternhoe Knolls
The view over the Vale of Aylesbury from the 'motte'
I continued down the other side of the Motte, soon turning right alongside a fence. This soon joined a hedge-lined track where I went straight on - I soon saw a Holly Blue butterfly, the first I've seen this year. The track curved left and passed some trees, then I took a path going sharp right. This ran between hedges and fences, with meadows or paddocks either side, then ran down the side of part of the old Totternhoe lime works (closed in 2005). At the end of the path, I turned right along a drive, passing the entrance to the lime works.
The path down from the 'motte'
Back on the track I'd turned off earlier
Further along the same track
The path between the track and the old lime works
The drive by the old Totternhoe lime works
At the end of the drive I turned right along a path between hedges - there was a parallel path beyond the hedge on my left, and after a while the lime works were behind the hedge to my right. At a path junction I turned left, and followed a hedge-lined track heading towards the hamlet of Sewell. The track was surfaced with gravel for some distance, then reverted to a more typical green lane. It was rutted in places, but apart from a few puddles it was dry - I was relieved as I remember it being very muddy along here sometimes. The track then entered an area of long grass, before passing the remains of a railway bridge amongst trees on the left. The hamlet of Sewell was the other side of the bridge, but I carried straight on towards Dunstable.
The track beside the old lime works
The track from Totternhoe to Sewell
The track from Totternhoe to Sewell
The track from Totternhoe to Sewell
The track from Totternhoe to Sewell - the remains of the old railway bridge and the turning left to Sewell is somewhere in the trees ahead