It's been a while but we are back on the 'Bunyan Trail'. A fairly short walk today that will pick up from the last Kempston walk. Our starting point is in the Ramsey Green and Gibraltar parish. About 5km South West of Bedford town centre. Rather than taking the road we cut through an area of community woodlands called 'Buttons Ramsey'. Part of the Forest of Marston Vale. A series of Gateway Woods between Kempston and Wootton.
It's a pleasant diversion away from the road. It only spans an area of about1km and is very flat. A passing cyclist stops us and asks if we have visited nearby 'Kempston Wood'. He tells us that it holds some great walks with excellent views. Certainly one for the notepad for a visit on a future date.
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St Mary's Church Wootton
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Continuing in a clockwise direction we reach 'Church End'. The Grade II listed Church of St Mary.
We pass through the Churchyard leaving past a row of cottages. Standing on a small green leading to the church is the war memorial.The memorial was first unveiled in 1922. It is particularly poignant as this weekend is Remembrance Sunday.
I had to smile as we rejoin the road. An old Austin 30 or maybe 35 was perched in a small trailer. These cars were first produced in 1952 until 1956. It was launched as Austin's rival to the popular Morris Minor. At launch, the car cost £507 (equivalent to £15,793.36 in 2019) undercutting the Minor by £62.
We start to turn back on ourselves when we reach Wootton Green Farm. There are a large number of 4 wheel drive vehicles parked up. They are either hunting or shooting . Sure enough as we proceeded through the open countryside shooters were spotted in the adjacent field. A huge black cloud has descended , an ominous sign for the poor Pheasants. the 'beaters' were trying to drive the birds from the ridge towards the rifles. Thankfully I only saw one bird shot out of the skies. We then come a cross a wounded Pigeon, lots of feathers across the pathway. It might have been winged by gunfire? Or perhaps more likely a bird of prey has seized it and then been disturbed by our presence . Hard to tell really , but little we could do for the unfortunate creature.
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Autumn colour
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It's a great time of year to be out walking with the fantastic Autumn colours. The leafs are falling off the trees with some momentum now. Another couple of weeks and the branches will be empty once again. As a keen Mycologist (someone who loves fungi) it is great to see a display such as the ones pictured. I believe they are of the variety 'Coprinellus' 'mica cap'. It is quite a common and grow in clusters. Bizarrely they are an edible species , and considered good for omelettes. There is no chance that I will be putting them to any sort of culinary use though!
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Remains of 'The Chequers'
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Back in Wootton we pass the charred remains of the 17th century pub 'The Chequers'. I asked a local resident what on earth has happened. She explained that in September the current Landlord had set fire to the premises and taken his own life. There is some hope that the Pub can be repaired, but the villagers feel this is probably unlikely. It is a sad end to a good walk.
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