Pete's Walks - Stockgrove and Little Brickhill (page 1 of 2)
Beyond the A5 I went over a stile and turned left, following a hedgerow bordering the dual carriageway. After two or three hundred yards, the path went half-right to cut the corner of a stubble field, then continuing across another stubble field to reach the north-eastern section of Buttermilk Wood (at least that is the nearest name I can see on the map). As I walked through the wood I disturbed a moth, which I managed to photograph and later identified as a Shaded Broad-bar.
The path along the hedge parallel to the A5
The start of the path going north to Buttermilk Wood
Buttermilk Wood
Beyond the wood I reached a road, where I turned left to reach a junction, from where a bridleway started into Broomhills Wood on the opposite side. There was initially an open space on the left where the trees had been felled some time ago, then the bridleway curved right slightly and soon there were trees either side once more. The skies were now looking ominous, and I remembered the forecast had said scattered showers. At a path junction the bridleway turned left, and within yards I had to stop to put my waterproofs on (third walk in a row!) as the rain arrived. This was only a shower, not too heavy or prolonged. I passed some Betony (I think this is the only place I've seen it) and further on passed a pond on my right. A little further there was a section where the bridleway was almost impassable because of the deep mud and puddles. When the bridleway turned right at the next path junction, I made a disastrous discovery - I'd lost the pedometer! It had been attached to my belt, and I had checked it a couple of times during the walk, but not for a while. I continued downhill along the bridleway to a sharp right turn, but the clouds now looked so threatening, and I was so disheartened at losing the pedometer, I decided to cut the walk short - I didn't see the point in getting soaking wet if the steps weren't going to count in the 'Walking for Wellness' competition (my team are hoping to win the money for the Huntington's Disease Association, incidentally). So I turned round, and retraced my steps along the bridleway, carefully scanning the ground for the missing pedometer. I looked carefully around where I'd stopped to put on my waterproofs, but all to no avail.
Near the start of the bridleway through Broomhills Wood - those grey clouds look ominous!
The bridleway through Broomhills Wood
The bridleway through Broomhills Wood
The bridleway continuing through Back Wood
The bridleway continuing through Back Wood
When I reached the road junction, I took the road back past where I'd come out of Buttermilk Wood and followed it for about half a mile - it was now raining quite steadily and I was glad I'd kept my waterproofs on. I then turned right onto a long path going southeast through Buttermilk Wood (part of the Milton Keynes Boundary Walk). Now the heavens really opened, and for 10-15 minutes the rain was absolutely torrential (which explains the shortage of photos for this section). I just ploughed straight on, the path soon becoming a bridleway at a path crossroads, and soon following the edge of Nun Wood. By the time I reached the end of the bridleway at a road, the rain had stopped. I followed the road to the right for a short distance, then went right, through a rather overgrown gap in a hedge, and followed a path across two large fields of stubble - in the first I immediately spotted a Chinese Water Deer, the second time I've seen one here.
Nun Lane (in another part of Buttermilk Wood)
The path across the stubble fields, heading back to the A5
Beyond the stubble fields I crossed back over the A5 (here just a single carriageway) and took a path that started up a steep flight of steps. I followed a left-hand hedgerow through an overgrown meadow and then a second meadow, before turning right alongside another hedgerow in a very large recently-mown hay meadow. The path continued through a paddock next to Rammamere Farm, before turning left through another small meadow (usually a cattle pasture) to reach the woods of Rammamere Heath. I followed the bridleway south through the heath until I reached a fork of wide tracks, where I took a step or two right and took a path almost in the middle of the fork. This led through more woodland, then ran through a long meadow in a shallow valley to take me back to the car park where I'd started.
Meadow on the other side of the A5
The path to Rammamere Farm
Rammamere Heath
Path through the woods on Rammamere Heath
Returning to the Stockgrove Country Park car park
It's not often I cut short a walk, but I'm a fair weather walker and I wouldn't have gone out today if it had not been for the 'Walking for Wellness' competition at work (that's also the reason I did three walks last weekend). I felt totally fed up about losing the pedometer, and therefore not being able to contribute more to our team's attempt to win the prize money for the Huntington's Disease Association - just to make matters worse, when I got home I discovered that neither of the two pedometers I had at home worked. My boots don't seem to be very waterproof at the moment and I could feel the water squelching around in them, but at least my wet feet didn't develop blisters.
It was a shame, because this is a nice walk (I last did it almost exactly a year ago). It was still enjoyable while the weather was nice and I did see a bit of wildlife (I also spotted a Common Darter dragonfly in Back Wood). At least the exercise will have done me some good.