Pete's Walks- Kensworth, Markyate, Studham, Whipsnade (page 1 of 3)
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.
Google map of the walkDownload GPX file of the walk
I did this circular walk of about 9.6 miles on Monday, 9th June 2025. It was a repeat of a walk I first did in March 2013 and have repeated a few times since. This was my first walk in two months, after having a problem with my back.
It was about 10.15am when I started walking from my home in Kensworth, heading out of the village along the road to Whipsnade. After a quarter of a mile or so, I turned left by a gate onto a footpath, crossing a large field currently being used as a hay meadow (it's sometimes a sheep pasture), then following a track beside a meadow to reach Dovehouse Lane, where I turned right. The lane soon headed downhill to a valley bottom, where it ended at a junction with Buckwood Lane. I went a few yards right, then took a path on the other side of the lane, going left at a path junction after a few yards, and following the bottoms of some gardens in Holywell as the path went up the other side of the valley. It soon levelled out, still with gardens on my right.
Leaving Kensworth along the Whipsnade Road
The path from Whipsnade Road to Dovehouse Lane
The path from Whipsnade Road to Dovehouse Lane
Dovehouse Lane
The path from Buckwood Lane past the gardens of part of Holywell (the route continues left through the wood visible ahead)
The path continued beside a small wood on the left, and I then soon reached a path junction where I turned left to head through the wood. Beyond the wood the path crossed a huge corn field. The path continued past a another small wood on my left and then a solitary tree, before reaching Byslips Road. I went a short way left, then took a footpath on the other side - this followed an edge of Byslip Wood, initially with a garden on my right. On reaching the corner of the wood, I turned left on a path that followed the curving edge of the wood, with another huge field on my right. Somewhere along here the wood changed to Fareless Wood.
The path from Holywell to Byslips Road, in the small wood
The path from Holywell to Byslips Road, after leaving the small wood
The path from Holywell to Byslips Road
The path from Holywell to Byslips Road
The path on the edge of Byslip Wood
The long path along Byslip and Fareless woods
The long path along Byslip and Fareless woods
Beyond the woods, the path passed the farm buildings at Buckwood Stubbs. The path continued along a farm track, until that turned right. The path then continued ahead, with a field boundary on my right, and eventually led to Buckwood Road where I turned right to reach the edge of Markyate.
The path continuing towards Markyate, passing Buckwood Stubbs
The path continuing towards Markyate
The path continuing towards Markyate
The path continuing towards Markyate