Leighton Buzzard Canalside Walk

A suspiciously flat route by necessity today I'm afraid. A total ascent of 187.62ft you could say it's as flat as a pancake! An over indulgent Badminton game midweek has left me with lets just call it a Gluteus Maximus injury. 

The weather was quite reasonable so once again shorts were the order of the day. 

Our starting point was an industrial estate in the heart of Leighton Buzzard. Not the most auspicious of starts. It didn't get much better as we had to navigate our way through a new housing estate and overgrown paths. 

Quarry Works

There really is very little of interest to report initially, hence the picture of the quarry above. We do reach the river though and things get even worse. The path is covered in even more stinging nettles than encountered earlier and they were bad enough. 

Swallows on the fence

Autumn Fields

 It was at this point I really was regretting the shorts option over long trousers. At least the countryside had started to open up a bit and some nice views of the river and fields. We passed through the village of Slapton where there was a nice looking pub ' The Carpenters Arms' unfortunately it was shut...

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We then dropped down (literally) onto the Grand Union Canal to follow the towpath most of the way back towards our starting point. 

Not a great deal of activity on the waterway aside from the odd narrow-boat. The weather has taken a turn for the worse,the wind has picked up and blowing in some light rain. My shins are prickling and itching too after the run in with the nettles. 

Former Church

We pass a wonderful house right on the canal near the bridge at Grove. A former Church now converted into a residence would be just perfect. 

View from the Bridge

 

A little further on we come to the 'Grove Lock' Public House (A Fullers owned pub). Happy to sit in the garden with 'Archie the dog. Unfortunately getting a couple of pints proved an impossible task. To be fair the Covid restrictions had been tightened yet again overnight. Causing more chaos and confusion as if there wasn't enough already. According to the staff on the door masks needed to be worn, the NHS tracing app had to be downloaded, the venues own app had to be downloaded to order drinks as no bar service.

You might not be totally surprised to hear that we didn't bother! Sometimes the juice just isn't worth the squeeze , or hops in this case. Makes you wonder what future there is for the licensed trade over the next six months. Particularly since the government has also announced that they all have to close promptly at 10 pm.

Some nice houses with gardens that back on to the canal. A few have put out benches and chairs to take full advantage. It's amazing the different types of narrow-boats  you do see though, a whole microcosm of life really. There is the big wide berthed variety , well maintained and usually a couple who adopted a different style of living. There is the weekend and holiday get away boat usually fairly minimalist. Often you see one that seems to be crammed full of every worldly possession and a bit more. The single person (usually a male) split up and can't afford a house. Maybe you will see the 'new age' boat people in a community, with unusual names like 'Clarissa the Thaumaturgist'. Everybody seems to gel quite nicely doing their own thing.
We leave the canal at Linslade at the starting point for the Greensands Ridge walk.Part of which I completed in Woburn a week or two ago. 

The Greensands Ridge is a long-distance walk of 40 miles (64 km) taking in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire.

   

 

 
 

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