This was a figure-of-eight-with-lassoo walk of 7.63mi miles from Willington village, W to the Priory Lake at Bedford, then return E, divert NE and SE to Danish Camp.
The usual stats:
- Event led by Khris R.
- Attendance: 14 men.
- Distance: 7.63 miles (12.3 km).
- Altitude per GPS: measurements were flawed. The landscape is as flat as pancake. The sole climb was a bridge over the A421.
- Time: start 11:09, end 14:40 (sunset 16:25), lunch 35 minutes, other breaks 11 minutes.
- Speed: moving arithmetic average 2.77mph (4.5kph).
- Weather: overcast then sunny intervals, temperature up to 15°C, westerly wind ~7mph (11.3kph).
- Number of sewage works: 1.
- Number of churches: 2.
- Number of golf courses: 0.
Points of interest:
- Former industrial land: brick quarrying and kilning.
- Willington village descends largely from the manor house purchased by John Gostwick in 1529 from the Duke of Norfolk for £1,300. Gostwick demolished and re-built the manor. Gostwick was well connected, eventually being knighted by Henry VIII in 1541. One year later, the dovecote was built, a dovecote being one of the ultimate symbols of Tudor bling and nouvelle richesse. Of course, the wealth didn’t last: by 1713, the then Gostwick lost the family fortune in failed attempts to represent the county by election. He died on 1720, leaving a pile a debt and, allegedly, a pile of ashes where once the manor house stood (quelle surprise). The Duchess of Marlborough bought the estate in 1731, who presumably sold it onto the Russell family in 1779. After 1790, the Duke of Bedford owned the land and enclosed all of it, without the need for an Act of Parliament. The land remained in agricultural use. Public subscription acquired the dovecote and stables in 1914, presenting them to the National Trust. (source 1, source 2) In the 1980s, land adjacent to the village, now the Grange Estate and part of the Bedford River Valley Park, was used extensively for the mining of gravel (source 3). Further afield, ancient settlements appear to date from the iron age and the British Roman era.
- Willington Dovecote & Stables. Today, pigeons sit on atop the roof, because they are barred entry into the dovecote. Allegedly, the plan is to encourage owls to roost in the dovecote instead.
- The Grange Estate emerged from the fragmenting ownership of the land following enclosure. Much of the land was used for gravel quarrying, resulting in numerous lakes alongside the River Great Ouse.
- The River Great Ouse is the largest river in East Anglia. And, at 143 miles, the fifth longest in the country (wiki).
- Priory Lake & Country Park re-uses the lakes from the former gravel pits as a leisure-orientated green space, as part of the re-wilding agenda. The land is 360 acres (146ha). The park has a green flag award and also hosts a canoe slalom course.
- Bulge Wood. Well, you can’t walk as the GOC without exploring a wood called “bulge”. It literally is a bulge, formed by a meander of the River Great Ouse that covers three sides of its rectangular form. It has a picnic area in it.
Churches:
- Willington Methodist Church, Willington. Part of the North Beds Methodist Circuit.
- St Lawrence Church, Willington, a grade II listed building. North chapel thought to date from 1541, possibly built by Sir John Gostwick, Master of the Horse to Cardinal Wolsey and later Treasurer of the First Fruits and Tenths under Henry VIII. Restored by Clutton 1876-7.
Sewage works:
9 members attended the optional licenced cafe stop at the Danish Camp. This is an immaculate venue with loads of outdoor seating alongside the River Great Ouse. Coffee, cakes, wines, beers, food (presented well), child-friendly, complete with an aviary (including an owl).
More pictures to follow.
