Ickwell May Day from Sandy (8.5 miles / 13.5km - Leisurely, Booking Required)

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

Join us on Bank Holiday Monday to enjoy a rural walk and see some traditional May Day festivities. For hundreds of years May Day has been celebrated in Ickwell with maypole and Morris dancing to mark the beginning of summer. Starting in the nearby town of Sandy, our generally flat route will take in arable farmland, horse paddocks and woodland, visiting the May Day festival partway round.

We’ll begin by following sections of the Greensand Ridge Walk and North Bedfordshire Heritage Trail, taking us past the River Ivel and over the A1 via a footbridge. After crossing Beeston’s large village green, we’ll head through open farmland and along tree-lined paths to reach the village of Northill.

At Northill we’ll pause at The Crown, where the May Day celebrations start with Morris dancing in the pub car park. We can watch the dancing and visit the pub or the church next door, and can have our packed lunches by the village pond.

At 1.30pm a procession will set off from the pub, led by tractors and trailers carrying the local schoolchildren. We’ll follow the procession half a mile along the road to Ickwell, where dancing takes place around the maypole on Ickwell Green. There will also be stalls, refreshments and other entertainment. After a good look around, we’ll meet to start the second half of our walk at 3pm in front of Ickwell Village Hall.

Our return leg goes through an ancient woodland named Flitton Scar and ascends a gentle incline up Wilmer Hill, then zigzags along wide tracks through open fields to return to Beeston. From here it’s back over the A1 and the Ivel to return to our start point, and the option of a post-walk drink at the Sir William Peel, East Bedfordshire CAMRA’s County Pub of the Year.

Please note this walk is not suitable for dogs.

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.