New year, new you
Date Added: 01/01/2022
The new year is a time for new year’s resolutions. So how about (more) walking or cycling for exercise and to meet people where there will be plenty of fresh air? We have books and maps to help you plan your routes, which you can reserve at no charge to collect from the library of your choice.
Cycling
Finding traffic-free or quiet routes for cycling has become necessary as roads have become busier. Two books in particular address this: Sustrans' traffic-free cycle rides: 150 great days out by Wendy Johnson and Traffic-free cycle trails: the essential guide to over 400 traffic-free cycling trails around Great Britain by Nick Cotton. The Sustrans’ guide was published in 2015 and includes routes (mostly traffic-free) from Bedford to Sandy, from Luton to Leighton Buzzard and from Leighton Buzzard to Milton Keynes, along the Grand Union Canal. The Cotton guide was updated in 2020 and includes a section on mountain biking.
Quiet-ish road routes can be found in Lost lanes: 36 glorious bike rides in southern England, including a route on the Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire borders, starting in Baldock and meandering through villages in a circular route, including Biggleswade, Everton and the RSPB reserve at Sandy.
Britain by bike: a two-wheeled odyssey around Britain, by Clare Balding and Jane Eastoe, originally published in 2010, has a lovely circular route around Old Warden, taking in Ickwell, Northill, Cople, Cardington and Southill. The older (2003) On your bike: Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, by Audrey Hughes has some lovely routes, although the accompanying information is outdated. Some of her routes are covered in The Greensand Cycle Ride (letsgo.org.uk), which is a 37 mile route from Leighton Buzzard to Sandy, broken down into smaller chunks on this website.
Walking
There are wonderful local and local-ish walks in Central Bedfordshire and adjoining counties. Many are now documented on websites, such as Walking | Central Bedfordshire Council, which includes the Greensand Ridge Walk. Try also The John Bunyan Trail - The British Pilgrimage Trust.
There are many inspiring walking books, such as:
Favourite Walks in and Around Bedfordshire
Local Walks: North and Mid-Bedfordshire
Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire: outstanding circular walks (Ordnance Survey)
The Icknield Way path (Icknield Way Association)
Walking in the Chilterns: 35 walks in the Chiltern hills (Cicerone Press)
The Chilterns & the Thames Valley (Bradt travel guide)
Circular Walks along the Chiltern Way, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire (Chiltern Society)
Grand Union, Oxford & the South East (Nicolson Waterways guide)
The Lea Valley walk: Leagrave to the heart of London (Cicerone)
London LOOP - London outer orbital path; Henry Stedman (Trailblazer guides 2021)
The London LOOP; Colin Saunders (2017)
The Capital Ring; Colin Saunders (78 miles encircling inner London; National Trail Guides, 2020)
The rough guide to walks in & around London; Helena Smith (Rough guide, 2021. ‘Around’ stretches to the Chilterns and to Woburn in the north).
Maps
Wherever you walk or cycle, you need a map! While many use a variety of GPS systems or Google maps, arguably nothing beats the traditional OS 1:25,000 Explorer series for reliability and detail. We have sets of O.S. Explorer maps available to reserve and borrow, including local maps:
O.S. Explorer 181 Chiltern Hills North Aylesbury, Berkhampstead & Chesham
O.S. Explorer 192 Buckingham & Milton Keynes
O.S. Explorer 193 Luton & Stevenage, Hitchin & Ampthill
O.S. Explorer 208 Bedford & St Neots, Sandy & Biggleswade
Links for further information:
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