Coronavirus walk no. 182, Pulloxhill and Greenfield, 11th November 2023
Distance
12.9 miles (total on foot)
This walk totalled around 375 photos and covered enough distance and enough places that lots of photos sadly had to be left out. The route led from Harlington to Flitwick across the fields and hills, taking in the villages of Pulloxhill and Greenfield.
The weather was excellent for November; camera colour balance not so much …
The walk starts out in Harlington.
Looking down at Harlington station after leaving the trainOld brick buildingRed poppies affixed to street lamps and signs for Remembrance DayHarlington war memorialHarlington has both quaint old buildings …… and modern housing developments, this one being adjacent to the station and handy for commuters
Having already seen post box toppers in nearby Lower Sundon, it was nice to see another one here in Harlington, also for Remembrance.
There are more photos on the post box toppers page.
I discovered that I had misread my own map, and was not even meant to walk down this road or encounter the topper or all the interesting houses; the detour was however well worth it.
Going back the way I came:
The walk route leads to Pulloxhill across the fields.
Looking out across the landscapeThe last view of HarlingtonFarmland to the south of Harlington; the walk route leads north-eastEntrance to the public footpathThe footpath starts out under tree cover, but most of the walk will be out in the open
Looking out across the fields in the direction we are heading:
Does this place even have a name?Note the water tower way off into the distance; this soon disappears from sight but we will see it again
Sheep …
A brief interlude through some planned woodland:
Perfectly straight lines of treesThis is low-lying land that has accumulated a lot of water!
Climbing up the hill on the other side of the wood:
Freshly-planted trees
This is where things got interesting. Where is the public footpath now? The field has been ploughed and it’s gone, and there is no other indication of which way to go.
Note the gap in the trees on the far side …The footpath must be this way …Or maybe not …
Turns out it was a dead end, and I had to turn round and go back.
Admiring a tree on the way out
Turns out this is where you are meant to go:
That piece of fence was the clue I suppose …Looking less leafy in hereOh noes …
And now back up another hill!
This part of Bedfordshire is a nice placeTop of the hillSuperb views everywhereAnother farm in the distanceLast week’s walk was close enough to the M1 that you could hear the distant sound of traffic across all the fields. Here it’s silent, calm, totally peaceful. Not a single other walker.Quaint old thatched cottage
Last leg now …
Clearly visible public footpath this timeAnother hill! The 12.9 mile distance on foot (which does include walking to and from stations) is only the distance according to the map; it will be more when you take all the hills into accountProbably my favourite view of the whole walk; it’s a privilege to be able to take photographs like thisHorseyAlmost there …And there we are, that water tower againPulloxhill water towerLooking down the hill at a strange white building in Flitwick
There sadly wasn’t enough time to get a full tour of Pulloxhill, but to keep the album size down I didn’t even include all the views of Pulloxhill that I did record.
Water tower viewed from the other side, overshadowing an attractive bungalowHaving trouble with the light here as the sun slowly setsSimple design, but elegantThe Parish Church of Saint James the Apostle, PulloxhillEven the graveyard has a wonderful viewVillage streetCow and calf statues in someone’s front garden!Last view of Pulloxhill
Now onto Greenfield; this was just down the side of a short road and I didn’t take any photographs of that section, not least due to a lack of time. I wanted to also take in Flitton, but that will have to wait until another day. Taking all these photographs consumes a lot of time and shortens the range of the walk!
Part of the Pulloxhill Business Park, GreenfieldThe first houses of GreenfieldThe Greenfield sign is a bit late … Note that this is still Greensand Country, like last weekNot a lot here, sadly …Still, you get thatched cottages side-by-side with brick houses
Leaving Greenfield for Flitwick along the banks of the river Flit.
This short path goes from Greenfield to the riverCrossing over the riverUnsurprisingly muddy, but not impassibleOther routes are availableFunny little benchThis will be a nice place to come back to in the spring or summerSun setting in the distance
Now back to Flitwick railway station.
Twin 33 kV power linesThat strange white building we saw from PulloxhillFlitwick MillHaving walked a long way, I was really keen to get something to eat and drink, and this newsagents was a sight for sore eyes and dry mouth.A nice kitty … I tried to get a cute shot of this moggy but it wasn’t paying attention. I then realised it had dropped a huge turd on someone’s front lawn (hopefully its owners’!) and here it’s making a token effort to bury it.Flitwick railway station
Walking home from the station …
Not a single pylon this week. What a relief that must be for you.
