Greensand Ridge Walk #3: Clophill to Ridgmont (12 miles / 19.5km - Moderate, Booking Required)

This walk is for up to 25 people, including the leader.

Part 3 of a long-distance trail across Bedfordshire - join us for any of these! The Greensand Ridge Walk is a waymarked route of around 40 miles which we’ll walk in five sections on the second Saturday of each month.

Please note this is a 12 mile linear walk from Clophill to Ridgmont. We recommend meeting in Bedford to take a bus to the start at Clophill then from Ridgmont taking the train back to Bedford.

Today's walk goes through farmland, villages, woods and open green spaces with some lovely views into the distance. It's a mixture of trails, road and grassland walking, and is an undulating walk with a few moderate slopes. 

To begin we leave Clophill and head up into Maulden Wood after crossing the A6. This is a busy road so we will need to take care crossing. Maulden Wood is an ancient woodland which is on a sandy soil and rich in wildlife. If we are lucky there may be some bluebells left in the woods.

We then go past the lovely Maulden church, built of typical local ironstone and dating from around the 13th century. From here we head through the village and up grassy hills before heading down to Ampthill Park.

Ampthill Great Park is a historic, 160-acre green space in Bedfordshire, landscaped by the famous 'Capability' Brown in the 18th century and renowned for its its rich royal history and panoramic views over the Marston Vale. We shall have our packed lunch stop here and can detour off the ridge to visit the cafe and public toilets. 

We then head along tracks and through the village of Millbrook, which has links to John Bunyan's novel The Pilgrim's Progress. After this we head along trails and farmland and cross a bridge over the M1 to reach Ridgmont village, where we shall have a pub stop. 

From here we leave the Greensand Ridge and walk the last 1.3 miles to Ridgmont station on the Marston Vale line.

Dogs are welcome on a lead. 

For information about walking with the group, including our dog policy, please visit the Stag Walkers website.

Booking your place: Please book your place using the free Meetup website/app. Join the Stag Walkers Meetup group and click the 'Attend' button on the event page.

Please do not turn up for a walk without booking, as places are limited.

If the walk is fully booked, please click 'join waitlist' then please check back regularly as you will likely get a place. The waitlist gives priority to single bookings so if you wish to bring a guest, we recommend booking separately.

Unless you opt in to further communications, we will only use contact information you provide to get in touch about the walk.