The John Bunyan Trail (9) Flitwick & Westoning

The latest leg of the 'Bunyan Trail' takes us to to the Town of 'Flitwick'. Equidistant between the much larger towns of Bedford and Luton. We get parked up in a residential area and cut through to the footpath close to 'Flitwick Wood'. Walking in an anti-clockwise direction we will finish in the 'Flit Valley'. This may have been the inspiration for Bunyan's 'The River of the water of life ' from 'The Pilgrims Progress'. That apart there are unlikely to be any other links on this particular walk. Don't let that put you off though! There will plenty of other points of interest to uncover.

We are quickly on the 'JB Trail' and immediately get our first sighting of a Chinese Water Deer. There is another one in the opposite field too. We are heading in the direction of 'Steppingley' on the 'Greensand Ridge'. Much of the surrounding land is part of either Beckerings Park, or the Woburn Estate. There are some lovely walks around here including 'Katherine's Walk' . Named after Katherine of Aragon, who was imprisoned on the Ampthill Estate during the annulment of her marriage to King Henry VIII in the early 16th Century. 

 

The Greensand Ridge is a long-distance walk of 40 miles (64 km) that crosses Bedfordshire, with brief sections in Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire. the name "Greensand" is associated with the green color of the rock due to glauconite, the rocks in Bedfordshire often don't show this green coloration. It is however though very sandy underfoot as the photo on the left shows. 

It's certainly a bucolic scene, as my walking companion likes to call it. In the field a young Fox watches cautiously from a safe distance, then disappears beyond the ridge. There are of course more Chinese Water Deer at regular intervals. A welcoming party of curious Cows arrive on the scene. Safely behind the fence, they can come as close as the like. We pass 'Priestley Farm' heading in the direction of Westoning. There is a lovely new wooden bridge that goes over the stream. In parts the water is a rusty colour, part of the rich Iron from the Greensand. The Rhododendrons are just coming into bloom along with the Digitalis plants.  

We are now close to Westoning Manor, although our path doesn't take us close enough to see it. Manor was built between 1842 and 1843 for the new Lord of the Manor, John William Coventry Campion. The part of Westoning we are in looks very affluent indeed. Some big houses, one has even put up wrought iron railings to block off the footpath outside their house. I'm not sure if this is even allowed. The lady of the house casts a dirty look in our direction before disappearing into the garage. We continue down the lane to the pretty looking Church of St Mary Magdalene. We call in to have a look at the Commonwealth War Graves that lie within.

Church of St Mary Magdalene, Westoning

One grave in particular catches my attention, and brings back harrowing memories of something that happened some 37 years ago. I remember watching the awful scenes live as the situation developed. It is something that has always stayed with me as a stark reminder of the shocking evil humans are capable of. Corporal David Howes and Corporal Derek Wood, were off duty and out driving in a car around Belfast, when they got lost and strayed into a funeral cortege for the IRA member. Members of the crowd surrounded the car and both men were pulled from the car, brutally beaten, stabbed and shot multiple times. They both died at the scene in what became known as the "Corporal killings"As I say a totally barbaric episode that should never have happened. A silent prayer is offered.

We continue towards 'Gablehayes'.  To our right on top of the hill the Water Tower at Pilloxhill can be seen .   

Nicely marked footpaths

Beautiful fields of green

We are heading in the direction of Flitwick Moor part of the largest natural wetland in Bedfordshire. It is a nationally important site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).Peat was extracted on this site for hundreds of years. It was also a place where mineral-rich water was taken from and bottled for sale as a tonic.Raised wooden decking takes us between 'The Moor' and 'The Folly'. They aren't  really necessary today given all the weeks without rain. Even so, there is more than a hint of the Louisiana swamps about the place.

Flitwick Moor Boardwalk

All that remains is to navigate ourselves through the side streets of Flitwick back to our starting point. There hasn't really been that many places of interest, but enough to keep our interest. It has been a perfect day for walking and another leg of the walk ticked off. In total a fraction over 10 miles covered.  

Stowe Landscape Gardens - Spring 2025

Stow School in the distance

It's a beautiful sunny late Spring afternoon and nowhere I would rather be than at Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buckinghamshire.Always a great pleasure to cross the border and make another visit. I've written several times about Stowe over the years so this post will be mainly a few photos. We will be focusing our short walk mainly around 'Eleven Acre' Lake and 'Octagon Lake'.  We start off though with the sound of leather on willow, a cricket it match is being played on the South lawn. Could there possibly be a better surrounding? The back drop of 'Stowe House, gently sloping down towards the lakes. We watch a few overs and the batsmen seem to hod the ascendancy. I think i might get a few runs given the perfect conditions. Passing the statue of 'King George II 'we make our way to the 'Sleeping Wood'. Originally a wilderness garden. Designed to deliberately disorientate the visitor, set in a mazy wood the paths wind around shrubberies. Eventually leading to the sleeping parlour in a secret clearing. 

The Sleeping Parlour is now long gone but the challenge is to find the foundation stone which bears the following inscription. 'Since all things are uncertain, indulge thyself'. License to stop off for a pint of beer if ever there was one I suppose! In time the wood will mature and become a secret wilderness away from the garden. We continue on the 'path of Vice and Virtue following the Greek God Hercules personal struggle. The Temples here tell stories of seductive women, sordid goings on and excessive partying. Seems just my sort of place then. Oh and yes we did find the 'Foundation Stone'.     

Pebble Alcove

Earliest Chinese pavilion in UK

Palladian Bridge

Rear view of 'the best view'

As always another fantastic day out at Stowe. Each time I always see so many new things.

Robert Jon & The Wreck - The Roadmender Northampton

 

This year has been very short on live music so far. Time to start putting things to rights, starting with the Northampton Roadmender tonight. I have to confess that I had very limited knowledge of 'Robert Jon and The Wreck' beforehand. Aside from some airplay on 'Planet Rock', and some strong recommendations from a couple of friends I new very little. Thankfully as is our habit, we arrived early to get a got pitch on the barriers. We were expecting a 9pm start but due to a curfew the gig would start at 8pm, finishing at 10. Just one more gig in Portsmouth after tonight on what has been a 10 date UK Tour. The latest album 'Red Moon Rising' will no doubt get a good airing on the set list. 

Warren Murrel

 

 

 

Henry James (Schneekluth)

We managed to get our desired place, stage right looking up towards Keyboard player Jake Abernathie. The venue is slowly starting to fill up. I wonder if a few have been caught out by the early start? Southern Rock has gone through something of a resurgence over the last few years. At least that's how it feels to me at least. I saw 'Lynyrd Skynyrd' some years ago and it was a fantastic night. It was a similar story seeing ZZ Top too. I really didn't know what to expect? We kick off the night with 'Pain No More' from the 2023 album 'Ride into the light'. Followed by 'Trouble' from the new album. Any doubts I might have had are very quickly blown away. These guys are a series live act and a very talented group of musicians.

Robert Jon Burrison

The band were formed in 2011 and hail from Orange County, California. Since then it seems to have been a continuous cycle of writing new music and touring. Front man 'Robert Jon Burrison' cuts a formidable figure. He would be equally at home on the 'Dutton' Ranch in Yellowstone hanging out with 'Rip' and 'Kayce'. What a voice he has too, a real stage presence. As is usual the Northampton crowd takes a while to get going. Maybe it's because we suck asks Bass player 'Warren Murrel'. Hes a pretty cool Dude with his 'Jack Nicholson' look of dark glasses and shirt open over a white vest. It works for him so don't knock it.     

Lead Guitarist Henry James (Schneekluth) has a real psychedelic vibe going on. But my word can he play the guitar with some style. They are also joined on stage by session guitarist 'Joe Coombs' , a long standing friend of the band. We are treated to three songs in total from the new album. 'Ballad of a Broken Hearted Man' which is destined to become a crowd favourite. The other track from Red Moon Rising is the title track itself. In fact the set list is a very even mixture of songs covering most albums. Apologies to Drummer 'Andrew Espantman' , I couldn't get a clear photo as he was obscured at the back of the stage. The set finishes with a rounding version of 'Cold Night' from the 'Glory Bound' album (2015)keyboards take centre stage as the gig rises to a thrilling crescendo.  

By now the crowd has worked itself up into as close to a frenzy as Northampton gets, demanding an encore. The band don't disappoint and return to the stage along with Jim.

Fittingly we end with 'Shine a Light on Me Brother' another chance to show off their guitar skills. A fantastic couple of hours of pretty much southern Rock and Blues of the highest quality.  Do you know what really impressed most? How modest they all were, nothing flash just honest to goodness delivering the music. No gratuitous 'effing and jeffing' either which can become a real bore and turn off with some bands. I can't wait to see them again! Many thanks to Warren for his kindness giving me his set list from the night.