Pete's Walks- Kensworth, Roe End and Bison Hill (page 1 of 5)
If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.
I did this circular walk of about 12.6 miles on Saturday, May 30th, 2020. It was a shortened version of a route I used to walk quite often from my home in Kensworth, touching on most of the neighbouring villages. One reason that I did it was because I wanted to spend some time looking for butterflies at Bison Hill and the Whipsnade Downs.
This was my first long walk since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. I have been self-isolating with my elderly mother, and restricting myself to short local walks, initially no more than the one-hour permitted for daily exercise. That limit has been lifted now, and I've done some 2-3 hour walks (mainly to Bison Hill and back), combining the walks with looking for butterflies and wildflowers.
I started walking shortly after 9am, starting near where Hollicks Lane leaves Kensworth and heading off along the road to Whipsnade. There was a good verge on the right to begin with, and then when it ended there was a reasonable one on the left. After about a quarter of a mile or so there was a metal farm-gate and a metal kissing- gate on the left. Through the latter, I crossed straight over a large hay meadow (it's a sheep pasture sometimes), heading just right of the remains of an old barn. The path then continued through a small meadow to reach Dovehouse Lane, where I turned right. When this ended at a junction with Buckwood Lane, I turned right (I saw my first Comma butterfly of 20020 here) and then after a few yards took a footpath on the left. Almost immediately I came to a path junction where I turned left, this path rising gently uphill between an old hedgerow and the gardens of some properties at Holywell on my right.
The road to Whipsnade
Towards the far side of the first field along the path to Dovehouse Lane
The second field on the path to Dovehouse Lane
Dovehouse Lane
The path beside some gardens on the edge of Holywell
The hedge to my left ended after a while, and the path levelled off. Shortly after a wood started on my left, I turned left onto a path that led through the wood, and then continued straight on across a very large arable field. After some distance the path continued with a wood on the left, after which it soon passed a solitary tree. On finally reaching the far side of the field, it continued down a short 'alley' to reach Byslips Road. Here I turned left for a short distance, then took a footpath on my right. This ran between Byslip Wood and a garden boundary on my right. On entering a field, I turned left to head towards Markyate.
The path from Holywell to Byslips Road, as it leaves the wood
View to Studham Common
The path from Holywell to Byslips Road
The path on the other side of Byslips Road
The path followed the edge of Byslip Wood as it gradually curved right (somewhere it changes to Fareless Wood). It was a lengthy section next to these woods, but when I finally got to the end the path continued along a farm track with a hedgerow on my right, soon passing some farm buildings at Buckwood Stubs. After a few hundred yards the track turned right, but the path went straight on. Eventually after another few hundred yards the path went straight on through a metal-kissing gate and continued between overhanging hedges to reach Buckwood Road. I turned right here to follow the road the short distance to Markyate.
The path to Markyate running alongside Byslips Wood
The path to Markyate running alongside Fareless Wood
The path to Markyate running past Buckwood Scrubs
The path to Markyate
The path to Markyate
The path to Markyate
Buckwood Road, heading into Markyate